Lifelike, interactive digital characters, serving as mentors and role-playing actors, have been shown to significantly improve learner motivation and retention. However, the cost of modeling such characters, authoring and editing their interactions, and delivering them over limited-bandwidth connections can be prohibitive. This paper describes a…

This deliverable identifies key approaches for quality management in peer production by benchmarking peer production practices and processes in other areas. (Contains 29 footnotes, 13 figures and 2 tables.)[This report has been authored with contributions of: Kaisa Honkonen-Ratinen, Matti Auvinen, David Riley, Jose Pinzon, Thomas Fischer, Thomas…

This paper focuses on Greece's arts and cultural education. The main intention of the curriculum is the cultivation of pupils' creativeness and action, the production of artwork, the appreciation and awareness of cultural dimension and the contribution of art in the process of the society diachronic and synchronic. In this context, the main aims…

As corporate and higher education settings increasingly use Web 2.0 tools, the time has come to think about preparing K-12 in-service teachers to find ways in which these tools might support classroom teaching and learning goals. This article describes a graduate course designed and taught in spring 2007. Using a modeling and situated learning…

1:1 laptop programs, in which every student is provided with a personal computer to use during the school year, permit increased and routine use of powerful, user-friendly computer-based tools. Growing numbers of 1:1 programs are reshaping the roles of teachers and learners in science classrooms. At the Denver School of Science and Technology, a…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Confronting the Autism Epidemic: New Expectations for Children with Autism Means a New Role for Public Schools (Kate McKenna); (2) Internet Research 101:…

To support schools as they move into the 21st century, the Massachusetts Department of Education is developing improved systems to collect, analyze, and report data, which will ultimately allow districts to make decisions about instructional practices that will better meet students' needs. Many Massachusetts school districts are using these…

Personal Broadcasting, which includes podcasting, vodcasting, phonecasting, Webcasting, blogging, and wikis, is one of the emerging technologies that will have a significant effect on education within the next five years. This article describes the techniques used in personal broadcasting, describes how they are being used in higher education,…

According to a January 2007 survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 55 percent of teens (ages 12 to 17) report having created a personal profile online, and an equal number regularly use social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook. Of those, 91 percent use the sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently. With all…

Educators at elementary, middle, and high school levels will find that integrating digital tools and resources--many commonly used by students in their "out of school" lives--can be a springboard to creativity and new skills. In this article, the author describes how word processors, presentation software and hardware, mind-mapping applications,…

Berry College (Georgia) installed a new library computer and operating system, connected five buildings via a campus local area network (LAN), added eight faculty/staff offices to the LAN, completed an Internet connection, and has a name server operating. The college has also established e-mail and limited campus accounts for 300 of its 2,000…

The British Open University delivers distance education to over 200,000 students per year. The University has been a multimedia institution since its inception and in addition to printed materials, currently ships to students in a single year: over 34,000 special equipment kits, around one million audiocassettes, over 100,000 videocassettes, and…

There are a variety of computing tools available in educational institutions. With the knowledge of standard tools and how they can be used to compliment one another, students can gain impressive skills in information presentation. This paper describes a method for science students to use in preparing data for analysis and dissemination and…

While many tools exist for the development of individual Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) pages, few exist for the development of complete hypermedia courses. The HTML Course Creator (HCC), developed by students at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, New York), allows instructors who are not HTML experts to rapidly develop and easily maintain…

This paper focuses on the preparation for and development of a teacher education computer lab at Eastern Nazarene College (Massachusetts). Topics addressed include: (1) events leading up to the identification of the need for such a facility, including the authors' intense technology-based professional development experiences and the passing of the…