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As the empirical literature in educational technology continues to grow, meta-analyses are increasingly being used to synthesise research to inform practice. However, not all meta-analyses are equal. To examine their evolution over the past 30 years, this study systematically analysed the quality of 52 meta-analyses (1988-2017) on educational technology. Methodological and reporting quality is defined here as the completeness of the descriptive and methodological reporting features of meta-analyses. The study employed the Meta-Analysis Methodological Reporting Quality Guide (MMRQG), an instrument designed to assess 22 areas of reporting quality in meta-analyses. Overall, MMRQG scores were negatively related to average effect size (i.e., the higher the quality, the lower the effect size). Owing to the presence of poor-quality syntheses, the contribution of educational technologies to learning has been overestimated, potentially misleading researchers and practitioners. Nine MMRQG items discriminated between higher and lower average effect sizes. A publication date analysis revealed that older reviews (1988-2009) scored significantly lower on the MMRQG than more recent reviews (2010-2017). Although the increase in quality bodes well for the educational technology literature, many recent meta-analyses still show only moderate levels of quality. Identifying and using only best evidence-based research is thus imperative to avoid bias.

Field experience, or practice teaching, or practicum has become a cornerstone of teacher education. It is a high-impact experience and a period of intense learning and growth if done professionally. While current research highlights the experiences of pre-service teachers as a catalyst for improving their perceptions, little is known about faculty supervisors' perceptions and the challenges they face during practicum courses. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore the experiences of the faculty supervisors (n=11) and pre-service teachers (n=69) throughout their time in the initial teacher program in the College of Education at Zayed University, a public university in the UAE, including any challenges they faced. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through surveys, individual interviews, and reflective journals. Results revealed that having a well-structured program, establishing strong collaboration and coordination with the partner schools, and ensuring direct contact with mentors are the factors that enhance the faculty supervisors' experience. Based on these findings, recommendations are made that focus on the areas of scheduling, logistics, requirements, and expectations of the program.

This systematic review builds upon the work of Abrami et al. (2006) and McGreal and Anderson (2007). It seeks to provide a synthesis and discussion of publicly available government policy documents with regard to e-learning in Canada. In total, 138 policy documents from Canadian provinces and territories and several federal agencies, dated from 2000 to 2010, were identified, retrieved and analyzed using prescriptive and emergent coding approaches with the purpose of uncovering and describing areas of commonality and inconsistency and, hence, determining where discussions about e-learning are lacking. The review confirmed that Canadian policy makers view technology as offering various potential benefits to learners, but also revealed a troubling lack of specific details, consistency and coordination in facilitating the development of e-learning to fulfill these optimistic expectations. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

Meaningful learning is the fundamental process that underlies the acquisition of useful information and the construction of new knowledge. By creating meaningful relations, learners are able to organize the information in bigger and more organized chunks of information; an organization that reduces memory overload and increases processing capacity, ultimately improving the ability to remember information and solve problems. There are many strategies that can be used to help students achieve meaningful learning; three of these strategies, called generative learning strategies, are analogies, summaries, and answering questions. Analogies provide a bridge between what is known and what is less known, facilitate conceptual change, assist in conceptual change learning, facilitate understanding of abstract notions, provide visualization of the abstract, provoke students' interest, and may reveal misconceptions in areas already taught. Similarly, summarization has been found to enhance comprehension and recall of passage content and to contribute to comprehension of both content and text organization in second language learning. Oral and written questions stimulate thinking, improve retention of content material, and improve students' achievement. Engaging students in answering or generating thought-provoking questions helps them gain the knowledge and skills necessary for managing their learning, become more successful problem solvers, construct explanations that mediate meaningful learning, describe and relate what they are learning to existing knowledge, and change their alternative conceptions. In summary, generative learning strategies improve the cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes of schooling at all educational levels. Moreover, research has demonstrated that students can generate analogies. Consequently, understanding students' perceptions of the instructional value of generating analogies and summaries and answering questions, as well as their intention to use them in the classroom, are important to investigate because of the assumed link between intention and behavior. Educators who understand students' perceptions of teaching strategies and their readiness to use these strategies can adapt their teaching to take into account these perceptions and intentions. However, currently, there is very limited research that addresses students' perceptions and intentions, especially for students at the middle school level. This study investigates students' perceptions of the effectiveness and utility of generating analogies, summaries, and answering questions in a middle school science classroom and elucidates their intentions to use these strategies in science classrooms and in other subject areas. (Contains 4 tables.)

Abrami et al. (this issue) provide a review of e-learning in Canada from 2000 onwards by synthesizing information drawn from multiple sources, not only primary research. In total, there were 726 documents included in our review: 235 views expressed in the public printed media (an expression of general public opinion); 131 views from trade/practitioner perspectives; 88 views of policymakers contained in public policy documents; 120 sources of evidence contained in reviews of research; and 152 sources of evidence contained in primary empirical studies. It is the authors' understanding that this is the first review of its kind to be as inclusive of sources. This is both the review's greatest strength, allowing the authors to determine whether consensus existed among myriad sources, and potentially its greatest weakness, as both the time for such a comprehensive review and the cost meant the authors sacrificed a degree of depth for an increase in breadth. In this rejoinder to the commentaries, they explore several issues: (1) the nature and importance of systematic reviews; (2) answering questions about what works and why; and (3) what is e-learning and what are its impacts.

This review provides a rough sketch of the evidence, gaps and promising directions in e-learning from 2000 onwards, with a particular focus on Canada. The authors searched a wide range of sources and document types to ensure that we represented, comprehensively, the arguments surrounding e-learning. Overall, there were 2,042 entries in their database, of which they reviewed 1,146, including all the Canadian primary research and all scholarly reviews of the literature. In total, there were 726 documents included in the review: 235--general public opinion; 131--trade/practitioners' opinion; 88--policy documents; 120--reviews; and 152--primary empirical research. The Argument Catalogue codebook included the following eleven classes of variables: (1) Document Source; (2) Areas/Themes of e-learning; (3) Value/Impact; (4) Type of evidence; (5) Research design; (6) Area of applicability; (7) Pedagogical implementation factors; 8) A-priori attitudes; (9) Types of learners; (10) Context; and (11) Technology Factors. The authors examined the data from a number of perspectives, including their quality as evidence. In the primary research literature, they examined the kinds of research designs that were used. They found that over half of the studies conducted in Canada are qualitative in nature, while the rest are split in half between surveys and quantitative studies (correlational and experimental). When they looked at the nature of the research designs, they found that 51% are qualitative case studies and 15.8% are experimental or quasi-experimental studies. The findings of this review showed that studies that can increase the general understanding of "what works" in e-learning settings are underrepresented in the Canadian research literature. This article discusses the results of the research as well as implications for K-12 practitioners, post-secondary education, and policymakers.

In this opinion piece, the authors critically consider the transition to the ‘emergency model’ of distance education (DE), forced by the pandemic and associated restrictions to our daily life, paying special attention to its potential pitfalls. The authors argue in favour of more careful approach to DE design and implementation over the ‘one size fits all’ solution. The data from previous meta-analyses in the field of DE and technology integration in education are briefly summarized to provide research-based support for the following observations: (1) students’ academic achievements in DE are largely associated with the interactivity factor, which is also instrumental in preventing excessive drop-out rates; (2) the flexibility factor that largely predetermined the initial rise and rapid proliferation of DE should be maintained to avoid negative side-effects, including student’ dissatisfaction and drop-out; (3) pedagogical factors, imbedded in careful instructional design, outweigh technological affordances, especially since the latter require properly organized and managed infrastructure, adequate training for teachers an students, and sufficient time to be efficiently adopted in formal education to reveal its potential for successful teaching and learning; (4) vast variability of meta-analytical findings, even with the most favourable to DE average point estimates, do not only present educational system with pleasing promises, but also call for serious caution as the negative effect sizes are almost equally prevalent as the positive ones. In conclusion, the paper reminds educational practitioners and policy makers: what comes to life out of necessity does not necessarily present viable solutions in the long run.

This research study employs a second-order meta-analysis procedure to summarize 40 years of research activity addressing the question, does computer technology use affect student achievement in formal face-to-face classrooms as compared to classrooms that do not use technology? A study-level meta-analytic validation was also conducted for purposes of comparison. An extensive literature search and a systematic review process resulted in the inclusion of 25 meta-analyses with minimal overlap in primary literature, encompassing 1,055 primary studies. The random effects mean effect size of 0.35 was significantly different from zero. The distribution was heterogeneous under the fixed effects model. To validate the second-order meta-analysis, 574 individual independent effect sizes were extracted from 13 out of the 25 meta-analyses. The mean effect size was 0.33 under the random effects model, and the distribution was heterogeneous. Insights about the state of the field, implications for technology use, and prospects for future research are discussed. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

The article focuses on the report "A Review of e-Learning in Canada: A Rough Sketch of the Evidence, Gaps and Promising Directions." The authors account the need for development programs for new initiatives which have high-quality research and evaluation programs. They say that they contacted Michele Jacobsen, editor of the "Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology" to know if the paper merited attention to request comments from experts in Canada.

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