This article describes the formation and evolution of a successful collaboration titled the "Master Technology Teacher", a professional development program that focuses on training teachers how to use technology in classroom instruction. Partners in the collaboration include inservice and preservice teachers and university content area…

Rapid growth of online education and the perceived difference between online and face-to-face instruction has necessitated training and support for instructors transitioning to online delivery. The research reported here resulted from an evaluation of a six-week fully online training program, "Preparing Online Instructors" "(POI)", to determine…

This study examined technology implementation practices associated with student learning gains. Interviews and observations were conducted with staff at schools where teachers using reading or mathematics software with their students attained above-average achievement gains and at schools where software-using teachers had below-average gains. The…

Students struggle with the transition from learning to read narrative text in the early grades to reading expository text in the science classroom in the upper grades as they begin reading and writing to gain information. Science teachers can adapt their teaching materials to develop students' reading comprehension and recall by writing summaries…

Despite a steady supply of equipment and continuous training, teachers' use of computers for instruction seems to be limited. Whether the problem is due to teachers' ability or usage of computers for instruction is not well understood. In order to better understand the role of ability and usage in technology integration, teachers' proficiency of…

In late February, 13 members of ISTE's Special Interest Group for Teacher Educators (SIGTE) participated in a global exchange, traveling to New Zealand on a SIG-sponsored study tour hosted by CORE Education (www.coreed.org), a nonprofit research and development organization that supports the use of educational technology across New Zealand through…

In this article, the author explains how she used online blogs with more than 263 students over a period of four semesters in an introductory social problems course. She describes how she uses blogs to enhance student participation, engagement, and skill building. Finally, she provides an overview of students' qualitative assessments of the blog…

After interacting with a Best Practices video case whole class and individually, preservice teachers were asked to reflect on what features they deemed helpful. In addition, they were asked to reflect on what additional features they would find desirable. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the data (Glaser, 1965). Three features…

This study utilizes a school-improvement perspective to examine the role of curriculum coordination in the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into primary schools. The nature and impact of this role is examined in seven primary schools in Australia. These seven schools were drawn from a longitudinal intervention that…

The field of political science has encountered a unique obstacle in its development. Contemporary political theory has diverged in opposite paths, becoming more conceptual and abstract as well as focused and concrete. The unfortunate result of this has been a lack of clarity in communicating political theory to a new generation of political…

This paper reports outcomes of a project in which five teachers developed a web-based user guide to integrating new technologies in secondary science teaching. The guide aimed to support the initial education of trainee teachers, and the professional development of mentors, in working with, and understanding the affordances of, new technologies.…

This paper seeks to set the scene for the ensuing articles in this themed issue by placing the recent developments with interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in their historical context. It argues that use of this instructional technology has already had a profound impact upon teaching and highlights the importance of educational researchers considering…

This article summarises research carried out between 2006 and 2008 by IPTS (Institution for Prospective Technological Studies) in collaboration with a consortium of experts from 10 member states, led by ICEGEC. The project gathered information on eLearning developments to assess drivers and barriers and to suggest implications for policy and…

Lesson planning serves as a key means for ensuring the quality of instruction. In an effort to facilitate and improve the literature related to lesson planning, this paper proposes a framework which integrates online lesson planners, databases, case libraries, and Web 2.0 tools such as blogs and wikis to support both pre-service and in-service…

Technology use in schools has great potential to improve student learning outcomes. However, it is imperative that teachers possess a set of technical skills required to implement high-quality technologies in the classroom. Research conducted during the late 1990s and the early 2000s had pointed to the existence of a digital divide that existed in…