The human desire to join and participate in communities can be seen as an attempt to satisfy some of our universal human needs. The theory of communities of practice has been widely used to explain how and why humans participate in multiple communities, and a key requirement of a community of practice (CoP) is that members engage in "joint…

Increasingly, governments are seeking ways to integrate early childhood education and care services as a social policy strategy to maximize child and family outcomes. This study examines the role of a school-based parenting and family literacy program to a system of services in one community in Ontario, Canada. Using an appreciative inquiry…

This paper outlines the redesign of an MSc module to enhance students' engagement and learning through embedding social media technologies into the academic curriculum as a learning and assessment strategy, and in a complementary manner that facilitated and enhanced the achievement of the module's learning outcomes. This paper describes the…

Teacher collaboration has become an increasingly important lever for school improvement efforts. This is especially true in high need urban districts, which struggle with capacity building in the face of significant teacher turnover, major shifts in curriculum and instruction, and scarce resources. This paper employs a mixed methods approach to…

The advent of the Web as a social technology has created opportunities for the creation of informal learning environments, which have potential for innovative methodologies in learning, teaching and assessment. However, as Wolfe (2001) admonishes, "contrary to the rhetoric of cheerleaders, the Web places greater demands on students than…

Nearly three decades after its publication, "A Nation at Risk" continues to impact our educational establishment. Most notably, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was established as a result of "A Nation Prepared," Carnegie's response to "A Nation at Risk." Some contend that the national board has…

This study examined subtypes and stability/change in peer victimization involvement among students with exceptionalities. Data were collected over spring of fifth grade and fall/spring of sixth grade with 1,861 students in 36 rural schools as part of a cluster randomized trial of a context-based intervention (Supporting Early Adolescent Learning…

Social bookmarking has gained popularity since the advent of Web 2.0. Keywords known as tags are created to annotate web content, and the resulting tag space composed of the tags, the resources, and the users arises as a new platform for web content discovery. Useful and interesting web resources can be located through searching and browsing based…

Literacy coalitions have been organized in various settings, from small towns and cities to counties and states. Coalitions are alliances "created for the purpose of joint action [and] drawn together by common interests." Literacy coalitions promote the power and pleasure of reading and stimulate community conversations about literacy.…

People live in an era of social, enterprise-oriented, and increasingly cloud-based technology; a dramatic shift away from stand-alone isolated silos that previously dominated. Computing systems can flourish today only when built to easily exchange data and services. An application that stands alone may provide practical functionality but may not…

A growing trend in post-secondary education is the supplementing of classroom discourse with online discourse. This new discourse is often situated in social networking and course management applications. There are several reasons for the move toward online discourse. Wide availability of new hardware and software has played a role. Even more…

The most productive learning experience for students whether online or in face-to-face classes can often be the interaction among students and with an instructor. Online teaching and Social Network Analysis (SNA) offer the opportunity to examine intellectual social networking and strategies that promotes student interaction which can enhance…

This study explored the relationship of online course intensity to the development of social networks and the impact of social networks on obtaining employment or employment information to develop a better understanding of the factors that lead to improved employment outcomes and information-gathering. Graduates from three ALA-accredited programs…

Today's youth must deal with friend management 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through smartphones and such social networking sites as Facebook. Technology in the classroom can be valuable, but not without challenges. The key is well-thought-out policies. While school districts can't completely control how students use their…

This article explores the emerging pedagogical potential offered by today's technologies and how understanding the relationship between emerging technology and emerging pedagogy can enhance the teaching of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). The author begins with an overview of recent developments in the field, focused upon…