Visitors to the Peck School this year would see a very different scene than two years ago. The school has expanded its laptop program to include younger students, begun construction on two new buildings, and revamped the daily schedule. Laptops are moving into the lower grades, with younger students at a ratio of two students per computer and…

While the discussion on the topic of technology diffusion in teacher education primarily centers on course design, program development, and faculty technology training, this article explores technology diffusion from the perspective of organizational change. Technology diffusion in teacher education is a multi-faceted task and, therefore, requires…

Colleges and public universities must stay abreast of rapid changes in the application of information technology, typically on very limited budgets. Additionally, students increasingly expect faculty to apply bleeding-edge technology in the classroom and integrate it into the curriculum. This article briefly notes prevailing literature related to…

There was a time when the chalkboard was revolutionary. Before it came along, teachers would walk from student to student, drawing problems on individual slates. Now interactive whiteboards promise to reinvent instruction again. Many teachers are now discovering the benefits of using whiteboards. This article presents several strategies on how…

What is the future of schools and what is the role of ICT in this future? To some of us, ICTs are emblematic of contemporary discussions about educational reform; their incorporation into education offers significant improvement to the overall quality of education our children receive. For others, this improvement cannot be realised under current…

Twenty-six scholarly papers and ten abstracts comprise the content of the thirteenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship. The…

This article describes an English language arts teacher preparation perspective that considers middle school students as part of the teacher educator team. Based on a recognized gap in the literature about students as powerful partners, the authors undertook a 3-year study to explore the question, "What do preservice middle school teachers…

The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to bridge the communication gap between teacher and learner has been identified as a major characteristic of Open and Distance Learning (ODL). In many developing counties, including Nigeria, several barriers prevent OD learners from maximising the potentials of ICTs to enhance their learning.…

Several years ago a senior APS colleague challenged the leaders of academic programs to critically think about a preferred future for ensuring that there is not only the capability, but also the willingness to recognize and reform and/or reframe higher education programs within FANRRS to meet the challenges of "preparing society ready…

New innovations of online learning within blended environments create a need within academia for research on best practices in teaching. This book provides insight into the practice of blended learning in higher education. This unique book collects new international research into many aspects of blended learning from the perspectives of learners,…

The global rise of Internet-based education is discussed in relation to models drawn from social studies and epidemiology. Experiential and data density models are highlighted, also the capacity for technological change, and phenomena observed in the spread of disease. The lesson of these illustrations is that even apparently permanent phenomena…

This article examines the results of an online national survey of K-12 educators who attended a series of GIS training workshops conducted by the authors between 1998 and 2004. Data from the self-report survey (N = 186) suggest new information about potential changes in instruction and assessment patterns following GIS training. The survey…

Novice teachers today struggle to integrate engaging pedagogy into their standards based curriculum. 21st century students have been immersed in technology from birth and are accustomed to multi-tasking with several types of technology each day. Students no longer rely on the traditional ways of communication and absorb their information via…

Student teachers often complain about the lack of relevance of the theoretical courses in teacher education, and they repeatedly stress the importance of the practicum as the most significant component in preparation for teaching. However, most teacher educators, as well as students themselves, recognise the importance of being well informed about…

This study has three major purposes, including designing mobile natural-science learning activities that rest on the 5E Learning Cycle, examining the effects of these learning activities on students' performances of learning aquatic plants, and exploring students' perceptions toward these learning activities. A case-study method is utilized and…