In the context of globalization changes in educational systems, it is important to modify approaches to the educational process and introduce learning technologies that allow for maximum involvement in learning. One such technology is the technology of active learning, which engages learners through participation in the cognitive process and…

Homework assignments in engineering courses are still passive learning instruments that often appear as requirements rather than learning tools. This issue arises because the teaching team usually does not have the capabilities to provide real-time feedback, or to enable students to fix errors in a timely manner. To overcome this challenge, we…

John Dewey's "Democracy and Education" is the touchstone for a great deal of modern educational theory. It covers a wide range of themes and issues relating to education, including teaching, learning, educational environments, subject matter, values, and the nature of work and play. This "Handbook" is designed to help experts…

This design-based research project is concerned with the design, development and deployment of interactive technological learning environments to support contemporary education. The use of technologies in education often replicates instructivist positions and practices. However, the use of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (C), authentic…

Critics have been attempting to debunk the mythical retention chart at least since 1971. The earliest critics, David Curl and Frank Dwyer, were addressing just the retention data. Beginning around 2002, a new generation of critics has taken on the illegitimate combination of the retention chart and Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience--the corrupted…

The authors are attempting to set the record straight regarding the sources frequently cited in the literature of the mythical retention chart and the corrupted Dale's Cone. They point out citations that do not actually connect with relevant works; provide correct citations of sources that are often cited erroneously; add references for overlooked…

The Bachelor of Enterprise Learning is a newly accredited undergraduate degree where connectivist principles have been used to guide design of active, student-centered learning activities. A key feature of the curriculum is that it incorporates technology as both a source of information and a tool. Examples from this course are provided in this…

The research reported in this paper is part of an ongoing investigation into the design of a technology-enhanced learning environment that draws from approaches embodied in the situated learning theory. In this learning context, Second Life machinima (animated artefact filmed in a 3D virtual environment) is used as an anchor to mediate authentic…

Eighteen scholarly papers and fifteen abstracts comprise the content of the seventeenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Conference, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship.…

The 2006 National Science Board called for new strategies and instructional materials for teachers to better serve English Learners' (EL) needs. Bilingual Collaborative Online Projects in science were created to assist ELs' construction of science knowledge, facilitate academic English acquisition, and improve science learning. Two bilingual…

Student teachers learned about teaching principles with the help of an instructional program that included classroom animation exemplars, where expert teachers demonstrate how to apply teaching principles to a classroom scenario. Some students learned by solely observing the classroom animations, whereas others were presented with the expert's…

This case study examines the learning, identity and language development experienced by "overage" 8th-grade students who have been left behind two or more years in their New York City middle school and are participating in an extended-day video documentary program. The students practise a range of literacy skills naturally embedded in…

Utilization of technology in secondary schools is varied and depends on the training and interest of the individual instructors. Even though technology has advanced way beyond its utilitarian roots of being viewed solely by educators as a useful machine for teachers to key exams and worksheets on, there are still many secondary educators who still…

This paper describes two empirical studies which investigated the importance for spatial learning of view control and object manipulation within 3D environments. A 3D virtual chemistry laboratory was used as the research instrument. Subjects, who were university undergraduate students (34 in the first study and 80 in the second study), undertook…

Case method teaching is a method of instruction that can improve the cognitive learning process. This method is used extensively in face-to-face classes. However, when it is applied to a distance education class in an online asynchronous environment, learning outcomes may differ. This article reports on a study that compares the use of case method…