Courses preparing early childhood professionals through institutes of technical and further education utilise competency standards to guide the assessment of students during professional experience. Some universities offering early childhood teacher education courses use the term "competencies" in practicum assessment forms and draw on…

This article focuses on the kinds of work that language does in contemporary workplaces, the discursive resources that are available to workers, and the challenges that they face, as they learn to build on established language practices, and develop new language practices, in order to do their work. In particular, we are interested in the ways in…

Despite the expansion of Deaf people's use of communication technology little is published about how they use electronic communication in their social and working lives and the implications for their concepts of identity and community. Australia is an ideal research base because the use of a range of technologies is widespread there. To gain…

Retention rates and stress levels of beginning teachers are of concern. Well-planned induction programs can assist beginning teachers to make the transition successfully into the profession, which may increase retention rates. This qualitative, year-long study aims to explore and describe the induction experiences of eight beginning teachers as…

The Australian Government established the Office for Youth (the Office) in September 2008 in an effort to engage with the young people of Australia. The Office will work with other government agencies to help young people reach their full potential; make effective transitions to adulthood as they continue to learn, start work, make decisions that…

Discusses telecommunications services used in Australian education. They include Minerva (electronic mail), Midas (database accessing), Viatel (interactive videotext), and Telememo (electronic mail used to exchange information between schools. (JN)

This study aims to test Fishbough's models of collaboration and investigate the use of e-mail and the Internet among science teachers in government secondary schools in two school districts Perth, Western Australia. A mail questionnaire and face-to-face interview techniques were used together to collect data. Thirty-one science teachers from 24…

Discussion of the value of online information services in schools reviews recent reports from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and describes some of the available cataloging, bibliographic, full text/statistical, videotex, local, and electronic bulletin board services. Four examples of current applications in Australian…

Profiles mentoring programs sponsored by the Australian Library and Information Association. Topics include informal support as well as structured training sessions; group mentoring for new graduates; the use of e-mail; peer circles for newer professionals; and a facilitated mentoring pilot project in Queensland. (LRW)

Edith Cowan University (Perth, Western Australia) has introduced a Bachelor of Science degree in Library Technology, a three-year distance education program with no residency requirement and the first Australian degree for library technicians. This article describes the program and its use of the World Wide Web for flexible course delivery,…

Australia wide, all school systems are in the process of providing teachers with computers and there is an expectation that new teachers will possess the expertise to use them in their teaching. In addition to using computers for basic word processing and data manipulation, early-career science teachers need to be able to use a range of…

A study examined the characteristics of the learning process when it is facilitated by computer-mediated communication in nonformal learning contexts. In this paper, learning is defined as the transformation of experience through reflection, conceptualization, and action. Such experiential learning often occurs in dialogue with others.…

E-mail provides a medium for maintaining dialogs between university colleagues that is rapid yet allows reflection, that is spontaneous yet provides a permanent and accurate record. This article describes e-mail communications between "reflective colleagues" in Australia and Oregon during a 10-week course and discusses the benefits to…

This paper focuses on the experiences of an early career researcher involved in a mentoring relationship at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), Australia. A discussion of the research literature is reported to highlight the attributes of mentoring relationships and the different forms of mentoring. The mentoring relationship that the author is…

Describes the modernization of the administrative building of the Sacred Heart College Senior School in Adelaide, South Australia. Reviews one professor's personal experiences of writing an article for publication in an electronic journal. Discusses the concept that electronic publishing allows interaction via electronic mail between an author and…