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This paper examines the mathematical conversations of middle school students as they use computer-mediated graphic representations to construct a shared understanding of the basic concepts of probability under two conditions. The first condition used graphical representations to depict important abstract relationships visually, and the second condition used animation to augment the graphic representations to see if animation helped students grasp abstract relationships. Thirteen pairs of students (11 boys and 15 girls) divided themselves into the two condition groups. The analysis of student think-aloud protocols focused on how the visual and dynamic elements of the computer-based graphical representation influenced students' interpretations of the mathematical concepts. Data suggest that students with access to animated representation had qualitatively different mathematical discussions than those who had only the static representation. The conversations of students who used animated representations used a narrative structure and were richer than those of the students who used static representations. (Contains 3 figures and 37 references.) (SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert