A name for the field of instructional technology has long been debated. Terms such as learning design, educational technology, instructional systems design and learning systems have been used to describe the field over the past 100 years. With an exploration of the history of the field, this article rebrands the field as Knowledge Systems Design…

As makerspaces begin to move into school libraries and classrooms, there is a growing need for professional development to help K-12 educators answer common questions such as "what is a makerspace," "why should I bother with a makerspace," "how do I run a makerspace," and "how do I teach from a makerspace?"…

As makerspaces begin to move into school libraries and classrooms, there is a growing need for professional development to help K-12 educators answer common questions such as "what is a makerspace," "why should I bother with a makerspace," "how do I run a makerspace," and "how do I teach from a makerspace?"…

In the past 15 to 20 years there has been an increased interest in the use of games for learning. A considerable amount of work has already been done by educational researchers and theorists (Gee, Squire, Malone, Lepper, Shaffer, etc.) to identify and to operationalize the native affordances of games that make them good for learning. Unfortunately…

This article details the experience of one Educational Technology program's efforts to use the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) as an integral part of the mentoring experience for its graduate students. Outlined is how the program has held the resident doctoral seminar at annual AECT conferences and at the Summer…

Practicing teaching is an important aspect of teacher education, however, its implementation can be limited due to the constraints and risks related to practicing in actual schools. There is evidence in the literature of Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) being used as spaces for training, especially in fields where the costs associated with…

To help satisfy the pressing need for technology-related professional development for in-service teachers, the Global Academic Essentials Teacher Institute (GAETI) was implemented to provide in-service foreign language and social studies teachers with content, pedagogy, and technology explorations centered on the teaching of the Common Core State…

The American Association for School Librarians suggests an important mission for school librarians is to ensure personal growth through ongoing exposure to conferences, journal articles, webinars, presentations, and membership in professional organizations. As professional educators, School Librarians should exemplify the vision for being…

Over the last ten years, the emergence of 1:1 programs has grown increasingly in popularity. More and more schools are implementing 1:1 programs as a means for increasing student achievement and performance. In fact, few modern educational initiatives have been as widespread and costly as the integration of laptop initiatives into education. As a…

In 2007, Mary Herring, AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) President-Elect, assembled a task force to focus on issues and opportunities presented by virtual environments in the context of global leadership in professional development, research, scholarship, and practice, and the opportunity for social interaction and…

In recent years, local and global for-profit e-learning providers have expanded in Asia. A combination of factors has encouraged such development: The accelerating roll-out of technology, the availability of sophisticated learning management systems, and the high growth rates of Internet usage by the 510 million or so Asians who now represent 39%…

Initially, when discussing how to best approach the issue of examining the PT3 (Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology) projects in the context of professional development schools or K-12 collaboration, these authors first had to define what they considered to be a partnership between a college of education and a K-12 school. The concept…

This paper presents several brief papers about the process of systemic change. These are: (1) Step-Up-To-Excellence: A Protocol for Navigating Whole-System Change in School Districts by Francis M. Duffy; (2) The Guidance System for Transforming Education by Charles M. Reigeluth; (3) The Schlechty Center For Leadership In School Reform by Monica…

Technology integration is a three-pronged effort. Not only do teachers, no matter the level, need to know how to use technology, they need to know how to integrate it into their curriculum. These two prongs were a consistent theme throughout the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) projects. Add access to technology to these and…

Reflection and professional development are two key practices that characterize an effective teacher and that are frequently overlooked in preservice training (Bowles, 2003; Halen-Faber, 1997; Patrick & Reinhartz, 1999). Reflection can be defined as the type of thinking that serves to challenge notions of prior learning (Halen-Faber, 1997), and…