This article discusses open source projects which may free universities from expensive, rigid commercial software. But will the rewards outweigh the potential risks? The Kuali Project involves multiple universities writing and sharing code for their financial and operational systems. Another, the Sakai Project, is a community source platform for…

Learning management systems (LMS), such as Blackboard, make it possible to include information literacy in courses online. This survey assessed librarians' use of learning management systems. Results indicate that utilizing the LMS to enhance information literacy remains underdeveloped. The author recommends suggestions for campus-wide…

PowerPoint arouses many strong feelings, but the debate over the popular program typically pits advocates against detractors: fewer people discuss "how" PowerPoint should best be used in the classroom. Howard Strauss of Princeton University has observed that "a lot of the stuff that people try to do in smart classrooms is done badly," but…

Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify trainee attributes relevant for development of skills in 3D computer-aided design (CAD). Design/methodology/approach: Participants were trained to perform cognitive tasks of comparable complexity over time. Performance data were collected on the time needed to construct test models, and…

In this paper we present a framework for analysing when and how students engage in a specific form of interactive knowledge elaboration in CSCL environments: broadening and deepening understanding of a space of debate. The framework is termed "Rainbow," as it comprises seven principal analytical categories, to each of which a colour is assigned,…

Improving learning effectiveness has always been a constant challenge in software education and training. One of the primary tasks educators face is to motivate learners to perform to their best abilities. Using computer games is one means to encourage learners to learn (Klawe, 1994). When games are used in general education, they could enhance…

TRAILS (Tool for Real-Time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills), is a free online test of student information-handling skills. It was formulated by the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education and Kent State University Libraries. Based on the Ohio Academic Content Standards and the philosophy of Information Power, it assesses…

Ever since the PLATO system of the 1960's, CALL (computer assisted language learning) has had a major focus on providing self-paced, auto-correcting exercises for language learners to practice their skills and improve their knowledge of discrete areas of language learning. The computer has been recognized from the beginning as a patient and…

The central messages of this paper are that (a) unequal variances may be more prevalent than typically imagined in educational and policy research, and (b) when considering tests of equal variances one needs to be cautious about what is being referred to as "Levene's test" because Levene's test is actually a family of techniques. Depending on…

Eco-visualizations are artworks that reinterpret environmental data with custom software to promote stewardship. Eco-visualization technology offers a new way to dynamically picture environmental data and make it meaningful to a museum population. The questions are: How might museums create new projects and programs around place-based information?…

Both instructors and students dread large introductory courses. IS introductory courses are no exception as they are often too large, the material too dry and the atmosphere too impersonal. This paper describes a unique student-centric curriculum for delivering introductory IS survey courses that keep students interested and engaged while…

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a method to improve reading fluency in children with dyslexia. The method, which we named "subsyllabic," was aimed at automatizing the recognition of syllables within words in connected texts, presented by ad hoc software. Two versions of this method--one self-paced and the other one with…

Learning is valuable, but in Africa it is more than that: It is prohibitively expensive. In Ethiopia, where the per-capita income is about $100 a year, a single textbook at Addis Ababa University can cost $50. In order to get more textbooks to students in developing nations, two people are leading an ambitious project to produce and freely…

This chapter describes the planning, development, testing, and implementation of Georgia Tech's online career portfolio, as well as the challenges associated with adaptation of the program.

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, located on the National Naval Medical Center's campus in Bethesda, Maryland, is a medical education and research facility for the nation's military and public health community. In order to support its approximately 7,500 globally distributed users, the university's James A. Zimble Learning…