The information age has brought about many ways for educators to help their students learn, creating an atmosphere where the learners desire flexibility in the way they learn. Modern students expect on-demand, high-quality learning environments that allow them to have more say in what and how they learn. ""Flexible Learning in an Information Society"" uses a flexible learning framework to explain the best ways of creating a meaningful learning environment. This framework consists of eight factors - institutional, management, technological, pedagogical, ethical, interface design, resource support, and evaluation - and a systematic understanding of these factors can create successful flexible learning environments. Gathering the knowledge of leading researchers from around the world, ""Flexible Learning in an Information Society"" presents a broad understanding of the emerging field of flexible learning and provides guidance in creating these environments.

This volume brings together conceptualizations and empirical studies that explore the socio-cultural dimension of new media and its implications on learning in the 21st century classroom. The authors articulate their vision of new-media-enhanced learning at a global level. The high-level concept is then re-examined for different degrees of contextualization and localization, for example how a specific form of new media (e-reader) changes specific activities in different cultures. In addition, studies based in Singapore classrooms provide insights as to how these concepts are being transformed and implemented by a co-constructive effort on the part of researchers, teachers and students. Singapore classrooms offer a unique environment to study the theory-practice nexus in that they are high achieving, implicitly grounded in the eastern cultural values and well-equipped with ICT infrastructure. While these studies are arguably the state-of-the-art exemplars that synergize socio-cultural and technological affordances of the current learning environments, they also serve as improvable ideas for further innovations. The interplay between theory and practice lends support to the reciprocal improvements for both. This book contributes to the continuing debate in the field, and will lead to better learning environments in the 21st century.

As the global commitment to educational access has become enshrined in all levels of society, new technologies have also been developed that hold tremendous promise for enabling these goals. This book looks at trends and challenges for expanding access to post-secondary education via technology through a set of case studies and analyses.

The application of technology in classroom settings has equipped educators with innovative tools and techniques for effective teaching practice. Integrating digital technologies at the elementary and secondary levels helps to enrich the students' learning experience and maximize competency in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Improving K-12 STEM Education Outcomes through Technological Integration focuses on current research surrounding the effectiveness, performance, and benefits of incorporating various technological tools within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classrooms. Focusing on evidence-based approaches and current educational innovations, this book is an essential reference source for teachers, teacher educators, and professionals interested in how emerging technologies are benefiting teaching and/or learning efficacy.

This book investigates the use of network technologies in research, and explores how such use potentially changes the nature of professional learning between academics. It attempts to situate the discussion of technology use in real-world research settings, to identify the different forms of participation in intellectual exchange embedded in academic dialogue, and to further contribute to knowledge on how the use of network technology potentially changes the nature of learning. Multiple data collection methods are employed, in two forms of study: a single case study, and a number of individual interviews. The single case study was carried out over a one-year period, and consisted of interviews (22 interviewees), observations, and document review. Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out over a similar period of time with a wider and different population of 24 academics from different Oxford faculties. Half of these were interviewed twice.The main findings presented in this book demonstrate that the direct consequences of technology use are changes to academic dialogue and scholarly communication in general. The change to this critical aspect of research - scholarly communication - has potentially led to more distributed research in interconnected research environments. It is the changes to scholarly communication and the research environment that consequently affect participation in intellectual exchange.

This is an original edited collection taking a hermeneutical approach to pedagogy and the philosophy of education. Philosophical hermeneutics has rich implications for the theory and practice of education, yet the topic has often been ignored. Education, dialogue and hermeneutics takes a variety of principles and themes from philosophical hermeneutics, drawing on insights from major figures such as Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur, and applies them to issues in education and the philosophy of education. Topics covered include the relevance and nature of dialogue and understanding in an educational setting, the nature of educational experience and the concept of Bildung, narrative and tradition. Timely and original, Education, dialogue and hermeneutics draws together eight original chapters written by leading scholars in the field of hermeneutics.

Innovative Techniques in Instruction Technology, E-Learning, E-Assessment and Education is a collection of world-class paper articles addressing the following topics: (1) E-Learning including development of courses and systems for technical and liberal studies programs; online laboratories; intelligent testing using fuzzy logic; evaluation of on line courses in comparison to traditional courses; mediation in virtual environments; and methods for speaker verification. (2) Instruction Technology including internet textbooks; pedagogy-oriented markup languages; graphic design possibilities; open source classroom management software; automatic email response systems; tablet-pcs; personalization using web mining technology; intelligent digital chalkboards; virtual room concepts for cooperative scientific work; and network technologies, management, and architecture. (3) Science and Engineering Research Assessment Methods including assessment of K-12 and university level programs; adaptive assessments; auto assessments; assessment of virtual environments and e-learning. (4) Engineering and Technical Education including cap stone and case study course design; virtual laboratories; bioinformatics; robotics; metallurgy; building information modeling; statistical mechanics; thermodynamics; information technology; occupational stress and stress prevention; web enhanced courses; and promoting engineering careers. (5) Pedagogy including benchmarking; group-learning; active learning; teaching of multiple subjects together; ontology; and knowledge representation. (6) Issues in K-12 Education including 3D virtual learning environment for children; e-learning tools for children; game playing and systems thinking; and tools to learn how to write foreign languages.

Digital technologies are a key feature of contemporary education. Schools, colleges and universities operate along high-tech lines, while alternate forms of online education have emerged to challenge the dominance of traditional institutions. According to many experts, the rapid digitization of education over the past ten years has undoubtedly been a good thing . Is Technology Good For Education? offers a critical counterpoint to this received wisdom, challenging some of the central ways in which digital technology is presumed to be positively affecting education. Instead Neil Selwyn considers what is being lost as digital technologies become ever more integral to education provision and engagement. Crucially, he questions the values, agendas and interests that stand to gain most from the rise of digital education. This concise, up-to-the-minute analysis concludes by considering alternate approaches that might be capable of rescuing and perhaps revitalizing the ideals of public education, while not denying the possibilities of digital technology altogether.

Information Technology and Educational Management in the Knowledge Society is an essential reference for both academic and professional researchers in the field of information technology and educational management.

Since the mid-1980's, computer assisted educational information systems have been developing in various parts of the world and the knowledge surrounding the development and implementation of these systems has been growing. The papers presented in this volume are the result of an international call for papers addressing the challenges faced by the information technology and education management (ITEM) field in a society where knowledge management is becoming a major issue both in educational and business systems.

This state-of-the-art volume presents the proceedings of the 6th International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management, held July 2004 in Spain.

The collection will be important not only for information technology and education management experts and researchers, but also for all teachers and administrators interested in this growing field.

This book presents the current advances and emerging trends in digital technologies for learning and education through a number of invited chapters on key research areas. It addresses information and communications technology (ICT) in a global context, reporting on emerging trends and issues in four areas - basic education, technical and vocational education, distance and continuing education and higher education -, as these four areas represent the primary contexts in which ICT is used to support learning and instruction. This book provides a brief overview of the potential benefits of ICT used in education and some of the best approaches in which different ICTs have been used in education thus far in a global context. It also presents the expertise and the most current research and practices of recognized international educators and researchers in the field of ICT in education. Third, this volume is both informative and transformative in its coverage of the conceptual and practical impact of technology on current educational practices, making it a valuable resource for policymakers, educators and educational researchers around the globe.

Teachers use e-learning systems to develop course notes and web-based activities to communicate with learners on one side and monitor and classify their progress on the other. Learners use it for learning, communication, and collaboration. Adaptive e-learning systems often employ learner models, and the behavior of an adaptive system varies depending on the data from the learner model and the learner's profile. Without knowing anything about the learner who uses the system, a system would behave in exactly the same way for all learners. Bayesian Networks for Managing Learner Models in Adaptive Hypermedia Systems: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a collection of research on the use of Bayesian networks and methods as a probabilistic formalism for the management of the learner model in adaptive hypermedia. It specifically discusses comparative studies, transformation rules, and case diagrams that support all phases of the learner model and the use of Bayesian networks and multi-entity Bayesian networks to manage dynamic aspects of this model. While highlighting topics such as developing the learner model, learning management systems, and modeling techniques, this book is ideally designed for instructional designers, course administrators, educators, researchers, and professionals.

"New Trends and Technologies in Computer-Aided Learning for Computer-Aided Design" contains the proceedings from the EduTech Workshop, an IFIP TC-10 Working Conference held in Perth, Australia. The workshop aimed to explore the interrelationship between computer-aided technology and computer-aided learning. Computation and communication technologies underpin work and development in many different areas. Among them, Computer-Aided Design of electronic systems and E-Learning technologies are two areas which are different but share many concerns. The design of CAD and E-Learning systems already touches on a number of parallels, such as system interoperability, user interfaces, standardization, EML-based formats, reusability aspects (of content or designs), and intellectual property rights. Furthermore, the teaching of Design Automation tools and methods is particularly amenable to a distant or blended learning setting, and implies the interconnection of typical CAD tools, such as simulators or synthesis tools, with e-learning tools.

The goal of this book is to crystallize the emerging mobile computing technologies and trends by focusing on the most promising solutions in services computing. The book will provide clear proof that mobile technologies are playing an increasingly important and critical role in supporting toy computing. The goal of this book is to bring together academics and practitioners to describe the use and synergy between the above-mentioned technologies. This book is intended for researchers and students working in computer science and engineering, as well as toy industry technology providers, having particular interests in mobile services.

Human learning, reasoning and thinking, and the different sites in which these activities take place, are the focus of this book. It presents the results of research into the nature of learning and the influence of different contexts and factors within the context of learning, the constraints that contexts place on reasoning and learning, and the nature of learning when using the tools and artefacts. It also addresses the nature of the influence of technology on learning, focusing especially on information technology and how it can influence any type of learning situation.
The book begins by asking whether the context determines the nature of the knowledge to be learned, such that different sets of contextual practices related to the knowledge in question need to be acquired in order for learning to be successful. Next, it describes the forms of reasoning and learning in social and physical contexts, including but not limiting itself to logical reasoning, and asks how particular types of context constrain or activate different forms of reasoning and learning. It then looks at people learning with computers, examining how IT resources enhance or hinder learning. Finally, it compares human learning with learning done by machines in specific contexts.

All those involved in Higher Education are under pressure to familiarise themselves with the newest developments in Information Technology, and to understand the ways in which they can make use of these resources. The purpose of this book is to help academics from all disciplines to take full advantage of IT. Anticipating a future in which distance learning and virtual reality tutoring systems play a central role in university teaching, Roy Rada provides guidelines for making use of such technological opportunities. The chapters cover: * distance learning for individual students * groups in classrooms - focusing on interactive technology * the university as a whole * emerging market forces in Higher Education and training for industry Unlike competing books that focus on specific aspects of the subject, Understanding Virtual Universities combines managerial, social and technical issues, to provide a comprehensive approach to Information Technology for Higher Education.

As digital devices play a more critical role in daily life than ever, more opportunities arise for innovative learning technologies-a trend on full display in the Educational Media and Technology Yearbook for 2012. This latest edition, volume 37, from the Association for Education, Communication, and Technology (AECT) notes the most current trends in the field of learning design and technology, taking into account the implications for both formal and informal learning. The majority of articles train their focus on graduate and professional goals, including an analysis of doctoral programs in educational technology and new collaborative learning platforms. Library science is a featured component of this analysis and Library Science programs are featured prominently in this analysis. Mediagraphy and profiles of leaders in the field are also included.

This edited volume with selected expanded papers from CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2011 (http://www.celda- -conf.org/) will focus on Ubiquitous and Mobile Informal and Formal Learning in the Digital Age, with sub-topics: Mobile and Ubiquitous Informal and Formal Learning Environments (Part I), Social Web Technologies for new knowledge representation, retrieval, creation and sharing in Informal and Formal Educational Settings (Part II), Virtual Worlds and Game- -based Informal and Formal Learning (Part III), Location- -based and Context- - Aware Environments for Formal and Informal Learning Integration (Part IV) There will be approximately twenty chapters selected for this edited volume from among peer- -reviewed papers presented at the CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2011 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in November, 2011.

Games and simulations have emerged as new and effective tools for educational learning by providing interactivity and integration with online resources that are typically unavailable with traditional educational resources. Design, Utilization, and Analysis of Simulations and Game-Based Educational Worlds presents developments and evaluations of games and computer-mediated simulations in order to showcase a better understanding of the role of electronic games in multiple studies. This book is useful for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to gain a deeper comprehension of the relationship between research and practice of electronic gaming and simulations in the educational environment.

The volume consists of twenty-five chapters selected from among peer-reviewed papers presented at the CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2013 Conference held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, in October 2013 and also from world class scholars in e-learning systems, environments and approaches. The following sub-topics are included: Exploratory Learning Technologies (Part I), e-Learning social web design (Part II), Learner communities through e-Learning implementations (Part III), Collaborative and student-centered e-Learning design (Part IV). E-Learning has been, since its initial stages, a synonym for flexibility. While this dynamic nature has mainly been associated with time and space it is safe to argue that currently it embraces other aspects such as the learners' profile, the scope of subjects that can be taught electronically and the technology it employs. New technologies also widen the range of activities and skills developed in e-Learning. Electronic learning environments have evolved past the exclusive delivery of knowledge. Technology has endowed e-Learning with the possibility of remotely fomenting problem solving skills, critical thinking and team work, by investing in information exchange, collaboration, personalisation and community building.

As an increasing amount of information is made available online, the assumption is that people who visit Web sites will be able to strategize their learning to optimize access to this information. Constructing Self-Discovery Learning Spaces Online: Scaffolding and Decision Making Technologies raises awareness of the strategies supporting self-driven learner efficacy on a number of site types. This book reflects on existing literature about self-discovery learning and what learners need in terms of scaffolding to help them make the right decisions, assess their own level of learning, vet information strategically, collaborate with other learners, and build their own skill sets.

A volume in Current Perspectives on Applied Information Technologies Series Editors Charalambos Vrasidas and Gene V Glass This volume provides examples of current developments on the role of ICT for education, development, and social justice within an international context. Chapters draw on advanced contemporary thinking from scholars and practitioners in the field to present case studies of how ICT can be used to promote sustainable development and social justice. Social justice is understood in a wide sense as the pursuit of democracy, justice and development in the struggle against any form of oppression; it is within this context that ICT is explored as a tool for social change. ENDORSEMENT: This book's central and critical premise, namely that we have now to analyze critically how information and communication technologies can be better used to promote development and social justice, makes it especially timely now that the computer can be said to be part of a global system. - John Willinsky, Stanford University The objectives of this book are: * To analyze the philosophical, historical, political, and cultural backgrounds and contexts that are constitutive of contemporary challenges and tensions in the role of ICT for education, development, and social justice around the world; * To appreciate the contextual and international dimensions of the tensions and challenges faced by educators around the world and contribute to ongoing efforts to sketch a vision for addressing their needs; * To explore ways in which ICT in education can promote social justice and contribute toward sustaining communities around the world

Artificial instructional methods no provide the learning community with exercise specific teaching skills and learning situations that strengthen educator instincts and intuition about best practices. ""Digital Simulations for Improving Education: Learning Through Artificial Teaching Environments"" contains research and current trends used in digital simulations of teaching, surveying the uses of games and simulations in teacher education. An essential resource for teachers, educational technologists, and simulation developers, this book helps solve problems in teaching and learning through introduction of the potential and benefits of practice with digital simulations.

Networked learning is learning in which information and communications technology (ICT) is used to promote connections: between one learner and other learners; between learners and tutors; between a learning community and its learning resources. Networked learning is an area which has great practical and theoretical importance. It is a rapidly growing area of educational practice, particularly in higher education and the corporate sector.

This volume brings together some of the best research in the field, and uses it to signpost some directions for future work. The papers in this collection represent a major contribution to our collective sense of recent progress in research on networked learning. In addition, they serve to highlight some of the largest or most important gaps in our understanding of studentsa (TM) perspectives on networked learning, patterns of interaction and online discourse, and the role of contextual factors. The range of topics and methods addressed in these papers attests to the vitality of this important field of work. More significant yet is the complex understanding of the field that they combine to create. In combination, they help explain some of the key relationships between teachersa (TM) and learnersa (TM) intentions and experiences, the affordances of text-based communications technologies and processes of informed and intelligent educational change.

Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age is for all those interested in considering the impact of emerging digital technologies on teaching and learning. It explores the concept of a digital age and perspectives of knowledge, pedagogy and practice within a digital context.

By examining teaching with digital technologies through new learning theories cognisant of the digital age, it aims to both advance thinking and offer strategies for teaching technology-savvy students that will enable meaningful learning experiences.

Illustrated throughout with case studies from across the subjects and the age range, key issues considered include:

• how young people create and share knowledge both in and beyond the classroom and how current and new pedagogies can support this level of achievement
• the use of complexity theory as a framework to explore teaching in the digital age

• the way learning occurs one way exchanges, online and face-to-face interactions, learning within a framework of constructivism, and in communities
• what we mean by critical thinking, why it is important in a digital age, and how this can occur in the context of learning
• how students can create knowledge through a variety of teaching and learning activities, and how the knowledge being created can be shared, critiqued and evaluated.

With an emphasis throughout on what it means for practice, this book aims to improve understanding of how learning theories currently work and can evolve in the future to promote truly effective learning in the digital age. It is essential reading for all teachers, student teachers, school leaders, those engaged in Masters Level work, as well as students on Education Studies courses.