An early 15th century drawing by Leonardo da Vinci depicted a device that used gears and a pendulum that moved in synchronization with the wearer as he or she walked. This is believed to be the early origins of today's physical activity monitoring devices. Today's devices have vastly expanded on da Vinci's ancient concept with a myriad of options…

When the author and his colleagues last left Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Texas' Plano Independent School District in April 2008, both school districts were immersed in the long and labored advance toward becoming a fully matured data-driven operation, one that uses sophisticated technologies to gather data, sort and interpret it, and…

Although the term data-driven decision making (DDDM) is relatively new (Moss, 2007), the underlying concept of DDDM is not. For example, the practices of formative assessment and computer-managed instruction have historically involved the use of student performance data to guide what happens next in the instructional sequence (Morrison, Kemp, &…

The increasing adoption of e-Learning technology is facing new challenges, such as how to produce student-centered systems that can be adapted to each student's needs. In this context, educational video games are proposed as an ideal medium to facilitate adaptation and tracking of students' performance for assessment purposes, but integrating the…

Despite a decade of advocacy and advances in technology, data driven decision making remains an elusive vision for most high schools. This article identifies key data systems design needs and presents methods for monitoring, managing, and improving programs. Because of its continuing salience, we focus on the issue of tracking (ability grouping).…

Of the fields on which developments related to information and communication technologies are effective will keep increasing is education. That's why the methods and techniques that have been formed over the long years may change relatively. In the past years, the field of higher education has been impacted very much from the developments and…

A major change has occurred in the way Web technology is being used in society. The change is grounded in user empowerment using Web 2.0 tools and processes. Students are already sophisticated users of these tools and processes, but outside of the mainstream instructional practices in higher education. In this reflection, the educational potential…

As the use of distance education grows, the question arises as to whether there are inherent limitations to the use of such an approach, due to the fact that learning is culturally and experientially mediated. The effective implementation of digital learning environments involves recognizing that successful teaching and learning involves students…

One of the methods moving to the fore in aligning curriculum to standards is computer-based Instructional Management Systems (IMS). Reports on the process used by the Palm Beach County School District to select and implement an IMS to improve teaching, providing some basic information which other districts or schools can use in their own search…

With the assistance of learning technology consultants in the Technology Teaching and Learning Center (TTLC) at the University of Houston-Downtown (Texas), professors have shifted their paradigms and are taking the leap to use more high-risk World Wide Web technologies in their courses. One that has become a hallmark is delivering exams via the…

Online teaching and learning has been in transition for its entire existence. The number of courses offered at a distance has grown rapidly. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (Waits & Lewis, 2003), in 2000-2001 more than 56% of four-year colleges and universities in the United States offered distance education degree…

This Technology & Innovations in Education (TIE) workshop, presented in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 2, 1997, was designed to help participants gain a valid big picture of current school technology change issues, acquire current materials, clarify their beliefs, vision, and needs for their district's technology efforts, learn strategies for…

This guide contains the following five sections: (1) Building a Sound Knowledge Base -- learning theories, societal implications of technology, multimedia and the World Wide Web (WWW), school restructuring, university teaching in the information age, distributed learning on the WWW, collaborative learning environments on the WWW, organizing and…

More than three million children in the United States participate in some type of after school program (National Study, 1993) offering wide-ranging benefits to children, their families and the community (Pederson, et al, 1998). After school programs of many descriptions provide responsible adult supervision for youth, constructive activities and…