Reading and Writing: Digital Directions

The authors show that IT hardware and software are having an effect on literacy. As well as being aware of those changes, English teachers, they argue, should be exploiting IT for the development of those reading and writing skills necessary for the future. The article goes on to exemplify, through an exploration of how it came to be written, some of the processes and opportunities identified earlier.     

开发统一的领导体系——乔治亚州与俄勒冈州执行的领导政策框架

在美国，州与学区的政策都有效影响了学校领导的发展。这些政策大致可以归为三类：1．标准类：教育领导者应该知道并能做什么？2．培训类：我们如何培训领导者了解并能够履行这些标准？3．环境类：影响教育领导者如何以及是否能够最好地履行自己能力的工作环境与政策是什么？     

Educational modelling language: modelling reusable, interoperable, rich and personalised units of learning

Nowadays there is a huge demand for flexible, independent learning without the constraints of time and place. Various trends in the field of education and training are the bases for the development of new technologies for education. This article describes the development of a learning technology specification, which supports these new demands for learning challenging the new technological possibilities. This specification is named Educational Modelling Language (EML) and is developed by the Open University of the Netherlands.     

Writing in Early Adolescence: A Review of the Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs

This review examines and summarizes 16 research studies examining the writing self-efficacy beliefs of 6th- to 10th-grade students. In the majority of the studies, self-efficacy was found to play a primary role in predicting student writing performance. Students with learning disabilities were found to over-estimate their ability to complete specific writing tasks. Several studies found gender differences, with boys rating their confidence higher than girls, although actual performance did not differ. Grade-level differences in perceived efficacy for writing were found in some studies, but not in others. Most studies emphasized that those working with young adolescents need to be aware of the importance of self-efficacy and other motivational beliefs in conjunction with academic functioning. Difficulties with specificity of self-efficacy measures, and with correspondence between measure and criterial task were found in several studies. The article concludes with suggestions for future self-efficacy research.     

Web-based education: A reality check

Conclusion Developing an easy-to-use, complete, practical, reliable, and cost-effective solution for delivering training and education on the Internet has required considerable research and development. We have found that off-the-shelf technologies offer only partial solutions, at best. Even when the software problems were solved, however, we found that our work was just beginning. An effective solution requires software technology, but expertise in instructional design has been equally important. The learning environments our clients create on the Internet have the potential for both “high tech” and “high touch.” These clients are finding ways to reach beyond the physical limitations of the classroom, but—perhaps more significantly—they are using the system to reach beyond the limiting assumptions of the classroom as well. As they—and we—do so, we will begin to understand the ways in which the Net really is a new medium.     

The triangel (socio-therapeutical institute)

We have given a brief outline of the work which is being done at the Triangel. We do not pretend to present a report based on a scientific justification. The aid we give seems to be better described as “the arm around the shoulder of someone in distress” than by the use of precise scientific terms. The common, natural reaction to a disturbed person is a spontaneous gesture of help. We should not try to classify him, or to adopt an attitude of cool scientific interest. The natural, instinctive approach seems to us the most obviously supportive and in this respect the Triangel would seem to serve as a model for all assistance agencies.     

Changes in personal orientation and critical thinking among adults returning to school through weekend college: An alternative evaluation

Seventy-two returning adult students participating in a weekend social science option showed statistically significant increases on 11Personal Orientation Inventory subscales and theWatson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. The program involved an interdisciplinary and experiential learning approach. Utilizing t-tests, no significant differences between males and females on the pretest nor on pre-post change were found. This evaluation supports successful experiential learning as effective in continuation and reinforcement of the process of self-actualizing.The author expresses his thanks to Mary Van De Warker for codesigning and coinstructing the Weekend Social Science option with him and to Kathleen Crittenden for her helpful criticism of an earlier draft of this article.