Online learning has grown so much in recent years that researchers have struggled to keep up with its evolution. Practitioners are interested not only in how many schools are using online courses, but also how these courses are being delivered and how programs are being implemented. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the…

In practice, a green school is the physical result of a consensus process of planning, design, and construction that takes into account a building's performance over its entire 50- to 60-year life cycle. The main focus of the process is to reinforce optimal learning, a goal very much in keeping with the parallel goals of resource efficiency and…

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of integrating the digital media such as mobile and CAD technology on designing process of Malaysian polytechnic architecture students in producing a creative product. A website is developed based on Caroll's minimal theory, while mobile and CAD technology integration is based on Brown and…

This article presents an activity that allows students to use mathematics and critical-thinking skills to emulate processes used by the ancient Egyptians to prepare the site for the Pyramids of Giza. To accomplish this, they use three different methods. First, they create a square using only simple technological tools that were available to the…

Prestolee School, at Kearsley, near Bolton in Lancashire, UK, was the site of an experiment in education between 1919 and 1952 under the leadership of head teacher, Edward Francis O'Neill (1890-1975). The school attracted much national and international attention over three decades owing to the unorthodox methods practised by O'Neill and the…

On 26 February in Lisbon a team from the OECD's Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE) presented its first review of a national school building programme. The school building renovation programme in Portugal, which began in March 2007, involves the renovation of 332 schools by 2015. However, Portugal plans to complete 205 by the end of…

This study investigated navigation with route instructions generated by digital-map software and synthetic speech. The participants, either visually impaired or sighted wearing blindfolds, successfully located rooms in an unfamiliar building. Users with visual impairments demonstrated better route-finding performance when the technology provided…

Many countries are challenged by the need to build both capacity and quality simultaneously in order to meet the accelerating needs of their society. Should what already exists be renovated, or should new institutions be created? Innovate from within or from without? Or perhaps some combination of both? In the U.S., postsecondary…

In this ethnographic case study, Ann M. Ishimaru examines how a collaboration emerged and evolved between a low-income Latino parent organizing group and the leadership of a rapidly changing school district. Using civic capacity and community organizing theories, Ishimaru seeks to understand the role of parents, goals, strategies, and change…

This report on water receptacles argues that, in building planning, drinking fountains and classroom sinks should not be afterthoughts. Choices must meet aesthetic demands while fulfillling maintenance requirements. (JF)

Describes the design of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis. (EV)

Systemized techniques and hardware for cutting planning and building costs without sacrificing quality. (RA)

The architecture profession needs to employ systems building design in order to raise the rate of productivity and performance in construction. Changes have been made in architecture educational programs that recognize the shift in the role of the architect from design genius to building production manager. Systems design has led to changes within…

Research in the out-of-school time (OST) field confirms a strong connection between professional development for staff and positive experiences and outcomes for youth. In recent years, the OST community has invested significant time and money into researching, creating, implementing, and evaluating professional development activities for OST…

As the reconstruction efforts continue in China in the wake of the Great Wenchuan earthquake in May 2008, the China Development Research Foundation, with the support of the OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments, organised an International Training Programme on the Post-Earthquake Reconstruction of Public Facilities from 1 to 11 December…