PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) have been used widely in educational settings. In this study, the visual illustration of a scientific text (cognitiveinterest illustration, emotional-interest illustration, or no illustration) was manipulated to investigate its impact on student interest in instructional materials, achievement, and time spent on reading materials in PDA-based learning. Forty-five graduate students were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups: the cognitive-interest illustration group, emotionalinterest illustration group, and the text only group. Each group was given instructional material corresponding to the treatments. Results revealed that the levels of post-interest across the groups were not significantly different among the three groups. However, the students in the cognitive-interest illustration group showed significantly higher achievement than those in the emotional illustration group and the text only group. Implications of the findings as a catalyst for further research in the development of instructional materials for PDA-based learning were discussed. 173Ó 2005, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

The purpose of this study was not only to develop models for teaching and learning , that can guide teachers to utilize FASTEL effectively, but also to investigate the actual effectiveness of the models developed. According to a survey on satisfaction with FASTEL in rural public schools, it is not utilized as anticipated in classroom instruction despite students' high satisfaction with it and teachers' positive perceptions on its effectiveness in teaching and learning. Along this line, this study categorized rural public schools into two types and proposed a model for each type to facilitate FASTEL utilization: one for schools equipped with both FASTEL and the cutting-edge technologies like interactive whiteboard, tablet, and Wi-Fi; the other for schools equipped with FASTEL only. Eventually, the models for teaching and learning developed in this study are expected to revitalize FASTEL by providing the foundation of utilizing FASTEL in general public schools as well as rural public schools.■ keyword :|FASTEL|Models for Teaching and Learning|

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