This article presents a humanistic dialogue between the authors that focuses on mapping place and identity in academic development. The authors chose this format in order to capture some of the important work that conversation among intellectual peers can do--work that forms the basis of much learning at conferences and in the corridors and…

This article presents an interview with Robert G. Holmberg, professor emeritus at Athabasca University (AU). He retired at the end of 2007 following a thirty-three-year academic career at AU in Edmonton and Athabasca, Alberta, Canada. During that time he oversaw the development and delivery of several of the university's first courses. He helped…

The field of academic development emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of student concern and unrest about poor teaching. This led to the creation of the first development units and a focus on course ratings which contributed to a thirty-plus year history of research emerging from a psychological perspective. In this article, the author…

This proceedings provides the texts of opening remarks, the official welcome, and 37 papers presented at an international symposium on the theme, "Computer Conferencing: Allied Technologies and New Applications." The papers are divided into seven categories: (1) Distance and Adult Education; (2) Socio-Psychological Issues; (3) Computer…

Students taking university-level courses through distance education have special needs, primarily because of their isolation from immediate contacts with instructors and special facilities. Developing instructional methods to meet these needs is important if the quality of distance education is to be high. Schools established solely to provide…

Discussion of instructional design and instructional development focuses on four studies conducted in Newfoundland that examined instructional development knowledge, competency, and use among teacher-librarians, secondary school teachers, and elementary school teachers. Results are reported that indicate teacher planning is done using personal…

While the improvement of authoring systems and the development of knowledge-based rather than frame-oriented computer assisted instruction (CAI) systems are useful, a significant part of the courseware development problem lies in the inability of teachers (subject matter experts) to prepare material that promotes effective, efficient learning.…

The implication of an ever-increasing knowledge base is that students will need to know how to select, evaluate, and utilize information. In response, a resource-based approach to learning which emphasizes learning how to learn has been recommended in curriculum guides in Newfoundland from kindergarten through the final year of secondary school,…

A self-instructional slide/tape program entitled "Idiopathic Scoliosis: Guide for Teaching Parents, Children and Health Care Personnel" was created for an audience of nurse-trainees, physicians, and laypeople in British Columbia, Canada. Designed to assist these groups in understanding the nature, history, and treatment of the disease,…

This overview of the issues involved in introducing educational computing into a school system at either the district, building, or classroom level begins by defining the terms "educational computing" and "computer literacy." A discussion of the curriculum development process focuses on the role of educational technologies in…

Development of post-secondary curriculum in emerging interdisciplinary fields presents particular challenges in course design and resource utilization, especially when the field is interdisciplinary by nature of its inherent breadth. A new course at the University of Calgary, designed to introduce undergraduate students to the methods and…

Pedagogy embodies the beliefs one holds about students, about the various attributes of media technologies, and about the essential qualities of the content at hand. Teachers make decisions based on the interactions of these beliefs. Therefore, it is imperative to begin the process of designing and contemplating instruction with a consideration of…