One of the most explosive areas of growth in the field of higher education is currently in emerging international markets. In developing nations, lack of access to high-quality teachers and educational materials is often the key obstacle preventing students from gaining the skills and knowledge they need to pursue new opportunities and advance in…

The authors present this interview with Joshua Kim, Director of Digital Learning Initiatives at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL). Dr. Kim leads Dartmouth College's efforts around online learning and digital innovation for teaching and learning. He is a well-known conference speaker and consultant in the area of…

Over the past few decades, information and communications technology (ICT) has been used in changing the traditional education system. It has helped to improve the quality of education and the overall teaching-learning process. Unfortunately, many teachers still do not use ICT effectively; or, even if they use ICT, it is not integrated into their…

Technology has enabled a proliferation of publication venues for disseminating academic work. The task of evaluating the relative quality of each of these venues is simultaneously exacerbated and resolved by the use of new technologies. In this article, the authors propose a three-pronged framework for evaluating the quality of scholarly work that…

The status of educational technology research in a VUCA world is examined. The acronym, VUCA, stands for "Volatility" (rapidly changing contexts and conditions), "Uncertainty" (information missing that is critical to problem solving), "Complexity" (multiple factors difficult to categorize or control), and…

Speeding past the Steve Jobs Post-PC Era into the Age of Mobilism, the authors foresee how, by 2015, each and every student in America's K-12 classrooms will be using their own mobile computing device, with those devices engendering the most disruptive transformation in education in 150 years. Classrooms will move from today's "I Teach"…

In this regular feature of "Educational Technology," Michael F. Shaughnessy and Mark Viner present their interview with Curt Bonk, Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and President of CourseShare; and Elaine Khoo, Research Fellow at the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton,…

This article employs a variety of theoretical lenses to describe the nature and ramifications of the Digital Divide, which, the author states, continues to remain one of the biggest social challenges to confront the human race in modern times--even as technological advances, globalization, and other socioeconomic shifts are rendering digital media…

Smart object technology allows users to know something in real time about the physical objects in their presence. Each object, from cereal boxes to skyscrapers, becomes a source of information with which users can interact. Through a series of usage scenarios, the article explores the potential impact of smart objects on learning in formal and…

The "Semantic Web" is an idea proposed by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the "World Wide Web." The topic has been generating a great deal of interest and enthusiasm, and there is a rapidly growing body of literature dealing with it. This article attempts to explain how the Semantic Web would work, and explores short-term and long-term…

Leveraging ICT to equalize access to education is critical in a world with over four billion poor people who have little access to formal education. Mainstreaming OER as a public good throughout the developing world could make an enormous contribution. The Development Gateway Foundation has established an online OER…

Four facets of the unfolding mobile open ecology in which OER will move are described. Web 2.0 is a platform harnessing collective intelligence where participation and pushing content are stimulated. Microlearning is different from e-learning, which replicated the classroom online; microlearning deals with relatively small learning units and…

This article examines from an economic perspective the ways in which Open Educational Resources (OER) can be linked to economic growth, equality of access to knowledge, and the improvement of teaching and learning. In leading economies, technology and knowledge are the critical factors of economic growth, which is a significant shift from the…

Discusses the role of education and technology in light of social justice and democratic principles. Topics addressed include technology as a medium for discourse; equal access to information; simulations and virtual reality; social learning; school reform and technology; and critical theory and educational technology. (Contains 13 references.)…

Examines the network computer, originally conceived as an alternative device to personal computers to access the Internet and World Wide Web, from a technology perspective and looks at potential uses in education. Describes network architecture; discusses uses for library research, educational technology laboratories, and distance education.…