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The current generation of learners has been very much influenced by technology. Instructors have the power to engage learners in the learning activity by using online resources, tools or apps at learners' level of interest. However, there has been the issue of clearly defining integration of technology in education. Technology integration in education is a process, it would be considered effective if learners are capable of choosing a tool which can help them to acquire, analyze, synthesize and present the information in a timely and professional manner. Nevertheless, technology is a means or a tool to achieve an end goal, technology is not the end in itself. This paper discusses the various tools and resources available for education, their advantages and disadvantages. How can we improve the technology integration? What are the options available? This paper discusses these issues and their possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by international trends and government policy, it is a requirement for all newly built schools in New Zealand to be designed as innovative learning environments (ILEs) with flexible learning spaces. These environments, celebrated by some for the "transformational" educational opportunities they may provide, also raise questions about whether the anticipated pedagogical value of these "non-traditional" spaces is based on idealised visions of teaching and learning rather than empirically derived evidence. Before such complex issues can be efficiently addressed, evidence of the actual "state of play" of ILEs is required. Drawing on New Zealand specific data from a large Australasian research project, this paper triangulates principals' opinions, teachers' perspectives, and the literature on some key preliminary issues: what types of learning spaces can be found in New Zealand schools; what teaching styles are evident in these spaces; what pedagogical beliefs are driving ILE teaching practices; and what types of learning activities are occurring in ILEs? The paper provides an evidencebased platform for further discussion about the opportunities and challenges surrounding the use and practice of ILEs in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on learning technologies and cognition. It stresses that learning technologies have been taking an increasing role in almost all learning environments and they are used in a variety of informal and formal educational environments. Specific technologies and their usage are important to understand in their own right but they need to be considered and understood in light of learning objectives. When considering how best use to learning technologies one needs to be able to determine when learning materials and objectives are best suited for these technologies.

The article focuses on learning technologies and cognition. Learning technologies play a significant role in almost learning environments. These technologies are used in formal and informal education environments. It is critical to understand how learning technologies interact with human cognition. Learning technologies must be considered and understood in terms of learning objectives. These two concepts may facilitate and enhance learning. Moreover, it also tackles how learning technologies be blended with traditional learning.

The purpose of this paper is to present the Large Unit District Association virtual high school (LUDA-VHS) project and discuss its design, development, and implementation. A model developed at the Center for the Application of Information Technologies for designing online classes will be presented and discussed. The focus of the paper will be to present the lessons learned and provide practical recommendations on how to design successful online programs. Issues to be discussed include the following: recruiting, training, and compensating teachers; selecting and supporting students; developing instructional strategies for online learning; building a sense of community; educating the public on the benefits of online education; providing equal access; building quality assurance mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how sustained professional learning for teachers within a centralised system was cultivated. Specifically, the sustained professional learning was initiated by officers from the headquarters (HQ) and involved interested teachers across schools in Singapore. Qualitative instruments were used to collect and analyse the data in examining the partnerships perceived by the participants. The enablers responsible to bring about sustained professional learning are proposed. A contribution of this study is to clarify how resources in the HQ and its schools can be bridged. Deliberate bridging of resources is critical particularly at the initial stage of the partnerships. This bridging is made possible through dedicated appointed champions. The appointed champions are passionate about the educational innovations and are willing to invest their time to understand the teachers’ needs. This paper argues that the enablers can offer opportunities for lateral networks to be forged within a hierarchical system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues for innovation diffusion as a “becoming” process in the context of lateral and vertical moves. The context of these innovations involves technology-mediated innovations and their diffusion trajectories in the Singapore education system. Embedded in a centralized-decentralized dialectics, this paper traces particular innovations from their nascent beginnings to their present state of play. We found that the cases we observed had lateral (or decentralized) moves and were subsequently supported by vertical (or centralized) ones. Characterizing these innovation diffusions was challenging as we found them to move across models according to different granularities and levels of analysis. Instead, we have chosen to characterize these diffusion patterns as “innovation becoming”. We attempt to distil some substantive generalizations from three case studies presented and how decisions can be made for future innovation diffusions. We recognize that the trajectory for innovation diffusion is inextricably linked to the identity projected by the particular innovation and the leadership supporting it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and examines how Singapore attempts to implement ICT in education through its three Masterplans for ICT in Education since 1997. It analyses the management approach during the implementation of Masterplans One and Two and highlights the inadequacies of a linear Newtonian model of ICT implementation for Masterplan Three. This paper posits that for Singapore to venture into an uncharted era of educational ICT innovation, the new educational ICT management paradigm should be based on complexity rather than a linear Newtonian model. In particular, it should be one that promotes the recognition of the education system as a complex adaptive system; promotes loose coupling between headquarters and schools, and among schools; promotes organisation around intelligences rather than fixed structures; and promotes integration through purpose rather than policy. The case study of Singapore contains lessons for other countries implementing national level initiatives for ICT in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stated aim of technology education in New Zealand is to develop students' level of technological literacy. This paper introduces the Technology Assessment Framework (TAF) as an organisational tool for the development and delivery of technology programmes that focus on increasing students' technological literacy through the enhancement of their technological practice across technological areas and contexts. The TAF was developed and refined in 1999 and 2000 as part of a two year New Zealand Ministry of Education funded research project, and integrated within a national professional development programme in 2000 designed for preservice and inservice teacher educators in New Zealand. This paper backgrounds the sociocultural theoretical position of the TAF and explains how it reflects and furthers the aim of technology education in New Zealand. The TAF is then presented and explained with the aid of illustrative examples from classroom practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stationary law and court cases currently leave fair use of copyrighted material poorly defined and fail to provide effective guidance for the use of others' work. Copyright legislation is undergoing significant change, accelerated by the evolution of computing and communication technologies. This paper reviews copyright issues, fair use guidelines, and applicable laws and statutes to help administrators and educators understand and comply with copyright regulations. The paper describes principles of copyright and ownership, the rights of copyright holders, and the conditions under which copyrighted material can be used by others. Recently introduced legislation, such as 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act, may significantly affect how educators can use copyrighted material in the future. The integration of computer and communication technology into education raises a number of intellectual property issues for dental schools. This paper provides some general guidelines regarding copyright issues in academic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been interest in the implications of learning by doing, and in particular in the possibility that learning by doing may be slower in less developed countries and in industries which use simpler technologies. This paper uses firm-level data from Ghana to estimate learning-by-doing effects and generates three main findings. First, the learning curve, though present, is flatter in Ghana than in developed countries. Second, any industry-wide spillovers are small and insignificant. Third, (contrary to the assumption of much theory) learning-by-doing effects are stronger at low levels of technology than at intermediate levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology and education are merging in today's society. Students in primary and secondary education recognize technology incorporated into teaching as a standard practice, not a unique experience. Curriculum standards in professional health sciences education have changed to promote the increased use of technology, with the purpose of enhancing student skills and engagement. The classroom and experiential settings offer opportunities for technology to be incorporated in a variety of ways. Technology can be useful for the teacher and student; however, challenges do exist. This paper highlights the benefits and challenges of incorporating technology into the settings of classroom and experiential teaching. Specifically, the purpose and use of technology, equipment, accessibility, time, and costs are discussed and example software programs are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a two-year case study of university lecturers' professional learning about digital technologies, and their development of associated innovative teaching practices. During this time, new hardware and software, as well as planned professional development (PD) opportunities, were made available to assist lecturers in a Faculty of Education at an Australian university to integrate digital technologies into their teaching. Results indicate that participating lecturers succeeded in integrating a range of digital technologies over the 2011-2012 period, with some lecturers transforming their teaching practices substantially. A key finding was that the provision of formal PD was only a springboard -- much unplanned and unanticipated professional learning occurred through informal interaction, with lecturers co-learning with colleagues, and indeed with students, in an environment of discovery and experimentation. Formal learning was thus complemented by a networked, or even viral, model of the spread of knowledge and skills among colleagues, students, and indeed wider educational communities. The paper concludes that educators benefit greatly from a combination of formal and informal professional learning strategies when it comes to integrating digital technologies into their practices in pedagogically innovative ways. Two vignettes are included to illustrate and authenticate the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communications technologies in education remain the toast of the millennium in the sphere of education. The irony however in such situation is that the professionals (the teachers) in the sector who marvel and revel at it may not be aware that in one hand they are creating and promoting their own albatross and on the other hand that the younger generation of beneficiaries are at the receiving end as the aims and purposes of education has been unknowingly redefined for them. This paper maintains that education has a normative dimension which is negated or blurred by technologies. It discusses the impact of these technologies on traditional pedagogy and argues on the dangers of replacing the traditional face to face encounter in teaching and learning, limitations these technologies in the philosophy of education. It also argues strongly that these technologies in education are an im-perialist economic agenda in the current trend of globalisation. This imperialist agenda is the latent albatross hanging on the neck of the teaching profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As role plays become increasingly popular in the sales curriculum, the challenge for instructors is how to motivate students to watch--and, ultimately, learn from--them. This paper examines how both students and faculty can benefit from video capture technology. We find that students perform better in their second role play when they watch their first one via video link. Further, the longer students watch, the more they improve. For faculty, it provides a systematic way to monitor individual progress and tailor student feedback. This innovation has implications for student incentive structures, role-play assessments, and classroom technology adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers challenges of moving education into Cloud under the conditions of digital divide. The content of the paper is divided into two parts. In the first one, the focus is on digital divide, since it greatly affects the issue. In the second part, a model for adapting Cloud in higher educational environment is proposed, with the emphasise on the needs of so-called developing countries, which suffer consequences of digital inequality. The statistical analyses of the survey conducted on the basis of the proposed model have been made at two universities in Montenegro (South-East Europe). Moreover, brief conclusions along with some guidelines for the future research work in the field are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflection on the history and future of educational media. Over the last century various new media technologies were introduced in education. Most of these failed to meet the high expectations. The paper reviews the rise and fall of various 'revolutionary' learning media and analyses what went wrong. Three main driving factors are identified that influence the educational system: 1) educational practice, 2) educational research, and 3) educational technologies. The role and position of these factors is elaborated and critically reviewed. The paper concludes with identifying a number of relevant developments that substantiate a favourable future outlook of media for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides specific recommendations to help faculty members teach the role of "partnering" in marketing project classes. Based on a ten-year research study, the paper explores a major shift in the pedagogy that occurred in which five new teaching strategies were implemented to assist marketing students in focusing on partnering strategies to build equity in the client relationship. The results have been superior marketing plans, highly satisfied students, and a significantly greater percentage of the plan being implemented by the clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the role of engineering PhD education and its relationship to innovation and technology, and the need to reconsider how we educate PhD engineers. Much of the effort on engineering education in the last two decades focused on undergraduate education with a few exceptions that relate to masterdegree programs. Doctoral education in engineering prepares the next generation faculty, researchers, and technology leaders and warrants our attention. Whilst current education has been largely responsible for technological advances, there is a need for a new model of engineering PhD education that prepares renaissance engineers. This paper focuses on the doctoral education and its role in the USA; however, the issues addressed are universal among the countries that offer PhD degrees in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is a federation of six states and two territories. Each state and territory has its own legislature, which may not be of the same political persuasion as the Commonwealth (Federal) Government. Under the Australian Constitution primary control of school education is with the State and Territory Governments, with the Australian Commonwealth Government having no specific constitutional responsibility for school education. However, this is complicated by a dual-tiered funding system, whereby the Australian Commonwealth Government has responsibility for some funding of government schools and majority funding for non-government schools. Since 1975 there have been moves by the Commonwealth Ministers for Education to acquire a significant role in identifying national priorities for education and constructing policies and assessment tools to achieve such goals. Financial provision and national policy formation have increasingly become the means by which Australian Commonwealth Ministers for Education have "shaped" educational debates and policies. In November 2004 the then Australian Commonwealth Minister for Education, Science and Training announced the details of the Australian Government National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. The focus of the Inquiry was examination of research into reading, preparation of schoolteachers and literacy teaching practices, especially reading. The Inquiry may be seen as the latest move by the Commonwealth Government to influence the teaching of literacy in Australia. In this paper official notions of literacy, as outlined through the various Australian Commonwealth Government's inquiries into literacy and national policy documents for the period 1975-2005, are examined using metaphor analysis. Metaphor analysis provides a means of analysing discourses about literacy in each of the reports and policies in order to interpret the underlying ideology. These official constructs of literacy are briefly considered within the competing and wider notions of literacy in Australia academic debates and the tensions that exist in defining literacy. Why did the Australian Commonwealth Government become involved in the literacy debates during this time? In particular, how has the Australian Commonwealth Government defined literacy and why did it take a more controlling role in both the definition of literacy and the shaping of education for literacy? The reasons for the Australian Commonwealth Government becoming involved in the literacy debates remain largely unresolved. In this paper it is proposed that involvement in the literacy debates constituted a way for the Commonwealth Government, in a time of economic rationalisation, to change their role in educational reform from one of financial assistance to one of leadership in curriculum. It is also proposed that a metaphor analysis of the policy documents and associated reports indicates a move from a wide definition of literacy to an increasingly narrow and utilitarian definition of literacy, reflecting the predominantly economic focus of the Australian Commonwealth Government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to study the use and educational application of technical resources by students of Social Education (SE) in Spain. The reasons for this research were based on the importance of gaining a deep command of the various skills associated with information and communication technologies in the acquisition of generic competencies. The research we conducted was a descriptive and interpretative study designed from a quantitative-qualitative perspective. The questionnaire was selected as the main data collection tool. Among its most important findings, the research has revealed that SE students are not frequent users of most new technologies, and that they usually copy the behaviours of their teachers in their educational application of technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often claimed that techniques such as 'multimedia' and the use of blended learning environments can be used to achieve powerful interactive pedagogies. Indeed, the advent of easy-to-use multimedia technologies has meant that a plethora of digital learning products is now becoming available. Despite the relative ease-of-use of these new technologies, managing large-scale multimedia courseware development projects is still very problematic. This paper discusses some of the issues involved and outlines an emerging methodology for managing such projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Developing E‐learning for Teachers (DEfT) project, a collaborative venture between UK and Chinese universities, has produced e‐learning modules for master's level programmes for in‐service high school teachers in China. E‐learning offers Chinese teachers new and innovative forms of professional development and provides for transformative learning. The paper investigates teachers' online learning experiences and how e‐learning facilitates teacher transformation from three perspectives: the ‘learner‐centred perspective’, the ‘knowledge‐centred perspective’ and the ‘community‐centred perspective’. The paper concludes that e‐learning, while not without some caveats, is a feasible solution for the training needs of serving Chinese teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1 : 1 educational computing refers to a scenario where every student in a group or class uses a computing device equipped with wireless communication capability to conduct a learning task. This paper, drawing from design experiences with our digital classroom environment series and other studies, attempts to describe a few valuable 1 : 1 design perspectives for educational computing inside the classroom. We try to describe the major components of the 1 : 1 digital classroom environment and classify the most important component, student devices, according to a set of features. Furthermore, based on the notion of computing affordance, a set of communication affordances are described. This set underpins three basic educational activities, namely: teacher-directed instruction, small group learning and individual learning. Finally, scenarios are exemplified for a few typical educational computing devices. This study concludes with a discussion of short- and long-term research possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The innovation of education seems to be self-evident. Boosted by a wide range of new technologies, educational institutes all over the world are innovating their educational systems, in order to extend their services, to improve their performances or to reduce costs. The apparent self-evidence of educational innovation hardly prompts the educational staff to reflect on the very idea of innovation and its consequences. This paper treats the basic principles that support the phenomenon of technology-induced educational innovation. It aims to contribute to a better insight and understanding of its implications to anyone engaged in education. It also aims to effect a growing awareness of the premises on technology and to support the right attitude to realise improvements in practice. The paper goes into strategies of change, while discussing both substitutional and transformational strategies. It explains its supposed differences by referring to the philosophical frameworks of Jaspers, Heidegger and Borgmann. Starting from Borgmann's ``devices paradigm'', four principles for educational innovations are formulated, referring to the transparency and interactivity of educational technologies, the socio-cultural significance of products, the importance of values beyond efficiency and the political bias involved with technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some of the many problems and issues associated with integrating new and developing technologies into the education of future designers. As technology in general races ahead challenges arise for both commercial designers and educators on how best to keep track and utilise the advances. The challenge is particularly acute within tertiary education where the introduction of new cutting edge technology is often encouraged. Although this is generally achieved through the feedback of research activity, integrating new concepts at an appropriate level is a major task. Of particular concern is how focussed areas of applied technology can be made part of the multidisciplinary scope of design education. The paper describes the model used to introduce areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to undergraduate industrial design students. The successful interaction of research and education within a UK higher education establishment are discussed and project examples given. It is shown that, through selective tuition of research topics and appropriate technical support, innovative design solutions can result. In addition, it shows that by introducing leading edge and, in some cases, underdeveloped technology, specific key skills of independent learning, communication and research methods can be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the themes of the papers featured in the June 2005 issue of the journal "ALT-J, Research in Learning Technology." Influence of rhetoric on creativity and innovation; Review of learning technology-related policy; Examination of the pedagogy of transnational online learning.

Copyright of Sociologia del Lavoro is the property of FrancoAngeli srl and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper describes a global professional development program called 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD), which helps teachers design academic lessons that integrate opportunities for students to develop 21st Century competencies in a variety of dimensions such as collaboration, knowledge construction, and the powerful use of ICT for learning. The framework and tools of 21CLD are grounded in learning science research, promoting aspects of these dimensions that have been shown to tie to deeper learning. The paper highlights the example of Crescent Girls' School in Singapore, which is implementing this program school-wide as a next step on its longstanding journey to leverage ICT for instructional innovation. Critical aspects of the school's supportive ecosystem include a clear and consistent vision for teaching and learning, strong teacher ownership and a common language of discourse, distributed leadership, and the use of ICT to support teacher professional development and lesson design. The paper describes results for teaching and learning through a Communicative Arts lesson that leverages place-based ICT tools for student knowledge construction. Although Crescent Girls' School is unusually well resourced and has a strong history of ICT use for learning, this case offers lessons that apply equally well for earlier-stage explorations into ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ESPIRAL: Revista de Docencia e Investigación is the property of Universidad Santo Tomas, Bucaramanga and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Agricultural communications education has evolved over time, shifting in an effort to meet the needs of students through new approaches, new methods, and new technologies. The purpose of this paper was to examine the influence of educational and communications technologies on agricultural communications education. A literature review related to the history of the processes, methods, and technology uses in education and more specifically in agricultural communications education was conducted. Technology was identified as enhancing learning in settings that included secondary education, university settings, continuing education, Extension programming, and professional development. Only a limited number of articles specifically addressed the use of technology to teach agricultural communications. The high rate of change in communication technologies was identified as a critical reason for considering the role of technology in the agricultural communications education context. A virtual environment to teach crisis communications was shared as an example of successful educational technology use. Continued research focusing on teaching methods and tools related to agricultural communications education is needed. New technologies have the potential to encourage innovative learning experiences; however, the ongoing challenge to educators will be to harness the technology for the good of the learner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a novel application of semantic web technologies to support undergraduate students' learning in Plant Sciences. The pedagogical context focuses upon a field trip, seeking to enhance students' familiarity with plant species they will encounter in the field and making links to over-arching concepts in the wider taught course. Semantic web technologies were selected as a potential match to support this learning context because of the well-defined plant taxonomy underpinning plant classification. The paper will conclude with reflections on the affordances, challenges and issues surfaced by this approach and its alignment with pedagogical theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite research and testimony that technology has revolutionized the way we teach and learn by making inroads in the field of education and assisting teachers and students alike, the diffusion of technological innovations for teaching and learning has not been widespread, nor has Information and Communication Technology become deeply integrated into the curriculum. Given the size of investment in technology towards management education and the demonstrated effectiveness with some educational outcomes, it seems reasonable to investigate why the integration of technology for teaching and learning is so appealing to some institutes, and not to others. The purpose of this research is to determine the underlying factors that keep management educators either away from adopting technology or leaving it half-way after adopting. The strategic issues associated with integrating technology as a core part of management education will also be discussed in the paper. The study examines the perceptions of faculty, students and heads of management institutions about technology adoption. Also the study tries to find out that do factors such as age, experience, trainings, associated cost, peer-pressure and academic background of the stakeholders have an effect on the extent of ICT adoption. The outcome of this study would be useful for the stakeholders of management institutes like teachers, students and heads. The problems and challenges faced in adopting and updating technology can be better understood and thus removed. Thus, overall it would improve the effectiveness of technology in the teaching and learning process in management education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational Technology (ET) is the efficient organization of any learning system adapting or adopting methods, processes, and products to serve identified educational goals. The role of technology in education as an agent of change in the classroom is massive, which includes not only the teacher and the teaching — learning process but also systemic issues like reach, equity, and quality. This paper throws light on the functioning and effectiveness of ET in India and provides recommendations to improve the current situation. "I say without fear of my figures being challenged successfully that today India is more illiterate than it was fifty or hundred years ago, because the British administrators, when they came to India scratched the soil and began to look at the root, and left the root like that and the beautiful tree of knowledge perished. This very poor country of mine is ill able to sustain such an expensive method of education. And so our state should revise the old village schoolmaster and dot every village with a school for both boys and girls." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Psychological Association's Learner-Centered Principles provide empirically-based approaches to improving teaching and learning. However, in order to facilitate learner-centered, technology-rich instruction to K-12 students, teachers must be afforded opportunities to develop key understandings and skills, rarely evident in most professional development programs. In this paper, we synthesize empirically-based studies and recommendations for teacher learning and propose a learner-centered professional development (LCPD) framework to guide both professional development and empirical work on teacher learning. We describe LCPD components, discuss ways that technology can support LCPD, and highlight implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 20 years after ICTs were introduced in schools, solid evidence of their impact on student attainment is still lacking. Reasons for this include the mismatch between the methods used to measure the effects and the type of learning promoted, the absence of information regarding the specific types of ICT used, and the scarce attention paid to the monitoring and evaluation of ICT for Education (ICT4E) programs. A monitoring and evaluation scheme would provide qualitative and quantitative data to refine, adjust and improve an ICT4E project, to learn from the experience gained, and to determine whether the program has served its client communities and how it might be replicated. In this paper we present a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) scheme for a specific ICT4E program that supports teaching and learning using mobile computer supported collaborative learning (MCSCL). Using the information provided by the scheme, we analyze the program's impact on student attainment in terms of teacher adoption of innovation. It was found that there were statistically significant positive differences in students whose teachers showed higher adoption levels when compared both to lower adoption cases and other defined control groups. We conclude that an M&E scheme supports the intervention process by providing real-time information for decision making through the application of assessment instruments according to a monitoring plan. This enables intervention activities to be adjusted so as to ensure an adequate level of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 20 years after ICTs were introduced in schools, solid evidence of their impact on student attainment is still lacking. Reasons for this include the mismatch between the methods used to measure the effects and the type of learning promoted, the absence of information regarding the specific types of ICT used, and the scarce attention paid to the monitoring and evaluation of ICT for Education (ICT4E) programs. A monitoring and evaluation scheme would provide qualitative and quantitative data to refine, adjust and improve an ICT4E project, to learn from the experience gained, and to determine whether the program has served its client communities and how it might be replicated. In this paper we present a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) scheme for a specific ICT4E program that supports teaching and learning using mobile computer supported collaborative learning (MCSCL). Using the information provided by the scheme, we analyze the program's impact on student attainment in terms of teacher adoption of innovation. It was found that there were statistically significant positive differences in students whose teachers showed higher adoption levels when compared both to lower adoption cases and other defined control groups. We conclude that an M&E scheme supports the intervention process by providing real-time information for decision making through the application of assessment instruments according to a monitoring plan. This enables intervention activities to be adjusted so as to ensure an adequate level of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-expanding use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) is especially significant to professional education in relatively isolated nations such as Taiwan. Interaction with university faculties outside the country would vastly improve the Taiwanese education of architects, for example, and this is sufficient reason for the full implementation of ICTs in architectural schools in that country. This article 1) explores how ICTs hold a promise for transforming the process of professional education in architecture, 2) examines the issues and difficulties of implementing ICTs in the teaching of architecture, and 3) discusses how a greater use of ICTs in architectural education would enhance both the ability of students to work collaboratively and the opportunity for professors to enjoy much greater participation and collegiality in the world-wide academic community of architectural educators. Particular attention is given throughout the paper to the epistemological and educational paradigm of constructivism and the cultural considerations of implementing ICTs in an Asian nation such as Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion which focuses on the development of a prototype system to deliver computer-based instruction to young children through tangible manipulatives. Prior to Jean Piaget's formal operational stage, children need concrete, hands-on experiences rather than abstract concepts to support more natural learning, developing, and thinking. Moreover, the discussion is further specified in accordance to the elements involved in developing the prototype including the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, a technique that has shown potential in associating the physical environment and virtual artifact.

PowerPoint and other visual technologies have become pervasive in schools. Adoption of these technologies is perceived as a necessary - or, at the very least, an educationally appropriate - innovation in UK schools, even though systematic examination of their use is relatively recent. On the basis of a wider ethnographic study of ICT use in one UK school, this paper presents ways in which visual technologies are used in the school setting, analyses the impacts of those technologies on students and teachers, and raises a set of important issues about how such visual technologies are used in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]