Launched in June 2016, the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) provides access to the digital resources from across the Smithsonian's 19 museums, 9 major research centers, and the National Zoo, to be used as real-world learning experiences. It is designed to aid students in building lasting knowledge and critical skills that take learners from simply…

At a time of substantial change, globalization, and ubiquitous access to information, educators struggle to change even the most basic aspects of their classrooms. This is especially true for those in challenging contexts where many perpetuate the "mind numbing" practice of rote instruction. This paper describes a collaborative…

This white paper describes instructional approaches that apply to successful teaching with the Smithsonian "Learning Lab." After defining its use of terms such as "deeper learning" and "authentic resources" the authors review the research basis of three broad approaches that support integrating digital resources into…

This article summarizes a major e-Learning project recently funded by the National Science Council of Taiwan and envisions some of the future research directions in this area. This project intends to initiate the "Center for excellence in e-Learning Sciences (CeeLS): i[superscript 4] future learning environment" at the National Taiwan…

Integral components of today's successful business models frequently include information technology, effective collaboration, and participative teamwork among employees. It is in the best interest of students for educators to provide classrooms that reflect a profitable practitioner's environment. Students studying for careers in business should…

Computer-based tools that enable students to collect, display and analyse data in real time have catalysed the design of a laboratory curriculum that allows students to master a coherent body of physics concepts while acquiring traditional laboratory skills. This paper describes "RealTime Physics", a sequenced introductory laboratory curriculum…

The authors describe their observations, as administrators of the Personal Adult Learning Lab at the University of Georgia, about the role of educational technology in adult self-directed learning and the adult learner's reaction to technology. The ways in which the lab is using computer-assisted instruction and interactive video technology are…

Noting that assessment continues to be at the forefront of the speech communication discipline and the academy in general, this paper reflects on one speech communication department's struggle to make assessment meaningful and doable. The Speech Communications Department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock uses such "low tech"…

Focuses on three essential information stations integral to the electronic classroom: the instructor camera (information station #1), the student camera (information station #2), and the copy-stand camera (information station #3). For each, the basic issues, such as camera location, instructional function, learning mode, information quality, and…

In April 2002, the Technology Advisory Committee of the University of Hawaii-Manoa College of Education (COE) prioritized the upgrade of existing instructional computer labs. Following several weeks of research and discussion, a decision was made to support wireless and mobile technologies during the upgrade. In June 2002, the first of three…

This paper describes a National Science Foundation-sponsored project at Louisiana Technological University to develop computer-based laboratories for "hands-on" introductions to major topics of computer science. The underlying strategy is to develop structured laboratory environments that present abstract concepts through the use of…

The Center for Instructional Technology and Training was created by the Washington, DC, public schools in 1983 to provide inservice technology training free of charge to teachers, administrators, and clerical and building staff. The development of the successful program is described and sidebars report what teachers and principals say about it and…

At the Homestead Campus of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), in Florida, one barrier to fully integrating technology in the classroom was identified as the low-level of student computer skills. To address the problem, the campus undertook a project to establish a technology basic skills workshop for all students. In informal interviews to…

The Center for Applied Social Issues (CASI), at Ohio's Sinclair Community College, is an interactive environment for sociology students, providing hands-on, course-integrated opportunities for learning sociological principles. Opened in fall 1992, CASI consists of computer applications, audio-visual aids, and table-top activities that extend…

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…