During the last decade, technological developments in computer hardware, software and networks, combined with increasing pressures on staff and students, have led to a proliferation of Communication and Information Technology (C&IT) within the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) disciplines. This research investigates the role of…

Ask any college student attending a university in the Northeast or Midwest, and one will discover that in the world of frigid-winter academia, there is nothing worse than just missing the campus shuttle bus in 12-degree weather. Today, however, students at a handful of colleges can stay warm and cozy inside their dorm rooms while they track the…

While research has identified various personality and demographic characteristics that appear to be associated with a variety of activities related to the use of digital technologies (e.g., Biner, Dean & Mellinger, 1994; Biner, Summers, Dean, Bink, Anderson & Gelder, 1996; Black, 1992; Clark, 1993; Figueroa, 1992), little is known about how…

This paper reports the use of Rogers' diffusion of innovation perspective to understand the factors affecting educational innovation decisions, specifically in regard to in class electronic response systems. Despite decreasing costs and four decades of research showing strong student support, academic adoption is limited. Using data collected from…

Through surveys, focus groups and interviews, this study examines technology adoption at a large Canadian university ten years after setting a strategic plan, explores the interplay between instructors' concepts of teaching and use of technology, and searches for the best solutions to help them use technology more effectively. Results showed that…

Central to the argument about the influence of media on learning is how this influence is measured or ascertained. Conventional methods which comprise the use of true and quasi-experimental designs are inadequate. Several lessons can be learned from this observation on the media debate. The first is that, conventional methods of ascertaining the…

Empirical research evaluating the effectiveness of learning objects is noticeably absent. No formal research has been done on the use of learning objects in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of learning objects by high school students. The evaluation metric used to assess benefits and quality of learning objects…

With the fading monopoly of the industrial mode of production and the emergence of the "information revolution," modern technology has pervaded almost every aspect of human life. In education, however, information technology has yet to find a place, despite the unceasing attempts to "fit" it into the existing educational system. The paper argues…

Using a qualitative approach, this study investigated how the use of GIS technology affected fourth graders' geography learning and understanding of place. For this study, a GIS module was developed and implemented. The data gathering included transcripts from video and audio recordings of classroom instructions, interviews with the students and…

While most existing online learning environments cater for needs identified during the 1990s, a new generation of digital students has emerged in the developed world. Digital students are young adults who have grown up with digital technologies integrated as an everyday feature of their lives. Digital students use technology differently, fluidly…

The present paper defines the key words of "Distance Teaching" (DT), "Distance Education" (DE), and "Open (Distance) Learning" (ODL) to be followed by the exploration of the "Instructional Design" (ID) concept, its principles and process and the operational steps to emphasize on the ever missing issue of the…

Administrators of distance learning are faced with the challenge of encouraging reluctant faculty to consider online teaching. Is it possible that supporting faculty to conduct modest research studies is such an avenue? Currently, many research studies compare student grades or scores from an online course to a more traditional one, ignoring…

The relationship between new technology and learning is gaining increasing relevance in the field of music education (Webster, 2002; Folkestad et al., 1998). However, only a few studies have considered the nature of the interaction between children and musical machines. This article describes an observation study of children aged 3-5 years…

The effectiveness of blended learning is dependent upon the combination of learning activities, complemented by information communication technologies and the availability of opportunities for face-to-face communication. This paper proposes a filtering approach to assist lecturers in combining learning activities within a blended learning…

This paper is a practitioner response by an IT manager to a paper by Duncan Greaves entitled "A pedagogical and economic critique of student charges for Internet access", which appears in the same issue of "IJEDICT." Greaves' article proposes four mechanisms to solve this "public goods problem". The author explores…