Educational technology continues to expand with multi-user virtual environments (e.g., Second Life™) being the latest technology. Understanding a virtual environment's usability can enhance educational planning and effective use. Usability includes the interaction quality between an individual and the item being assessed. The purpose was to assess…

The paper outlines the TTPTE project (2010-2011) which was based on the need for innovative and effective ideas for increasing the efficiency of teachers' in design and technology daily work. The project was aimed at finding new ways of how to support in-service teachers in design and technology education and how teachers themselves can upgrade…

Universities have witnessed the consistent growth of increased college-level distance education programs with 32 percent of all students having taken at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2013). Key to this continued growth, however, is understanding the factors that contribute to the greatest growth and success in these programs.…

The study examined the efficacy of an early intervention program to improve children's sequential time perception through virtual versus pictorial training in arranging episodes of temporal scripts. The researchers examined 65 deaf and hard of hearing children ages 4-7 years who were divided into two groups: (a) virtual environments technological…

Over the past twenty years phenomenal developments in technology have changed the nature of education. Students now have access to a vast range of resources 24/7. This instant access has created a certain expectation on the part of the student and there must now be very few, if any, courses taught in higher education where the lecturer does not…

Many educators know that web 2.0 tools can transform learning and teaching, but teachers need support to make this happen. This article discusses how principals can encourage teachers to learn how to use these powerful tools. Over the past decade, Intel has provided the Center for Children & Technology with funding to conduct numerous studies…

With an increase of online teaching, social media, and use of classroom technology by both location-bound and distance students, how do educators teach and learn leadership through online tools? The International Leadership Association (ILA, 2009) guidelines, specifically the overarching questions for teaching and learning, provide direction in…

Online-learning advocates are calling a new report that recommends ten major policy steps states and districts need to take to use digital technologies to improve schools. With two former governors leading the promotion of "Digital Learning Now"--the first document released by the Digital Learning Council since former state chief…

When attempting to integrate any Information and Communications Technology (ICT) based resource into Post-Primary Schools (High Schools) many potential barriers must be considered. Importantly, many of these barriers revolve around the individual teacher and hence they are an important starting point in understanding the change process in schools.…

With the rapid development of world and technology, English learning has become more important. Teachers frequently use teacher-centered pedagogy that leads to lack of interaction with students. This paper aims to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of integrating social networking tools into ESL writing classroom and discuss the ways to…

Integrating Information Technology Communications in the classroom has been an important part of pre-service teacher education for over a decade. The advent of virtual worlds provides the pre-service teacher with an opportunity to study teaching and learning in a highly immersive 3D computer-based environment. Virtual worlds also provide a place…

This qualitative, descriptive case study employed the use of narrative to investigate a virtual school program in a public school district in Texas. A focus group interviewing process was used to interview the participants. Findings from this study conclude that with continued support from district leaders, along with having the appropriate…

The authors' team has been working with virtual worlds since 2006, deploying them in diverse contexts including secondary schools, special schools, vocational education and training, higher education and the community sector. Here the authors outline their operational experience of the complex web of interrelated factors involved in running…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the creation of a new approach to the implementation of educational technologies at a UK Higher Education Institution. Driven by changes in technology, an evaluation of the virtual learning environment (VLE) provided the opportunity to reassess the application of technology to the curriculum. However, such an…

Within the integration of technology into language education, special attention needs to be paid to languages for specific purposes (LSP), drawing on developments in computer-assisted language learning and applied linguistics, on the one hand, and on the pervasive use of technology in academic and professional communication, on the other. From a…