Astronomy is one of the few sciences where the data (star-light) can be seen by all. Yet, there is a disconnect between a typical undergraduate lecture and, for example, where a planet may be in the sky and how to observe it. With the advent of moderate cost, high-quality 'back-garden' astronomy, and standard computers powerful enough to produce…

This open access book provides related theories, methods, strategies, and practical cases for implementing education reform through blended learning in curriculum, program, and institutions in the digital age. It sums up the research and practice achievements of blended learning from different research teams, involving more than 20 experts from…

This article discusses the planning and initial research behind the design of an online support community for pre-service teachers. This community is initially being designed to support pre-service teachers with their technology integration efforts during their student teaching experiences, but may also grow to serve special teaching cohorts in…

In today's world where tuition fees continue to rise rapidly and the demand for higher education increases in both the developing and developed world, it is important to find additional and alternative learning pathways that learners can afford. Traditional education as we have known it has begun to change, allowing for new parallel learning…

Open educational resources (OERs) have the potential to reduce costs, improve quality, and increase access to educational opportunities. OER development and deployment is one path that could contribute to achieving education for all. This article builds on existing information and communication technology (ICT) implementation plans in Africa and…

The aim of AgShare is to create a scalable and sustainable collaboration of existing organizations for African publishing, localizing, and sharing of science-based teaching and learning materials that fill critical resource gaps in African MSc agriculture curriculum. Shared innovative practices are emerging through the AgShare projects, not only…

This paper explores peer-to-peer teaching and learning at a postgraduate level using the example of two NVivo workshops run by geography postgraduate students. The workshops took place in March and May 2011 and feedback was collected from all attendees in both sessions. This paper aims to provide a practical guide to organizing and facilitating…

The Educational Innovation Incubator is an electronic classroom designed to evolve at the University of Central Missouri. This newly enacted endeavor is a place for faculty and students to combine the scholarship of teaching and learning into their courses by experimenting with the latest technologies in education. This paper describes the process…

What if your professional learning community was available 24 hours a day, every day of the year? Would you like to have a place to share lesson plans, student work, a new curriculum, and to provide a discussion forum for all stakeholders? You can, even with only a basic understanding of technology. The authors explain how they created an online…

A significant dilemma for the health and human service professions continues to be the question of how best to bridge the divide between academic research and practice. Communities of practice have traditionally been a vehicle for collaborative research and for information exchange (Moore, 2008). Through collaboration, communities of practice have…

Purpose: This paper aims to demonstrate how an institutional learning, teaching and assessment (LTA) strategy was developed and a "dynamic" strategy created in order to achieve the ongoing enhancement of the quality of the student learning experience. Developing LTA strategies that foster ongoing engagement and provide inspiration to…

It is proposed to establish an Integrated Distance Education System in India by designing modern technology based information communication network, connecting all its ODL (Open and Distance Learning) institutions to the headquarters of the ODL system in India. The principle roles to be performed by such a system have been discussed; according to…

As part of the research carried out at the University of California, Santa Barbara's Center for Information Technology and Society (CITS), the Paper Authentication and Integrity Research (PAIR) project was launched. We began by investigating how one recent technology affected student learning outcomes. One aspect of this research was to study the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Opencast Community, a global community of individuals, institutions, and commercial stakeholders exchanging knowledge about all matters relevant in the context of academic video and promoting projects in this context. It also gives an overview of the most prominent of these projects, Opencast…

East Carolina University recently hosted the first Virtual Worlds in Education Conference, a meeting held entirely in Second Life. The conference provided 135 faculty and administrators from around the world the ability to communicate and share their experiences on teaching, learning, and technology support in an online, multi-user virtual…