This article describes a university-sponsored experiential-based simulation, the NANO SCENARIO, to increase the public's awareness and affect attitudes on the societal implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology by bringing together diverse stakeholders' perspectives in a participatory learning environment. Nanotechnology has the potential for…

This article describes a developmental systems approach to applied developmental science (ADS), which provides a framework to design and evaluate technology-rich programs that promote positive development by emphasizing the strengths and assets of young people instead of focusing on diminishing or preventing risk-taking behaviors. Until now, most…

Meaning making in new media is rapidly presenting new opportunities and new challenges for those working in formal and informal educational contexts. This article provides an overview of current theory, thinking and commentary in order to map the field of digital literacy and to identify key questions for research and policy development. It…

Most of the time, technology in the classroom is a "we" or "they" issue: On one side are the people who deploy and operate the systems, on the other, the academics and staffers who use them. But, typically, on both sides, everyone is so busy trying to prepare for the next class or the next term that there's little opportunity…

There are indications that the new technologies could have radical implications for conventional teaching and learning processes. It notes that, in reconfiguring how teachers and learners gain access to knowledge and information, the new technologies challenge conventional conceptions of both teaching and learning materials, and teaching and…

This paper discusses teacher education, institutional growth and the economy of information. It compares the sector of teacher education with global markets, described by Thomas Friedman in his book "The world is flat", as emerging and "flattening" in light of rapid technological and communication advances. The institutional…

This article addresses an important need--the dissemination of information relating to technology as a public relations tool--and the associated exigency for administrator and teacher technology training. Specifically, we identify the increased expectations for the performance of school leaders and teachers, as well as unresolved issues in public…

Analysts predict that the knowledge economy of the near future will require people to be both computer literate and print literate. However, some of the reading and thinking habits of current college students suggest that electronic media such as web browsers may be limiting the new generation's ability to absorb and process what they read. Their…

What do we know about technology and rights? This article provides a fairly comprehensive overview of current issues regarding this topic. We explore and analyse a wide spectrum of rights that are challenged in this current era of technological convergence. We use the United States Bill of Rights as an example of the vulnerability of legal…

Information technology infuses all aspects of modern life, and the growth of digital information continues at an unprecedented rate. Widely influential documents, such as the National Research Council's "Being Fluent with Information Technology" and the American Library Association's "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher…

The study investigated liberal arts and science faculty's (1) overall adoption of WebCT, a course management software, (2) use of different WebCT functions, (3) perceptions of technology's impact on teaching, and (4) demographic factors that might explain the differences between WebCT adopters and non-adopters. Only 37% of respondents reported…

This article reports on findings from "action research" pilot projects in four Tasmanian primary schools. The projects focused on the provision of professional learning to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. These pilot projects used an approach developed from observations of…