Peter Albion

Web 2.0 in Teacher Education: Two Imperatives for Action

ABSTRACT Web 2.0 represents a more participative and potentially paradigm-changing environment for building and sharing knowledge. Some educators have begun to apply these tools in classrooms but, as their use in society expands, there will be expectations for their wider application in schools. Teacher education faces the dual challenges of applying Web 2.0 tools to enhance teacher preparation and preparing teachers for whom the application of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom will be authentic practice. One path forward is to use Web 2.0 tools to develop learning communities for teacher preparation around e-portfolios in ways that encourage increased professional engagement by teachers while providing experiences that will support use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom as authentic practice.

The organic geochemistry of torbanite precursors

Abstract The generally accepted hypothesis of the composition of torbanite precursors has been shown to be incorrect. Contrary to previous thinking, the monomers largely responsible for coorongite, and torbanite, are not fatty acids or branched chain hydrocarbons but straight chain alkadienes arising from the green form of the alga. The rubbery deposit of the orange form of the alga is composed of polymerised botryococcenes.

Moving education into the digital age: the contribution of teachers' professional development

This article introduces the main outcomes of discussions at EDUsummIT 2011 by the specific Technical Working Group on Teacher Professional Development (TWG3). The focus was to explore how professional development of teachers may ensure that teachers are better prepared to use information and communication technology (ICT) to promote 21st century learning. The article is organized into three main sections: a review of key literature on professional development of teachers (TPD), in general and with specific reference to ICT; a summary of the key points emerging from TWG3s discussions; and recommendations for action. On the basis of discussions held within the TWG3, the authors concluded that effective TPD requires changes at several levels of educational systems (political, institutional and individual), and that ICTs should be seen as an opportunity for introducing new goals, structures and roles that support these changes. It is significant that while many of the issues highlighted by the group are well established, addressing them continues to be problematic globally.

Student‐teachers’ Use of Computers during Teaching Practice in Primary Classrooms

Abstract It is argued that teacher readiness is crucial to the realisation of national goals for educational computer use and that the preparation of student teachers can make an important contribution. This study investigated student‐teachers’ dispositions towards computers and their use of computers in primary‐school classrooms during a final‐year practicum. The student teachers generally viewed computers positively but lacked confidence in their knowledge of computers. While they were nervous about using computers in classrooms, almost two‐thirds did use a computer at least once during a four‐week practicum and were more likely to do so if the supervising teacher modelled such use. The most frequently experienced problems in using computers were organisational. Based on the findings of this study it is suggested that preservice courses should focus on the pedagogical issues associated with computer use and they should provide students with opportunities to observe and practise classroom computing.

Teachers' professional development for ICT integration: Towards a reciprocal relationship between research and practice

Teachers in the 21st century are facing new challenges as a result of the expanding possibilities of ICT integration in every aspect of the school milieu. Studies have shown the potential of teacher professional development (TPD) that is tailored to local conditions as well as global components and takes advantage of mutual support among teachers, as well as modeling of effective practices. The goal of the paper is to consider the issue of TPD with reference to the usage of ICT as a lever for educational change in a systemic manner, based on the application of local as well as international research. This paper will synthesize some key issues and challenges for TPD in the ICT-saturated 21st century, illustrated in four cases presented herein, which synthesize elements of practice and theory. Based on the literature and the four case studies, we suggest a conceptual model for identifying and evaluating TPD practices using ICT as a lever for educational change and innovation, accompanied by research aimed to develop TPD models. We include suggestions for more effectively linking research to practice and will lay out possible research directions, as a means of facilitating evidence-based decisions and policies.

Beyond Pedagogical Content Knowledge: The Importance of TPACK for Informing Preservice Teacher Education in Australia

Since the emergence of computers in schools during the 1980’s, there have been considerable developments by education systems and schools to develop policies and expectations for the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance learning and teaching. These have not always translated into practice, which has resulted in a focus on the need for improvements in preservice teacher education programs and professional development of practising teachers. This paper starts from the premise that most teacher education have been constrained by using Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) developed by Shulman [1] [2] prior to the dynamic technological changes enabled by the Internet. The authors present the case for the importance of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) [3] [4]. Subsequently, the paper provides guidance for auditing the TPACK capabilities of teacher education students through the presentation of an instrument developed, and provides a summary of some of the findings of a study undertaken using that instrument.

Action learning-based MOOC to enhance laboratory learning outcomes: Introducing the MELLO Project

Teaching in laboratories plays an integral role in education. This includes both proximal as well as remote laboratories. The MOOC for Enhancing Laboratory Learning Outcomes (MELLO) is designed to assist educators at all levels, from school to university, to improve the quality of laboratory experiences in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Experienced educators seeking to review and revise current practices or beginning educators are all welcome to participate. This demonstration introduces the course and shows how two modes of participation are being supported. This covers both face-to-face as well as technology-mediated laboratories.

Enhancing Oral Communication Skills Using Mobile Phones Among Undergraduate English Language Learners in Malaysia

The study introduced the use of mobile phones in an English language learning course to second-language learners studying at a higher-education institution in Malaysia. Mobile phones have multifunctional capabilities that can be used anytime and anywhere at the convenience of the learners; therefore, the study aimed to investigate the possibility of using mobile phones as tools to improve the oral interaction skills of the learners. The study explored the basic functions built into mobile phones relevant for an oral communication skills course. A class of 50 learners was assigned as the treatment group and another class of 26 learners as the no treatment group. The treatment group was introduced to the audio recording devices in mobile phones and encouraged to practice the tasks assigned before the evaluation. This study adopted a quantitative research design, and the tools employed were a survey questionnaire and the course assessments. Data in the classroom were collected over a 10-week period. The findings demonstrated an increase in the performance of the learners at the end of the semester; nevertheless, the results must be interpreted with caution as use of mobile phones only started in week 5 of the 10-week semester which may not have given learners sufficient time to master the skills required to use them optimally for language learning.

Sustaining the Momentum: A Cross-Institutional Community of Practice for Research Supervisors

Research supervision is an important learning and teaching issue in Higher Education Institutions. This paper reports on the history and outcomes of a community of practice that has been meeting since 2009 to improve the capability of research supervisors at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Australia. The Community of Practice—Research Supervisors (CoP-RS) includes academic staff from all USQ Faculties and across all campuses. We describe the background that prompted the formation of the CoP-RS and then detail the activities undertaken to date. The outcomes and challenges are discussed with the view to identify critical success factors to ensure sustainability of the CoP. Conclusions are drawn and future research directions suggested.

The game and activity environment of RALfie: Remote access laboratories for fun, innovation and education

Remote Access Laboratories are online platform for performing experiments from remote locations which are usually these systems focus on specific experiments and follow a centralised client-server paradigm. This demo will present organisation of experiments and activities in RALfie - Remote Access Laboratories for Fun, Innovation and Education which is a peer-to-peer remote access laboratory architecture. In this environment, participants both go through learning activities as well as make experiments. Learning activities on experiments are presented as a set of hierarchical groups of activities. The distributed design of environment allows more hands-on experience to build any experimental setup and provides opportunities to collaborate with fellow students. It allows for collaboration between the participants at various levels. The makers of an experiment may share it with some other participant to create an activity. Also there are multiple types of users to deal with different aspects of the system management.