In an effort to move students beyond their typical understanding of social media, "the collaborative identity project" requires that they collectively contribute to one single, pseudonymous, online identity spanning five popular social websites over the course of one semester. In this enriching and thought-provoking exercise, students…

In this paper, we discuss the case of the recent introduction of a career guidance software within Italian schools with the aim to explore the use of digital devices in the governance of educational processes within the field of lifelong guidance. First, we provide a semiotic analysis of the software and its online platform with the aim of…

The problem of human-computer interface design was brought to the foreground with the emergence of the personal computer, the increasing complexity of electronic systems, and the need to accommodate the human operator in these systems. With each new technological generation discovering the interface design problems of its own technologies, initial…

This article explores youth making media across genre practices. The author begins with a discussion of youth media arts, followed by a discussion of remix in the digital era. An exemplary video poem project from the San Francisco Bay Area is described to illustrate the importance of critical solidarity among youth. The multimodal design,…

The changes that the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework obliged the School of Architecture of Malaga, University of Malaga. to make to its "History of Architecture" course are discussed in this paper. It was taken up as an opportunity to modify the whole course, introducing creative teaching and "imaginative…

Interactive, community-focused online tools--like Skype, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, wikis, and the educational software Blackboard--are becoming so dominant in the classroom that it's hard to imagine any professor or student making it through a week without them. Consider a recent survey conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group in…

The meaning of citizenship has usually been associated with the power of individuals in the process of social decision-making. Throughout the history, effective citizenship has required functional literacy skills as the fundamental factor for attending societal life. In the past, the 3Rs (writing, reading, and arithmetic) were considered to be…

Athletic training faculty seeking tenure and promotion, or simply undergoing an annual merit review, may need an understanding of the impact of their scholarly work. To that end, citation counts are frequently used as a measure of impact that a journal article has had in a given discipline. As compared to the simple quantity of publications, the…

In the championship playoffs of professional learning tools, this author contends that there is a clear-cut victor. Customizable, platform-agnostic, able to circumvent filters--both browser and network-imposed--RSS is the best professional learning tool. Reading sites via RSS has appeal for those who want the raw information. With a well-honed…

Like it or not, knowing how to make use of online tools without being overloaded with too much information is an essential ingredient to personal success in the twenty-first century. But how can we use digital media so that they make us empowered participants rather than passive receivers, grounded, well-rounded people rather than multitasking…

This article defines Twitter[TM]; outlines the features, affordances, and common uses; and conceptualizes "tweeting" as a literacy practice, comprising both traditional and new literacies, and impacting both informal and formal learning settings. Also provided is an overview of traditional and new literacies, and insights from a scan of the…

Today we thrive on an abundance of relatively cheap computing power and have the luxury of wasting most of it. It is quickly becoming not only possible but also financially sound, for educators to significantly complement, supplement, or even replace traditional print curricula with digital print and media, online curricula and websites, and…

For a while, the idea of social software was something that had to be sold. Although many librarians were experimenting with it, there were a lot of concerns. Now, social software, like Library 2.1, is starting to be viewed less as a disruptive force and more as a regular part of a librarian's workflow. This article highlights a few examples that…

Mobile technology is a favorite discussion topic among senior IT leaders and higher education administrators. Mobile is the future for content delivery. Colleges and universities need to establish a strategy now and make the decisions necessary to take advantage of this communication opportunity. In this article, the author recommends making…

Ongoing developments in educational technology, including web-based instruction, streaming video, podcasting, video-conferencing, and the use of wikis and blogs to create learning communities, have substantial impact on distance education and preparation of special educators in rural communities. These developments can be overwhelming, however,…