This paper reports a previously unpublished comparative analysis of data from the ImpaCT2 study investigating the relationship between students' performance in England on national tests and their reported use of information technology (particularly networked technology) for school work, at three age levels (11, 14 and 16), in English, Maths and…

This paper focuses on the interaction patterns of learners studying in pairs who were provided with multimedia learning material. In a previous article, we reported that learning scores were higher for dyads of an "animations" condition than for dyads of a "static pictures" condition. Results also showed that offering a persistent display of one…

Discusses the issues and problems involved in effectively preparing new teachers to integrate information technology into all aspects of teaching, especially curriculum development. Provides a list of suggestions and conclusions to aid in the integration and support of information technology training for teachers during their formal education.…

Describes a study of undergraduates in Israel that examined the relationship between two distance learning ICT (information and communication technology)-based configurations. Results indicate that psychological attitudes held by students differentially facilitate efficient use of distance learning approaches. Considers satisfaction with learning,…

Explores how various collaborative settings affect elementary school children's interactions with each other and with technology. Describes the development of co-located groupware systems offering support for concurrent, multi-user interactions around a shared display, which offer a collaborative environment in which users share both the physical…

Substantial investment has been made in improving computer hardware and raising the profile of information and communications technology (ICT) in English primary schools in recent years, in line with the belief that skills in ICT are essential for our future workforce. This study compares practising teachers' responses in 1998 and 2001 to a…

Presents a framework for integrating pedagogy and software design and evaluates the framework by designing two educational programs to be used in coaching exploratory talk in small group work in citizenship and science. Results show that combining software design with off-computer coaching of exploratory talk enhances computer interaction and that…

Design of educational multimedia rarely starts from scratch, but rather by attempting to reuse existing software. Although redesign has been an issue in research on evaluation and on learning objects, how it should be carried out in a principled way has remained relatively unexplored. Furthermore, understanding how empirical research on…

This study explored the views of initial teacher trainees on various components of their training in the use of new technology to teach their subject. The research focused on trainees' reflections on their experiences of trying to "get better" at information and communication technology (ICT) in the course of their training. Data collection…

Substantial increases in the size of many undergraduate classes in recent years have limited the ways in which students can engage with their disciplines and become active participants in their learning. This paper presents a methodology which uses a basic WebCT platform to improve the way in which students in large classes learn. The approach,…

In this paper, we explore the idea of weak ties in networked learning. We go back to the original conception of the strength of weak ties and relate this to Bakhtin and a dialogic understanding of networked learning. These theoretical ideas are applied to the examination of two networked settings in which educational leaders exchange ideas and…

In this paper, we present a synchronous text-based communication tool, referred to as Adaptive Communication Tool (ACT), which provides capabilities for adaptation and personalization. ACT supports both the free and the structured form of dialogue. The structured dialogue is implemented by two types of Scaffolding Sentence Templates (SST); i.e.…

Reports on a pilot study that investigated the creative impact of information and communication technology (ICT) in a grade 6 class in England. Presents a model of creativity that includes problem solving, creative cognition, and social interaction; and discusses the creation of personal Web pages. (Author/LRW)

Discusses information technology and its effects on developmental psychology and children's education. Topics discussed include a theory of child-computer interaction (CCI); programing; communication and computers, including electronic mail; cognitive science; artificial intelligence; modeling the user-system interaction; and the future of…

This article elaborates the factors that have led to the emergence of the concept of learning objects as the predominant model for digital learning materials, examining the problems that they address. It suggests that while there do appear to be real benefits, for a learning object model to be successful there needs to be a thriving learning…