This paper examines the impact of a UK government initiative, introduced in late 2008 and closed in 2011, to provide a computer and 1 year of Internet connectivity to low-income households with children aged 5-19 years. This paper presents and discusses the findings from the evaluation of the initiative, the Home Access Programme (HAP) pilot study…

During the school year 2008-2009, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam launched the "Year of ICT" to produce a breakthrough in educational innovation. In light of this development we have carried out a policy analysis to study the national vision on ICT in education. The policy analysis takes into account a decade of…

Many countries around the world install millions of computers, printers, projectors, smartboards, and similar technologies in primary and secondary schools to equip new generations with the ability to effectively access and critically evaluate information and communication technologies. However, experiences from different countries show that…

While society has moved through a number of "ages" since the industrial age, many schools have remained firmly entrenched in an education system designed for a world which, largely, no longer exists. Educational policy and literature is replete with discourse related to school reform, 21st century learning and the importance of…

Virtual learning is not for every student, but it's not science fiction, either. Right now in Michigan, it's being used by thousands of students in hundreds of virtual courses in urban, rural and suburban school districts. In fact, Michigan has been seen as a national leader in virtual learning. This study analyzes the financial costs and academic…

This paper evaluates the effects of federal initiatives in educational technology in elementary and secondary education over the past half-century. While federal resources have been diluted across many programs, this paper focuses on the few initiatives in which the federal role was substantial and integral. The findings from this paper have…

This study uses rich empirical data from Brazil to assess how a government program (PDE) that decentralizes school management decisions changes what goes on in schools and how these changes affect student outcomes. It appears that the PDE resulted in some improvements in management and learning materials, but little change in other areas including…

The overarching aim of this research in the proposal was the following: In a number of early childhood centres and early years school classrooms that have already begun to explore in this area, to investigate effective pedagogy designed to develop five learning competencies over time. This project was developed in response to curriculum reform in…

Proformacao is a distance teacher certification course aimed at providing training to 27,000 uncertified teachers in 15 Brazilian states. This innovative program organizes human and technical resources for delivering distance education in a cost-effective manner. Different from other institutional systems--which typically employ their own…

This study examines recent initiatives in the Irish Republic to integrate ICT into the primary school system. The study includes an analysis of the social, political and educational background to past initiatives, both government and teacher-led, to make more use of ICT in the general school system over the past 30 years. The government's…

Both of these "Surveys of policy and practice" were conducted on behalf of COL by the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) as part of COL's partnership agreement with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning. The first report identifies…