E‐mail me your thoughts: digital communication and narrative writing

The use of ICT for communicating with those not physically present in the classroom can add a new dimension to literacy work. This study illustrates how the interactive nature of e‐mail opens new possibilities for young writers, enriching the curricular emphasis on genres and forms, and expanding children's horizons by encouraging them to write in new ways for new audiences. The paper reports on a study into the use of e‐mail as a means of providing support for classroom writing projects at Key Stage 2. These projects, with pupils in the 7–10 age range, focused on two popular narrative genres: sword and sorcery adventures, and sci‐fi stories. The research shows how digital communication can be used to enrich print‐based literacy whilst at the same time providing a creative exploration of new forms of interactive written discourse on screen.     

New alignments for the digital age: insights into connected learning

Educational technology research and development - In an age of ready access to people, online spaces and information, canonized formal knowledge acquisition is being disrupted. The emergence of...     

Designing and delivering representation-focused science lessons in a digital learning environment

Educational technology research and development - Inquiry-based representation-focused approaches in science education have shown promising outcomes when students engage in knowledge building via...     

Knowledge building: aligning education with needs for knowledge creation in the digital age

Educational technology research and development - This paper examines the alignment of education with the needs for knowledge creation in the digital age using the Knowledge Building model and...     

Organizational Factors that Influence E‐learning Development and Implementation in the Corporate Context

In the context of Autoparts, a multinational manufacturer for automotive electronics, Lotus Notes was employed to create an e‐learning system. This system was titled “Using Notes for Case‐based Learning Environments” (UNCLE). The UNCLE project attempted to encapsulate knowledge and understanding of those organizational factors that might influence e‐learning development and implementation in a corporate context. Based on the findings of this study, and our reflections on these findings, we define that an e‐learning system consists of four critical components: (1) corporate learners with certain prerequisites (people) to carry out (2) learning tasks (process) using (3) e‐learning technology (technology) in an (4) organizational context (organization). This study further suggested that e‐learning is a sociotechnical change process like any technology adoptions, and proposed a systemic framework for exploring and making the most of various sociotechnical factors. Further studies are suggested to investigate the interrelationships among these four components and various sociotechnical factors.     

Assessing Readiness for E‐Learning

ABSTRACT Today, e‐learning is a common delivery media for education and training within many organizations. Yet, while both the supply and demand for e‐learning opportunities has risen in recent years, many professionals are beginning to question whether e‐learn‐ers are prepared to be successful in an online learning environment (e.g., Gug‐lielmino & Guglielmino, 2003; Watkins & Corry, 2005). After all, a learner's demonstrated success in a conventional education and training classroom may not be an adequate predictor of success in an e‐learning classroom. One way of gauging a potential online learner's readiness is through self‐assessment. As a first step in defining an instrument that measures an e‐learner's readiness, with the cooperation of volunteer participants from the U.S. Coast Guard, this study looked into the validity and internal consistency of items within a self‐assessment of e‐learning readiness that is under development, and provided data for the continuing development and revision of the instrument. Having demonstrated evidence of internal consistency and construct validity, the self‐assessment now provides a tool for continuing research into the prediction of e‐learning performance. Funding for this study was provided by the International Society for Performance Improvement.