Instructional coaching is a professional development model that seeks to improve classroom practice through collaborative, non-evaluative partnerships between teachers and coaches. Although existing literature suggests that coaching in pre-service teacher programs is relatively uncommon, the limited research on its use is promising. This…

According to Molnar (2014), full time virtual school education lacks a measurement tool that accurately measures effective virtual teacher practice. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the current study sought to understand the common practices among full time K-8 virtual school teachers, the extent to which teachers believed such…

Describes a mentoring program developed at Augusta State University that used e-mail and a list server to link experienced teachers with new teachers who needed advice about classroom management, administrative demands, overcoming a sense of isolation, and the need for support. Reports on results of interviews and focus-group sessions. (LRW)

Ongoing contact and peer support are essential to professional growth for educators, and an electronic community can provide a supportive environment. The LabNet project demonstrates that a successful electronic community requires careful design, comfort with technology among users, and commitment; moderators play essential leadership roles in…

This study investigated the use of asynchronous (mailing lists) and synchronous (chat sessions) Internet-based communication and their impact on teachers' attitude toward collaboration, activity completion rates, and test performance. The study also investigated the impact of collaboration on activity completion rates and teacher performance…

This paper is an introduction to computer-mediated communication (CMC) for university faculty and uses of CMC in education and professional development. An introductory section defines CMC, describes CMC tools, and briefly reviews the literature. The following topics related to CMC in instruction are addressed in the first section: educational…

A 17-week professional experience program was undertaken to enable a college professor to: (1) attend and present a paper at the 14th World Conference of the International Council for Distance Education (ICDE) in Oslo, Norway, in December 1988; (2) gain first hand information about innovations in the use of telecommunications in the delivery of…

Electronic networking is communication between two or more people that involves one or more telecommunications media. There is electronic networking software available for most computers, including IBM, Apple, and Radio Shack personal computers. Depending upon the sophistication of the hardware and software used, individuals and groups can…

This book, written by a team of professional educational technologists drawing on their own experiences at DeMontfort University (England), examines the impact of information technology and the Internet on higher education. The authors caution that the technological possibilities should not be allowed to obscure a fundamental aim of higher…

In response to the challenge for reform in science education, a new graduate course entitled "Advances in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education" was initiated at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell by the College of Education. The course focused specifically on examining how private research and development work dovetails…

The 14 cases in this book show how distance learning takes a variety of forms in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The 15 chapters include the following: (1) "Beyond Adding Telecommunications to a Traditional Course: Insights into Human and Instructional Factors Affecting Distance Learning in TESOL" (Lynn E.…

East Carolina University (North Carolina) and Pitt County Schools (North Carolina) have developed the Model Clinical Teaching Program (MCTP), to introduce preservice, inservice, and methods faculty to the information "superhighway." The project focuses on the what, how, and why of technologies as they relate to classrooms, in the public…