Students now have at their disposal a range of Web 2.0 authoring forms such as audio and video podcasting, blogging, social bookmarking, social networking, virtual world activities and wiki writing. Many university educators are interested in enabling students to demonstrate their learning by creating content in these forms. However, the design…

Diversity is a key issue in education not only because of ongoing inequalities in student learning outcomes but also because of the importance of supporting each individual to reach his/her potential to contribute to national economic prosperity, individual well-being and social cohesion. Through an ethnographical approach, this research…

A social annotation model learning system (SAM-LS) was created using multiple instructional strategies thereby supporting the student in improving in critical thinking, critical writing and related literacy. There are four mechanisms in which the SAM-LS methodology is believed to improve learning and performance. These mechanisms include providing…

What and how much can children learn without subject teachers? In an attempt to find a limit to self organized learning, we explored the capacity of 10-14 year old Tamil-speaking children in a remote Indian village to learn basic molecular biology, initially on their own with a Hole-in-the-Wall public computer facility, and later with the help of…

The impacts that the lack of physical cues and non-verbal cues of emotional expression has on the student learning experience in text based online environments were targeted separately in this study. A questionnaire was constructed with separate items for non-verbal cues of emotional expression and cues to physical identity. The survey also…

This research aims to explore the role of physical representations in young children's numerical learning then identify the benefits of using a graphical interface in order to understand the potential for developing interactive technologies in this domain. Three studies are reported that examined the effect of using physical representations…

Online learning communities are an important means of sharing and creating knowledge. Online behaviors and online roles can reveal how online learning communities function. However, no study has elucidated the relationships among online behaviors, online roles, and online learning communities. In this study, 32 preservice teachers participated in…

This manuscript uses interview data collected during a qualitative study in 2007 of a secondary US history e-learning course. The teacher, Mr. Harding, and 11 of the 13 students in the class were interviewed about their general perceptions of e-learning and the ability to effectively learn content online. The findings of the study show that nearly…

Considerable research has been conducted examining the use of laptops in higher education, however, a reliable and valid scale to assess in-class use of laptops has yet to be developed. The purpose of the following study was to develop and evaluate the "Laptop Effectiveness Scale" (LES). The scale consisted of four constructs: academic…

In this study, we introduce the digital backpack as a means for creating a rich learning experience for students of multiple ages. Development, design, and refinement of the digital backpack are grounded in the theoretical framework of Universal Design for Learning using a Design-Based Research (DBR) model. This article presents the design and…

Preparing students for success in a globalized world invites new approaches. Online collaboration between students from different countries via globally networked learning environments (GNLEs) is one such approach. This article presents the results of a six-semester study beginning in 2006 of international online project collaborations between…

This article discusses feedback methods for the enhancement of collaborative learning. It presents results of an exploratory study in which self- and peer-assessments were applied in order to provide students with feedback regarding their perceived individual learning involvement in the collaboration process of face-to-face and face-file-face…

This study examined students' perceptions of peer feedback and learning in a large, undergraduate course that incorporated supplementary online discussions. Peer feedback (PF) was facilitated via an automated rating system, within Blackboard discussion forums, for half of the students enrolled in the course. Following the peer feedback process,…

This paper will offer a discussion of the literature concerning multimodality, orchestration and participation related to classroom use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB). Specifically, it will explore the place, or potential use, of the IWB to resource a multimodal approach to teaching and learning, emphasising the complex connections that need…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different methods on primary school teacher candidates' academic achievements and attitudes toward computer-based education, and to define their views on these methods. Both the first experimental group, programmed instruction (PI), and the second experimental group, meaningful…