This article discusses video games as "attractors" to "affinity spaces." It argues that affinity spaces are key sites today where people teach and learn 21st Century skills. While affinity spaces are proliferating on the Internet as interest-and-passion-driven sites devoted to a common set of endeavors, they are not new, just…

Although today's unprecedented advancements in technology ought to serve as a springboard for innovations in teaching and learning, practices in many schools in the United States and around the globe remain unchanged. Indeed, Europe, too has struggled with this challenge. Using European technology initiatives as points of reflection, the authors…

This article aims at clarifying and conceptualizing game-based learning (GBL) in order to pinpoint directions for practices and research. The authors maintain that GBL should be conceptualized toward the transformation of a textbook-learning culture. The authors emphasize the importance of a paradigm shift in learning and a reorientation in…

This article describes the crossroads between learning analytics and learner engagement. The authors do this by describing specific challenges of using analytics to support student engagement from three distinct perspectives: pedagogical considerations, technological issues, and interface design concerns. While engaging online learners presents a…

Contributing editors Susan Fulgham and Michael Shaughnessy present their interview with David M. Monetti, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Valdosta State University. Monetti teaches courses in educational psychology, learning, and measurement and evaluation. He is actively involved with the public schools as a researcher…

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 shows that technological neutrality, determinism, and autonomy correspond to parts of a spectrum of possible historical relations between societies and their technologies. The spectrum of relations is based on the recognition that as we change technology, technology simultaneously changes us. This reinterpretation compels us to face…

Bror Saxberg is Chief Learning Officer for Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and a leading global provider of educational services, offering post-secondary education, test preparation, professional training, and K-12 programs. Saxberg is responsible for the research and development of innovative learning…

Michael W. Allen, the Chairman and CEO of Allen Interactions, is an architect of interactive multimedia learning and is recognized for his many insights, inventions, and presentations. With over 50 years of experience in e-learning, both in academic and corporate settings, he is known for his role in creating Authorware and overseeing the work of…

The learner-centered paradigm of education requires very different roles for technology, as well as for teachers and students, compared with the teacher-centered paradigm. Rather than almost exclusively serving the teacher for teaching, technology primarily serves the student for learning. It does so through four major roles: (1) keeping records…

While "mobile learning" has gained recognition in K-12 as a category in educational technology, the authors argue that, between 2010 and 2015, at least, its impact hasn't matched the hype. But between 2015 and 2020, hardware, software, and network technologies will mature sufficiently such that educational technology's Holy…

Powerful and transformative learning experiences display characteristics in common with each other. Emerging communication technologies may increase opportunities for powerful and transformative learning experiences. To explore this question, there are four sections to this article. First, it is observed that there are many interesting synergies…

Critical thinking, viewed as rational and analytic thinking, is crucial for participation in a knowledge economy and society. This article provides a brief presentation of the importance of teaching critical thinking in a knowledge economy; suggests a conceptual model for teaching thinking; examines research on the historical role of teachers in…

One of the most explosive areas of growth in the field of higher education is currently in emerging international markets. In developing nations, lack of access to high-quality teachers and educational materials is often the key obstacle preventing students from gaining the skills and knowledge they need to pursue new opportunities and advance in…

In a world dominated by change and transformation, this article explores instructional technology connections to and applications of transformative learning. The author provides an overview of the theory of transformative learning, which embraces the hallmarks of 21st century learning. Rather than focusing solely on how to use technology,…