The concept of a community of practice (CoP) is prevalent in several venues for teachers' professional development, especially in online environments. However, there are few descriptive accounts that effectively represent a CoP in a manner that will be of use to other designers. In order to illuminate potential difficulties which may arise when…

Student responses to a tertiary, flexibly delivered physics course are examined. The course was designed to provide secondary science teachers in rural regions of NSW, Australia, with a qualification appropriate to teach senior physics, and is a response to the lack of new physical science teachers currently being trained. Evaluations indicate…

"Keeping Pace" has several goals. First, it strives to add to the body of knowledge about online education policy and make recommendations for advances. Second, it serves as a reference source for information about programs and policies across the country, for both policymakers and practitioners who are new to online education as well as those who…

Living in an age of communication, literacy is an extremely integral part of our society. We are impacted by literature during our infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. "Literacy for the New Millennium" includes information from specialists in the field who discuss the influence of popular culture, media, and technology on…

This book, which is intended as a practical resource for individuals who are professionally concerned with adult learning, contains 21 papers and 3 checklists concerning the new communication and information technologies (IT) and adult learning. The following papers and checklists are included: "Introduction" (Jane Field); "The Use…

Papers from the 1997 and 1998 Current Trends in English Language Testing (CTELT) conferences include: "Computer-Based Language Testing: The Call of the Internet" (G. Fulcher); "Uses of the PET (Preliminary English Test) at Sultan Qaboos University" (R. Taylor); "Issues in Foreign and Second Language Academic Listening…

An ecological framework for predicting citizen participation in grassroots community organizations and predicting community disorder problems (such as crime and fear) was developed and tested. The framework, which is called an ecological framework for sustainable community learning and development, delineates the relevant economic, political,…

This document contains eight papers on the changing faces of virtual education. "Introduction" (Glen M. Farrell) presents an overview of the study during which the papers originated. "The Changing Venues for Learning" (Vis Naidoo) discusses innovative learning venues and forces driving and constraining their development.…

This document contains five papers from a 1999 workshop in Rome on enhancing the professional skills and qualifications of trainers in open and distance learning organized by the TTnet network (Training of Trainers network). "The Different Types of Open and Distance Training and Their Impact on Trainers' Skills" (Michel Tetart) examines…

The six issues in this volume include the following articles: "Preview of TESOL 2001" (Adelaide Heyde Parsons); "Six Internet Pioneers Teach English to the World" (Dennis Oliver, Randall Davis, Elaine Hoter, Charles Kelly, Dave Sperling, and Ruth Vilmi); "Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL Classroom" (Rebecca Oxford);…

This book contains 15 papers devoted to the following topics of interest to business educators: the Internet's history and management; Internet applications related to the National Standards for Business Education; and the Internet's connection with the business education profession. The following papers are included: "Vignettes in the…

This book explores emerging technologies and their use in secondary and higher education and in private, corporate, and government training environments. In addition to providing specific classroom applications of technology, the book treats issues of research, technology assessment, legal, copyright, and privacy rights, ethical considerations,…

Researchers have found that high-quality service learning programs are rich with benefits for schools, communities, and students. One hallmark of successful service learning programs is that they honor youth voice (meaning that they include young people in the creation and implementation of service opportunities). Elementary, middle, and high…

The status of career and technical education (CTE) teacher preparation programs was examined through a survey sent to all CTE program chairs and teacher educators with administrative responsibilities. The survey was also posted on the World Wide Web. Data were received from 227 programs from 164 institutions (response rate, 44%). Ten percent of…

The continuous transformation of career and technical education (CTE) practitioners' roles that has resulted from reforms, technological advances, and new certification requirements has necessitated the creation of learner-centered professional development (PD) programs. Numerous schools nationwide have succeeded in developing high-quality,…