A major strand of science and technology studies in recent decades has related to the social construction of technology (SCOT) movement, whose adherents maintain that technological systems are determined just as much by social forces as by technological ones. Taking this SCOT notion as a starting point, and putting a focus on the user, this paper…

It may amaze those in education that in this age of technology and computers, how basic concepts of classroom teaching are similar or even more important than they were 40 years ago when Kounin first defined withitness elements. New challenges, related to laptop Internet instruction, require instructors to develop "withitness" skills and…

One of the major challenges that educational institutions face today is to prepare students for the 21st century global workplace. Along with this is the growing prevalence of innovative and mobile instructional technologies in the classroom. Over the last few years one-to-one laptop programs have gained popularity in schools and several research…

This article features Calgary Girls' School (CGS), a charter school including grades four through nine that opened with 188 students in 2003. The school was aligned with Alberta Education's charter-school mandate at that time to offer parents a broad range of school choices. Today the Alberta charter school mandate is to focus on innovation and…

Fourth-grader Nicholas is a homebound cancer patient who attends Plainview Elementary School in rural Chesterfield County, South Carolina. This year he was provided a laptop and webcam as part of Chesterfield County School District's Student Technology and Education Proficiency (STEP) initiative. Prior to the implementation of the STEP program in…

After many years of using the mouse and keyboard as the primary means of computer input, people are seeing a strong surge into a new generation of input technologies such as tablet PCs. As more professionals adopt tablet PCs for use in the workplace, there is a subsequent increased demand for tablet PC instruction in the classroom. Examples of…

The increasing use of portable computers and mobile computing and telecommunication devices means a re-think of how we access and retrieve information. Like many workers in knowledge-rich professions, university academics in Australia are increasingly overloaded with information in the form of messages, notes, papers, publications, books and so…

The way people write and communicate has changed both inside and outside the university, and because of this writing instructors are professionally responsible for addressing these changes in the classroom. Technologies have affected writing for thousands of years. From the invention of the printing press to the Internet, challenges to writing…

As the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) enters its seventh year of implementation, the need to expand upon the current research is essential. In an effort to gather information about implementing technology within various educational contexts, the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE) at the University…

Systematic observation of non-computer seating areas in library and non-library spaces on an urban campus showed an important role for the library in individual and group study area choices. The study provides data on important points to consider in library design, including laptop needs and gender preferences. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Over the past few decades, and especially in the past ten years, computer use in schools has increased dramatically; however there has been little research examining the effects of technology use on student achievement, specifically defined by standardized test scores. There is also concern as to how technology use differs by gender and if that…

Maine's one-to-one laptop program provides an ideal opportunity to explore conditions that optimize teacher integration of technology-focused curriculum into the classroom. EcoScienceWorks (ESW) is an ecology curriculum that includes targeted simulations and a code block programming challenge developed through an NSF-ITEST grant. The project was…

In a pilot study of the Technology Immersion model, high-need middle schools were "immersed" in technology by providing a laptop for each student and teacher, wireless Internet access, curricular and assessment resources, professional development, and technical and pedagogical support. This article examines the fidelity of model…

This paper provides some initial findings from a current longitudinal study that examines the implementation of a student-owned 1:1 laptop program in a school for boys in Perth, Western Australia. This research tracks 196 students, their families and associated teachers for a 3-year period (2010-2012). Underpinning this research is a mixed methods…

After starting off as a simple way to provide users with access to internet resources, WiFi networks have evolved to become an important communications cornerstone for a growing number of academic institutions. Not only have colleges been working to make these networks available across their entire campuses (or at least pretty close to 100 percent…