Search

There are movements internationally towards curricula that incorporate values and citizenship education. In Australia, this movement has been illustrated with the adoption of a national curriculum in values education. This has arisen from the perceived need for citizens to hold values around the rights and responsibilities of functioning within a democracy. The Making News Today programme has been designed to develop a range of literacies enabling learners, for example, to read the media beyond the interests of the elite. The programme incorporates a journalistic process for television news production for middle school students using laptop and handheld video technologies, with embedded ethics and values education. The article reports on an analysis of the implementation of this programme with middle school students in Australia with reference to student adoption of ethical stances in the journalistic process and the implications for the use of this project in developing ethics, values and citizenship as ...

Arguments for the use of interactive 3D simulations in education and training depend to a large extent on an implicit assumption that a more accurate and complete spatial cognitive model can be formed through active user-controlled exploration of such an environment than from viewing an equivalent animation. There is a similar implicit assumption that the viewing of animated view changes provides advantages over the viewing of static images due to the value of optical flow. The results to date, however, do not clearly support these assumptions. In particular, the findings of Peruch, Vercher, and Gauthier (1995) and Christou and Bulthoff (1999) conflict in relation to the importance of active exploration and of optical flow. This article reports the results of two studies exploring the importance of active exploration and of optical flow for spatial learning in 3D environments. The results indicate that active exploration can provide greater spatial learning than viewing of animations, but only if there is...

The past decade has seen a significant expansion of distance, open, and flexible learning as advancements in information and communication technologies have offered new opportunities for teachers a...

Driven by claims of efficacy, flexibility and resource effectiveness, higher education is increasingly utilising the Web as an instructional tool. The claims for pedagogical effectiveness are often just that – claims — and appear not to have been proven in the reality of subject presentation and evaluation. Thus, it is necessary to examine assumptions regarding the benefits of Web‐based instruction in terms of effectiveness. This article discusses aspects of an investigation which examined and compared the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS related collaborative tutorial activities carried out in both a Web‐based learning environment and a face‐to‐face class situation within an undergraduate health education subject. Effectiveness of the pedagogical strategy and the different learning environments were measured in terms of observed learning outcomes and reported perceptions of the learners regarding their learning experience. Preliminary results based on measured learning outcomes related to the subject m...

This paper describes an R&D project carried out at the University of Wollongong during 1993‐94 to explore ways in which an appropriate definition of quality management could be implemented within the institution and supported through the development of an information system. The project identified a quality management framework, developed a series of indicators of institutional performance, created a database based upon user‐defined information requirements and provided an interface to the information which could be used at all levels within the institution. While the emphasis was originally upon the role that performance indicators might play within quality management, the final outcome showed that the original conception was too limited and that a broader approach should be adopted. The project also demonstrated an information structure through which all staff might contribute to effective organisational decision‐making and operation. The paper describes both the products and the development pr...

The article looks at different ways for providing for teacher development. It makes various assumptions about alternative delivery, and looks at different cases of communication support, with examples of studies. It also looks at future developments.