Perspectives of information and communication technologies for engineering education

The information and communication technologies of today and tomorrow are characterized by: the Internet and its related technological networks; mobile telecommunication systems; video-based multimedia application for communication and information; and speech recognition/automated speech output. They are developing into embedded systems with invisible PC-free interfaces and into new breeds of robots and Multi-Agent Systems. These systems have started to change the technical and organizational structure of all human-machine-systems and their control tasks. In this paper, some aspects of these changes are described in view of the future roles of engineers within society. The paper is based on the memorandum which was drafted by an international expert group to be presented at the Congress on Information and Communication during the First World Engineers' Convention, 19-21 June 2000, Hannover, Germany. Subsequently this memorandum was discussed and agreed on by the participants of the Congress workshops. These participants were several hundred engineers from all over the world. Their ideas and concepts have been integrated into this paper.     

Alternative Verhaltensnormen im Arbeitersport?

German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research -     

A comparison of student teacher learning from practice in university-affiliated schools in Helsinki and Johannesburg

In a comparative study of student teachers in Finland and South Africa, the researchers aimed to capture students’ views of how and what they had learned from practice in two university-affiliated primary schools. With data from survey questionnaires, we found that students in the two customized programmes accentuated different domains of teacher knowledge. The newly established teaching practice school in Johannesburg afforded closer integration of university and school practicum experiences for students than the well-established school in Helsinki. The authors conclude that an innovative teacher education model can be re-invented in a significantly different context and also add new dimensions to the original.     

Educational Television in Israel: spotlight on the future

The author was based at the Educational Television Centre in Tel‐Aviv with a remit to study the development of educational television in Israel from its inception in 1966. The article briefly discusses the political and technological factors which led to the development of an educational television channel in Israel. At that time television in Israel consisted solely of educational television broadcasts in the mornings and afternoons. This was extended when the Israeli Broadcasting Authority started to broadcast on the one Israeli channel in the evening slot. The article concentrates on the recent development of educational television and its bid for a new niche in the constellation of Israeli broadcasting. Inevitably the development and future of educational broadcasting is intimately linked with Israel's religious and political schisms and its military and cultural preoccupations. At the moment Israel still only has one television channel, although test programming has been piloted on a second channel. This article explores the future options open to the Educational Television Centre in the context of satellite and cable broadcasting and the development of a second channel. Evidently the factors affecting the future of broadcasting in Israel are not dissimiliar from those which now face the UK, given the publication of the 1988 White Paper on Broadcasting     

Developmental dynamics of early reading skill,literacy interest and readers’ self-concept within the first year of formal schooling

Previous studies have documented robust relationships between emergent literacy and later reading performance. A growing body of research has also reported associations between motivational factors and reading in early phases of reading development. However, there is less research about cross-lagged relationships between motivational factors and reading skills in beginning readers. To examine relationships between early reading skills, literacy interest and reader self-concept, we tested 1141 children twice during their first year of formal reading instruction in school. Cross-lagged analysis showed strong stability in reading skills and medium stability in literacy interest and reader self-concept over the first school year. We also found bidirectional relationships between reading skills and self-concept and between the motivational components of literacy interest and reader self-concept. In the final part of the article, we address the potential theoretical progress attainable through the use of cross-lagged designs in this field.