Nothing comes closer to "the truth" than a primary source, even a primary source with wart--biases, narrow-minded interpretations, and historical inaccuracies. Students who learn to apply critical thinking to the analysis of primary sources also learn to situate sources within the broader historical context, test hypotheses, form their own…

This paper discusses conceptions of identity in relation to science education and presents material from a series of interviews and focus groups with graduate students in science and technology. Given difficulties in retention and levels of significant participation by minority students indicated by aggregate data, the issue of race, as it informs…

The current research aims to explore and analyze the application and use of a wiki in a knowledge management academic course. The research will focus on the level of collaboration among students and on the kind of interaction that takes place during the learning process. The population of this study was composed of wiki pages gathered from a…

This study investigates how social networks in service organizations contribute to employee learning. Two specific types of social network seem especially relevant to individual learning: first, the service network, where employees carry out and improve their work, which may lead to learning; and second, the learning network, where employees…

Studies of the general population indicate that social networks influence a person's employment situation and career, especially in regard to how a person finds and gets a good job. Recent studies suggest that networks may function in similar ways for people with certain disabilities. In order to learn about the role that social networks played in…

This volume is an eclectic group of chapters that use vastly different methodologies, focus on distinct content areas, and examine diverse conceptual issues. Yet, the five studies on social network presented in this article share a common center as each is aimed at elucidating its structural features and their contributions to development. In this…

An online survey of German deaf people demonstrated that they use text communication through Short Message Service (SMS), e-mail, fax, and telephone typewriters (TTY) to communicate within communities of deaf and hearing people. SMS is used most, with more than 96% of respondents having access to a mobile phone. Most use is intrinsic and directed…

This article describes the affordances of social media and networks for online Elementary German courses that have been taught at the University of Pennsylvania since 2010. These online courses were created to provide students the opportunity to take Elementary German as part of the language requirement for Penn credit during the summer months…

In this paper, we demonstrate how theory can inform the design of a program to prepare graduate students for faculty careers. Preparing Future Faculty programs within and beyond engineering are not new, but explicit application of Communities of Practice and related literature is novel. We describe a prestigious teaching fellowship program that…

According to the U.S. Constitution as construed by the "Plyler v. Doe," 457 U.S. 202 (1982) Supreme Court Case, all children in the United States--from kindergarten through grade twelve--have a right to a free public education regardless of citizenship; however, undocumented students seeking to continue their education beyond high school…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) You Speak Out: 2010 AAE Member Survey; (2) Five Ways to…

"Teaching Middle School Language Arts" is the first book on teaching middle school language arts for multiple intelligences and related twenty-first-century literacies in technologically and ethnically diverse communities. More than 670,000 middle school teachers (grades six through eight) are responsible for educating nearly 13 million students…

Contemporary engineers need to become more cognizant and more responsive to the emerging needs of the market for engineering and technology services. Social dimension of Web 2.0 which penetrates our society more thoroughly with the availability of broadband services has the potential to contribute decisively to the sustainable development of…

The institutionally powered Personal Learning Environment (iPLE) constitutes our vision of how Web 2.0 technologies, people arrangement and data sharing could be applied for delivering open, flexible, distributed and learner-centred learning environments to university members. Based on the iPLE, this paper explores a strategy approach that…

Purpose: There is much hype about academics' attitude to Wikipedia. This paper seeks to go beyond anecdotal evidence by drawing on empirical research to ascertain how academics respond to Wikipedia and the implications these responses have for the take-up of Web 2.0+. It aims to test the hypothesis that Web 2.0+, as a platform built around the…