This "Postcard" reports how the earthquake on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand, forced a visiting professor to transform his educational model in one week. It was the first week of the academic year 2011 for the University of Canterbury--and the author's first week in New Zealand. As a Visiting Erskine Fellow at the…

The demands on academic staff in all sectors to adopt best ODL practices to create effective and efficient models of learning in the face of increasing external pressures show no signs of abating. The massification of higher education, diversified access, and pressures to meet institutional visions and research objectives demand of teaching staff…

The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the field of philosophy of education seemed like a natural junction in this author's life. They provided a means by which he could begin to think about the relations between education and his own experiences as a student and teacher, and philosophy. Peters has been editor of…

Focusing on "Digital Worlds", a first-year geography blended learning course at the University of Auckland, this paper gives voice to the students, examining how they perceived e-learning versus traditional learning mechanisms; how e-learning mechanisms have affected their learning behaviour; and why certain e-learning mechanisms offered…

Background: This research addressed the key area of early career teacher education and aimed to explore the use of a "content representation" (CoRe) as a mediational tool to develop early career secondary teacher pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study was situated in the subject areas of science and technology, where sound…

This paper explores the notion of educational partnerships and reports on research on client-provider partnerships between full primary schools and external technology education providers for Year 7 and 8 New Zealand students (age range approx. 12 to 13 years). Educational reforms in New Zealand and the introduction of a more holistic technology…

This article presents a study of the techno-economical feasibility of manufacturing biofuel ethanol at small scale from agricultural sources in New Zealand. It investigates possible agricultural products and wastes as potential feedstock and looks at laboratory-scale fermentation trials to determine their ethanol yields. The ethanol requirement to…

Research on the nature of and support for systemic sustainable innovation with ICT is converging with research on policy implementation and studies of school change and improvement to highlight the complex interplay of personal and contextual factors that enable and constrain innovation. In each of these fields, leadership has been found to play a…

The article explores the complementary connections between communities of practice and the ways in which individuals orchestrate their engagement with others to further their professional learning. It does so by reporting on part of a research project conducted in New Zealand on teachers' online professional learning in a university graduate…

This formative evaluation within a graduate initial teacher education program sought to identify student teachers' perceptions of lecturer practice and its influence on their developing practice. Data collected from course and teaching evaluations and focus group interviews suggested that microstructural course elements--lectures, tutorials, and…

In this narrative, Sue Halsey, a New Zealand primary school teacher, taking her cue from Leu and Kinzer (2000), describes her own "envisionment" as she realizes a number of new possibilities for literacy and learning in her classroom utilizing a range of new (including Web2) technologies. In doing so, she mediates between her two…

This article describes the research design of, and reports selected findings from, a scoping study aimed at examining current and planned applications of 3D immersive virtual worlds at higher education institutions across Australia and New Zealand. The scoping study is the first of its kind in the region, intended to parallel and complement a…

This study examines the utility of current accelerometer threshold definitions and epoch durations for physical activity intensity classification in preschool-aged children. Using video footage of children engaged in active play, directly observed 1-sec epoch physical activity intensity scores were derived from a modified version of the Children's…

Recent literature on the role of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) has indicated numerous ways in which teachers make use of the IWB to support children's learning. In these studies there is a growing awareness of changing roles in the classroom as teachers gain confidence in the use of new technologies. This study describes how a researcher worked…

In response to recent social, economic, and pedagogical challenges to tertiary-level teaching and learning, universities are increasingly investigating and adopting eLearning as a way to engage and motivate students. This paper reports on the first of a two-year (2009-2010) qualitative case study research project in New Zealand. A snapshot of each…