A multitude of studies has assessed the success of different technology initiatives but rarely has the focus been on special groups. This paper examines whether university students with children and those without have different perceptions of a technology initiative where students were able to acquire university sponsored laptops and were provided…

Low-cost personal computers, wireless access technologies, the Internet, and computer-equipped classrooms allow the design of novel and complementary methodologies for teaching digital information security in electrical engineering curricula. The challenges of the current digital information era require experts who are effectively able to…

This study reports how university students domesticate their personal laptops at the beginning of studies on a wireless campus. The aim was to examine how students integrate the laptop into their personal education experience, what sort of processes were experienced to render the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency…

This study explores whether university students find that laptop computers and networks increase flexibility and effectiveness of studying. Special attention has been paid to non-traditional students who have extra commitments, such as taking care of children or term-time employment. Questionnaire data was collected from students who had the…

This article provides a descriptive account of the development of an approach to the support of design and technology education with 3D Virtual Reality (VR) technologies on an open and distance learning basis. This work promotes an understanding of the implications and possibilities of advanced virtual learning technologies in education for…

The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to assumptions that guide the instructional design process when implementing and organizing network-based learning environments in practice. In this case, the situated and socially shared cognition model and participation metaphor create the guiding paradigm for collaborative learning action,…

The VETO-project is part of the National Strategy's goals for providing learning opportunities through the use of networks in vocational education in Finland. The National Board of Education, University of Tampere and Hame Polytechnic, Vocational Teacher Education College, and several vocational pilot institutes located at different regions in…

This study analyzed how students and teachers of one Finnish elementary class participated in and communicated through the Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment (CSILE) during 1997-1998. The density of the interaction within class, students' participation rates, students' position in the CSILE mediated network of interaction, and the…

Discusses a goal-oriented project, focused on open learning environments using computer networks, called Distance Learning in Multimedia Networks that was part of the Finnish Multimedia Program. Describes the combined efforts of Finnish telecommunications companies, content providers, publishing houses, hardware companies, and educational…

The mission of the NetPro European project is to develop project-based learning through the Internet. The NetPro project is creating tools and services to facilitate communication and collaboration between distant students, and to manage access and control of project deliverables. NetPro project teams form cross-institutional learning communities.…

Examines collaborative projects conducted in cooperation with teacher training and higher education institutions worldwide, offering a rationale for using electronic mail in internationally cooperative projects with schools. Electronic mail enhances teacher education by supporting constructivist approaches to learning and encouraging closer…

FODEM (FOrmative DEvelopment Method) is a design method for developing digital learning environments for widely dispersed learning communities. These are communities in which the geographical distribution and density of learners is low when compared to the kind of learning communities in which there is a high distribution and density of learners…

Audio-visual advances in virtual reality (VR) technology have given rise to innovative new ways to teach and learn. However, so far teaching and learning processes have been technologically driven as opposed to pedagogically led. This paper identifies the development of a pedagogical model and its application for teaching, studying and learning…

Today, a variety of web-based learning environments have been developed for educational purposes, especially in higher education and continuing education courses. At the same time many studies have reported how networked interaction in many learning projects results in superficial and experience-based discussion, and does not reach the level of…

The VETO project is part of the Ministry of Education national strategy to develop an Information Society Program in Finnish schools. The focus of the VETO project is to develop and identify relevant guidelines for the implementation and integration of network based education solutions in vocational schools. The purpose of this study was to…