This interpretive case study explores an attempt to add an online component--the On-line Literacy Project--to a successful face-to-face professional development community. Participants were six members of the Literacy Project, which was carried out in the school board of a western Canadian city. The principal theoretical framework informing the…

Given the abundance of open education initiatives that aim to make educational assets freely available online, the time seems ripe to explore the potential of open education to transform the economics and ecology of education. Despite the diversity of tools and resources already available--from well-packaged course materials to simple games, for…

This study was designed to determine the degree of use, level of client satisfaction of professional development and educational services, and to identify suggestions for improving services. Results from a mixed methodology approach indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction in two program areas and moderate to high levels of…

This article focuses on an evaluation of the impact of an innovative instructional design of internships in view of a new integrated pharmaceutical curriculum. A key innovative element was the implementation of a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. Students were, as part of their formal curriculum, expected to work in a…

Background/Context: This study builds upon research on teacher professional communities and high school restructuring reforms. It employs a conceptual framework that draws upon theories of "community of practice" and "community of learners." Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study analyzes how teachers' professional inquiry…

Context: Founded in 1971 with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota, the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has graduated 1,175 students. Third-year medical students are assigned to primary care physicians in rural communities for 9 months where they experience the realities of rural practice with…

California University of Pennsylvania developed Project Technology Education Curriculum Help (TECH) for two school districts in Western Pennsylvania. Six objectives were achieved: (1) organized two pilot school districts to serve as curriculum models in technology education for other schools throughout the commonwealth; (2) established California…

This report presents brief descriptions of exemplary programs validated by the National Diffusion Network (NDN) and approved for national dissemination by the Joint Dissemination Review Panel, which focus specifically on the effective use of technology in education. As exemplary projects called Developer Demonstrators, 12 of the programs described…

Significant findings are presented from a study conducted to ascertain what work tasks a university's Industrial Technology (IT) graduates were performing, their salaries, and their curriculum evaluations. More than half were involved in 20 people-oriented work tasks; respondents indicated that vital interpersonal skills should be emphasized in IT…

Failure to account for the cost and depreciation of capital leads to suboptimal investments in education, specifically to excessively capital intensive instructional technologies. This type of error, which is particularly serious when planning for developing countries, can be easily avoided. (Author)

The first step toward the renaissance of the small school must be the determination of its inherent strengths and the identification of its structural weaknesses. Steps can then be taken to build program and procedures on those strengths, while at the same time devising expedients to reduce if not eliminate the weaknesses. However, it should be…

Describes a truck and bus mechanics program at Mid-Florida Technical Institute in Orlando that has successfully used an individual learning system for over two years. The 1,350-hour (two-year) course utilizes learning activity packets (LAPs) over three levels of achievement. Information provided on job placement and salaries indicates the…

Briefly describes the creation and evolution of Unesco's General Information Programme; the integration of the information, library, and archives components; the changes in emphasis to respond to evolving needs; and current challenges and adjustments to budgetary limitations. (Author/CLB)

Robert Burns wrote: "The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry". This could be considered the motto of most educational innovation. The question that arises is not so much why some innovations fail (although this is very important question), but rather why other innovations succeed? This study investigated the success factors of…

This report presents results from the fifth annual survey of Advanced Technological Education (ATE) projects, centers, and articulation partnerships. ATE has approximately 220 active awards. Of these, 163 ATE-funded projects, centers, and articulation partnerships were asked to participate in the 2004 survey. During the survey administration…