Schools generally have been unable to keep up with the rapid technical changes in modern society. As a result, primary school age children worldwide are becoming self-taught independent e-learners and the gap between what they know and are able to do exceeds the learning outcomes for their schools' ICT (information communication technology)…

Research findings in recent years provide compelling evidence of the importance of encouraging student control over the learning process as a whole. The socially based tools and technologies of the Web 2.0 movement are capable of supporting informal conversation, reflexive dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide…

This report is intended to inform the European Commission's DG Information Society and Media in developing its policies for the period 2010-2020. It is targeted to policymakers with expert knowledge of the field. The report summarises the work conducted in the study: "Policy Options for the Ubiquitous Internet Society". It builds on…

Technological advances in communication and transportation have increased educational opportunities for post-secondary education students around the globe. Individuals and information now travel quicker and cheaper between countries and continents. Post-secondary institutions no longer have a local, jurisdictional or even domestic focus; their…

This dissertation problematizes the "state dossier system" (SDS): the production and accumulation of personal information on citizen subjects exceeding the reasonable bounds of risk management. SDS--comprising interconnecting subsystems of records and identification--damage individual autonomy and self-determination, impacting not only…

Ensuring that every child grows up with a strong education is a deeply rooted American value. Over time, however, the basic preparation that American students need to succeed in the world has changed. Now, with a competitive global economy and the importance of technology in the fields of health, energy, and engineering, the United States must…

Five trends are emerging that will not only change the role of human capital in the United States but will also challenge the legacy system of workforce development, skills and competency-focused institutions, and assuredly, community colleges. Workforce investment boards, for example, are currently geographically constrained in environments that…

In contemporary society, information technologies and communication technologies (ICTs) are playing crucial role in dissemination of knowledge and information the world over. Universities/ higher education institutions, particularly distance education universities in developed countries are making best use of these technologies for effective and…

Worldwide web technology is a perfect match for teaching about history. The technology boosts teachers capacities because it gives its students access to the documents that reveal the processes of historical change, and it helps students develop better analytic skills by learning to interpret documents. This amazing conjuncture of new technology…

Since its introduction to the education arena in the 1960s, computers have both intrigued and frustrated teachers and researchers alike. The many promising prospects of computers and its applications did not materialise, and research into their effectiveness in learning has left many unanswered questions. The methods used in educational research…

Although information technology is increasingly used to deliver distance and conventional courses, there have been few studies of the effect of technology-enhanced education on the organization and purposes of academics' instructional work. I explore this issue in undergraduate and masters level education through the vehicle of case analyses of…

There is a digital divide occurring on every possible level: locally, nationally, and globally. Many people argue that the digital divide unfairly equips wealthy citizen and their children with more information and opportunities than those with lower incomes. In addition, there is a big debate around the world whether technology has benefited…

Permanent employment, typical of industrial societies and bolstered by numerous social guaranties, has been declining in the past 2 decades. There has been a steady expansion of various forms of contingent work. The decomposition of traditional work is a logical consequence of the characteristic patterns of the knowledge-based economy. According…

This study examines whether there are differences in men's and women's use of computers and the Internet in the United States and Japan and how any such gender gaps have changed over time. The authors focus on these two countries because information technology is widely used in both, but there are substantial differences in institutions and social…

This report presents the current understanding of the advancement of the Information Society within the European Union and countries that are up for accession in 2004, and is based on the SIBIS (Statistical Indicators Benchmarking the Information Society) surveys and analyses per SIBIS theme and country. The report is unique in its coherent and…