Purpose: To illustrate the need for social network metadata within semantic metadata. Design/methodology/approach: Surveys properties of social networks and the semantic web, suggests that social network analysis applies to semantic content, argues that semantic content is more searchable if social network metadata is merged with semantic web…

Arguments about whether or not the Internet is creating new people or simply helping us to see ourselves in new ways are threaded through the literature on digital culture. People make new technology and exploit it for their own purposes and so it is reasonable to suggest that any changes in our social identities are wider in their reach than the…

Writing is a recursive and complex set of cognitive processes that can be taught effectively to students with disabilities. Employing an adapted cognitive theory of writing, a broad view of what constitutes evidence, and the support of a variety of assistive and internet-based technologies, we developed a writing instructional program to meet the…

This paper examines how emergent technologies could influence the design of learning environments. It will pay particular attention to the roles of educators and learners in creating networked learning experiences on massive open online courses (MOOCs). The research shows that it is possible to move from a pedagogy of abundance to a pedagogy that…

This study critiqued the notion that a binary "digital divide" between high and low resource schools describes accurately the technology disparity in U.S society. In this study, we surveyed teachers from six southern California schools. Five of the schools were low resource schools and one school, chosen for comparative purposes, was…

Background: Many of the potential benefits of using virtual worlds for teaching and learning are difficult to define and often become overly focused on the functionality of the technology or on its ability to support informal or "social" forms of learning. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to highlight the experiential nature of virtual…

This paper reviews recent measurement work on User-Created Content (UCC) undertaken in OECD countries. It shows that UCC is emerging as a significant area of economic and social activity worthy of consideration for official measurement and discusses the implications for the OECD Model Survey on ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals.…

Education technology leaders are ever seeking new ways to eliminate the traditional social and geographic boundaries that hinder communication and collaboration for both K-12 students and educators. Larger districts with geographically dispersed schools often find that innovative ideas for technology use and integration are balkanized into…

Reviews the literature on technology-based groups and presents the results of a survey of group practitioners which focused on their experiences with telephone and computer groups and other factors. Results show that this technology increased accessibility, convenience, and anonymity. Discusses implications of using telephones and computers for…

This study examined the functions of Instant Messaging (IM) among seven youths who regularly used this digital technology in their daily lives. Grounded in theories of literacy as a social and semiotic practice, this research asked what functions IM served in participants' lives and how their social identities shaped and were shaped by this form…

When Tamara learned that she and her husband were expecting a baby girl, Tamara remembers the doctor telling her "the odds were high" her daughter would inherit her bipolar disorder. As it turned out, her daughter, Lindsay was also formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder after her 11th birthday. Tamara turned to Internet to find someone who…

Purpose: Aims to investigate the way that the semantic web is being used to represent and process social network information. Design/methodology/approach: The Swoogle semantic web search engine was used to construct several large data sets of Resource Description Framework (RDF) documents with social network information that were encoded using the…

This study was conducted in response to several recent incidents in which teachers and student teachers were reprimanded for content they placed on the Internet. This study examined the Facebook postings of preservice elementary teachers to determine the extent to which these postings are congruent with expected dispositions. Profiles were…

This exploratory study investigates the potential of Wiki technology as a tool for teaching and learning. Wikis are a component of Web 2.0 technology tools that provide collaborative features and active learning opportunities in a web-based environment. This research study sought to empirically determine the pedagogical value of using Wiki…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the construction of virtual community identities among Chinese internet users and their motivation for lurking, posting or flaming. Design/methodology/approach: Taking Qiangguo Luntan as an online study site the authors apply an ethnographic approach for the research, a method that is becoming more…