The success of each nation will depend on the agility (see www.edgility.net) of its citizens to acquire and utilize knowledge. In response to this imperative governments have crafted and followed rigorous educational strategies. For example, the European Union's Lisbon Agreement outlines an agenda for education and training focusing on educational…

Demonstrations can be very effective at enhancing student learning and represent a mechanism for embedding laboratory experiences within a classroom setting. A key component to an effective demonstration is active student engagement throughout the entire process, leading to a guided laboratory experience in a lecture setting. Students are involved…

This study examined Illinois high school principals' perceptions of the growth, quality, advantages and disadvantages of alternative learning environments. In this study, alternative learning environments involved the use of both synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication for course delivery. Synchronous modes of instructional delivery…

The purpose of this study was to find out if students were utilizing Web 2.0 applications. Since the applications in question are often employed by the media industry, the study aspired to find out if students majoring in mass communication and journalism utilized the applications more often than other students. The "digital divide" is a term used…

An online survey of early childhood professionals who were employed by a national child care company examined beliefs and practices regarding the rights and abilities of young children to express views and be heard. Participants represented seven US regions, and comprised a sample of 107 preschool professionals working directly with children ages…

Globalization, networked societies, and a knowledge-based economy engender increasing reliance on digital communication technologies for the dissemination of information and ideas (Castells, Fernandez-Ardevol, Qiu & Sey, 2006). While the technological revolution has broadened access this digital domain, participants often adopt the passive…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of two first year teachers relating to the concept of preparing the classroom environment for learning. Two female first year teachers of young children participated in the study. One taught preschool and the other taught fourth grade, both in public school settings in the…

This article describes a lesson plan model that applies principles of universal design for learning (UDL) and multisensory learning centers to the framework of a traditional direct instruction spelling lesson for elementary students with learning, social, and attention problems. It reviews essential components of UDL and demonstrates how to…

Teacher professional identity is a concept defined and researched in a multitude of ways (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004). This manuscript approaches teacher identity formation from the foundations of situated cognition, social learning, and identity in community practice. Focusing on a unique teacher development intervention designed to…

This study investigates how teachers observe and assess elementary school students' foreign language performance in class and how such assessments vary among teachers. Twenty-six elementary school teachers and 23 English teachers at secondary schools in South Korea watched videotapes of 6th-grade students' group activities in English and were…

Digital lecture capture and broadcast solutions have been around for only about 10 years, but are poised for healthy growth. Frost & Sullivan research analysts estimate that the market (which amounts to $25 million currently) will quadruple by 2013. It's still dominated by a few key players, however: Sonic Foundry holds a hefty 40 percent-plus…

This article describes the transformations that took place as two veteran teachers grappled with the insertion of video-mediated videoconferencing (VMC) for practicums during an initial study that focused on teacher candidates. Through their stories, the following themes were identified: teacher as risk-taker, VMC as a motivating device to…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 14th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2017), 18-20 October 2017, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) and endorsed by the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 12th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2016, which was organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal, April 9-11, 2016. The Mobile Learning 2016 Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of…

The increasing range of options provided by two popular conferencing freeware products, "Yahoo Messenger" and "MSN Messenger," are discussed. Each tool contains features designed primarily for entertainment purposes, which can be customized for use in online education. This report provides suggestions for optimizing the educational potential of…