In 2005, the author and several colleagues were awarded a five-year grant to create the Center of Excellence for the Advancement of New Literacies in Middle Grades at the College of Charleston. From 2006-2011, they have worked collaboratively with over 200 middle school teachers in underperforming local schools to assist them in stimulating their…

NAMLE was founded (as the Alliance for a Media Literate America) 10 years ago with a mission "to expand and improve the practice of media literacy education in the United States." There have been many successes since then, and some disappointments. The expansion of media literacy education into schools has fallen into the latter…

This article discusses how Information and Communication Technologies can support 21st century assessment strategies and what needs to be done to ensure that technological advances support and foster pedagogical innovation. Based on an extensive review of the literature, it provides an overview of current ICT-enabled assessment practices, with a…

While many institutions deliver some classes in blended format, Brandman University transitioned all of its face-to-face classes to blended delivery, using a model tailored to the needs of adult learners. This article provides research supporting the ways that blended learning principles align with key principles of andragogy. The article provides…

Across Canada and around the world, online technologies are becoming widely used and accepted as effective modes of learning. This essay traces the initial forays into teaching online classes by three Faculty of Education professors at one small Canadian university and an instructional designer/teacher who joined part-way through the research…

Discusses insights from both the instructional design community and members of research groups seeking to transform typical classrooms into "learning communities," and encourages discussion among members of these two communities. Gives an overview of frameworks for instructional design, and the principles of learning communities. (71…

This paper builds a strategy for ways in which instruction can be improved through research. The strategy is one that thinks of instructional changes as those that promise to make significant differences in instructional outcomes and then determines whether or not these changes fulfill their promises. The document cites evidence that supports the…

Ecological research methodology can assist the educational technologist in both his practical decision making responsibilities and in his more formal pursuit of theoretical understandings. Critics of traditional methodologies maintain that the validity of educational inquiry, as well as the generation and verification of educational theories, can…

This paper defines faculty development (FD), organization development (OD), and instructional development (ID), and discusses the interrelationships between them in effecting change in an institution of higher education. FD and OD provide the individual and organizational readiness necessary for adoption of an innovation, while ID focuses on the…

The proceedings of a two-day conference on individualization in Canadian high schools are summarized. Addresses from four general sessions are included in their entirety, along with 20 unedited transcripts from oral presentations at simultaneous workshops. Written comments and biographical notes from speakers precede each presentation. Topics…

In this article, the author describes the evolution of Electronic Collaborative Educational Learning Laboratory (ECELL) and shares some of the insights that she has gained over the past five years. ECELL was created as "Collaborative Learning Laboratory" for both pre-service and in-service teachers aimed at transforming the design and…

Discusses structural reforms needed to improve the present public education system and presents a strategy for effecting the needed changes. Highlights include changing educational needs in an information-oriented society; the teacher's role; learning laboratories; developmental levels; students' roles; district organization and administration;…

In 11 chapters, this book objectively looks at school restructuring on the basis of prominent reports on education; materials submitted by local schools and school systems; results from the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) survey; and interviews with local school leaders, prominent reformers, as well as several state and…

At a meeting of community/junior college officials on proposed academic redesign based on learning resource centers, various aspects of instructional development were discussed. Topics include the use of television to extend education, organizing for instructional development, bringing about change, the concept of the learning center, organizing…