This paper presents the results of a survey conducted with first year Education students at a Queensland university on the levels of competency in literacies expected for teachers in schools. Eight aspects were chosen to be examined to discover the skill levels students thought to be essential for effective teaching and to compare these with their…

In Australia, information and communication technologies (ICT) are a significant element of a multicultural and multilingual society. However, some people (in particular, international students, immigrants, refugees) may experience many challenges because they use technology in English as their second language (ESL) and in a new sociocultural…

The K-5 school years are crucial, setting the framework for all subjects as well as critical thinking skills. The single most important component in a classroom is the teacher. However, in a formative timeframe for elementary-school aged children, the number of K-5 teachers that are educated with a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math…

This article reports the move from paper-based marking (PBM) to onscreen marking (OSM) in Hong Kong for the subject Liberal Studies--whose objectives involve broadening students' horizons through critical examination of current issues. While currently a small candidature subject of approximately 3300, from 2009, the subject will become compulsory…

This research study was an investigation of current faculty development practices for alternative delivery systems. Attention was given to faculty development in general as well as specific facets of faculty development for alternative delivery systems. Future or intended faculty development practices were pursued, along with factors that…

Being literate in a real-world sense means being able to read and write using the media forms of the day, whatever they may be. For centuries, consuming and producing words through reading and writing and, to a lesser extent, listening and speaking were sufficient. But because of inexpensive, easy-to-use, and widely available new tools, literacy…

Today's students face a world where revolutionary changes in technology; the global marketplace; and significant social, political, and environment issues dramatically affect what they must learn. Teaching students to think and act critically, creatively, and ethically--and to use technology to this end--will endow them with substantial economic…

Many teachers and people in educational institutions consider it necessary to prepare children for living in a computerized society. The Internet offers an incredible number of opportunities for teachers. The Web offer of e-learning open source platforms reached an impressive configuration. In this article, we present an educational software for…

In this article we document observations of our own young children's usage of technology in their "out-of-school" worlds. How might these technologies and practices be changing the understandings and usage of texts and literacies of the children who enter into classroom spaces? What transformative possibilities might these home technology…

The digital divide between genders and generations in school, i.e., between teachers and secondary school students in Finland, was investigated comparing statistical data in 1999-2000 and in 2002-2004. ICT skills were intertwined with both generation and gender. Teachers were familiar with some traditional applications, students with new…

E-learning technologies are often seen as a driving force in the democratisation of contemporary education. However, few researchers have focused on inequalities in online learners' access to technologies or their abilities to use them. In 2009, we assessed The University of Western Australia's "SmARTS" outreach program, investigating…

A new national survey of recent public high school graduates shows that approximately 50% of them report gaps in preparation for life after high school. Recent grads say they would have worked harder if they had fully understood the challenges that lay ahead. The research suggests that providing real academic challenge for high school students and…

Over the past five years, business and education groups have issued a series of reports indicating that the skill demands of work are rising, due to rapid technological change and increasing global competition. Researchers have begun to study changing workplace skill demands. Some economists have found that technological change is…

I welcome the feedback from Downey et al. on my analysis of the "Versant for English" Test (formerly called the PhonePass Test), as it provides opportunities to engage in dialogue on differing notions of language performance and authenticity and address the implications of technological expediency influencing and shaping the design of test tasks.…

This article addresses how we learn technology across the lifespan. After outlining findings of research into how children, adolescents, teens and adults learn technology, we address theoretical shifts from sociocultural to technocultural theories of cognition and reorientations from mediated to cyborgenic learning. The balance of the article…