Higher and further education institutions are increasingly using social software tools to support teaching and learning. A growing body of research investigates the diversity of tools and their range of contributions. However, little research has focused on investigating the role of the educator in the context of a social software initiative, even…

Social network sites (SNSs) like Myspace and Facebook are now popular online communities with large teenage user populations. Teens use these technologies to interact, play, explore, and learn in significant ways. As scholars become interested in studying these new online communities, I contribute to the emerging conversation by re-examining…

As a concept, the next-generation catalog (NGC) is not new to librarians, who have been wishing for better OPAC interfaces for their integrated library systems (ILSs). The NGC has been the focus of discussion for more than 5 years now, from the 2006 report of the implementation of Endeca at North Carolina State University, to Marshall Breeding's…

A large body of cross-sectional and longitudinal research demonstrates the important contribution of informal social networks to the well-being and safety of female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Most survivors turn to family and friends before, during, and after their involvement with formal services; and many rely solely on…

This study investigated the boundaries of online learners' information disclosure, relationship building, interpersonal integration, and motivation by drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of the social information processing and communication privacy management theories and the hyperpersonal model. A total of 103 students from a higher…

In anticipation of a globalising post-Fordist political economy, countries and universities are increasingly pursuing strategic transnational education and research alliances. This article analyses the Global Schoolhouse, a key education policy platform that aims to transform Singapore into a knowledge and innovation hub by establishing networks…

This article reports on a study of user-generated multilingual writing activities on the photo sharing site, Flickr.com[R]. It discusses how Flickr users deploy their multilingual resources when interacting with international audiences, the factors affecting their language choice, and how new multilingual identities are constructed. An exploratory…

This study explored Turkish students' experience of cyberbullying and their use of social networking tools. A total of 756 7th-grade students participated from eight different middle schools in Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. A 15-item questionnaire was used in a classroom environment to collect data. Results revealed that male students were…

The protest against Arizona House Bill 2281 designed to ban Ethnic Studies from K-12 public schools on 12 May 2010 in Tucson resulted in 15 arrests. Students walked out of their classrooms in large numbers to defend their Mexican American Studies curriculum and program. Based primarily on participant observation of the protest, the authors examine…

This article describes the contradictions reported by student-teachers in Barcelona who engaged in telecollaboration with transatlantic peers via Second Life, during their initial training in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. The data analysis draws upon Grounded Theory and is theoretically informed by Activity Theory and the notion of…

The ever-growing popularity of Facebook has led some educators to ponder what role social networking might have in education. The authors examined student reactions to friend requests from people outside their regular network of friends including professors, parents, and employers. We found students have the most positive reactions to friend…

The transformative experiences afforded by technology are wide and varied. Among them is the extended reach these technologies give us in connecting with others around the world, or even in our own communities, who may be from very different backgrounds than ourselves. Emerging technologies are providing new opportunities in education, and this…

This article describes a study of the tactics used by faculty and staff grassroots leaders at colleges and universities to create important changes that increase the capacity for leadership. The study identifies how academic and administrative staff, as employees within an academic culture, have access to grassroots leadership tactics that honor…

The article analyzes professional development in music education considering the ways in which policy change depends on conditions where renewed practice can become self supporting. The authors situate professional development amid the current politico-educational climate while offering an interpretive framework based on key issues and actions…

This paper proposes a collaborative approach to enhancing the student learning experience based on Web 2.0 principles. Specifically, wiki Web sites are used by students for collaboration and for publication of course assignments, which are then shared with the class. Web 2.0 principles include: the Web as platform, harnessing collective…