Maps such as concept maps and knowledge maps are often used as learning materials. These maps have nodes and links, nodes as key concepts and links as relationships between key concepts. From a map, the user can recognize the important concepts and the relationships between them. To build concept or knowledge maps, domain experts are needed.…

This paper presents a genre-based conceptual framework for designing content for learning objects. Some content aggregation models are reviewed in order to stress the lack of such an approach. In this framework, learning objects are considered as multimodal macrogenres. These macrogenres are constituted of content objects which in fact are several…

In 2008, the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University teamed up with VT Enterprise (now Babcock International) in their submission of a successful bid to deliver the national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Subject Choice and Careers Project. An integral part of the bid was the promotion of equality and…

The demand for qualified information technology professionals remains high despite downturns in the economy. It is imperative to provide students with a curriculum that provides a broad foundation in information technology knowledge, skills, and abilities. Students also need access to specialized technologies and learning materials to develop the…

Video-based classroom research is opening-up exciting new insights into how teachers generate productive opportunities for student engagement in quality learning. This research reveals the extent to which effective teachers draw on a range of multimodal representations of science phenomena and learners must use these as semiotic resources for…

Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya's economy and contributes significantly to the gross domestic product. A great majority of this contribution comes from smallholder farmers who paradoxically face numerous obstacles ranging from a lack of support structures to poor policies and inadequate resources. A major challenge is assisting these farmers…

The increasing availability of recording technologies makes it easier to include usability testing projects in business communication courses. Usability testing is a method of discovering whether people can navigate, read, and understand a print or electronic communication well enough to achieve a particular purpose in a reasonable time frame.…

Six academics at a regional university in Australia engaged in collaborative research examining their teaching and learning practices, their current understandings and beliefs about teacher education pedagogy and, specifically, the online teaching and learning environments. This collegial self-study project was guided by the goal of achieving…

Results from a project conducted in Mexico are discussed, in which a group of 17 indigenous teachers analyzed the numeration systems of their first language. The main goal of the project is to develop resources that help teachers in supporting students' understanding of the systems. In the first phase of the project, the central organizing ideas…

Rubrics are essential tools for all language teachers in this age of communicative and task-based teaching and assessment--tools that allow us to efficiently communicate to our students what we are looking for in the productive language abilities of speaking and writing and then effectively assess those abilities when the time comes for grading…

This response to Leah A. Bricker and Phillip Bell's paper, "GodMode is his video game name", examines their assertion that the social nexus of gaming practices is an important factor to consider for those looking to design STEM video games. I propose that we need to go beyond the investigation into which aspects of games play a role in learning,…

In this study, a scale entitled "Information and Communication Technologies Usage and Material Design Efficacy [ICT_MDE]" is developed to investigate pre-service science and technology teachers' efficacy beliefs regarding ICT usage and Material Design and the factors impacting these beliefs. By using the validity and reliability data…

Through a series of summit meetings, the Adult Education Great Cities Summit Initiative explored the needs and concerns of adult education students, teachers, and local program administrators in five large, urban settings. Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Houston participated in a series of activities focused on improving learner…

Published language materials are widely used around the world, but many Foreign Language (FL) and/or Second Language (SL) learners still fail to develop their communicative competence satisfactorily and they are still not happy with their language materials. Materials design has recently been characterized by two important developments: first,…

Idioms, because of their cultural and figurative aspects, cannot be readily comprehended and used appropriately; hence, they need to be taught explicitly by means of instructional materials in language classrooms. Knowledge of idioms constitutes an important component of learners' communicative competence (Bachman, 1990) since idioms as part of…