E-learning provides a convenient and efficient way for learning. Formative assessment not only guides student in instruction and learning, diagnose skill or knowledge gaps, but also measures progress and evaluation. An efficient and convenient e-learning formative assessment system is the key character for e-learning. However, most e-learning…

Critical thinking is a highly desirable goal of online higher education courses. This article presents qualitative data from a mixed-method study that explores how asynchronous discussions within online courses influence critical thinking among students. In this study, online discussions were related to higher levels of critical thinking, but…

Portfolio authoring tools within teacher preparation institutions have changed dramatically as portfolios have moved from paper to electronic formats and now to the Web. This study used Engestrom's Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (1987) to examine how portfolio tools, along with external influences and institutional contexts, mediate the…

The objective of this study was to determine whether there was a quantifiable improvement in learning outcomes by integrating course materials in a 4-year baccalaureate program, utilizing a knowledge repository with a conceptual map that spans a discipline. Two new models were developed to provide the framework for this knowledge repository. A…

Online education is established, growing, and here to stay. It is creating new opportunities for students and also for faculty, regulators of education, and the educational institutions themselves. Much of what is being learned by the practitioners will flow into the large numbers of blended courses that will be developed and delivered on most…

This article focuses on the three-year findings of a parent survey designed to gauge their students' technology interest while receiving instruction from student teachers in a federal educational technology grant. A major objective of the grant was to engage pre-service teachers in a computer technology training program designed to equip them with…

Teenagers' lives are filled with writing. All teens write for school, and 93% of teens say they write for their own pleasure. Most notably, the vast majority of teens have eagerly embraced written communication with their peers as they share messages on their social network pages, in emails and instant messages online, and through fast-paced thumb…

Salaries and benefits for instruction are the largest component of school operating costs for public schools (U.S. Department of Education 2007). The level and structure of this compensation can play an important role in the recruitment and retention of a high-quality teaching workforce. Thus, detailed and reliable data on teacher pay and benefits…

Contemporary culture has become increasingly dependent on the visual, especially for its capacity to communicate instantly and universally. Advances in technology fueled this shift. Students must learn to cope with and intelligently contribute to a culture rife with easy access to the visually rich Web, photo dependant social networks, video…

A major change has occurred in the way Web technology is being used in society. The change is grounded in user empowerment using Web 2.0 tools and processes. Students are already sophisticated users of these tools and processes, but outside of the mainstream instructional practices in higher education. In this reflection, the educational potential…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of response modes by item and feedback type in a web-based language learning program. The subjects of this study, 122 Korean tenth graders learning English as a foreign language, were placed into groups of four and were given a web-based language learning program consisting of two…

This paper focuses on "digital inequality"--a key mediating issue within the education technology debate. In particular, it examines how the social and cultural resources of young people relate to their usage behaviour within the informal space of the Internet and what options are available to counter this digital inequality in terms of…

Gender studies across the world have produced a wealth of information generated by studies that seek to investigate the existence of a distinction between genders in mathematical-based courses, such as Computer Science courses. However, the Middle Eastern Region remained unexplored largely throughout this effort due to gender segregation during…

The relatively new field of open educational resources (OER) is just now receiving more widespread attention and study. As such, there have been few opportunities thus far to share knowledge across program, organizational and national boundaries. This article presents a case study of the development of the South African project Free High School…

The present study examines the impact of a novel online video lecture archiving system on in-class students enrolled in traditional math courses at a mid-sized, primarily undergraduate, university in the West. The archiving system allows in-class students web access to complete video recordings of the actual classroom lectures, and sometimes of…