It is generally thought that evaluation originated with the civil service exams that were administered in ancient China. However, modern evaluation and, of particular importance to this article, evaluation standards, originated in the United States. Why this occurred is part of a larger question about the development of social and educational…

This article proposes a new way of conceptualizing workplace learning as distributed systems of appropriation, development and the use of practice-relevant generalizations fixed within mediational artifacts. This article maintains that these systems change historically as technology and increasingly sophisticated forms of production develop.…

This study revisits a classic yet still intriguing question regarding information technology (IT): what difference does IT "really" make, in terms of people's thinking? In order to explore this question, the effects of IT in authentic research settings were studied through retrospective interviews with 24 academic researchers. Analysis of the…

In the world of university IT, change seems like a near constant. What is left out of the process of evaluating past change and planning for future change is the need to pose questions about the culture of technology change in the university, how much change should be tolerated, and what imperatives should drive this change. A clearer…

Performance measurement can be a difficult political as well as technical challenge for educational institutions at all levels. Performance-based budgeting can raise the stakes still higher by linking resource allocation to a public "report card." The 23-campus system of the California State University (CSU) accepted each of these…

Colleges and public universities must stay abreast of rapid changes in the application of information technology, typically on very limited budgets. Additionally, students increasingly expect faculty to apply bleeding-edge technology in the classroom and integrate it into the curriculum. This article briefly notes prevailing literature related to…

Engagement in communities of practice has increasingly come to be seen as an important aspect of adult learning. Participation within such communities is thought to provide a dialogic space in which learning can take place. These ideas are increasingly being applied to the work of teachers, lecturers, and trainers. This reflective paper addresses…

Technology Roadmapping is a consensus-driven process to identify, evaluate, and select technology alternatives to satisfy the needs of a particular group of people. It serves as a high-level planning tool to support the development, implementation, and communication of technology development strategies and plans. The outcome of a technology…

An important aim of the vocational educational and training system is to improve the employability and employment outcomes of students. The TAFE Student Outcomes Survey allows an investigation of the factors associated with employability of different individuals. Significantly for policy makers, it provides data on the course of study undertaken…

Some of the most important challenges for engineering schools at the beginning of the 21st century are summarised as well as the role of ERASMUS Thematic Networks (TN) in this scenario. Though focus is mainly given to the European environment, the changes which are interesting Engineering Education appear to involve also the non-European sphere…

In this article, the author explores some examples in which mathematics has given people a better perspective on their lives. Mathematics gives people work purpose, pointing them in new directions, opening new avenues for exploration and understanding. The more they understand, the better they can compute and the more elegant their designs,…

E-learning is in a rather extraordinary position. It was born as a "tool" and now finds itself in the guise of a somewhat wobbly arrow of change. In practice, changing the way thousands of teachers teach, learners learn, innovation is promoted and sustainable change in traditional institutions is achieved across hundreds of different…

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) represent a crucial force for cultural change in both education and society and possible transitions between old and new learning as well as social values. This is especially so in East Asia, where the young have informally embraced ICTs but learn in formal contexts often still dominated by…

This article is an interview with Tu Hui regarding the relative merits of "returnees" and "indigens". Tu Hui is currently chief products inspector at the Anyi Software company and one of the many indigens engaged in Information Technology. In this article, he states that, "the weakness of the indigens sometimes lies in…

"Sea turtle" and "seaweed"--otherwise known as "returnee from abroad" and "unemployed from abroad," respectively-- are a pair of popular new terms that are innately connected. In this article, the author discusses the common plight faced by "sea turtles" and "seaweeds" who returned from…