The apprenticeship system, long considered an educational relic by some educators and policy makers, is gaining new attention as a model for improving job skills and meeting national college-completion goals. A number of states and community and technical colleges are working to strengthen and expand apprenticeship opportunities. They offer…

Purpose: This paper seeks to examine the impact of information communication technology on the learning process and on the profession of teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews arguments for and against the use of technology in the classroom and draws on student comments on technology use in the classroom. Findings: The paper…

The place of foreign language learning in education has a rich and diverse history since the introduction of compulsory schooling, with some countries including the learning of a foreign language as a compulsory part of the curriculum, whilst in others foreign language learning is seen as an optional subject suited for more academically minded…

Take advantage of teen internet savvy and redirect students' online travels toward exploration of our environment through streaming real-time data (RTD). Studies have shown that using RTD adds relevancy to students' learning experiences and engages them in scientific investigations. (Contains 14 online resources and 5 figures.)

This is the third installment in a four-part series that follows the exploits of Gene, a well-established CIO of a sizable IT organization at a top-100 university. Gene has been working with his team to regain the trust of the campus through Project Rescue, a 30-day turnaround plan focused on demonstrating IT's value. Project Rescue has two…

The use of instant messaging to support e-learning will continue to gain importance because of its speed, effectiveness, and low cost. This study developed an MSN agent to mediate and facilitate students' learning in a Web-based course. The students' acceptance of the MSN agent and its effect on learning community identification and learning…

National student feedback surveys are administered in a number of countries, and several of these encompass both campus-based and distance learning students. The UK Open University achieves a high ranking in the annual National Student Survey (NSS), but there are some anomalies in the results. The NSS questionnaire was administered to three…

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto"--a statement Dorothy made to her dog, Toto, in "The Wizard of Oz"--sums up reasonably well the point the author wants to make in this article. That is, as literacy educators no longer constrained (or protected) by older, more familiar 20th-century print-centric modes of communicating, educators may at times feel…

The purpose of this study is to analyse what is happening at schools regarding the integration and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and to examine teachers' perceptions about what teaching and learning processes can be improved through the use of ICT. A multiple-case-study research methodology was applied. From a previous…

Zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) have received a significant amount of attention in the 18 years since they were introduced. They have enjoyed some success, and elements of ZUIs are widely used in computers today, although the grand vision of a zoomable desktop has not materialised. This paper describes the premise and promise of ZUIs along with…

To meet the expectations of today's tech-savvy students, colleges and universities are looking for ways to speed up their processes and provide better services for their No. 1 customer. They have turned to technology to simplify processes, reduce costs, and meet the high expectations of a technically literate student body. In this article, the…

The expansion of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in schools is expected to promote learning. To what extent teachers are utilizing the new ICT tools to engage students in learning activities remains a question. This study reports what kind of activities teachers are likely to assign students, and what type of teachers…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences between 99 Finnish primary and secondary teachers in their frequency and nature of information and communication technology (ICT) use, levels of ICT implementation, functional uses and perceived values about educational use of ICT. Design/methodology/approach: The data were…

The lecture has been much maligned as a pedagogical form, yet it persists and even flourishes today in the form of the podcast, the TED talk, and the "smart" lecture hall. This article examines the lecture as a pedagogical genre, as "a site where differences between media are negotiated" (Franzel) as these media coevolve. This examination shows…

There is a critical need, according to national policy statements in the United States, to integrate information and communication technologies into instruction, and yet research about the effect of such integration on the literacy learning of at-risk populations is scant. In addition, barriers exist that prevent teachers from realizing the goal…