The onset of the standards-based movement in education in the early 1980's, bolstered by the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2002, led many school districts to shift from a culture of regulatory, process-oriented compliance to one that is more results-oriented, primarily based on state-adopted summative assessment targets in…

Virtual charter schools, emerging in the 1990s, are a recent development in the education field and reflect today's technology-oriented society. This study examined existing data to evaluate what, if any, difference existed between students who attended public school and those who were homeschooled prior to entering the virtual charter school. …

A study comparing University of Wisconsin-Stout freshmen and senior education majors' computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge and associated learning experiences was conducted. Instruments used in this study included the IC[superscript 3][R] Exam by Certiport, Inc. and the investigator's Computing and Internet Skills Learning…

This dissertation studies two specific topics on information technologies in health care industry. (1) The status and change of integrated health care delivery system level IT spending and hospital level IT adoption between 1999 and 2006. (2) The potential link between hospital level IT adoptions and quality as quantified by procedural performance…

This paper reports on the construction and initial testing of a computer-based interactive flood hazard management simulation, designed for undergraduates taking an applied geomorphology course. Details of the authoring interface utilized to create the simulation are presented. Students act as the managers of civil defence utilities in a fictional…

History has shown effective training techniques can produce significant business results especially in customer service, product development, and capability in obtaining new skill sets. This linkage of training to business strategy has given many businesses the needed competitive edge in today's global market. In today's technology age,…

This study investigated the effects of Chan (Zen) meditation on musical performance anxiety and musical performance quality. Nineteen participants were recruited from music conservatories and randomly assigned to either an eight-week meditation group or a wait-list control group. After the intervention, all participants performed in a public…

Personalized curriculum sequencing is an important research issue for web-based learning systems because no fixed learning paths will be appropriate for all learners. Therefore, many researchers focused on developing e-learning systems with personalized learning mechanisms to assist on-line web-based learning and adaptively provide learning paths…

Teams are an essential part of successful performance in learning and work environments. Analysis-constructed shared mental model (ACSMM) methodology is a set of techniques where individual mental models are elicited and sharedness is determined not by the individuals who provided their mental models but by an analytical procedure. This method…

The use of portfolio assessment is a valuable tool for teachers to use with young children to better understand how young children develop and learn. An intentional data collection and documentation system becomes a very powerful assessment tool, one that is authentic and based on children's capabilities and strengths. Children, educators,…

Most educators are familiar with instances of authentic assessment of "content" within the disciplines or of authentic assessment of "discipline-specific skills." In such authentic assessments, students apply the knowledge and skills of the discipline to situations or tasks that replicate real world challenges. The measurement of skills is…

The purpose of this study was to further evaluate the outcomes of a model program that was designed to train current teachers of children with autism. Nine certified special education teachers participating in an intensive 5-day summer training program were taught a relatively large number of specific skills in two areas (preference assessment and…

When cheaper video cameras with built-in USB connectors were first introduced, the author relates that he pined for one so he introduced the technology into the classroom. The author believes that it would not only be a great tool for students to capture their own learning, but also make his job of collecting authentic assessment more streamlined…

The study examined in this article casts the challenge of enhancing military training effectiveness as one of reducing the discrepancy between maximum and typical performance. Our principal assertion is that performance measurement focused on this discrepancy can enhance performance improvement initiatives because it gives the foundation for…

This article discusses the use of human performance technology (HPT) to improve qualification rates for learning to land onboard aircraft carriers. This project started as a request for a business case analysis and evolved into a full-fledged performance improvement project, from mission analysis through evaluation. The result was a significant…