This article profiles Pat Renzulli, CIO for the School District of Philadelphia, who was selected as David Kearns CIO of the Year 2006. Among other accomplishments, she developed a process for principals to receive key performance indicators, lead the implementation of an instructional management system, rolled out a district-wide technology…

In contrast to the considerable coverage of research methods and report writing, relatively little attention has been given in the professional literature to the steps that should be taken and issues which may be borne in mind by a researcher seeking to have his or her work published. By addressing ten broad questions reflecting common concerns,…

When the space shuttle "Columbia" was "lost entering the Earth's atmosphere," third graders at the Lamplighter School in Texas became curious about space travel. Using topics of interest and brainstorming exercises based on a presentation by Elaine Scott, author of "Adventures in Space: The Flight to Fix the Hubble,"…

The third article in this series featuring the Living History Program (see December 2005 and January 2006) looks at the life of Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American woman poet. Though little is known of her life as a slave in Boston, her published poetry is available today for people to read and enjoy. This study of Phillis…

Given some limitations of satellite imagery for the study of land cover change, we draw attention here to a robust and often overlooked data source for use in student research: USGS topographic maps. Topographic maps offer an inexpensive, rapid, and accessible means for students to analyze land cover change over large areas. We demonstrate our…

Outline Processor Markup Language (OPML) is an emerging format that allows for the creation of customized research packages to push to patrons. It is a way to gather collections of Web resources (links, RSS feeds, multimedia files), organize them as outlines, and publish them in a format that others can share and even subscribe to. In this…

Students at Middletown High School are not turning to Google as their main source of information. Cecelia Freda, Middletown's head librarian, was responsible for making sure that students learn the basics of research. Before Freda's arrival at Middletown, most of the school's students were clueless about anything having to do with library. Now,…

E-learning describes electronically delivered learning, using tools like web conferencing, web-based tutorials, message boards, online assessments, and more. The term e-learning includes self-paced learning; asynchronous facilitator-led learning, where the students and instructors interact at different times; and synchronous facilitator-led…

Data from the Records Office of the University show that, over the period 1979-2003, Alemaya University trained and graduated a total of 492 students at Masters of Science degree level. The study also reveals that shortage of experienced and highly qualified resident national instructors, brain drain, scarcity of financial resources, lack of…

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative research study designed to investigate the opportunities and obstacles presented by a digital library for supporting teaching and learning in an inquiry-based undergraduate geology course. Data for this study included classroom observations and field-notes of classroom practices, questionnaires, and…

This report shows how Universal Service Fund support for schools and libraries is used by school districts and libraries around the country. Highlighted are approximately 190 success stories of program participants that have come to rely on the USF to expand educational opportunities for students through better use of telecommunications technology…

This study conducted at a small southeastern university compared student learning as measured by pre- and post-tests, faculty time spent, student time spent, and student-completed course evaluations for two graduate level school library media courses offered in both hybrid and fully online formats. Using pre-test scores as covariates to control…

Current cross-campus computing initiatives demand both access and skill in employing technology as a tool for academic success. Consequently, lack of computer skills can affect first-year students' potential for success because many courses assume students are computer literate. In this study, 888 first-year students completed a…

Citation analysis of dissertations was used to explore the interdisciplinary nature of education graduate students' research. A sample of curriculum and instruction dissertations, and their bibliographies we studied using citation analysis methods and analysis of "Digital Dissertation" records. Research methodologies were also explored.…

This article details the development of the Library Instruction Wiki (http://instructionwiki.org): an effort to develop a web-based, knowledge-sharing resource. Though some library instruction is specific to a given institution or class, much of what instruction librarians teach is similar. Library instructors have repeatedly expressed the desire…