This collaborative inquiry project brought together 14 Chinese Language teachers, 4 researchers and 2 Ministry of Education (MOE) curriculum specialists to co-design the Chinese Language curricula with the integrated use of information and communication technology (ICT). Three qualitative data sources--one-to-one interviews, focus group…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary discussion forums in a higher education setting. Specifically, we examined intrinsic forum participation and investigated its relation to course performance across two experiments. In Experiment 1 (N = 1284) an online discussion forum was implemented at the beginning of an…

In this paper, we present a framework for the development of collaborative design games that can be employed in participatory design sessions with students for the design of educational applications. The framework is inspired by idea generation theory and the design games literature, and guides the development of board games which, through the use…

This paper reports an exploratory study on Singapore secondary and primary school students' perceptions and behaviors on using a variety of Chinese input methods for Chinese composition writing. Significant behavioral patterns were uncovered and mapped into a cognitive process, which are potentially critical to the training of students in…

This is an action research to develop an E-Dictionary for the use with Maharah al-Qiraah (Reading skills) textbook at a matriculation centre. The research attempts to answer four research questions: a) What is the database model for an electronic dictionary using Microsoft Access for the use with Maharah al-Qiraah textbook? b) What are the…

Open education resources (OER) are taking centre-stage in many higher educational institutions globally, driven by the need to raise institutional profiles, improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning and achieve universal access to education. Many academics attracted to the idea of turning teaching materials into OER have, however, found…

This preliminary investigation examined the effects of a computerized supplemental reading program on the oral reading fluency, reading growth rates, and comprehension of 8 African American first graders. Participants were selected for this study according to scores within risk categories on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills…

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.…

A well-known experiment for the measurement of the acceleration of gravity is carried out on a personal computer using standard software for a sound card in a non-canonical way, which provides an improved, more accurate, result and is a useful teaching method for a traditional classroom experiment. (Contains 3 figures and 1 footnote.)

Two cycles of design-based research of a cognitive tool (CT) for teaching fractions have been completed. Following the success of a quasi-experimental study of the enhanced CT derived from the second cycle of design-based research, this article reports the findings of a pre-test-post-test control group empirical study using the enhanced CT in the…

Most instructional designers work in busy offices in which they are required to complete their work as quickly and efficiently as possible amidst a multitude of distractions. This work environment precludes opportunities for reflection, a term which traditionally denotes and connotes a contemplative mode of thought that thrives in conditions of…

In this article, the author reports the appointment of Zina Watkins to the Office of Correctional Education. Zina Watkins is a recent graduate of the prestigious Presidential Management Fellows Program--a program designed to bring the best and brightest to federal service. He also relates how pleased he was for receiving an invitation to…

This article describes an online experience that has not only created a fantasy world for the general public but has enabled some tech-savvy educators to create virtual educational opportunities. Second Life, or SL, is a 3-D Internet-based virtual world created by Linden Lab and populated by nearly 1,000,000 active users worldwide since 2003.…

While the author was searching the web, he came across an article by Michael Keyton of IMSA (Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy) called "Theorems of mystery". The phrase is Keyton's own, and he defines such a theorem as "a result that has considerable structure with minimal hypotheses." The simplest of his 10 examples is one that many…

This paper discusses the pedagogical and technological aspects of assessing wiki-based collaborative learning activities. The first part of the paper presents a general framework of collaborative learning assessment. The framework is based on four aspects of assessment, characterized by four questions: who, what, how and by whom. The second part…