An International Orientation on Institutional Strategies and Governmental Policies for the Use of ICT in Higher Education

This article provides an international comparative overview of institutional strategies, collaboration patterns and governmental policies related to the use of ICT in higher education. It has been produced as part of an international comparative study on the use of ICT in higher education. A study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and published as: “The Use of Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education: An International Orientation on Trends and Issues”, B. Collis and M. van der Wende (Eds). University of Twente, CHEPS, 1999. It covers the following range of countries: Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America. Additionally some main initiatives at the European level have been taken into account. On the basis of this international comparison, the following main conclusions were drawn. Due in part to the fact that in many cases institutional strategies for ICT are still lacking, interesting experimentation does not generally lead to successful dissemination and adoption on a wider scale. In many cases, the push for a substantial use of ICT in distance learning programs has come from new educati onal markets, life-long learning and international education in particular. The response of higher education to these markets is leading in many countries to a convergence of distance and traditional (on-campus) education. Inter-institutional and inter-sectoral collaboration between universities and companies are characteristics of many successful ICT initiatives, although they do not generally continue into sustainable implementation in the individual institutions. Governments facilitate the use of ICT through the establishment of infrastructure, networks and inter-institutional and public–private partnerships, and try to create the right regulatory environment. Further deregulation will enable institutions to respond to new market demands and will inspire the necessary organizational change in higher education institutions.     

IDMI analysis of regional low-carbon development based on system dynamic simulation

During the decision-making process, especially in multi-disciplinary complex cases, assessment technique is needed to assist policy-makers in making the right decision. Many of such assessment techniques have been developed for policy-makers, but the inevitable subjectivity of policy-makers often becomes the main obstacle in making the right or proper policy. Interlink decision-making index （IDMI） is a newly proposed assessment method with the advantages of being simple to use and having less human interference over other methods, as it does not require a weighting process of each selection criterion. This paper implements IDMI to assist with decision-making in national or regional low-carbon development, using China as a case study. The Chinese government has annotmced its carbon emission reduction target along with other development targets by 2020. Many policy settings can be chosen in order to achieve those targets. The problem is how to determine the best setting and the means by which decision-makers can avoid subjectivity and extremes. A number of policy setting options are generated carefully by a system dynamic model under different policy scenarios. The IDMI demonstrates a perfect way to assist in selecting the ＂best＂ among all the options that can achieve the goals within the acceptable range.     

Social support and digital inequality: Does Internet use magnify or mitigate traditional inequities in support availability?

This study tested competing predictions about the implications of Internet use for traditional inequities in social support availability. Using survey data collected as part of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, inequities in social support availability stemming from demographic and network-related factors were examined among non-users, Internet users, and Internet users who also participated in a social network site (SNS). The results offered evidence consistent with the social compensation perspective. Traditional inequities in support availability related to age, race, and total network size persisted among respondents who did not use the Internet, but were less evident or absent among Internet users and/or Internet users who participated in an SNS. Using the Internet to connect with others appeared to be an important mechanism through which inequality in support availability was mitigated.     

How Science Teachers DiALoG Classrooms: Towards a Practical and Responsive Formative Assessment of Oral Argumentation

Journal of Science Education and Technology - We present lessons learned from an ongoing attempt to conceptualize, develop, and refine a way for teachers to gather formative assessment evidence...     

Teaching Community Skills to Two Young Children with Autism Using a Digital Self-Managed Activity Schedule

The current study investigated the efficacy of a self-managed activity schedule to teach 2 participants how to effectively order food items from a local community bakery. 2 participants who were on the autism spectrum were taught to follow a task analysis that was displayed on an iPhone. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching procedure. Results showed that the participants were able to order items, and this skill generalized to a novel bakery. The task analysis and iPhone were immediately withdrawn at a 2 to 5 week follow-up, and both participants were still able to effectively perform the steps of the task analysis without the use of prompts.