This article takes a look at tech guru Will Richardson's new book, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms." Whether it's blogs or wikis or RSS, all roads now point to a Web where little is done in isolation. The biggest, most sweeping change in the people's relationship with the Internet may not be as much the ability…

Field experience is a core element in an initial or preservice teacher education programme. It allows students to enact and reflect on their developing philosophies of teaching and is the "testing ground" for theory/practice links. Educational theorists and programme planners in distance delivered teacher education programmes acknowledge the…

This paper makes a usage-based contribution to the learning and teaching of German via the tools of contrastive learner corpus analysis (Granger, 1998; Granger, Hung, and Petch-Tyson, 2002; Nesselhauf, 2004). On the basis of an integrated learner and native speaker corpus of "telecollaborative" discourse (Belz, 2005), an empirically rich…

This article explores girls' learning about issues of femininity that takes place in the presence of others online, connected through chat rooms, instant messaging, and role-playing games. Informed by critical and poststructuralist feminist theorizing of gendered subjectivity, agency, and power, the article draws from qualitative interviews with…

This study examines the JUNIOR SUMMIT online community, which consisted of 3,062 adolescents representing 139 countries, varying SES, and a range of experience with computers. The online forum culminated in the election of 100 delegates. By analyzing the messages posted before results of the election were announced, we explore whether language use…

This article looks at the use of computer-mediated communication in an ESL teacher education course. A course listserv was established so as to facilitate increased interaction between students on the premise that community building and student collaboration in the construction of knowledge and understanding play important roles in the training of…

The so-called "digital divide" problem, significant disparities in access to technology between the affluent and impoverished, is a global phenomenon that is most serious in the poorest parts of the world. The millions who struggle daily for enough food, clothing, housing, and transportation, are unable to afford the hardware, software and service…

This article presents a five-tiered taxonomy that describes the nature of participation in, and learning through, asynchronous discussion. The taxonomy is framed by a constructivist view of asynchronous discussion. The five tiers of the taxonomy include the following: (a) passive participation, (b) developmental participation, (c) generative…

This article describes the conception, implementation, and current status of Rakim open source software at Midlands Technical college in Columbia, SC. Midlands Technical College (MTC) is a 2-year school in Columbia, S.C. It has two large campuses and three smaller campuses. Although the library functions as a single unit, there are separate…

Using a sample of 314 Australian university students the Readiness for Online Learning questionnaire was tested for its technical characteristics of reliability and factorability, with results indicating the instrument has promise both for research and for practice. The factor analysis identified a factor associated with self-management of…

Learning can be viewed as a communication process that puts the learner in contact with concepts created by others. A result of communication is that an act of interpretation starts, which invokes a process of conceptualization. According to Mayes, successful conceptualization will need the support of learning activities. Hence, machine mediated…

Online dialogues can meaningfully engage a diverse audience and provide a method to both educate and interest the public in complex environmental and social issues. This article discusses a series of e-dialogues conducted for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Canada in which the public engaged in discussions concerning the risk and…

The purpose of this study was to assess the reaction of a group of Israeli primary school science teachers when confronted with the task of implementing an innovation. The innovation was introduced by means of a computer-mediated-communication in-service training program. The main tools of evaluation of the changes in the adoption of the…

This paper addresses the nature of literacy practices in online distance learning environments, specifically those involved in text-based collaborative discussion at post-compulsory level. A three-dimensional framework, relating operational, cultural and critical aspects of linguistic interaction online, is used to argue that research in this…

Although baby boomers were not the sole focus of the American Association of Retired Persons' (AARP) website content on the issue of Social Security reform, their interests were addressed in a variety of ways. AARP provided information, position statements, a live chat forum, and message boards. Additionally, AARP had a partnership with the Rock…