This study was designed to examine the effects of the competency (low vs. high) and interaction type (proactive vs. responsive) of pedagogical agents as learning companions (PALs) on learning, self-efficacy, and attitudes. Participants were 72 undergraduates in an introductory computer-literacy course who were randomly assigned to one of four…

In Hong Kong and Canada, indeed globally, slogans about learning to learn and teaching for 21st-century knowledge and skills are common. However, there are few examples of how teacher education courses or programs are responding to these new demands. In this paper, we propose a framework for designing teacher education premised on the theoretical…

Educational authorities in many developed countries are funding the development of online environments that aim to facilitate teacher professional learning through collegial, reflective sharing of practice. But is this a case of "if we build it they will come"? Are teachers ready to share ideas and experiences in online communities of…

The purpose of this study was to measure pre-service teachers' attitudes toward information technology (IT) after completing a discrete IT course taught in a student centred-learning (SCL) environment during laboratory sessions. Evidence from this study suggests that there was a positive shift in the participants' attitudes toward IT. Pre-test…

There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e-learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e-learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges,…

This article presents the learnings from PASP, the Priority Action Schools Program expressed in the meta-evaluation "Knowing Makes the Difference". PASP, jointly supported by the NSW Department of Education and Training and the NSW Teachers Federation, was designed to provide intensive support to 74 schools with concentrations of…

In 1980, the U.S. Congress charged the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a mission to lead development of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for all of its citizens. Joseph Bordogna, deputy director of NSF, reaffirmed the agency's commitment to the mission when he stated that NSF needs to broaden participation in the…

This article examines some of the social, technical, and economic issues encountered in the implementation of an educational technology at an Australian regional university. Reference is made to the implementation of the videoconferencing network at Central Queensland University (CQU). In late 1996 when the implementation process was completed the…

A considerable amount of the effort and enthusiasm that goes into the development and implementation of technology-mediated learning environments often fails to create effective settings for learning. Too often the opportunities and advantages of the use of technology in the learning process are poorly exploited. This paper explores ways in which…

Sense and nonsense is abound in human performance technology (HPT). There is no single cause of the abundance of nonsense. However, there is a reason that nonsense is more abundant than sense. The reason is that any principle has a specific domain of applicability. Within that domain it is sense. Outside that domain it is nonsense. Some…

How many times have you attended a marathon training class only to return to your job and promptly forget what you learned? How many times have you programmed your VCR, only to find yourself searching for the manual six months later? The reality is that humans accumulate a vast amount of life experience and knowledge. Adult learning theory…

Private supplementary tutoring has long been a major phenomenon in parts of East Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. In recent times it has grown dramatically in other parts of Asia and in Africa, Europe and North America. The factors underlying the growth of private tutoring vary, but in all settings it has major…

The purpose of the study was to assess the relative effectiveness of print, sign, and pictures in the transfer of reading-related information to children who are deaf. By means of personal computers, deaf children were presented CD-ROM-generated stories in four different formats: print only, print plus pictures, print plus sign language, and print…

This paper reports a qualitative study on students' informal reasoning on a controversial socio-scientific issue. Twenty-two students from four science classes in Norway were interviewed about the local construction of new power lines and the possible increased risk of childhood leukaemia. The focus in the study is on what arguments the students…

In many developed countries of the world, pupil attitudes to school science decline progressively across the age range of secondary schooling while fewer students are choosing to study science at higher levels and as a career. Responses to these developments have included proposals to reform the curriculum, pedagogy, and the nature of pupil…