This yearbook focuses on technology, its power to improve education from within and without its boundaries, and its fiscal impacts. Eleven chapters are organized in three major sections that address: policy changes facing the global village (chapters 1-3); national and state issues (chapters 4-6); and curriculum, training, and local development…

This study examines recent initiatives in the Irish Republic to integrate ICT into the primary school system. The study includes an analysis of the social, political and educational background to past initiatives, both government and teacher-led, to make more use of ICT in the general school system over the past 30 years. The government's…

Under the old system of trade skills education, instruction was delivered largely through kinesthetic methods. Currently, however, secondary and postsecondary trade skills education programs institutions in Australia and elsewhere are changing their educational emphasis from traditional skills to more technology-based skills. This shift raises the…

In the fall of 2003, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) commissioned the Metiri Group to conduct a national survey on the first year of implementation of the No Child Left Behind, Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education through Technology program. The findings in this report represent 46 states and the District of…

In spite of ten campuses spread over four islands, access to higher education at the University of Hawai'i (UH) is unevenly distributed across the state. In an effort to address the problem of access, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has funded the University of Hawai'i to develop online courses and programs. In this article, the author describes…

This qualitative study examined the use of WebQuests as a teaching tool in problem-based elementary methods courses. We explored the potential of WebQuests to address three dilemmas faced in teacher education: (a) modeling instruction that is based on current learning theory and research-based practices, (b) providing preservice teachers with…

Professional development for teachers in information and communication technology (ICT) is currently a major priority for school systems in Australia and internationally. The metacognitive and reflective approach to professional development described in this paper is a response to the limitations of directive approaches to ICT learning within a…

Support for Teachers Enhancing Performance in Schools (STEPS) is a World Wide Web and CD-ROM electronic performance support system (EPSS) designed for preK-12 and preservice educators to assist in designing and developing lessons, units, or curricula; this tool was developed around school reform and accountability initiatives in Florida. To…

This paper describes a graduate-level scientific/academic writing course for non-native speakers (NNS) of English at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), Israel, which is taught in a technology-enhanced or blended learning environment. The use and integration of electronic discourses, such as email and Powerpoint, on-screen marking…

Through a modified Delphi study, an expert panel identified 62 concepts organized in eight issue categories that impact administrative decisions as higher education institutions commit to implementing distance education courses and programs. Using a mail survey, 62 department chairs in Colleges of Agriculture in Land-Grant Universities ranked the…

Much has been written about the effectiveness of face-to-face (F2F) versus online (OL) courses, and comparisons of learning and retention across both media, but less has been targeted toward important tactical and strategic considerations. Having little formal guidance to manage the transition to offering a portion of their university courses and…

This volume presents the 51st Yearbook of the National Reading Conference. Included in this volume are 28 research reports, six invited and award-winning addresses, and a conference summary by Deborah Dillion. Readers will find quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies throughout the volume about topics ranging from early literacy…

The National Reading Conference (NRC) Yearbook represents an archive of conference reports that have undergone the rigorous review that research demands, as well as an indicator of topics, ideas and concerns that occupied participants during the annual conference. With this 52nd volume of the Yearbook, the editors hope the reader finds a broad…

This volume presents the 54th Yearbook of the National Reading Conference (NRC). The 2004 NRC conference, set in San Antonio, took place against a political backdrop in which the nature and substance of literacy research has become suspect. Given the current state of politically-driven research agendas, the focus of the 54th annual NRC…

For the twenty-fifth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. This is Volume 2 of the 25th Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers On the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology Presented at The National Convention…