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There is continuous debate on the role of digital media tools in art and design Higher Education, and in particular their potential contribution towards teaching and learning. The related literature indicates that there is a dichotomy between digital and traditional tools. This study investigates the views of a cohort of art and design students who undertook a specific instructional task, but instead of using paper and pencil, they used iPads. It is claimed that this computer tablet has considerable potential to enhance teaching and learning, and this study sought to investigate this claim. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews provided by 32 ( n = 32) students. Based on the categories that emerged from the analysis of interviews, and within the parameters of this study, the main inference is that the relationship between digital and traditional tools can be better understood as complementary rather than as a dichotomy. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of the digital age on the work life of academics and reports research on how and whether technologies are facilitating and adapting the teaching and research practices of academics, offering a description of scholarship for the digital age. A changed landscape is emerging, which offers academics new ways of working in research and new kinds of academic output for them to use in their teaching. Two areas are considered: the conduct of research (in particular the range of activities associated with publication and dissemination of research findings) and the conduct of teaching. The links between these practices are explored in terms of a revised view of scholarship, the perspective of digital scholarship. The paper begins with a review of literature and draws on an interview study to illustrate changes in academic practice, both for teaching and research. The study of 22 academics with expertise in educational technology provides a commentary on the changes, identifying open access as important in both teaching and publication. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future work in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People recommenders are a widespread feature of social networking sites and educational social learning platforms alike. However, when these systems are used to extend learners' Personal Learning Networks, they often fall short of providing recommendations of learning value to their users. This paper proposes a design of a people recommender based on content-based user profiles, and a matching method based on dissimilarity therein. It presents the results of an experiment conducted with curators of the content curation site Scoop.it!, where curators rated personalized recommendations for contacts. The study showed that matching dissimilarity of interpretations of shared interests is more successful in providing positive experiences of breakdown for the curator than is matching on similarity. The main conclusion of this paper is that people recommenders should aim to trigger constructive experiences of breakdown for their users, as the prospect and potential of such experiences encourage learners to connect to their recommended peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of this paper is to describe the development of an interactive application that can be used in teaching English as a second language using children's stories in mobile devices. The aim of this experimental study has been to find out the potential of using the developed interactive mobile application in improving the learning skills such as vocabulary, pronunciation, listening and comprehension of the learners of the English language without the help of a teacher. The novelty of the research in this paper has been the use of a speech recognition engine on the mobile phone to identify spoken words of the learner in an attempt to teach correct pronunciation of words. The learning is interactive and it takes place entirely on a mobile phone. In this experimental study 37 voluntary students have participated. A Pre-Test and a Post-Test have been performed to find out the learning abilities of students. The results of the experimental study clearly indicated that English learning skills of young students had higher statistically significant improvements as a result of using the developed application in the experimental group. It can be concluded that the developed mobile application can be used as an educational tool in teaching English as a second language. Young students who may be interested in improving their listening, vocabulary, comprehension and pronunciation skills while learning English as a second language should find this mobile application enjoyable and useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asynchronous online discussion environments are important platforms to support learning. Research suggests, however, threaded forums, one of the most popular asynchronous discussion environments, do not often foster productive online discussions naturally. This paper explores how certain properties of threaded forums have affected or constrained the quality of discussions, and argues that developing alternative discussion environments is highly needed to offer better support for asynchronous online communication. Using the Productive Online Discussion Model developed by Gao, Wang and Sun, we analyzed current work on four types of asynchronous discussion environments that have been developed and researched: constrained environments, visualized environments, anchored environments and combined environments. The paper has implications for developing future asynchronous online discussion environments. More specifically, future work should aim at (1) exploring new environments that support varied goals of learning, (2) integrating emerging technologies to address the constraints of current environments, (3) designing multifunctional environments to facilitate complex learning and (4) developing appropriate instructional activities and strategies for these environments. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic Asynchronous online discussion plays an important role in facilitating learning., It is hard to foster a focused, interactive and in-depth asynchronous discussion in traditional threaded forums., Researchers have investigated multiple ways of structuring or facilitating asynchronous online discussions., What this paper adds The paper analyzes how existing features of threaded forums constrain the quality of online discussion., The paper identifies the progress made in designing alternative asynchronous discussion environments and discusses four major types of asynchronous discussion environments that have been developed and researched., The paper provides suggestions for developing future asynchronous discussion environments., Implications for practice and/or policy Designing alternative asynchronous discussion environments is necessary to improve the quality of online discussion and communication., New asynchronous discussion environments need to be designed to meet varied learning goals and facilitate complex learning., Appropriate instructional strategies need to be developed for both existing and new online discussion environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tutors have only limited time to support the learning process. In this paper, we introduced a model that helps answer the questions of students. The model invoked the knowledge and skills of fellow students, who jointly formed an ad hoc, transient community. The paper situated the model within the context of a Learning Network, a self-organised, distributed system, designed to facilitate lifelong learning in a particular knowledge domain. We discussed the design of the model and explained how we selected and supported capable peers. Finally, we examined the calibration of the model and a simulation, which was intended to verify if the model is fit for use in experiments with students. The results indicate that, indeed, it is possible to identify and support capable peers efficiently and effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an editorial on developments in the publishing of "British Journal of Educational Technology." The company that publishes the journal, Blackwell Publishing, has merged with Wiley Publishing to form Wiley-Blackwell. The author provides information on internet access to back issues of the journal. Also discussed is a rise in the journal's impact factor.

This paper reports the findings of a science e-journal initiative to publish undergraduate research and assesses student evaluations of this experience. Students in this (post-1992, non-research-intensive) institution overwhelmingly reported that research was a key feature of their course at the point of the e-journal introduction and that they were involved in research in a variety of ways (especially honours projects, lab work and fieldwork). Research-informed teaching from the student perspective involved two specific categories of pedagogic activities: things that students did and things that tutors did. Students largely understood research-informed teaching as an activity where tutors impart knowledge about their own and others' research (a research-led approach). Yet, what students wanted was a more active involvement in the research process (research-oriented/research-based). The e-journal initiative enabled some students to acquire this additional experience and without great cost so could be adopted elsewhere. There is some debate about equality of access to research opportunities in higher education, and an e-journal has the potential to be more widely accessible than, for example, research apprenticeships (especially if students can be involved as reviewers and as active contributors via Web 2.0 technologies). However, there is still an element of elitism about selection for the publication process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares and contrasts the use of AI principles in industrial training with more normal computer-based training (CBT) approaches. A number of applications of CBT are illustrated (for example simulations, tutorial presentations, fault diagnosis, management games, industrial relations exercises) and compared with an alternative approach using AI. An evaluation of the relative merits of the two approaches will be given. Existing CBT packages are used to illustrate the points raised and the emphasis of the arguments will be on the effectiveness of AI and CBT in terms of both cost and learning. The position of AI applications within CBT is discussed, as is the task of getting started in applying these techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, intelligent approaches to CBT are put into several perspectives in an attempt to elucidate the concepts and give them a more realistic (and not only glamorous) footing. The role of expert systems in training is explored and possible routes towards intelligent CBT are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying a suitable supervisor for a new research student is vitally important for his or her academic career. Current information overload and information disorientation have posed significant challenges for new students. Existing research for supervisor identification focuses on quality assessment of candidates, but ignores indirect relevance with candidate supervisors' previous students, social network connections and their thinking styles. This paper presents a comprehensive student-centric approach based on research analytics framework for finding and recommending supervisors for new students. In particular, it integrates multiple measurements from three dimensions, ie, relevance, connectivity and quality. A prototype system was developed to support student-supervisor recommendations on a research social network platform (ie, ). The results of user-based evaluations demonstrate that our proposed approach generates more satisfactory recommendations as compared with that of all baseline methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant criticism made of preservice teacher education is that it fails to prepare teachers in such a way that they would feel confident in the use of information and communication technology ( ICT) in teaching, despite the assumed digital literacy of student-teachers and the children they will eventually teach. New technologies have enabled multimodal design and digital storytelling in meaning-making and communication and are now often instrumental and influential in shaping students' social practices and identities. The purpose of this study was to explore an integrative approach in applying ICT in learning with specific reference to the formation of mathematics teaching capability in preservice teachers. It takes into consideration student-teachers' lived experiences when introducing ICT supported learning into their classrooms as well as their exposure to related university courses such as educational technology, special didactics of mathematics and mathematics. This paper describes the instructional design framework and assessment criteria for mathematical problem solving and digital storytelling introduced to an ICT course for student-teachers. Based on the analysis of pre- and posttesting of the subjects' capabilities and reports of their perceptions, it is suggested that preservice teachers can efficiently develop their content knowledge in mathematics problem solving and that an integrative approach such as that described here may facilitate both mathematical problem-solving competences and pedagogical competences for applying digital storytelling in solving mathematical problems. The cohort of preservice teachers had no prior experiences of digital storytelling or multimodal design and perceived them as new practices. Their conceptions changed during the course from the passive recipients to active producers of media content. They demonstrated reflection relative to learning-by-design and representation modelling. They perceived digital storytelling as a strategy and means for empowering the 'student-voice' and the active construction of knowledge. The findings of the study contribute to preservice teacher education indicating that an integrated approach of instruction that deploys digital storytelling and multimodal design can help facilitate preservice teachers' pedagogical competencies and mathematical content knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing the digital learning environment for ubiquitous learning and asynchronous distributed learning has opened up immense amounts of concrete research. However, current digital learning environments do not fully fulfill the expectations on supporting interactive group learning, shared understanding and social construction of knowledge. This paper introduces cloud computing to the construction of the digital learning environment for its on-demand services with high reliability, scalability and availability in the distributed environment. Then a digital learning environment based on cloud computing ( DLECC) is proposed, including the architecture, co-construction and sharing model, and incentive mechanism of DLECC. Finally, an Educational Technology Space ( ETS) platform under the concept of DLECC is constructed and applied to the educational technology training for 110 teachers from primary and secondary schools. The experimental results demonstrate that the co-construction and sharing model and incentive mechanism of DLECC may provide meaningful learning support and interactive communities and promote the co-construction of befitting educational resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open textbook initiatives have appeared as an alternative to traditional publishing. These initiatives for the production of alternatively copyrighted educational resources provide a way of sharing materials through the Web. While the open model of peer-produced materials enables the global reuse of textbooks, the combination of fragments to produce new textbooks tailored to particular needs is not easy. The heterogeneity of topics and target audiences, as well as the cultural and institutional differences of educational systems across the globe, raises the need for new compositional features, fostering-at the same time-the reuse of the newly produced combinations. This paper reviews the current models of reuse and sharing, and presents a quantitative analysis of the Connexions repository which provides evidence about the culture of reuse in open textbook initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the Massively Open Online Course for Educators ( MOOC- Ed) network dataset. It entails information on two online communication networks resulting from two consecutive offerings of the MOOC called T he Digital Learning Transition in K-12 Schools in spring and fall 2013. The courses were offered to educators from the USA and abroad. Though based on the same course, minor controlled variations were made to both MOOCs in terms of the course length, discussion prompts and group size. The dataset provides opportunities to examine how participants leverage online communication forums to support their learning. In particular, it allows modeling network mechanisms to better understand factors that facilitate or impede the exchange of information among educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most complicated academic endeavours in transmission pedagogies is to generate democratic participation of all students and public expression of silenced voices. While the potential of mobile phones, particularly mobile instant messaging ( MIM), to trigger broadened academic participation is increasingly acknowledged in literature, integrating MIM into classrooms and out-of-the-classroom tasks has often been confronted with academic resistance. Academic uncertainty about MIM is often predicated on its perceived distractive nature and potential to trigger off-task social behaviours. This paper argues that MIM has potential to create alternative dialogic spaces for student collaborative engagements in informal contexts, which can gainfully transform teaching and learning. An instance of a MIM, Whats App, was adopted for an information technology course at a South African university with a view to heighten lecturer-student and peer-based participation, and enhance pedagogical delivery and inclusive learning in formal (lectures) and informal spaces. The findings suggest heightened student participation, the fostering of learning communities for knowledge creation and progressive shifts in the lecturer's mode of pedagogical delivery. However, the concomitant challenge of using MIM included mature adults' resentment of the merging of academic and family life occasioned by Whats App consultations after hours. Students also expressed ambivalence about MIM's wide-scale roll-out in different academic programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways that emerging technologies and social media are used and experienced by researchers and educators are poorly understood and inadequately researched. The goal of this study is to examine the online practices of individual scholars in order to explore and understand the activities and practices that they enact when they use social media for scholarship. Using ethnographic data collection methods and basic interpretive analysis techniques, I describe two emergent phenomena evident in scholars' social media participation: scholarly practices enacted openly in digital spaces and the self that is disentangled from academic matters. These phenomena raise issues related to 'sharing,' scholar identity, participation and social media as a place of gathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational computer games have been recognized as being a promising approach for motivating students to learn. Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that without proper learning strategies or supportive models, the learning achievement of students might not be as good as expected. In this study, a knowledge engineering approach is proposed for developing educational computer games to help students learn about the knowledge for differentiating a set of learning targets in an interesting and meaningful way. Based on the proposed approach, an educational computer game has been developed for an elementary school natural science course. The experimental results show that the proposed approach significantly improved the students' learning achievement as well as their learning attitude and motivation. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic Educational computer games have been recognized as being an important instructional strategy for promoting learning motivation of the learners., Educational computer games have great potential in helping learners acquire abilities and construct knowledge., Knowledge engineering methods have been recognized as being an effective approach for helping people organize knowledge of specific domains., The process of organizing the derived knowledge enables learners to make explicit their own interpretations and reasoning, and hence engages them in higher-order thinking., What this paper adds Proposing a knowledge engineering approach for developing educational computer games to help students learn about the knowledge for differentiating a set of learning targets., Investigating whether the students who learn with the educational computer game have better learning achievements and attitudes than those who learn with the conventional information technology-applied approach., Investigating the feelings of the students about using the educational computer game in terms of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness., Implications for practice and/or policy The educational computer games developed with the knowledge engineering approach not only promoted the learning attitudes of the students, but also improved their learning achievements., Educational computer games are able to create enjoyable and realistic learning environments for learners to acquire abilities and establish their knowledge in the process of playing games., It is worth investigating more research issues concerning the effects of educational computer games from different aspects, such as students' learning styles or cognitive styles., It is important to develop educational computer games by taking pedagogical theories or instructional strategies into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' non-posting behaviour in online discussions is often neglected in educational research. However, it can be a potential indicator of student learning. This study examined the relationships between motivation, peer feedback and students' posting and non-posting behaviours in online discussions in a distance learning class. Fifty-seven college students participated in collaborative learning activities through online discussions. Their posting and non-posting behavioural data were tracked automatically in the discussion system. Results show that students spent a significant amount of time participating in non-posting activities. Motivation and peer feedback predicted both posting and non-posting behaviours in online discussions. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic Content analysis has been widely accepted as a common approach for analysing student interaction in online discussions, but this analytical method has limitations., Students' behaviour in online discussions including both posting and non-posting behaviour. However, non-posting behaviour is often neglected in investigating student online learning., Students' motivation and peer feedback have been proven as critical factors that influence students' behaviour in online discussions. However, most empirical studies documented the significant effects of motivation and peer feedback only on posting behaviour., What this paper adds This study provides empirical evidence that the numeric data collected from an online system can be used as an important data source for analysing students' posting and non-posting behaviour in online discussions., This study provides empirical evidence that demonstrates the significance of non-posting behaviour in online discussions., This study provides empirical evidence that demonstrates the significant effects of motivation on both posting and non-posting behaviour in online discussions., Implications for practice and/or policy System designers should consider adding system features to capture both posting and non-posting behaviour and mirror them back to teachers and students., Teachers should design interventions to promote students' feeling of self-competence and autonomy in online discussions., Teachers should encourage peer feedback and peer evaluation in online learning activities., System designers may incorporate peer evaluation mechanism (eg., peer rating) in online learning systems to enable an additional channel for peer feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need, use, benefit and potential of e-portfolios have been analysed and discussed by a substantial body of researchers in the education community. However, the development and implementation approaches of e-portfolios to date have faced with various challenges and limitations. This paper presents a new approach of an e-portfolio system design based on Private-Public (PrPl) data index system, which integrates cloud computing applications and storages with Semantic Web architecture, making semantic web-based visualisation and advanced intelligent search possible. It also discusses how the distinctive attributes of the PrPl-based digital asset management system can serve as a large-scale robust e-portfolio system that can address issues with scalability, sustainability, adoptability and interoperability. With such a new distinctive design, a large-scale deployment at a state or national level becomes possible at a very cost-effective manner and also such large-scale deployment with intelligent digital asset management and search features create numerous opportunities in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A powerful search for ‘curiosity’ or its related topics at the online American Psychological Association PsycNET database will produce comparatively disappointing meagreness of resource. This reflects our scanty knowledge in this field though curiosity is widely recognised as one of the most important factors that contribute to motivation and effectiveness in education and scientific discovery. Lack of understanding in curiosity may be due partly to limitation of research methodology and technology. This paper suggests using Google Trends as a tool for the study of curiosity and its measurement. The observation based on this tool discusses external stimuli, accessible resource and surprisingness that are closely related to curiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, written from a 20th-century perspective, traces the development of, and influences on, the field of instructional technology and attempts to describe a framework within which we can better understand the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifth Generation computers should not simply be regarded as an enhancement of current computer technology: the intention is that a fresh approach should be taken to computer science and to the use of computers. The argument of this paper is that the fresh approach must encompass education and training, with implications that extend far beyond the simple use of computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the development of a practical tool that provides expert feedback to students following an extended simulation exercise in cross-country flight planning. In contrast to development for laboratory settings, the development of an expert instructional product for everyday use posed some interesting challenges, including dealing with a larger content scope, less ideal and controllable content structure, greater emphasis on the completeness and continuity of the student experience, and more stringent limits on time and money. Moreover, the transition from laboratory to real world caused the developers to think more critically of the principles of instruction embodied in the product and to place less emphasis on computer tool and technique questions. The product, which will be used in the context of routine ab initio pilot training, is described in terms of how these problems were solved and what lessons were learned that can be applied to the development of future instructional systems involving expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it possible to educate a fire officer to deal intelligently with the command and control of a major fire event he will never have experienced? The authors of this paper believe there is, and present here just one solution to this training challenge. It involves the development of an intelligent simulation based upon computer managed interactive media. The expertise and content underpinning this educational development was provided by the West Midlands Fire Service. Their brief for this training programme was unambiguous and to the point: 1. Do not present the trainee with a model answer, because there are no generic fires. Each incident is novel, complex, and often ‘wicked’ in that it changes obstructively as it progresses. Thus firefighting demands that Commanders impose their individual intelligence on each problem to solve it. 2. A suitable Educational Simulator should stand alone; operate in real time; emulate as nearly as possible the ‘feel’ of the fireground; present realistic fire progress; incorporate the vast majority of those resources normally present at a real incident; bombard the trainee with information from those sources; provide as few system-prompts as possible. 3. There should also be an interrogable visual debrief which can be used after the exercise to give the trainees a firm understanding of the effects of their actions. This allows them to draw their own conclusions of their command effectiveness. Additionally, such a record of command and control will be an ideal initiator of tutorial discussion. 4. The simulation should be realisable on a hardware/software platform of £10 000. 5. The overriding importance is that the simulation should ‘emulate as nearly as possible the feelings and stresses of the command role’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software-engineering education programs are intended to prepare students for a field that involves rapidly changing conditions and expectations. Thus, there is always a danger that the skills and the knowledge provided may soon become obsolete. This paper describes results and draws on experiences from the implementation of a computer game-development course whose design addresses problems in software-engineering education by improving students' abilities in four areas: (1) problem solving; (2) the application of previously learned knowledge; (3) the use of independent learning; and (4) learning by doing. In order to better understand this course's effect on students' performance in a software-development project, I investigated 125 students' performance in a 1-year senior-project course. Results of this study show that the students who had taken the computer game-development course became more successful in the senior-project course than the students who had not taken it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many multimedia chemistry courses fail to reach their full educational potential as they do not engage the learner in a meaningful task or give appropriate feedback. Though molecular modelling is a recognised technique widely used in chemistry to enable students to grasp difficult concepts, tutorials often do not afford students either the time or scope to learn by experimenting with molecular structures. In this paper we describe the educational development of a web based organic chemistry tutorial which aims to enable students to learn chemical concepts through the manipulation of structural formulae and the provision of appropriate feedback. An online chemical structure modelling tool was developed to enable molecules to be drawn online and to provide feedback. The aim of this study is to address key issues relevant to the development of educational resources of this nature. It will be of particular interest to teachers and lecturers working within Science and Engineering, audio-visual staff and educational developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the theoretical links between motivation and learning and the use of information technology that arose during the evaluation, by both teachers and pupils, of the effects upon teaching and learning of the installation of an extensive new computer network in their secondary school. The school was visited throughout the 1996/7 academic year, and two questionnaire surveys were carried out during this time. The initial questionnaire was completed by 69 (73%) of the staff and a stratified, random sample comprising 161 (11%) of the pupils. Those originally surveyed were sent a follow up questionnaire at the end of the year. Responses to the questions were grouped by similarity into categories and these categories were related to theories of motivation and learning. It is concluded that the installation of a computer network in a secondary school results in improved teaching and learning and increased enjoyment of learning in the school with both pupils and teachers viewing the use of IT as beneficial to learning. Where such positive effects of using IT are noted they can be justified theoretically using Behaviourist, Cognitive and Social Constructivist theories of motivation and learning. The wide range of ways in which use of a computer can be both extrinsically and intrinsically motivating explains the increased motivation observed in the pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author focuses on e-learning in adult and continuing education. Particular attention is given to the impact of computer network resources on education. Article topics include the potential of smart cards for e-portfolios, the development of The Learning Credit Card, the evolution of library science and its relationship to technology, as well as why projects from the 1980s-1990s are evading the attention of the current generation of researchers. Additional article topics include educational research taking place in Great Britain in the 21st century and a historical review of technology in education and training since the 1950s.

In science education, laboratory practicals are frequently assessed through submission of a report. A large increase in student numbers necessitated us adapting a traditional practical report into an online test with automated marking. The assessment was designed to retain positive features of the traditional laboratory report but with added pedagogic and administrative benefits made possible through the online medium. After performing their experiments, students were given idealised data, enabling immediate comparison with their own results, and asked to perform a series of calculations based on that ideal data. The two-part test asked questions about the students' calculations. Part I was formative, ensuring that the students had mastered basic concepts before advanced concepts were tested in Part II. The test rewarded correct methodology and understanding as well as the right answers and gave absolute consistency to the marking scheme. Students could submit at their convenience and received instant feedback. The assessment was met with emphatically positive feedback from students. In addition, it was possible to track submissions by students, providing insights into their behaviour. Students appeared to group into three submission styles-early submitters, considered submitters and last minute submitters-information which can be useful to guide pedagogic practice. In the latest iteration, analysis of submission behaviour gave us confidence to reduce the time before the submission deadline, which resulted in a substantial increase in student attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a pilot study investigating the usefulness of IWill 2.0, a web-based writing platform located at http://cube.iwillnow.org/IWiLL/, for Tawainese graduate students learning academic English writing and their advisers. The importance of English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction in Taiwanese graduate education is examined, and the study's goals and methodology are described. The finding that the students and advisers surveyed found the platform useful is examined, and suggestions for further research are presented.

The article focuses on a meta-analysis of the use of computer-mediated instruction in second language vocabulary instruction. It examines the overall effect of computer-mediated learning in second language vocabulary in regards to participant education level, the role of teachers, treatment duration, and game-based learning. It states that under the random-effects model, computer-assisted language learning had positive effects with a medium effect size with a 95 percent confidence interval. It talks about the use of educational computer games in increasing learner motivation.

This is a personal account of the work of the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) in the 1980s and early 1990s. The contribution of the MSC, The Department of Employment and the Learning Technology Unit is not widely understood and appreciated. During that period, it was one of the major agencies for encouraging and funding the use of technology-based learning—not only in the training area but also in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As more adults frequent wilderness areas, they bring Internet‐enabled devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets) with them. This study focuses on adults' perceptions of these devices in relation to desired outdoor learning experiences. Specifically, researchers examined the perspectives of naturalists who taught outdoor education programs and park visitors who participated in these programs. Using interviews and surveys to consider experiences, researchers found that participants enjoyed instructional Internet use to reduce physical dependence on heavy resources, support learning, engage younger learners and communicate with others. However, clear boundaries were identified regarding when and where these technologies could be used in national park settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement toward open education is requiring educators to expand and update their practice in order to keep up with the new demands being placed on them. This study explored how educators can engage in meaningful learning opportunities, which will facilitate the creation of expertise and knowledge, through the use of open education resources (OER). The article describes the design of the instrument employed to measure workplace learning through OER activity of adult educators ( n = 522) and to report its internal reliability and convergent validity. Results indicate engagement with OER promote three levels of learning, each connected to the different types of knowledge educators require to integrate OER into their teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of spatial thinking is relevant to the learning and teaching of many academic domains. One promising method to facilitate learners' higher-order thinking is to utilize a web map mind tool to assist learners in applying spatial thinking to cooperative problem solving. In this study, an environment is designed based on the theory of spatial thinking and developed to help learners engage in project-based learning that utilizes the proposed web map mind tool for tour planning. The participants were 66 college students, and a quasi-experimental research design was employed. This study examined the differences in the learning performance and project performance between participants using the web map mind tool (the experimental group) and ordinary Internet search engines (the control group). The results indicate the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group in terms of both learning performance and project performance. In addition, we found that the students in the two groups held a positive learning attitude toward the project activity of tour planning. In terms of students' attitude toward the use of a mind tool, this study only conducted a survey for the experimental group. The results indicated that learners in the experimental group held a positive attitude toward the use of the web map mind tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School websites are providing education settings with the opportunity to transform and enhance the schooling experience. However, the perceived importance of school websites and the resources invested in developing and maintaining them varies considerably across settings. There is a need to better understand what constitutes an effective website that provides a school with an avenue for delivering innovation in teaching and learning, and complements how a school operates. This study reviewed school websites, specifically how 30 south Australian schools used their website as a teaching learning portal, to support administrative operations and as a marketing platform. Three key questions framed the research. First, what variables should be examined to establish how schools are using their website. Second, what constitutes an engaging and useful school website, and finally what development framework can be devised to assist schools to map their website's strengths and areas requiring further development. The evaluation criteria addressed website design, purpose, content and technology integration. Indicators of progressive and emergent school websites were identified through a deductive content analysis of the websites, which informed a proposed website development framework. The framework and suggested recommendations promote a holistic approach when developing a website to accurately portray a school's identity and effectively address stakeholders' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysing the structure of a social network can help us understand the key factors influencing interaction and collaboration in a virtual learning community ( VLC). Here, we describe the mechanisms used in social network analysis ( SNA) to analyse the social network structure of a VLC for teachers and discuss the relationship between face-to-face and online collaborations. In contrast to previous research applying SNA to analyse measuring indexes alone, we emphasise the mechanisms combining SNA, questionnaires, content analysis and focus group interviews-the key methodology to analyse complex interaction in a VLC. On this basis, we present an analysis model for teachers' VLC and apply it to a teachers' VLC known as ' IRIS'. The study participants comprised 172 K12 teachers aged between 25 and 55 years. This study collected collaboration data from 2006 to 2012 and analysed the social network structure using sociograms, centrality, cohesive subgroups, clique phenomenon, and matrix correlation of SNA. These findings suggest that face-to-face and online collaborations are both indispensable in teaching and in research and continuously supplement and remedy each other in professional development. Moreover, the model succeeded in accessing, describing and analysing the social network structure of a VLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valid, accessible, reusable methods for instructional video game design and embedded assessment can provide actionable information enhancing individual and collective achievement. Cyberlearning through game-based, metaphor-enhanced learning objects ( CyGaMEs) design and embedded assessment quantify player behavior to study knowledge discovery and application. CyGaMEs is grounded by analogical reasoning theory, cognitive task analysis and knowledge representation. A construct representation argument for validity using evidence-centered design warrants CyGaMEs, its web-based learning environment, Selene: A Lunar Construction GaME, its embedded assessment, and a learning dynamics approach to student, measurement and statistical models. Two studies ( US volunteers, Study 1: n = 267, mean ( M)age = 15; Study 2: n = 90, Mage = 12) cross-validate learning dynamics (learner progress, rate of progress and changes in that rate) for Selene's multidimensional goals while players learn and apply standard-based science about fundamental geology and space science concepts. Gameplay data analyzed using regression, calculus and hierarchical linear modeling exhibit overall relatively high standardized rates of progress toward each goal statistically higher than zero. For example, adjusting for nesting within individual players, average rate of progress toward the goal of accreting lunar mass is a z-score of 1.4 (99% confidence interval = 1.40lower, 1.48upper) or 1.4 standard deviations above zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the integration of augmented reality (AR) technologies to assist student learning of socioscientific topics. It states the development of mobile devices allows for mobile AR environments to provide information overlaying environments or virtual objects to augment learning experiences. It mentions an educational activity in South Korea using Android tablet computers to scan two-dimensional bar codes in a simulation of a school located around 12 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the earthquake to determine what the radiation levels would have been one day after the hydrogen gas explosion. It talked about activities using the data concerning the impact of nuclear pollution and remediation of polluted soil and examines AR use in education.

The article discusses competence management systems (CMS) created to register competencies in the European textile and clothing sector, with particular focus given to their multicultural nature. The use of CMS by employers and vocational education and professional training providers is commented on, and the assertion that they increase transparency and partnership between educators and employers is examined. The challenges of fairly assessing competencies are also touched on.

The article focuses on the use of mobile devices to support printed books in learning. It suggests that compared to mobile technologies, traditional distance education technologies such as television and radio are limited in mobility and the lack of interaction opportunities between learners and teachers. It mentions that disadvantages of mobile learning devices include small screen size and keypads, along with reduced effectiveness and performance when scrolling through text-intensive information on a small screen. It talks about the use of 2D bar code technologies to allow easy use of multimedia content such as audio, video, and pictures to support learning from printed textbooks.

The article focuses on the effective use of educational technology in the presentation of news articles. It states that the "New York Times" (NYT) newspaper is allowing schools to subscribe for exact digital replicas of the NYT newspaper, and argues that the format doesn't fully utilize educational technology for news presentation. It suggests that electronic newspapers should be designed for a graphic user interface. It mentions that the perception of pictures is the basis of cognition and development and that the use of pictures in education increases interactivity and gives the knowledge a higher order of relevance. It comments on the incorporation of news into maps using hyperlinks and RSS feeds.

This is the report of a five month study, undertaken by Sundridge Park Training Technologies in association with Guildford Educational Services to assess the potential of smart card technology to support learning and the management of learning... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CACTUS project was concerned with command and control training of large incidents where public order may be at risk, such as large demonstrations and marches. The training requirements and objectives of the project are first summarized justifying the use of knowledge-based computer methods to support and extend conventional training techniques. The software designs are based on a world model in which crowd groups and police units are placed on a digitized map and have probabilistic rules that govern their interactive behaviour. The simulation runs as a decision-making exercise that can include pre-event logistic planning, incident management, and debriefing evaluation. A key feature is the flexibility of the software, for it provides not only a working simulation but also a methodology and software tools for customizing programs to suit particular circumstances and training needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of online discussion boards has grown extensively in the past 5 years, yet some researchers argue that our understanding of how to use this tool in an effective and meaningful way is minimal at best. Part of the problem in acquiring more cohesive and useful information rests in the absence of a comprehensive, theory-driven metric to assess quality and effectiveness. Based on an extensive review of the research, the following variables were used to assess traditional discussion board use: thread, location of message within thread, author (student vs. educator), subject line clarity, time of posting, response time from previous message, number of times message was read, number of words, primary purpose, message quality, difficulty level of topic, knowledge level, processing level and use of external resources. These variables proved to be effective in assessing 12 key areas of discussion board use. It is argued that this kind of metric is essential if we wish to advance our understanding of online discussion boards for both educators and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the benefits of Internet-based teaching in higher education particularly the use of the module Medical Microbiology. Average attendance of the three cohorts in the study; Increase in the mean examination mark for the cohorts during the study period; Flexibility in the use of time using the method of delivery.

The Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and a short form of the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI) were administered to students who were taking electronically delivered courses in computer science. The constituent structure of the CEQ was preserved in this distinctive context, and a second–order factor analysis confirmed its role as an index of perceived academic quality. The students’ scores on the individual scales of the CEQ and the ASI shared nearly two–thirds of their variance. In short, approaches to studying in electronically delivered courses are strongly associated with students’ perceptions of the academic quality of those courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a tool for the authoring of adaptive CAL courses, called "Dynamic Courseware Generator" (DCG). It generates an individual course according to the learner's goals and previous knowledge, and dynamically adapts the course according to the learner's success in acquiring knowledge. The DCG runs on a WWW server. The learner receives from this server an individualised course targeted to a specified goal. Afterwards, s/he is adaptively guided by the course through a space of teaching materials on the WWW. Unlike other CAL courses on the WWW, a course produced by the DCG is interactive, it tests the learner's knowledge and dynamically adapts to the student's progress. The authoring tool can be used also for collaborative authoring and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the value of educational technology in improving student learning. It comments on Professor Emeritus Tom Reeves' conclusion that the impact of technology on improving learning outcomes was very modest at most and cited three literature reviews to defend his perspective. It talks about the role of educational technologists in promoting technology adoption and comments on how information and communication technologies make new demands on students. It mentions the benefit of computer-based technologies in overcoming physical barriers such as distance education or constitute the curriculum content such as with information literacy.