Developing countries face a number of challenges in their efforts to compete successfully in the new global economy. Perhaps the most critical resource needed to achieve these goals is trained human capital. While many developing countries are trying to address this need through traditional means, this may not be the most effective or efficient…

The "Local Technology Plan Guidelines" serve as the basis for the Department's annual technology data collection. This report takes a look at the data submitted by 344 school districts, examining the progress Massachusetts school districts are making in meeting the recommended guidelines. In doing so, it will gauge the degree to which…

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have for long been celebrated as the solution to access in education. New innovations like the internet and mobile technologies provide a great opportunity for mass delivery of education information especially in Africa where governments and institutions are struggling to equip the people with much…

This article presents an interview with Jeremy Koester, an eighth grade math teacher and football coach at Alamo Heights Junior School in San Antonio, Texas. In this interview, Koester describes his use of technology in his classes and describes his dream of advancing Second Life (SL) as a distance education environment. SL is a "3-D virtual…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference on Mobile Learning 2013, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, in Lisbon, Portugal, March 14-16, 2013. The Mobile Learning 2013 International Conference seeks to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of…

In 2005 the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE) was successful in obtaining a grant from National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR) to undertake the Computing Studies Teachers Network Rural and Regional Focus Project. The project had five…

This study, a naturalistic inquiry conducted between 2002 and 2005, presents an integrated portrayal of issues and concerns of twenty-seven directors of postsecondary distributed/distance learning programs as well as the results of a survey that examined technology utilization and methods in 316 postsecondary schools. The major issues and concerns…

This paper will detail three projects which focussed on enhancing online learning at a large Australian distance education University within a School of Business, School of Health and School of Education. Each project had special funding and took quite distinctive project management approaches, which reflect the desire to embed innovation and…

To ensure the most effective and up-to-date learning, educators should consider intelligent buildings that meet technological needs and flexibly accommodate change. Virtual schools alter the need for traditional physical facilities. (Contains 15 references.) (SK)

This paper reports on two studies related to online communication in distance learning courses. In the first study, students' messages in an online discussion board were analyzed to identify message categories and interaction patterns in an attempt to develop a framework for analyzing online messages. In the second study, a questionnaire survey…

Asal and Harwood explore how today's information technology is changing how teachers educate and are educated. Focusing on the United States, with useful insights from the classroom digital revolution in a few other places (the United Kingdom, Australia, and India), the authors investigate the impact of today's technologies on education--how they…

The effect of an inability to purchase computers for home use and a lack of computers and instruction at public schools has had on the ability of Hispanic students to develop technology skills related to computer and Internet use is discussed. This article asks if the nation's emphasis on technology in schools has hindered Hispanic access to…

This article reports on a project that explores strategies for narrowing the digital divide by providing a practicable e-learning option for the millions living outside the ambit of high performance computing and communication technology. The concept is introduced of a "learning computer," a low bandwidth tool that provides a simplified,…

Literature published between 2000 and 2003 at the intersection between online learning and disability can be classified into didactic, descriptive, research, and opinion pieces. In this article, two research pieces surveying the literature are reviewed. The resounding theme throughout the literature is that improving accessibility of online…

This case study involved 429 distance education diploma students at the University of Botswana. The aim of the study was to find out whether these students had access to MP3 players and other technologies essential in distance learning. Findings show that, contrary to expectations, learners did not have access to MP3 digital audio devices.…