The Educational Technology Certificate (ETC.) courses at Michigan State University are a set of three courses that can be taken as a standalone qualification or as the first three courses in the Master's of Educational Technology degree. Together, the courses emphasize the development of technology skills and advanced mindsets for technology…

Service learning is an effective instructional strategy in preservice teacher education programs for engaging students more actively in the learning process. In spite of the extensive studies on service learning in teacher education programs and courses, few studies are devoted to investigating the implementation of service learning in special…

This article explores the implementation of effective synchronous voice communication sessions within a graduate level university program in education. Through the analysis of data derived from the multiple perspectives of an instructor, graduate student, program administrator and instructional technology support person, challenges and highlights…

The John Tracy Clinic (JTC) has a long history in the development and implementation of distance education courses for parents. It began with the founder of JTC, Louise Tracy, who personally corresponded with parents of young children with hearing loss around the globe to provide them hope, guidance, and encouragement. Mrs. Tracy's correspondence…

Online or web-based peer assessment is a valuable and effective way to help the learner to examine his or her learning progress, and teachers need to be familiar with the practice before they use it in their classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to design an online peer assessment activity for 37 inservice science and mathematics…

This study investigated the impact of a project-based graduate practicum experience that was facilitated online. The study investigated the effects of the online practicum experience by: (a) using quantitative data to assess the learning and professional growth of the practicum participants in comparison to a group of teachers that did not…

This report describes a 3-week, six-credit, graduate-level summer course on teaching gifted and talented students, which was designed to change beliefs about giftedness and improve practice. Interviews with the 50 course participants (teachers, administrators, and resource persons) were conducted after course completion to determine their views…

The possibility of creating an appropriate online learning environment for distance adult students was examined in a study of 22 Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) students' attitudes regarding the online version of a course offered as part of Penn State's masters of education program. The students completed surveys before, during, and…