Based on research conducted as part of the project Learning by Design: creating pedagogical frameworks for knowledge building in the 21st century, funded by the Australian Research Council, the article explores the learning experiences of two students in a primary school in the Australian Capital Territory. In communities where ordinary citizens,…

This article documents the curricular decisions made by a teacher educator research team whose guiding theoretical focus for intern practice is dialogic instruction. Over a 2-year sequence, teaching interns used video and Web 2.0 technologies to respond critically to and revise their teaching practices in collaboration with peers and instructors.…

Many academic libraries have embraced the concept of the information commons or the learning commons. These library spaces consist of collections of tools, services and programs intended to enhance the student learning experience. According to Scott Bennett (2008), an information commons supports learning, while the learning commons…

There is considerable evidence that well-designed multimedia resources can enhance learning outcomes, yet there is little information on the role of multimedia in influencing essential motivational variables, such as student engagement. The current study examines the impact of instructor-personalized multimedia supplements on student engagement in…

Multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) like Second Life present unparalleled opportunities to help students connect knowledge by description to knowledge by experience; in a MUVE, students can experience phenomena rather than only reading about them. Baba Kofi Weusijana, Vanessa Svihla, Drue Gawel, and John Bransford describe their use of a maze…

As teachers struggle to meet the needs of a highly diverse student body, technology holds out the promise of a solution. However, first the nature and scope of differences between students has to be identified. This study (n = 1811) takes a comprehensive approach, selecting differences from each stage in the learning process. These were termed…

Young people are surrounded by visual images, and they naturally are drawn to viewing and creating videos. Educators are remiss if they do not seize on this significant communication and learning tool. Similar to projects involving writing, video projects allow students to communicate their ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Therefore, most…

With advanced technologies available, multimedia-based e-portfolios are replacing paper-based portfolios. For teaching and learning purposes, e-portfolios have been used at a growing number of education institutions. This article reviews four important issues regarding e-portfolio use in the field of education: benefits, adoption concerns,…

Students learned about teaching principles with a multimedia program that either did not include a classroom exemplar illustrating how to apply the learned principles to the teaching practice (control group) or included a classroom exemplar in video, animation, or text format. Across two experiments, video and animation groups reported more…

The aim of this series of applications is to enhance students' spatial perception capacity by means of exercises that require the student to concentrate on mentally recreating the figures represented. Each application is designed with an increasing level of difficulty, designed to increase the students' concentration and train their spatial…

In order to reach distance students in times of financial uncertainty, librarians must be creative. While much has been written about Camtasia, Captivate and Jing tutorial software, Adobe Presenter, a Microsoft PowerPoint plug-in, has not been discussed. This article describes how our library team created multimedia tutorial projects at Idaho…

An inquiry-based approach to watching videos of children engaged in learning, supported by tools that allow for frequent and close viewing, provides an opportunity for prospective teachers to develop their skills of observation and interpretation before entering the classroom. The in-depth study of videos creates a context in which teachers can…

The author argues that concerts create pressures on the music curriculum similar to those high-stakes tests generate on the general curriculum. Three similarities are presented and discussed using the example of a concert the author organized: first, teaching to the test and the narrowing of curricular goals; second, evaluation by a single source…

The article discusses problems that arise from comparing different kinds of presentation modes such as texts, pictures or animations with regard to learning outcome. These comparisons are confounded with or depend on other variables like quality of the instructional design, learning content, familiarity with the presentation mode as well as…

Designing Problem-Driven Instruction with Online Social Media has the capacity to transform an educator's teaching style by presenting innovative ways to empower problem-based instruction with online social media. Knowing that not all instructors are comfortable in this area, this book provides clear, systematic design approaches for instructors…