Designing online courses: A taxonomy to guide strategic use of features available in course management systems (CMS) in distance education

Course developers can be distracted from applying sound instructional design principles by the amount of flexibility offered through online course development resources (<citeref rid="b16">Kidney & Puckett, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4 (2003)</citeref>, 203-212). Distance education course management systems (CMS) provide multiple features that can be easily integrated into online instruction. Easy integration does not equal good design, and poor design can impede learning (<citeref rid="b15">Kearsley, A guide to online education (1997)</citeref> http://gwis.circ.gwu.edu/～etl/online.html). A taxonomy of the instructional value for CMS features is described. An example of how a course was translated into an online version, initially a failure, and redesigned using this taxonomy is presented. A taxonomy that strategically guides the use of appropriate CMS features to integrate informational, instructional, and learning elements into online courses can support designers in the development of quality of online instruction.     

Professional Development Schools: New Opportunities for Training School Counselors

The authors examine how counselor educators can become involved in professional development schools to create enhanced training opportunities for school counseling internship students. The benefits of collaboration between university and public school faculties are explored, and research opportunities are discussed. Counselor educators' expertise in research and program evaluation, combined with school counselors' pragmatic experience in dealing with real‐life issues, may promote best practices in the schools and improved training for school counselors and can set the stage for collaboration as an educational team at the preservice level.     

Creating a bridge to simulate simultaneous engineering experiences for senior undergraduate students

Launching new or improved products to the market typically involves extensive collaboration within and beyond the enterprise. Succeeding in a customer-driven market economy demands the practice of simultaneous engineering. The standard engineering or engineering technology curricula continue to make efforts in providing students with opportunities to engage in real-life projects that simulate simultaneous engineering. However, the educational community as a whole has much to implement in this area. This paper presents an approach used to nurture simultaneous engineering through a unique collaboration between instructors in different disciplines. Student teams, formed from three different classes, conceived problems and worked through a problem-solving model to design and develop solutions. An assessment of these interdisciplinary projects revealed significant learning outcomes and their relationships to the diversity of team members. The experiences of both students and instructors are described and some recommendations made for instructor teams that envisage interdisciplinary student projects.     

Introduction—Improving skills development for employability in an ever-changing world

The article provides an overview of the global economic landscape in which the contemporary skills development discourse is located. Effective skills development oriented to market needs and to competitiveness in high-value global value chains will help developing economies to avoid the middle income trap. It outlines major issues and challenges that developing economies need to deal with in crafting appropriate policies and strategies for skills development: addressing the persistent problem of skills-jobs mismatches, strengthening the participation of the private sector to increase market-oriented training, assuring inclusive growth, preparing for the expansion of green economy opportunities, and increasing emphasis on soft skills. It also provides an introduction to the various articles in the special issue.     

High performance magnesium anode in paper-based microfluidic battery,powering on-chip fluorescence assay

A high power density and long-lasting stable/disposable magnesium battery anode was explored for a paper-based fluidic battery to power on-chip functions of various Point of Care (POC) devices. The single galvanic cell with magnesium foil anode and silver foil cathode in Origami cellulose chip provided open circuit potential, 2.2 V, and power density, 3.0 mW/cm². A paper-based fluidic galvanic cell was operated with one drop of water (80 μl) and continued to run until it was dry. To prove the concept about powering on-chip POC devices, two-serial galvanic cells are developed and incorporated with a UV-light emitting diode (λ = 365 nm) and fluorescence assay for alkaline phosphatase reaction. Further, detection using smart phones was performed for quantitative measurement of fluorescent density. To conclude, a magnesium-based fluidic battery paper chip was extremely low-cost, required minute sample volumes, was easy to dispose of, light weight, easy to stack, store and transport, easy to fabricate, scalable, and has faster analysis times.     

Negotiating critical,postcritical literacy: the problematic of text analysis

Critical literacy has been a particular focus in literacy education in the past two decades. Literacy models such as the ‘four resources’ model provide a significant framework for a critical understanding of texts and the social and cultural practices that inform them. In this paper, I draw on the ‘four resources’ model to argue that the success of the framework in developing critical literacy depends upon focusing adequate analytic attention on those subjectivities used in such practices. The intersubjective classroom dynamics and the subjective engagement of literacy practitioners are of equal importance in determining the meanings co‐constructed among subjects. I argue that beyond being text analysts, reflective practitioners, that is the teacher, and students as a group, can engage in postcritical negotiations of the text, contribute to new meaning possibilities and adopt an ongoing critical stance. Applying this literacy model successfully requires acceptance of a multiplicity of interpretations, collaborative practice between teachers and students and fluid subject positions. The paper concludes by considering the problematic of the classroom as a dynamic site for textual and cultural contestation of multiple perspectives.