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BackgroundHigh smoking rates among end-users, combined with their high rates of app use, render this age group as a particularly captive audience for quit smoking apps. There is emerging evidence that apps are an effective way to support smoking cessation among end-users. How the expectations behind the design of apps align with the needs and preferences of end-users, and if this differs by gender, is poorly understood, limiting the ability to evaluate and scale these interventions. ObjectiveThe objective of this qualitative case study was to detail how the overall design approach of Crush the Crave (CTC), a quit smoking app that targets end-users, compares with young adult women’s and men’s perspectives and experiences, with consideration for the influence of gender. MethodsSemistructured interviews were conducted with 15 developers involved in the development of CTC and 31 young adult CTC users. Data were analyzed inductively to derive thematic findings of the perceived pros and cons of CTC by both developers and end-users. Findings were grouped under 4 categories (1) technology and platforms utilized for the app, (2) foundation of app content, (3) underlying focus of the app, and (4) look, feel and functionality of the app. ResultsUnder the category, technology and platforms utilized for the app, it was found that both developers and end-users agreed that apps aligned with the needs and preferences of young adult smokers. Major limitations with the technology identified by end-users were the frequent “glitches” and requirement for internet or data. For the category, foundation of app content,developers agreed that the strength of CTC was in its strong evidence-base. What mattered to end-users, however, was that the content was packaged positively, focusing on the benefits of quitting versus the consequences of smoking. It was found under the category, underlying focus of the app, that the individually-led focus of the app resonated with both developers and end-users, especially young men. Under the final category, look, feel and functionality of the app, it was found that developers were very positive about the app's aesthetics but end-users thought that the aesthetics incited a negative effect. Also, while end-users found it easy to use, they did not find the app intuitive. Finally, end-users thought that, because the app functions were largely based on a user’s quit date versus their ongoing efforts, this often lent to unmeaningful data. ConclusionsThe current study findings highlight the importance of understanding multiple perspectives of stakeholders involved in a mobile-based intervention. By gathering the viewpoints of developers and end-users, both problematic and effective approaches that underlie development goals were revealed as a means of informing the development, implementation, and evaluation of future electronic health (eHealth) interventions.

At a time of substantial change, globalization, and ubiquitous access to information, educators struggle to change even the most basic aspects of their classrooms. This is especially true for those in challenging contexts where many perpetuate the "mind numbing" practice of rote instruction. This paper describes a collaborative partnership among academics in Canada and East Africa as they develop Innovative Learning Centres (ILC) in their respective institutions to leapfrog pedagogy in imaginative ways, drawing on experiential learning and the Maker Movement in a studio based learning environment.

Our paper reports findings from a two-phase deployment of iPod Touch and iPad devices in a large, urban Canadian school board. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the infrastructure required to support handheld devices in classrooms; the opportunities and challenges teachers face as they begin to use handheld devices for teaching and learning; and the opportunities, challenges and temptations students face when gaining access to handheld devices and wireless networks in K-12 schools. A mixed method approach was used: online survey, monthly professional development activities with teachers, collected samples of lesson plans and student work, and regular classroom observations. Phase 1 findings (exploring only the use of the iPod Touch devices) suggest participants (students, teachers, and IT support staff) preferred a range of devices for a variety of commonplace tasks. They indicated they would select the iPod Touch for recording voices/sounds, listening to podcasts, and playing games. They preferred a laptop for searching the Internet, creating media, and checking email, and they selected paper or traditional options for drawing, reading, and tracking work/maintaining an agenda. Sixty percent had never used the device prior to the project. Despite that surprising finding, 70% of respondents felt it took less than hour to become familiar with it. However, this question did not probe comfort levels with the syncing/charging, iTunes' account management side of use, and herein lay a challenge. In order to use personal devices in school settings, the school/district needed to create a common iTUNEs account and dedicate a computer to sync, share, and organize applications (apps), content, and system settings. This common account formed a "digital commons" of sorts; a place where participants had to negotiate what apps to share and permissions and access protocols. Participation in the commons required an ongoing exploration of what digital citizenship meant in classrooms and how this impacted teacher's work, parental responsibility and changes in disciplinary approaches for administrators. Year 1 of Phase 1 yielded a wealth of data. Specifically, the iPod Touch devices were well received and well used by the majority of participants in the elementary and junior high settings. The high school students and teachers were more critical, as both appeared to struggle to find educational uses for the devices. Further, high school students initially appeared to "resent" the intrusion of school issued personal devices. Phase 2 continued to work with the Phase 1 participants and added the deployment of the iPad devices in three additional schools. Probably the most interesting finding was the lack of familiarity of these devices by all the participants. We anticipated many would have owned similar devices and be proficient in their use--this was not the case. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper presents findings from a two-­year pilot project into the use of ePortfolios as a tool for assessment in a two year, field-­oriented, inquiry-­based teacher preparation program. Participants consisted of five cohorts of pre­service student teachers and five instructors; interviews, focus groups, artifacts, and project meetings provided the raw data for analysis. The originality of this work rests in the importance of establishing an eJournal to accompany the ePortfolio. Based on our findings in this action research study, we challenge and add to the existing ePortfolio literature around such issues as ePortfolio project design, process vs. product, the use of templates, social software, and documentation.

This study examines a unique educational program designed for youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder [FASD] in Alberta, Canada. Care was taken to include the participants' voice in this case study resulting in key insights and strategies for working with youth and/or students struggling with FASD. Using observation notes, survey and interview responses, and literature reviews, participants' perceptions were used as a lens to describe characteristics, experiences and learning needs of this population. Studying their ability and how these participants struggled unfolded specific needs in the program. Additionally, in exploring the impact of the program on the participants' learning, growth and progress, key strategies for teaching and learning were revealed. The appendix offers sample lesson plans and resources as used in this educational program. As a whole, this qualitative study offers those working in the field of FASD and learning disabilities insights and strategies from the perspective and feedback of the participants. (Contains 2 tables.)

This research explores the idea of embedding and linking to existing content in learning object repositories and investigates teacher-designer use of learning objects within one high school mathematics course in an online school. This qualitative case study supports and extends the learning object literature, and brings forward context-specific examples of issues around repository design, autonomy and self-containment, technical support and granularity. Moreover, these findings have implications for building learning objects and repositories that could better support teachers in their instructional design and pedagogical decision-making.

This paper describes the first stages of a project focusing on the use of preservice-­teacher-­generated e-­Portfolios as a means of documenting and assessing inquiry-­based teaching and learning. The project is designed to explore ways in which preservice teacher-created e-­Portfolios can be used to (1) document how inquiry lives in practice, and (2) help university instructors and practitioners in the field assess the knowledge, skills, and attributes of preservice teachers who are participating in an inquiry based teacher preparation program.

Recognizing the power of the Internet to connect people, regardless of place or time, we explore the notion of a virtual form of ethnography, suggesting online, textual interactive interviews are worthy of research consideration. This paper reports on three research projects, drawing examples from almost ten years in the evolution of Internet supported conferencing software. It is the position of this paper that we were able to share and develop new insights into being authors, interlocutors, online learners, online researchers, and members of an educational context. Further, we feel that we were able to sustain conversations beyond the scope of many traditional face-to-face interview sessions, noting that the participants enjoyed the process and often found it hard to quit their interactions with us. Hence our position that even though the technology is still emerging and improving, the potential is clearly rich, inviting, and worth continued study.

There is an emerging body of published research inquiring into distance education, yet the student experience is under-­represented. Berge and Mrozowski (2001) examined ten years (1990­-99) of dissertations and journal articles from four distance education journals. They reported that of 1,419 publications, 890 depicted research studies. They classified the research articles into ten different content themes. 31% of the articles addressed content themes regarding learners. Of these, 17% of the papers addressed learner characteristics, 8% redefining roles of key participants, and 6% learner support. The authors did not specify whether these papers incorporated experience from the perspective of the students although the labels of the content themes would suggest otherwise. This research review critiques two qualitative theses designed to explore the day-­to-­day experience of learners studying online. Both are written in the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology, described by van Manen (1997) as "a "descriptive" methodology because it wants to be attentive to how things appear, it wants to let things speak for themselves" and as "an "interpretive" methodology because it claims that there are no such things as uninterpreted phenomena" (p.180). A commitment to learners and educators as active constructors of knowledge has implications for the research rationale, the questions asked, and the means of study. The reviewed research is motivated by a belief that improvements to distance education must be preceded by conversations with those invested in the experience, namely the students.

An Innovative Learning Centre (ILC) within a Faculty of Education provides the forum to study and give lived expression to the rhythmic workings of experience through documenting a Maker Movement Day for practicing educators. The authors conceptualize a Maker Day as an immersive professional development experience for educators. They believe that design thinking aligns nicely with the Maker Movement by helping makers consider what they would like to create, alongside why, and how to proceed. They suggest the goal of a Maker Day should be to encourage participants to experience making, and ongoing adaptation and reflection, through design thinking and associated activities, fostering a shared agenda requiring active participation that takes shape through process.

The overarching questions guiding this interprofessional design-based research study are: (1) How might a suite of assessment tools help K-7 educators visualize learning in their classrooms and (2) How might these visualization approaches inform K-7 educators' changes in classroom assessment? Recognized by their administrators as having previously introduced twenty-first century learning and teaching into their classrooms, seven primary educators (grades K-3) and two intermediate educators (grades 4-7) volunteered to participate in this study. Across three data collections, researchers explored how these K-7 educators perceived an impact to their classroom practices when introduced to a new suite of assessment tools. All K-7 educators reported the importance and challenges of visualizing and capturing individual, small group, or whole-class formative learning artifacts in their classrooms. They reported the following characteristics were important: interactive, personalized, collaborative, creative, and innovative. Reflecting on their brief experiences with the software, the K-7 educators reported more confidence in using the suite of assessment tools. They appreciated working as part of an interprofessional team including researchers, academics, and software developers. Based on these initial findings, the researchers discuss the study's scholarly significance, position the study within the growing literature, and suggest such opportunities may initiate just-in-the-moment professional development.

This paper explores the impact of generational attitudes on teachers' ICT use. Findings from the preliminary research suggest that when applications have a use or purpose that extends beyond the classroom and into their social or personal sphere, younger teachers demonstrate noticeable confidence and a higher potential for technology integration in contrast to their older colleagues. Notably, however, if the application is primarily work related, there seems to be no generational correlation in terms of user adoption. In such instances, attitudes and adoption of the application tend to follow Rogers' (2003) diffusion curve dividing into innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards rather than reflecting significant generational attitudes. This challenges popular beliefs regarding teacher adoption of ICT as well as the notion of Digital Natives Digital Immigrants put forth by Prensky (2001). (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

Susan Crichton and Gail Kopp explore how multimedia technologies help develop and support teachers' understanding of multiple intelligences in the classroom. They conceptualize the relationship between multiple intelligences, specific multimedia applications, and contemporary research and offer a model of distance delivery that provides professional development and ongoing support by a community of fellow educators. They provide a glimpse into the first three years of a five-year project by a team of Canadian teacher-educators who provided assistance to educators in Western China seeking to enhance their understanding of--and develop their skills in--using student-centered instruction, a method of teaching that places importance on the concept of multiple intelligences. This group developed a distance education course using multimedia technologies that allowed teachers to support one another and learn from best practices and share site-specific activities. Crichton and Kopp also provide a glimpse into the future of the project, where teachers will be able to contribute to the course site and interact with one another as they begin to implement student-centered education in their classrooms. (Contains 8 figures, 2 exhibits and 1 table.)

Reports on inservice opportunities provided by the Canadian company Odyssey Learning Systems Inc. (Odyssey) and critically assesses how that training mirrored the learning environment created through use of its product in educational settings with students. Suggests that changes to a learning environment provided through technology will not occur until teachers and instructors are provided the same opportunities to learn with technology they are expected to offer their students. (Author/AEF)

Seven adult learners in a facilitated learning center appreciated the learner-centered model focused on personal empowerment, literacy development, learning to learn, mastery, and independence/inclusion. Instructional design places learners' knowledge and experience ahead of curriculum and focuses on learning for life, not work. (SK)

A rural British Columbia K-12 school facing closure due to declining population implemented intentional learning, student-directed learning, and learning groups as core units for developing communities of learners. A computer-managed learning system and online scheduling enables delivery of a full range of courses despite decreases in teaching staff, and tracks scheduling and student progress. (TD)