This paper reports on considerations about the common basic functions and components for building a collaborative authoring environment. The paper aims to specify and systematize the technological issues towards the future standardization of such environments, based on the authors' previous research experiences. Standardization includes many…

Many concepts, methods, and technologies regarding computer support in collaborative environments have been proposed. It is important to take into account human relations in collaborative learning environments, where personality plays a central role. However, it is not easy to build human relations in Web-based education (WBE), because there are…

A challenge in online collaborative learning teams is assuring that all members of the virtual learning team are actively engaged and contributing to the work of the team. One strategy to hold individual members of a learning team accountable for their contributions is through the use of peer and self evaluations. This paper provides a summary of…

In this colorfully illustrated kindergarten activity, students read (and re-read) "My Blue Suitcase" (Sharon Katz), as an introduction to traveling. The book uses all of the basic forms of transportation and forms the transportation lesson outline. The activity gives the students the task of learning about each mode of transportation:…

This toolkit provides tested lessons and a selection of alternative ideas for the middle grades to help adapt and integrate the teaching of information skills in a way that meets the needs of teachers and students. After an introductory section, eight chapters of Collaborative Integrated Skills Lessons are provided. The lessons are grouped by…

This action research project evaluated a program for improving middle school and high school students' engagement and ownership in the learning process. The problems of students exhibiting an inadequate level of engagement and ownership was documented through data showing quality of student work, anecdotal records kept by the teachers, and…

This paper describes the increasingly dynamic involvement of information professionals in the learning and teaching process in higher education. The converged service model at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) is described. Established in 1995, the converged service brought the university library, computing service, television service,…

The question of how some high school students succeed in reconciling school and work was examined through a review of research on the topic. Special attention was paid to the comments made by students responding to the National Center for Research in Vocational Education's longitudinal study that followed approximately 1,500 students in high…

This ethnographic case study investigated the challenges of six elementary teachers who attempted to embrace, comprehend, and apply elements of cooperative learning. The study examined solutions that teachers found effective in dealing with problems they encountered when using cooperative learning. Over the course of 1 year, researchers collected…

Some highlights included in the 1999 Annual Report of the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR) are the following: (1) an all-time record number of people were served (10,363), and 1,442 people were rehabilitated and entered employment, close to the 1998 record; (2) a collaborative effort with the Division of Human Resources was…

This final report, covering the period September 1, 1997 to August 31, 2001, discusses the development, activities, and outcomes of Upgrading Preparatory Work To Augment Reading Development: UPWARD for Students with Disabilities, a multi-faceted program for providing children with disabilities intensive, phonological awareness and other early…

This book examines the position of subject leader in elementary schools in light of four key areas identified by the National Standards for Subject Leadership: strategic direction and development, teaching and learning, leading and managing staff, and efficient and effective staff deployment. It combines existing research with new material,…

This lesson plan imagines the student as part of a delegation to a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council being held in Brussels, Belgium, where the topic of discussion is a proposal by several NATO members to invite independent republics of the former Soviet Union to become…

This paper presents strategies and rationales for implementing certain instructional techniques to move a class from cohort to community. The context is the new Distance Master's program in Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University. The authors give suggestions for instructional and non-instructional strategies that have students…

As the IMS interoperability standards roll closer to widespread usability, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the United States Department of Labor (DOL) have formed an articulated partnership to develop a Web-based project. This interactive project places institution-neutral student services for non-traditional distance learners on the…