This article reports on findings from a school-based action research project with aboriginal adolescent students attending an alternative school in Canada. As a Freirean response to these marginalized students' school failures, the researcher engaged students in a critical multiliteracies approach to language and literacy learning. Based on…

Teachers using interactive whiteboards (IWB) effectively can engage and motivate students with a range of digital resources to explore science's role in making sense of our world and to construct knowledge of key scientific concepts. The case study research described in this paper illustrates how interactive pedagogies in the IWB classroom were…

Background/Context: New technologies have been largely absent in arts education curriculum even though they offer opportunities to address arts integration, equity, and the technological prerequisites of an increasingly digital age. This paper draws upon the emerging professional field of "media arts" and the ways in which youth use new…

This paper focuses on the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) as a tool for encouraging and supporting classroom dialogue. The authors' concern here is with the promotion of "dialogic" communication between teachers and students, which is now widely recognised as educationally valuable. In this study they investigated how teachers…

This article introduces the idea of using video production to engage second language learners in learner-centered, project-based learning activities to motivate them to learn and participate through writing, directing, acting in, and editing a movie. The authors describe two projects. In the first project, four pairs of students each created a…

Performance-based assessment of teachers includes a class of measurement methods designed to assess the quality of teacher performance on one or two important aspects of teaching. It may include portfolios, structured observations, video records of practice, and teacher work samples. Performance-based assessment can be contrasted with assessments…

This article describes the results of a study where the digital versatile disc (DVD) was used as a variant of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to aid in the teaching and learning of map work in geography at secondary school level. A group of grade 10 learners of a previously disadvantaged school in South Africa comprised the…

A case study of an adolescent girl provides a framework to understand what factors contribute to the development of a strong writer within an instant messaging world. The study shows instant messaging is one of a larger repertoire of practices. Facility in school-based writing was developed through a school culture that supported writing in the…

The success of each nation will depend on the agility (see www.edgility.net) of its citizens to acquire and utilize knowledge. In response to this imperative governments have crafted and followed rigorous educational strategies. For example, the European Union's Lisbon Agreement outlines an agenda for education and training focusing on educational…

Demonstrations can be very effective at enhancing student learning and represent a mechanism for embedding laboratory experiences within a classroom setting. A key component to an effective demonstration is active student engagement throughout the entire process, leading to a guided laboratory experience in a lecture setting. Students are involved…

This study examined Illinois high school principals' perceptions of the growth, quality, advantages and disadvantages of alternative learning environments. In this study, alternative learning environments involved the use of both synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication for course delivery. Synchronous modes of instructional delivery…

The purpose of this study was to find out if students were utilizing Web 2.0 applications. Since the applications in question are often employed by the media industry, the study aspired to find out if students majoring in mass communication and journalism utilized the applications more often than other students. The "digital divide" is a term used…

An online survey of early childhood professionals who were employed by a national child care company examined beliefs and practices regarding the rights and abilities of young children to express views and be heard. Participants represented seven US regions, and comprised a sample of 107 preschool professionals working directly with children ages…

Globalization, networked societies, and a knowledge-based economy engender increasing reliance on digital communication technologies for the dissemination of information and ideas (Castells, Fernandez-Ardevol, Qiu & Sey, 2006). While the technological revolution has broadened access this digital domain, participants often adopt the passive…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of two first year teachers relating to the concept of preparing the classroom environment for learning. Two female first year teachers of young children participated in the study. One taught preschool and the other taught fourth grade, both in public school settings in the…