This reflection provides an introduction to, and reflection on, the new text "Rethinking Problem-based Learning for the Digital Age" (Savin-Baden and Fraser, 2024). It begins by telling the story and rationale for the creation of the book and then provides an overview of the text of the whole. The next section discusses the purpose of…

Discusses the application of instructional technology to foreign-language education, and makes suggestions for ensuring that this technology is realized and integrated into learning. (JL)

Considering technology as a process of curriculum planning may lead to more effective use of it. Taking into account the curriculum orientation of teachers (intellectual traditionalist, social behaviorist, experimentalist) helps identify specific facilitators and barriers to their use of technology. (SK)

Responds to a previous article that discusses the application of instructional technology to second language instruction. The suggestion is made that there is a genuine need for language educators to become informed about and instructed in the use of the available foreign language instructional hardware and software. (JL)

One of the major challenges facing South African higher education institutions is to deal with the learning preferences and styles of an increasing diverse student population. Although much research has been conducted on the identification of learning styles theories for classroom application, little attention has been devoted to the investigation…

Ways the informational environment has changed, and how it will change in the near future are discussed. Justification of educational funding in the future must come from new notions, in light of changes brought about through new information technology. A crisis over the next decade is predicted. (MP)

Testing issues and concerns that should receive renewed and increased professional attention are highlighted. These include curriculum concerns, developmental matters; generalizability, content and format considerations, contextualization issues, and technology concerns. (JL)

We have conspired, consciously or unconsciously, to create the multimedia environments in our homes and neighborhoods. Educators must create, consciously and cautiously, a similar technologically rich, media-literate learning environment for schools. To accomplish this, they must learn to recognize the "invisible" technologies (in learning spaces,…

While the last decade has been marked by widespread advocacy for integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) across school curriculum, teachers' understandings of the nature of electronic literacies in the learning process have received far less attention. This has been the case despite the accelerated growth, miniaturisation and…

Based on practical experience in a new online beginning German course sequence, the author of this essay argues that contemporary cultural developments associated with the emergence of new technologies, particularly computer-assisted language learning, provide new opportunities to theorize German Studies curricula from the beginning level onward.…

This symposium paper is concerned with curriculum theory and development and the place of curriculum theory within the area of instructional technology. It first identifies the central questions of curriculum (e.g., what should we teach?) and discusses the implications of the resulting issues: (1) why should we teach this rather than that? (2) who…

The definition of educational technology has shifted from a focus on the organization and use of hardware and software items as a delivery system to recognizing that the introduction of technology into educational systems demands a systematic approach to enhance learning and human development. In the first definition, curriculum is the…

Six papers from the University of South Africa's Conference on Distance Education are presented. They include: "Teaching-Learning Models in Distance Education Using New Media" (Karlheinz Rebel); "Adult Learning in the Context of Development" (Jan R. Hakemulder); "Text Design in Distance Education: Print and Facilitating…

Examines four historically important pedagogical issues in the field of art education: disciplinary traditions, the computer as art medium, computer design, and curriculum design. Questions are posed for art educators as a way to encourage continued examination of these issues in order to define perspectives and contribute to computer applications…

In this article, the author provides an overview of the best instructional design and delivery practices for facilitating online courses. Many factors that contribute to effectively facilitating an online course are discussed, including student expectations and experience with technology, understanding the types of technologies used, effective…