Literacy skills honed from reading books and writing papers has long been recognized as invaluable to building and sustaining intellect. Educators are charged with strengthening literacy programs, and they typically rely on conventional practices and increased time focusing on text-based media to do so, yet their efforts have not significantly…

Web 2.0 technologies, open source software platforms, and mobile applications have transformed teaching and learning of second and foreign languages. Language teaching has transitioned from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach through the use of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and new teaching approaches.…

Technology has enabled students to have greater access to vast array of resources, classes and experts; empowering students to become "Free Agent Learners" who are creating meaningful personalized learning experiences 24/7 outside of the traditional classroom and school structure. In the report "Creating our Future: Students Speak Up about their…

This study investigated an innovative approach of program evaluation through analyses of student learning logs, demographic data, and end-of-course evaluation surveys in an online K-12 supplemental program. The results support the development of a program evaluation model for decision making on teaching and learning at the K-12 level. A case study…

This article is the last of a three-part series on distance education. Part 1 focused on Training and Development; Part 2 on Higher Education. Distance education in the K-12 arena is often referred to as "virtual schooling" and learning through virtual schooling is one of the fastest growing areas for K-12 schools. Virtual schools offer distance…

As Taiwan's full-scale e-learning initiatives moved to the seventh year in 2009, the current status and challenges of e-learning development there are yet to be fully understood. Further extending Zhang and Hung's (2006) investigation on e-learning in all universities and colleges in Taiwan, this study investigated the after-school programs (ASPs)…

The K-12 Gas Station is a national World Wide Web site in Taiwan that serves as the educational portal that provides teachers, parents, pupils, and public communities with rich content for all subject matters in grades K-12. The K-12 Gas Station plays a critical role in the efforts to build up a technology-based learning environment to help…

This document describes what a Web portal is (i.e., a Web site that allows access to many resources and services, such as instructional materials, lessons plans, news about current events, instant messaging and e-mail, and the ability to conduct controlled searches). Several questions that school administrators need to consider related to the…

Because of its interactive and multimedia nature, the Internet has been touted as an increasingly important aspect of both elementary and secondary education. A recent survey, however, indicated that the Internet and all of its apparent potential is not often used by K-5 social studies teachers. One possible reason for this is that sorting through…

Proposes some possible ways of using an interactive whiteboard as a means of stimulating pupils' thinking and active participation. (KHR)

A small rural school in Idaho tried various forms of distance education to broaden the range of subjects offered to students. It gave up on satellite-based coursework because of high cost and synchronization problems. Correspondence courses solved the synchronization problem, but still required expensive adult supervision to keep students on task.…

This paper presents the results of a pilot study conducted to examine Web-based instructional content for mathematics. Two research questions were posed during the study: (1) how is technology being used to represent mathematical concepts online? and (2) how do the representations work together as a system? A mixed method content analysis design…

Focuses on several examples of software design that have been pedagogically successful and have demonstrated what is possible in software design and online learning. Contrasts are made with some examples of the current push into e-learning and how best to structure learning environments to ensure student participation and high quality learning…

Discusses design principles derived from the socio-cognitive theoretical framework for developing Web-based environments to support the construction of scientific knowledge through situated action. (Author/MM)

Distance education is changing the landscape of higher education and many faculty are now developing Web-based courses. This paper describes the lessons learned by the authors' experiences and research and offers a specific set of pedagogical and assessment strategies that they have found to be successful in online settings. The authors have found…