This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest Community College Research Center (CCRC) research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Strategies for Increasing Student Success," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the CCRC Assessment of Evidence…

In this paper the authors analyse the design and implementation of a course about learning management systems (LMS). The course was first given in Cuba and then in Guatemala and Peru, within the project USo+I: "Universidad, Sociedad e Innovacion, Mejora de la pertinencia de la educacion en las ingenierias de Latinoamerica" financed by…

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP), created by the Texas Legislature in 2003, called for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to establish a pilot project to "immerse" schools in technology by providing a wireless mobile computing device for each teacher and student, technology-based learning resources, training for teachers to integrate…

Background: Telerehabilitation is the remote delivery of rehabilitation services via information technology and telecommunication systems. There have been a number of studies that have used videoconferencing to assess speech and language skills in people with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. However, few studies have focused on cases…

The effectiveness of a behavioral skills training (BST) package to teach the implementation of the first three phases of the picture exchange communication system (PECS) was evaluated with 3 adults who had no history teaching any functional communication system. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness…

Over the period 2006-2008, the Dutch Open Universiteit Nederland conducted an experiment in which Open Educational Resources (OER) were offered in an effort to bridge the gap between informal and formal learning and to establish a new style of entry portal to higher education with no barriers at all. OpenER received considerable attention both in…

The case histories of water and sanitation schemes described in this volume can best be understood by identifying the moments at which critical hurdles were encountered and surmounted. The first case study, which concerns Bangladesh, discusses promising prospects that existed amid the pollution and the technical and managerial expansion of the…

This article reviews evidence regarding the role of speech-generating devices (SGDs) and talking word processing software in supporting independent spelling in children with autism. Two studies support the importance of assessing the relative benefits of feedback modes for individual learners with autism rather than assuming SGDs should supply…

Over a three month period in spring 2004, The British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education (BAALPE) and New Media (a PLATO Learning Company) researched and evaluated models for harnessing ICT in physical education (PE). The project developed a unique ICT infrastructure for two PE departments to evaluate the impact of ICT on…

Within the Third Annual Cycle of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) User Behaviour Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, six small-scale action research interventions were undertaken in further education (FE) institutions. The aims of these interventions were two-fold: (i) to develop understanding of the facilitators and barriers to the…

The present paper describes the impact and evaluation of two intervention components--a video with group discussion and an interactive computer-tailored program--in order to encourage adolescents to register their organ donation preference. Studies were conducted in school during regular school hours. The video with group discussion in class had a…

Successfully integrating computers into colleges and universities continues to be a significant challenge. This article describes an undergraduate Mobile Computing Program at Seton Hall University, a private Catholic university in New Jersey, covering the period of Fall 1998 through Spring 2000, with survey analysis being completed in 2001.…

Changing technology creates a need for additional computer-related training. A quasi-experimental study tested a theoretical framework that maintained that a playful pre-training software intervention and an individual difference, microcomputer playfulness (MCP), would combine to influence computer-related performance. Results demonstrated that…

In 2002, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) initiated an innovative and ambitious program for improving student learning through the effective use of instructional technology. Until that point, most technology projects in schools were geared toward integrating technology into the curriculum, and they tended to focus on…

Although computers and network technology have been widely utilised to assist students learn, few technical supports have been developed to help hearing-impaired students learn in Taiwan. A significant challenge for teachers is to provide after-class learning care and assistance to hearing-impaired students that sustain their motivation to…