For some teachers, the increasing attention to digital and multimodal composing in English and Language Arts classrooms has brought into sharp relief the profession's investment in print as the primary means of expression. Although new forms of communication that combine words, still and moving images, and animation have begun to dominate digital…

This paper reports on the examination of physics teachers' beliefs and perceptions of laboratory and ICT supported physics instruction. The findings indicate that the teachers in the sample were generally positive about the affordances offered by the physics lab and ICT in physics instruction. However, school culture context, mainly the need to…

In recent years, tertiary institutions in developed countries have made extensive use of Course Management Systems (CMSs), software packages designed to help educators create online learning communities. To date, however, such packages have been little used in higher education institutions (HEIs) in China. In this article, we describe the…

The emerging field of urban ecology has the potential to engage urban youth in the practices of scientists by studying a locally relevant environmental problem. To this end, we are developing curriculum modules designed to engage students in learning science through the use of emerging information technology. In this paper, we describe the impact…

This paper describes a collaborative action research approach used to explore peer observation of teaching (POT) within the online environment. Although POT has become familiar in face-to-face teaching contexts, little is understood of its potential role in online settings. We conducted "virtual" focus groups to explore the experience…

Over the last 10 years, information technology has been the fastest growing sector in the global economy. Nevertheless, technology and computer-based instruction have not been sufficiently integrated into the curriculum especially at institutions that serve primarily language minority, low income, and first generation, female college populations.…

The Technology Proficiency Self-Assessment (TPSA) questionnaire was administered to 978 elementary and middle school teachers from Mexico City, and 932 elementary and middle school teachers from the Dallas, Texas, metroplex in the USA, in order to examine self-efficacy similarities and differences for technology proficiency self-appraisals in a…

As corporate and higher education settings increasingly use Web 2.0 tools, the time has come to think about preparing K-12 in-service teachers to find ways in which these tools might support classroom teaching and learning goals. This article describes a graduate course designed and taught in spring 2007. Using a modeling and situated learning…

Web 2.0 software, in particular wikis, have the potential to allow students to become active contributors to the Internet and, as a result, restructure traditional learning environments. In this study, the effects of student-created wikis were evaluated through measures of student engagement, cognitive benefits, and student learning in both the…

This study was designed to theoretically articulate and empirically assess the role of computer scaffolds. In this project, several examples of educational software were developed to scaffold the learning of students performing high level cognitive activities. The software used in this study, Artemis, focused on scaffolding the learning of…

1:1 laptop programs, in which every student is provided with a personal computer to use during the school year, permit increased and routine use of powerful, user-friendly computer-based tools. Growing numbers of 1:1 programs are reshaping the roles of teachers and learners in science classrooms. At the Denver School of Science and Technology, a…

This case study investigated educators as they learned about, embraced, and attempted to implement information technologies. It describes the systems that foster continuing use and the implementation successes and difficulties. This was accomplished by documenting one group of educators enrolled in an intensive graduate course about educational…

It is necessary for journalism educators to introduce students to the world of desktop computers. In one journalism class at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, the instructor introduces his students to the computer in the first few days of class. He first walks them through the disk-formatting process; shows them how to get into and out of…

Responding to the dramatic changes in the style and form of communication, a communication instructor integrated the Internet into his communication courses at a liberal arts college. Students are required to sign up for a discussion group (listserv) that focuses on the course offering as well as a discussion group in their area of interest. Every…

Not only do computers offer rich motivational appeal with students, but they also boost speech communication professors' credibility. Research indicates that the use of multimedia leads to enhanced learning on criteria such as acquisition of content, development of skills, efficiency, learning, and satisfaction with instruction. Multimedia…