This report presents findings from a two-year investigation of the ways in which Web 2.0 tools and social networking technologies are being used to support teaching and learning in classrooms across the United States. With funding from Intel[R], the Education Development Center's Center for Children and Technology (EDC/CCT) interviewed or visited…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain the emergent nature of leadership in a university-based learning network of mature-aged practitioner-scholars. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on previously published work, interviews, and current research. Findings: The paper finds that once initial structures have been established,…

Current literature on libraries is abundant with articles about the uses and the potential of new interactive communication technology, including Web 2.0 tools. Recently, the advent and use of virtual worlds have received top billing in these works. Many library institutions are exploring these virtual environments; this exploration and the…

Distance education as a primary means of instruction is expanding significantly at the college and university level. Simultaneously, the growth of social networking sites (SNS) including Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace is also rising among today's college students. An increasing number of higher education instructors are beginning to combine…

The nature of learning in a public library is relevant to what place e-learning and social networking technologies might have there. That a public library aims to provide something for everyone is also important. Alice Springs Public Library (ASPL) is a place of learning; it is also a crowded and composite space. The use ASPL could make of the…

In an effort to intentionally create the level of deep learning necessary for practitioners to make meaningful changes in their classrooms, professional networks are increasingly being promoted as mechanisms for knowledge creation that can lever the kinds of changes that make a difference for students. This paper explores the way networks function…

In recent years, networking and collaboration have become increasingly popular in education. However, there is at present a lack of attention to the theoretical basis of networking, which could illuminate when and when not to network and under what conditions networks are likely to be successful. In this paper, we will attempt to sketch the…

The Center for Economic and Workforce Development (CEWD) at Kingsborough Community College (KCC) is currently working on a workforce development project that contains innovative teaching tools that proved successful in overcoming issues of academic isolation facing the student body. The CUNY Young Adult Program (CYAP) is a partnership of three…

In this article the authors share strategies for establishing personal, one-on-one relationships between online students and faculty, to attend to identity, individualization, and interpersonal interaction in support of student engagement and retention. Rather than focus on high-tech solutions, the authors focus on low-tech solutions--the…

The use of social technologies, such as wikis and chats, has brought a renewed attention to L2 collaborative writing. Yet, a question that still remains to be answered is the extent to which learners' writing is enhanced when using these tools. By analyzing learners' individual and collaborative writing, this study (a) explores L2 learners'…

This article scopes the connections between the educational use of Web 2.0 technologies in social learning spaces, and the concept of individual self-efficacy. At issue is whether the individual learner can be empowered "both" in her/his engagement with a task based upon a perception that s/he will be successful "and" in taking…

This study explores blending virtual and physical learning environments to enhance the experience of first year by immersing students into university culture through social and academic interaction between peers. It reports on the progress made from 2008 to 2009 using an existing academic platform, the first year design elective course…

Background: A limited amount of research has been conducted on children and adolescents who are low achievers. In Hong Kong, educators describe low achieving students in terms of academic performance, they seldom focus on socio-emotional aspects, such as self-esteem, peer affiliation, and inter-personal relationships. However, low achieving…

An exploratory study using qualitative methodology was undertaken with recent MSW graduates (N=12) from 2 graduate social work programs to identify and describe the students' emotional reactions to experiences in field education. Significant and interrelated themes emerged including the subjective and unique definitions of emotionally charged…

With the proliferation of Web sites that allow students to praise or disparage their instructors depending on their whims, instructors across the country essentially are becoming subjects of comparison shopping by prospective students. Using a sample survey of 258 students majoring in business at a public university on the west coast of the United…