The General Educational Development (GED) Tests date from 1942, when the United States Armed Forces Institute designed a battery of tests to provide military personnel and veterans the opportunity to obtain a credential that demonstrated proficiency on par with high school graduates. Since World War II, the GED Tests have also been beneficial to…

These newsletters on Institutional Effectiveness (IE) at Austin Community College (ACC) in Texas include the following articles: (1) "The 'Fast Track'...Students Say It Works!" (2) "Are Students Successfully Completing Distance Learning Courses at ACC?" (3) "Tracking Transfers"; (4) "Math Pilot: Study Skills…

This paper focuses on the rationale for incorporating Blackboard, a Web-authoring software package, as the knowledge construction tool in computer information system courses. The authors illustrate previous strategies they incorporated in their classes, and they present their uses of Blackboard. They point out their reactions as teachers, and the…

In Honduras, 88 percent of the rural population has 6 years or less of formal education. Several distance education schemes have been undertaken to address both low rural educational levels and the destruction of schools by Hurricane Mitch. This paper reports on recent studies of two distance education efforts with substantial international…

Volume 3 of "Northwest Education" contains four issues. Each issue has a theme title and typically consists of an opening review article on current trends and research related to the theme, followed by articles on exemplary schools or programs in the Northwest, promising practices, outstanding teachers, or suggestions for program…

This project provided adult educators in Pennsylvania with information about adults with learning differences and training in the use of alternative instructional techniques. Although the majority of training was conducted through presentations, many more adult educators were affected by the project through the information provided in the Learning…

Six issues of the newsletter of the General Educational Development Testing Service discuss developments of interest to users of the Tests of General Educational Development (GED) in the United States and Canada. The feature article of each issue is: (1) "Survey of Testing Centers Reveals Trends in Access to Technology"; (2)…

This paper is directed to policy and practice leaders interested in making urban secondary and postsecondary learning environments more widely available, especially to young people who have not been well-served by the large, impersonal high schools dominating most cities. Section 1, "Coming of Age in a Time of Economic and Demographic Change,"…

This guide for policymakers at all levels illuminates common ground between education reform and service learning and encourages the inclusion of service learning as a viable partner in education reform efforts. Leading school reform models are analyzed with a focus on their compatibility with service learning. Also included is a description of…

This paper compares the development since the 1980s of privatization of education services in the U.S. and U.K. In both countries, education management organizations (EMOs) have become institutionalized to some degree, with policy-borrowing between the two countries and common ideological predisposition toward market solutions. Despite this…

Despite major differences in course delivery, the critical components of effective online mathematics teacher education may not be different from the critical components of effective face-to-face mathematics teacher education. Research indicates that components of effective mathematics teacher education include: aesthetic experiences with…

The move from traditional paper-based distance education subject materials to those of information and communication technologies (ICT) has increased the ways in which students can engage with their lecturers, peers and the unit materials. In this paper, strategies for enhancing print-based learning resources are discussed. These include concept…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of interactions that students perceived to be important for online learning. The interaction attributes investigated included content interaction, conversation and collaboration, intrapersonal/metacognitive skills, and need for support. Also investigated were reasons why learners were taking…

This case study describes a distance learning experience from the point of view of a first time instructor and the students (elementary school teachers) enrolled in a graduate-level science education course at Morehead State University (Kentucky). Many of the students were from isolated areas in Appalachia. The paper concludes that participants…

This book explores different facets of emerging forms of educational practice that implicitly recognize the close relationship that exists between human cultures and the environment. The first six chapters describe educational efforts in K-12 schools throughout the North American continent. The second six chapters consider the work of people in…