This paper describes a model course that places the intersection of information literacy and critical thinking within the conceptual framework of how information technology impacts cultural, political, economic, and social systems in American society. Stepping beyond the boundaries of traditional library instruction, this model course also…

Noting that children bear a natural curiosity and urge to learn about the world around them, and that the nature of compulsory schooling is at odds with this inclination, this book explores why parents remove their children from schools to teach them at home and provides step-by-step guidance for parents who want to home school their children.…

Research has shown mentoring to be a powerful alternative education and dropout prevention strategy for students at risk. This book is designed to help teachers, school administrators, case managers in the juvenile justice system, and others who work with at-risk students develop mentoring programs. Chapter 1, "Teachers Can Restructure Education…

Recently, charter schools have gained popularity with parents, students, and others as alternatives to public schools, but what are charter schools and what effects are they having? This digest defines charter schools and clarifies some of the administrative and legal details surrounding such schools. The digest also lays out some of the potential…

This workbook is part of a series devoted to all areas of charter-school development. The second of the series, this volume focuses on regulatory issues, such as special-education requirements, civil-rights regulations, federal and state laws and regulations, and requirements for parent involvement. The text is divided into four sections. Chapter…

This book brings together a selection of articles published in "The American Journal of Distance Education" that are related to Web-based delivery of distance education. Articles include: "Performance and Perceptions of Distance Learners in Cyberspace" (Peter Navarro and Judy Shoemaker); "Distance Education for Dentists: Improving the Quality of…

This paper explores the character of the teaching communities that have emerged in Michigan's charter and professional-development schools (PDS). It focuses on rhetorical constructions of what a teaching community is and how it is understood by those who are a part of it, with the assumption that teachers are subject to the cultural perceptions of…

Commonwealth College was the longest lived and most notorious of the resident labor colleges operating during the 1920s-30s. Founded in 1923 at NewLlano Cooperative Colony in Louisiana, the school was modeled on the self-maintenance characteristics of an abortive pre-war experiment in social education: Ruskin College. Disputes over priorities with…

This paper examines the Cleveland Scholarship and Tuition Program (CSTP), a program initiated in 1996 that was the first in the U.S. to offer state-funded scholarships that can be redeemed at both secular and parochial schools. To gather information about the program, a telephone survey of 2,020 CSTP applicants, 1,006 of which did not enroll in…

This book provides information for researchers and practitioners on the current issues and best practices associated with electronic learning communities. Fourteen contributed chapters include: "Interactive Online Educational Experiences: E-volution of Graded Projects" (James Benjamin); "Hybrid Courses as Learning Communities"…

In December 1998, New York State passed charter legislation allowing 100 new charter schools and an unlimited number of public schools to convert to charter status. The charter law has provided "discount funding," prohibited charter schools from using public-sources funds for facility purchase or improvement, and added managerial…

In the four examples of pedagogic integration of the Internet in a "multimodal" university situation reported in this paper, an innovative process is illustrated whose central objectives were improvement of the quality and relevance of the training strategies provided to students. This paper contributes to the characterization of the…

The term "mobile lessons" is coined for lessons held outside of "artificial" environments, such as classrooms. During these lessons, all actors are mobile and must move to do the required tasks. Themes tackled in such lessons may be as varied as geography, history, ecology, and linguistics. The use of mobile lessons is not a…

This study was undertaken in response to the need for research on alternative teaching and learning approaches in higher education. It focused on the experiences of 14 adult learners in a nontraditional classroom environment, as perceived by the learners themselves and by outside observers. The study also focused on a particular mode of classroom…

The growth of a communication network technology enables students to take part in a distant lecture. Although many lectures are conducted in universities by using Web contents, normal lectures using a blackboard are still held. The latter style lecture is good for a teacher's dynamic explanation. A way to modify it for a distant lecture is to…