Anusasananun Sureeporn, Chulalongkorn University

The purposes of this research were 1) to compare the quality of standard setting between modified Angoff and Bookmark standard setting methods, which includes the validity, reliability, propriety and feasibility; 2) to investigate the optimal number of judges and the number of items for modified Angoff and Bookmark standard setting methods. A sample of participants involved 12 judges (mathematicians) and 1,074 examinees in Mattayomsuksa – 3 students at a secondary school in Chonburi Province. A mathematical test for assessing examinees consisting of 100 multiple choices items was developed. A computation of difficulty was derived for IRT modle, which provided evidence to justify the use of both standard setting methods. Rating data was compiled by judges using both methods and then the data was analyzed using a method based on Generalizability theory. The findings indicated that the Bookmark method was more accurate than the modified Angoff method.

Deng Liping, The University of Hong Kong

Yuen H. K. Allan, The University of Hong Kong

As Internet penetrates into every fiber of our society, online communities of various purposes and sizes proliferate. In addition to information, virtual communities can provide their participants with companionship, emotional support and sense of belonging (Haythornthwaite, Kazmer, & Robins, 2000; Koku, Nazer, & Wellman, 2001). However, the availability of online space itself can’t guarantee the emergence and evolvement of virtual communities (Jones, 1997; Rheingold, 2000). Therefore, the conditions for community formation and growth become a question of vital importance. Our study aims to explore the motivating or inhibiting factors that influence adult learners’ participation in an online community. The informants of our study are part-time doctorial students of Education in a local university. As experienced professionals with full-time job, this group of students can’t meet face-to-face regularly. In spite of the efforts made by the Faculty to use online platform to sustain and reinforce this local community (Blanchard & Horan, 1998; Haythornthwaite et al., 2000; Wellman & Gulia, 1999), the web-based system was underused. This problem might be attributed to vast array of factors and our study will accentuate on three aspects: technology, social support and community. Interview will be conducted to collect data in these perspectives: technology perspective concentrates on users’ technical proficiency, Internet access, comfort level and experience of using computer-mediated communication(Collis & Moonen, 2001; Mumtaz, 2000; Vonderwell & Zachariah, 2005). The social support perspective addresses their needs for (Brown, 2001)and availability of social support (Turner, Grube, & Meyers, 2001). Community perspective probes into the driving force and perceived barriers to participation in online community. Our study results will not only shed light on people’s perception and behavior in virtual realm, but also inform the design efforts to create nurturing environment for virtual communities.

Yung Hsin I Cindy, The Pennsylvania State University

With the rapid change of educational technology and innovation, the interest in the animated pedagogical agents in the instructional design has emerged in the past few years. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the pedagogical agent for learning the function of the heart. The agent was designed to provide the instructional explanations either with gestures or texts. The design was a 3(agent properties: the agent with text, agent plus gesture and text only) × 2(picture features: static and animation) factorial design with a control condition. The empirical findings showed that students outperformed with the presence of the agent plus text on comprehension and terminology tests. In sum, the present study extended and strengthened previous research that the effectiveness of pedagogical agents support learning in computer based instruction.

Kim Sunha, Virginia Tech

According to U.S. Department of Commerce (2002), there has been exponential increase in Internet access and use in the United States. This exponential increase of Internet use has made educators interested in the application of Internet to education like this statement “nothing before has captured the imagination and interests of educators simultaneously around the globe more than the World Wide Web” (Owston, 1997). There have been a lot of attempts to utilize features of Web to improve learning and teaching. These days, learning objects have been considered as one of potential ways to bring about an evolution of web-based learning. According Wiley (2002), learning objects “...may provide the foundation for an adaptive, generative, scalable learning architecture... [wherein both] teaching and learning as we know them are certain to be revolutionized”.

Learning objects can be defined as any reusable eLearning component. Learning objects are assembled with other learning objects and reused in different contexts. The reusability characteristics is the key to learning objects’ promises of adaptability, generativity, and scalability. So, the current research has focused on how to design, develop and manage learning objects for the reuse. However, much attention has not been paid to learners who will use learning objects for their own learning. Of course, if automatic assembly of learning objects is fully enabled, learner support will not be an important issue. But, the limitations of current technology prevent automatic assembly of learning objects from happening in the near future.

This study calls the attention to how to support learners to choose right learning objects and assemble chosen learning objects in a meaningful way. This study proposes guidelines for designing learning environment which supports learners to construct their own learning in learning object based online learning. In addition, this study introduces some developmental efforts of learner-centered learning environment.

Lee Wai Keung Alpha, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

This article discusses the interplay of the three aspects of edutainment applications for the creative age, namely design, technological, and educational methodologies. This article begins with an overview of edutainment, follows by a discussion on the contribution of edutainment on our understanding of adult learning and education, and the relationship between theory and practice, and finally a conclusion on how educational psychology with an emphasis on adult learning, and design methodology in human computer interaction determines the success of edutainment. This article attempted to propose that edutainment (education through entertainment) could be one of the solutions for adult education in the creative age.

Lum Wai Mei, Ministry of Education

Acquiring knowledge is not just about achieving good grades. It is more about the passion to find out more than what is required of the curriculum. Four of our Secondary Three students are given the opportunity to become “research scientists” when they participate in the biology grid project. In this project, they will use a computational software called GridBLAST, to compare the DNA sequences of both the human and the chimpanzee. What they are learning now is actually part of what will be covered in the undergraduate module (bioinformatics). They will also learn other skills such as creating a website and oral presentation. Oral presentation is one of the requirements for the Life Science Competition. We also hope that they will be able to apply their oral presentation skills in future.

Song Yanjie, The University of Hong Kong

The paper presents qualitative research into how the learner explores and uses the affordances of the handheld for mobile learning (m-learning) in higher education settings. Affordances in this research refer to the potential of the handheld for m-learning; while m-learning is defined as any kind of learning that occurs wherever the learner takes advantage of handheld affordances.

Drawing on Gibson’s theory of affordances, (Gibson, 1979), and Reed’s conceptual framework (1993) of Process of Affordance Selection, the research develops a framework of Process of Handheld Affordance Selection for M-learning. This longitudinal case study, within this theoretical framework, investigates into how the learner as “a detector” detects and uses the potential of the handheld in varied environments for m-learning in higher education.

It is expected that the results of the research will provide university educators and educational technology developers with some information about how to design m-learning environment in a more “user-friendly, user-centred” way, and provide university students with some information about the potential of the mobile technologies for anytime, anywhere learning.

Wong Fat Keung, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Cheung Wing Shan Lisa, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Li Ka Wai, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Lee Wai Keung Alpha, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Putting emphasis on students’ affective development, including National Identity and Chinese Culture was reflected in Education and Manpower Bureau’s recent directions in General Studies for Primary Schools students. More and more Hong Kong primary school students participate in Chinese cultural activities such as Chinese writing, Chinese painting, Tai Chi and Cantonese opera. In recent years, multimedia CD ROMs and videogames have complemented textbooks to provide a wider knowledge base and facilitate a more engaging learning experience. This article reports on the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of ChinaToy, a videogame-based edutainment project on General Studies. The instructional design, interface design, interaction design, and information design aspects of the development are discussed. ChinaToy motivates active and critical learning through incongruity principles, where learners are challenged through an inquiry process to learn more about Chinese culture while interacting with Chinese toy-like features in a virtual environment.

Cheung Lisa, The University of Hong Kong

Fong Natalie, The University of Hong Kong

Wong Claudia, The University of Hong Kong

This paper presents the new pedagogical possibilities opened up by integrating advanced technology into the English Centre's first undergraduate English academic writing course - Professional Media Writing. The course was successfully piloted in January 2006, aiming to introduce journalism students to the generic and linguistic features of print news reports and provide students with opportunities to engage in news story writing and editing. A three-tier English course of 30 hours was delivered via plenary sessions, seminars, small group tutorials and the web.

The course involved three groups of students working with online materials and using both in-class and outside-class time to enhance task-based learning on a Moodle platform. The idea was to allow flexible delivery by offering more choices for intensive online learning. The course was made more user-friendly and interactive by utilizing Moodle features that range from discussion, assignments, teacher feedback, journal writing to vocabulary building and corpus-based work.

An effective online learning community was developed using Moodle. The rationale for this is the underlying pedagogical principle of Social Constructivism which asserts that a social group constructs knowledge for one another collaboratively. For instance, students were asked to write three journal entries in the in-class forum to reflect upon individual learning experience at the end of each module. While giving comments and reflecting on their own learning, students could interact online with their peers in the other two classes during the lessons. Within the community, teachers could always give immediate and detailed feedback to their students, thus prompting better student-to-student interaction and teacher-student dialogue.

By discussing the challenges involved with making the Moodle site become a component of the course curriculum, this paper will provide teachers with practical experience of online course web as a collaborative learning platform.

Ranade Mridula Dilip, SNDT Women's University

The paper presents a review of a series of researches conducted by the researcher over a span of about 5 years.

The central task of all these researches was the development of comprehensive self-instructional Computer Assisted Instructional (CAI) Packages on the concept of Multiple Intelligences (MI) and its application to teaching in general and to Science teaching in particular. The packages were developed to fulfill two objectives: to introduce teacher-educators and student-teachers to the relatively new concept of Multiple Intelligences Approach to teaching, and to expose them to a good model of the use of a slideshow presentation for teaching. (A part of the presentation can be downloaded from the researcher’s home page)

The CAI packages were found to produce significantly higher achievement (0.01 level of significance) in terms of content when tested on two batches of Master of Education students, and a batch of about 30 teacher-educators from various states of India, using the pre-test-post-test single group design. All participants reported that the packages were very well designed and effective in bringing about learning, and also that the introduction to this new approach would help them to think more innovatively about lesson planning

In another year-long research study, student-teachers were trained in planning Science lessons using the MI approach. CAI presentations and workshops on lesson-planning were used for the training. A pre-test-post-test single group design showed very significant improvement in incorporation of MI-based experiences in lesson-plans. Several new ideas were generated by the student-teachers.

In a M.Ed.-level research under the researcher’s guidance, a Science lesson plan was developed using the MI approach and implemented in the classroom (Grade V). It significantly increased student achievement.

The above researches indicate that the introduction and use of MI approach has significantly benefited teacher-educators, student-teachers, and school students.

Olsen Deborah, Virginia Tech

Frost Susan, Susan Frost Consulting and Emory University

The current study presents findings from a three-year longitudinal study of Sunoikisis, a virtual academic department formed by faculty at 14 small American colleges. Courses within Sunoikisis are team-taught and incorporate a sophisticated array of technologies, including interactive, on-line lectures by faculty experts from across the country. The program is important for its pioneering role in integrating the traditional core of postsecondary education with the technological innovation and instructional collaboration that are the emerging hallmarks of 21st Century education.

The goals of this three-year project were: (1) to provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of Sunoikisis and of on-line instruction more generally, and (2) to develop a comprehensive assessment model (measures and procedures) that others can use to assess similar programs in the future. Assessment proceeded through a stepwise evaluation process that moved from interviews to survey measures across administrative, faculty, and student samples. A relational database and analysis programs were developed and the measures, data bases and computer programs have been assembled in a guide to facilitate use of the model in other instructional programs.

Findings from the content analyses conducted on interview data were corroborated by the results of later survey measures. Four themes emerged as focal for faculty and students: (1) collaborative teaching and learning, (2) content mastery; (3) intellectual stimulation and professional growth; and (4) technological innovation. Findings are presented in terms of program strengths and weaknesses by theme. Overall, the on-line component of the course expanded the scope of department offerings and provided faculty and students with substantial intellectual stimulation. Faculty pedagogy became more facilitative and student-centered, but students, used to the intimate nature of their small campuses felt less at ease interacting with off-campus peers. Recommendations for future practice are offered based on the study’s findings.

Policarpio Jose Maria, Diwa Learning Systems

Ibe Milagros Dimal, Miriam College

This is a quasi-experimental study of the effects of GENYO an e-learning instructional package designed to supplement the usual classroom delivery of mathematics and science lessons.

The subjects were freshman and sophomore classes in each of three public high schools in Batangas, some 60 km South Manila. Two sections of freshmen and two of sophomores were chosen and assigned as experimental and control groups, using the pre-test – posttest control group design. In the third school, because there was only one section per year level, the pretest-posttest one group-design was used.

The pretest and posttest were administered 12 weeks apart. The data were analyzed separately by school considering differences are the study design in each. Four criterion measures were used – gain in mathematics and in science, as measured by the pretest-to-posttest increase in scores, and attitudes toward the two subjects at the end of the 12-week treatment period.

Significant gains (p< .05) were found in all four criteria in one school; gains in two of the criteria were found in two schools. Only one school showed a significant improvement in attitude scores in both subjects.

Monitoring data showed still have a reluctance of to use the self-learning computer modules in mathematics. Students would rather have the teacher directed lessons. The teachers feel inadequate in their skills in using the computer for teaching science and mathematics.

Lo Cherie, Po Leung Kuk Castar Primary School

So Winng Mui Winnie, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Yeung WAI YIN, Po Leung Kuk Castar Primary School

The purpose of this study is to build a multiple measurement in assessing online environment of project based learning (PBL). In PBL, students will experience the collaborative learning, multidisciplinary curricula, large blocks of time, teachers acting as facilitators to guide and advice, and more authentic forms of assessments.

In this setting, students are guided in learning how to learn and empower them to take more responsibility of their own education in exploring and solving problems. According the great progress of science and technology, using advanced computers and internet can improve learners to overcome the approach of teaching and learning in PBL which solve the limits of time and space in the past as well as broaden the scope of interaction(LEE & Tsai,2004).Therefore, most educators agree with the teaching and learning strategy of PBL, and think that using the Internet as a basic instrument is the wave of the future(Barry et al,2001).

In this setting, authentic assessments will be the great tools to assess the quality of learning progress and product which helps them to be more closely to reflect what they see and knew of the outside world. Thus, create a new approach assessment formats and process in the internet can be a positive tool for reflecting students' personal growth.

Jones Norah, University of Glamorgan

Connolly Michael, University of Glamorgan

For many, e-learning and blended learning are seen as a technical solution to improve teaching. It is commonly viewed as neutral - just another tool in the lecturer's kit bag. This we believe is a naïve view and hides the extent and complexity of change required at universities (Jones, 2004; Jones and O’Shea, 2004). Technology is not just another way of delivering course content. Blended learning is challenging our education practices and underlying epistemologies and theories. The design of blended learning needs to be grounded in sound education theory. We need to ensure that we blend technological and pedagogical advancements. If we design programmes on-line and ignore education theory then we are in danger of leaving learning to chance.

The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of blended learning on higher education, using a case study of the experiences of the University of Glamorgan (UOG) in Wales. The paper will locate UOG’s experiences of blended learning in the context of both wider developments and appropriate research. It is clear that the practice of blended learning has outpaced the research and this is due in part to the rapid increase in technology. As a result there is a paucity of research on blended learning from higher education. This paper contributes to closing this gap by providing evidence from one case study university.

Sung Yao-Ting, National Taiwan Normal University

Chang Kuo-En, National Taiwan Normal University

Huang Cherng-Cherng, National Taiwan Normal University

Formative evaluation is an important method for teachers to monitor students' learning progress and to diagnose students’ learning difficulties. However, formative assessment is hard to be conducted in traditional classrooms because the difficulties of getting students’ responses and giving feedback in time. Mobile device are helpful in overcoming the difficulties of conducting formative evaluation in classrooms. This research has two objectives: 1. Developing a set of software for classroom formative evaluation through mobile handhelds; 2. Empirically studying the effects of using of the software with handhelds (tablet PC or PDA). The experimental results indicated that students using mobile device-based formative assessment showed a steady progress in learning, and performed equally well with those students who originally outperformed them in English grammar.

Choy Doris, Nanyang Technological University

Dong Chaoyan, New York University

This study investigates how to effectively guide pre-service teachers to acquire online discussion facilitation skills. Most teacher preparation programs provide technology integration course(s). In the online interactions between students and instructors, students act as participants and instructors continue to act as the content expert and/or facilitator. Few courses allow pre-service teachers to experience as facilitators, but more and more teachers utilize online discussions in teaching. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to develop online facilitation skills.

For technology learning, the constructivism theory indicates that students experience technologies and discover how to use technology by themselves (Bagley & Hunter, 1992; Barr, 1990; Jonassen, 1991). Bruner (1960, 1966) explained that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas from their prior knowledge. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the students continually build upon what they have already learned.

This study aims to develop a collection of multimedia tools, such as interactive videos, animations and resources to help pre-service teachers to construct effective online facilitation skills. These tools are presented in a non-linear approach to accommodate learners’ different learning needs. The pre-service teachers in this study have used Blackboard but no prior experience in online facilitation. They act as co-facilitators in a group of two and they work as a team during online discussion. They are responsible for formulating discussion questions; facilitating discussions; and other management issues. Their facilitation skills are evaluated based on the quality and quantity of postings and their self-reflections logs. Interviews are conducted to collect more in-depth information regarding to their experiences. The expected results are that the use of different multimedia learning tools assists pre-service teachers in constructing their online facilitation skills; and the pre-service teachers gain confidence in conducting and facilitating online discussions in their classrooms.

Brodin Jane, Stockholm Institute of Education

Lindstrand Peg, Stockholm Institute of Education

Today’s school has difficulties in creating activities where children with different prerequisites can meet in solidarity on equal opportunities. Questions related to children with motor disabilities and their opportunities to participate actively in school with technology support are often stressed at the same time as the trends generally point at the fact that pupils with disabilities are segregated instead of being included in a school for all. Technology is developed but the difficulty in implementing it in everyday life for children and young persons is obvious.

This paper is based on a study aimed at ascertain whether information and communication technology (ICT) can be regarded as an integrating link for children with motor disabilities. The study includes an introductory questionnaire with parents, interviews with leaders and pedagogues of schools, observations in classrooms and personal descriptions of five pupils. The result shows that the computer, which often symbolizes the ICT field, is not used in that way. It is almost impossible to see how computers are used in practice to support inclusion. On the other hand the trend seems to be a backlash, i.e. a clear retrogression for ICT applications. The expectations on the technology that were expressed at the start have been hard to meet, which is partly due to the fact that the teachers do not have enough education in the field, partly that the schools have had other priorities than on assistive devices for children with disabilities. The cut down on financial resources has obviously influenced the access to ICT in the school’s world.

We will give some examples where ICT has been used as a tool for inclusion. If a school for all shall not be just a vision, the school must be prepared to concentrate on the challenges that inclusion will involve for pupils and teachers.

Cheung Wai Shan, Candice, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Li-Tsang Wai Ping, Cecilia, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Most remedial work conducted by teachers to enhance children’s handwriting performance or to handle children with handwriting difficulties were by means of repeated practice using paper and pencil tasks. However, children having difficulties in handwriting might even find it difficult to continue the writing exercises with multiple failures. While new approaches such as multi-sensory teaching were also suggested, most of them aimed to remediate the learning process and facilitate memorization rather then enhancing the performance itself of the child. With consideration on the spreading interest in computer-use (Li-Tsang, 1999), an interactive computerized handwriting training program of various basic components was designed to motivate children’s learning in handwriting with use of a bottom-up approach. This study aimed to investigate whether the handwriting training program incorporating the three major components of handwriting will enhance the 1) visual perceptual skills and 2) visual motor coordination of children, and thus improving the Chinese handwriting performance.

2 groups of primary 1 children (N=10, age 6-7) would be arranged to participate in computerized training. One of group children (n=5) will undergo a 8-sessions interactive computerized handwriting training while another group (n=5) will be given a 8-sessions computerized training on Chinese character typing. Evaluation on Chinese handwriting performance, visual perceptual skills and visual motor coordination would be conducted before, after and 2 months after the training.

Shannon Li-Jen, Sam Houston State University

Polnick Barbara, Sam Houston State University

Cooper Peter, Sam Houston State University

To analyze the college students’ demographic background and their prior experience with computers, this quantitative research collected students’ self-report questionnaires from one state university in Texas, USA and one national university in Taiwan, R.O.C. The purposeful sample was Millennial Generation whose birth years were after 1980. Findings show there is a positive correlation between the students’ information and computer technology (ICT) literacy levels and (a) their working hours on coursework with computers, (b) technology expectations in higher education, and © their comfort levels with digital life environment. Comparing the data between Asian countries and USA, CIA (2006) reported that Taiwan has the highest rate for both internet and mobile cellular users than Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the US. Interestingly, in early 2000s, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan and Japan requires the colleges and universities provide a basic computer education for undergraduate students in general to make up the deficiency of computer literacy education (MEXT, 2006; MOE, 2006). As the millennial generation is categorized as technological comfortable and prepared to enter college, there are an increasing number of institutions internationally utilizing the commercial automation of ICT testing methods to determine the students’ competency levels (ETS, 2006; Messineo & Deollos, 2005; Pope, 2006; SkillCheck, 2006; Young, 2005). Based on ICT testing results, the colleges modified their basic computer course from required to a developmental course (Pope, 2006; Rafaill & Peach, 2001; Young, 2006). ICT literacy levels can be as important as the competency of mathematic, writing, and reading in higher education (Young, 2006). Understanding the students’ self perception of their ICT literacy levels and ICT test results, the institutions will be able to assess their curricula to meet the students’ needs.

Harris Karen, Nanyang Technological University

The QAT is the first attempt at common statewide assessment (apart from basic skills testing) in the compulsory years of schooling in Queensland since the ‘70s.

The 2005 QAT for Year 9 students was made up of three standardised assessment tasks in different assessment modes, namely:

Task 1 – interactive, computer-based

Task 2 – constructed response, paper-based

Task 3 – performance-based.

It was designed to be intellectually challenging and have connections to the wide world. The QAT assessed generic skills and dispositions in the area of Transforming ideas and/or information with an emphasis on Processing. To a lesser extent it also assessed Knowledge (facts, concepts and procedures) from the curriculum areas of SOSE (Studies of Society & the Environment) and The Arts.

The computer-based task required students to interact with the computer at all levels: comprehensive stimulus and support materials, access to questions, and provision of responses.

Student results showed a high level of reliability and provided intriguing data on sub-group differences.

The paper presentation will include focus on the learnings from developing and administrating a computer-based mode of standardised assessment.

Fox Robert, The University of Hong Kong

Trinidad Sue, Curtin University of Technology

Common to all higher education institutions is the need to reform and change the curriculum to prepare students to become citizens in a world of knowledge-based economies (Bates, 2005). Students today need skills and abilities to work in teams, to cooperate, collaborate and learn with fellow students and staff in a community of learners. Within these communities learners need to be able to solve real world problems and be self-directed active learners constructing knowledge. This shift towards more active learning demands a more student-focused approach to the process of learning and teaching in higher education (Prosser & Trigwell, 1999) and that well-designed active learning is an effective way for student learning (Biggs, 2003; Ramsden, 2003; Healey & Roberts, 2004). There is also a growing body of evidence that technology applied to learning and teaching supports extended active learning in and out of class (Paulson, 2002; Williams, 2003). But ‘technology-enhanced learning demands that both technological and methodological abilities are put into play’ (Trentin, 2006, p. 182) and that it is difficult to find all these abilities in a single person. ‘However good a teacher might be in class, he/she may fail in a distance learning situation if lacking sufficient familiarity with technology-enhanced learning methods’ (Trentin, 2006, p. 184). This research suggests that faculties and universities as a whole need to pay close attention to staff capabilities and their use of technology and to offer staff development in ways that will best afford opportunities to improve on and re-think the way they teach and their students engage in learning through technology. Research undertaken in this paper investigates one faculty’s use of an online learning environment and a support structure that builds staff capabilities in using online technology to engage students in effective collaborative and meaningful real world activities.

Zhu Chang, Univeristy of Ghent

Valcke Martin, Univeristy of Ghent

Schellens Tammy, Univeristy of Ghent

Education will change tremendously with the implementation of e-learning technologies.

Will students that were successful in the conventional learning environment (CLE) be the same successful in the e-learning format (Cheung & Kan, 2002; Phipps & Mertisotis, 1999; Tucker, 2001)? A Flemish e-learning environment (ELE) for a first-year university course was implemented for Chinese first-year university students in Beijing. A main feature of the ELE is asynchronous 'task-based' online group discussion.

Student motivation and learning strategies were measured with Motivated Strategies of Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (Pintrich et al., 1991). A survey study was set up to understand student perception and appreciation of the newly implemented e-leaning environment, and compared to the perception and appreciation of the conventional learning environment. Student performance and achievement in ELE is also compared to their achievement in CLE.

Research results show that student appreciation of CLE is positively associated with their motivation and learning strategies (MLS). The association of MLS and appreciation of ELE is not significant. Student level of computer literacy is not significantly associated with their appreciation of ELE as we predicted. Student success in ELE is also not in line with their success in CLE. Students having higher MLS mirror a higher achievement in CLE, however, students having higher MLS and lower MLS do not show significant differences in their achievement in ELE. However, students with higher motivation perform better in their participation and contribution in online group discussions.

Jones Alister, The University of Waikato

Cowie Bronwen, The University of Waikato

Harlow Ann, The University of Waikato

In this paper we draw on the results of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 national questionnaire, focus group and case study findings to discuss the impact of the Digital Horizons: Laptops for teachers scheme as a policy tool intended to leverage teacher use of ICT for collaboration, communication, administration, and lesson planning and preparation. The findings indicate that teachers are making use of the laptops out of the classroom for communication with colleagues, reporting to parents, and the development of classroom materials. Teachers, even those who rated themselves as experts, are making less use of the laptops in the classroom for teaching and learning. Teacher commentary indicates that school technological infrastructure and access to professional development constrain and enable their use of their laptop. Drawing on Engelbart’s notion of improvement infrastructure we discuss factors that have the potential to accelerate the integration of the laptop into teachers' professional lives. Initial analysis suggests these factors include school and departmental leadership and the nature of the professional development that teachers experience. Engelbart argued that it is the factors at this level that are the most important if the benefits of policy initiatives are to be maximized for teachers, schools and governments.

Lundgren Ulla, Jönköping University

A rapidly changing society is constantly reminding us of global interdependence and the demand for understanding otherness. Today more than ever teachers must become aware of their roles as mediators between cultures.

However a well known fact is that visions are easy to write, but mean little unless put into practice. In our empirical study, which is part of an extensive EU/FIPSE project called PICCLE, we illustrate the educational idea of intercultural understanding to students from American and Swedish groups of teacher students. Besides the objective of a possible personal intercultural awareness, our project is intended as a pedagogical example for the students possible to use in their future teaching at school.

We wanted to know if web-based asynchronous interactive conversations across the Atlantic in practice may promote intercultural understanding among pre-service teachers. The study draws on general socio-cultural theory with its origin from Vygotskian thinking, on cooperative learning, Byrams theory of intercultural competence and dialogue theory based on Bakhtin, Rommetveit and Dysthe.

We found that with the right preparations this medium could offer a safe, quick and accessible way to enhance possibilities for an intercultural learning process at low cost.

Lok Chun Fai, Immanuel Lutheran College

Both the schools of Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) and Social Shaping of Technology (SST) argue for the influence of social elements in the construction of scientific knowledge and technology advancement. Based on the premises of these schools, it is reasonable for science educators to incorporate the activity of social discussion in teaching Science, Technology and Society (STS) for any particular science or technological issue.

With the bloom of the Internet technology, online discussion forum can become an effective platform for science educators to arouse social discussions in conducting STS lessons. This Internet technology allows students to experience the social shaping of science and technology through an interactive flow of opinions inside an online discussion forum.

This paper presents case studies concerning the application of online discussion forum in the learning of STS topics in Hong Kong. The tool used is the I-classroom within the HKedCity portal. There are cases where students of different schools and levels were linked together through the Internet and their opinions on science and technology were mutually shaped.

Lee Wai Keung Alpha, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Wong Shui Kei, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Chan Hang Yi, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

This article discusses the design methodology and the 4Is of the edutainment application development namely instructional design, interface design, information design, and interaction design of ‘Libera-te’, an edutainment application designed for the education of Liberal Studies based on interactive detective game perspective. ‘Libera-te’ is an edutainment application designed for Liberal Studies education. Based on CPS model, ‘Libera-te’ aims to enhance and broaden learners’ awareness and understanding of the diversity of our contemporary world through an interactive detective game setting where users will go through a series of inquisitive discovery of clues, analytic, lateral, divergent and critical thinking processes. The outcome of this project is evaluated by semantic differential approach.

Grant Jamillah, The University of the West Indies

In Barbados, a small island nation located in the West Indies, there is a shortage of university graduates in the physical sciences, particularly in physics. The result is a limited number of graduates entering the professional fields related to physics. Physics concepts are abstract and do not provide points of reference that are associated with real-life situations (Belcher, 2006). Research has shown that scientific phenomena are often difficult to comprehend without some visual aid to demonstrate the theoretical concepts (Squire, Barnett, Grant, & Higginbotham, 2004). Dori and Belcher (2005) found that visual demonstrations of phenomena helped students understand physics concepts.

Obtaining access to visuals such as simulations games, DVD recordings, or audio/visual tapes via postal services are complicated by import fees, international exchange regulations, and the length of transportation time it takes to receive goods. Utilizing videos that are readily accessible over the Internet is one way to circumvent these problems.

This study examines free websites which offer tertiary level illustrative online videos over the World Wide Web in physics. The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) it will establish a list of quality physics videos that can be accessed via the Internet; 2) it will provide lecturers with visual resources which will save them a tremendous amount of time of previewing possible web sites. The results of this study would be valuable to Barbadian and Caribbean educators, as well as those teaching in remote locations throughout the world.