Meaningful learning requires deep engagement with ideas. Deep engagement is supported by the critical thinking skill of argumentation. Learning to argue represents an important way of thinking that facilitates conceptual change and is essential for problem solving. In order to appropriately apply argumentation practices to learning, we first…

Social software is increasingly being used in higher and further education to support teaching and learning processes. These applications provide students with social and cognitive stimulation and also add to the interaction between students and educators. However, in addition to the benefits the introduction of social software into a course…

This research examined discourses in classroom and online learning environments where the Knowledge Building Community model was enacted to foster deep understanding in science learning in Singapore primary classes. This study posited that discourse is a fundamental form of learning that reveals how knowledge building is enacted and embodied by a…

This article discusses how the H1N1 flu pandemic served notice to districts to get their disaster readiness strategies in order and how technology played an important part in schools effort. In late April 2010, as public fears about a mysterious new strain of flu grew, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) moved to forestall a panic. On…

Web-based media often present multiple sources of influence, such as mass media and peers, within one interface. When individuals identify with peers who are visually anonymous and with whom they do not directly interact, they should be susceptible to social influence from that group. This study examined the interplay among antimarijuana public…

The explosion of Web 2.0 into libraries has left many smaller academic libraries (and other libraries with limited computing resources or support) to work in the cloud using free Web applications. The use of commercial Web hosting is an innovative approach to the problem of inadequate local resources. While the idea of insourcing IT will seem…

Many careers involve mobile lifestyles, yet require specialised postgraduate qualifications for career progression. Mobile technologies offer new opportunities by providing more choice in when, where, and how students learn. Experiences in an Australian postgraduate development studies program illustrate the choices. Three key issues are explored:…

This article derives from an Adolescent Literacy course that had been designed to foster preservice teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions to teach from a multiliteracies perspective. At the course's conclusion, the author designed, and secured institutional IRB approval to conduct, a self-study of curriculum, teaching, and learning…

What are the most effective and efficient ways to teach business cases online, specifically in asynchronous electronic discussion boards? This article describes several design strategies and approaches used by instructors at Babson College to structure and facilitate online case discussions in our blended Fast Track MBA program. (Contains 3 notes,…

This paper reports on a transition project where the Internet as a communication tool was used to facilitate interactions between primary school and high school students. The qualitative case study involved capturing the online interactions of the students and teachers as well as the use of questionnaires. Results of the study demonstrate that the…

This paper explores the role of engaging teachers in constructive dialogue within ICT professional development activity. As part of an ICT professional development program, sixteen teachers across eight geographically removed schools participated in an online threaded discussion forum for a school year. Data reported in this paper are generated…

Students often "multitask" with electronic media while doing schoolwork. We examined the effects of one form of media often used in such multitasking, instant messaging (IM). We predicted that students who engaged in IMing while reading a typical academic psychology passage online would take longer to read the passage and would perform more poorly…

Collective communication allows efficient communication and synchronization among a collection of processes, unlike point-to-point communication that only involves a pair of communicating processes. Achieving high performance for both kernels and full-scale applications running on a distributed memory system requires an efficient implementation of…

The current study examined the longitudinal associations of time spent on Internet activities for communication purposes (i.e., IM-ing) versus time spent on Internet activities for non-communication purposes (i.e., surfing) with depression and social anxiety, as well as the moderating role of perceived friendship quality in these associations.…

This paper reports on Information Technology (IT) secondary school educators in Victoria and their involvement in an online community of practice. It examined the social effects of the online mailing list technology on their participation and factors that influenced their collaboration with other colleagues. In mapping these elements, the…