This paper describes a survey of technologies and to what extent they support virtual project based learning. The paper argues that a survey of learning technologies should be related to concrete learning tasks and processes. Problem oriented project pedagogy (POPP) is discussed, and a framework for evaluation is proposed where negotiation of meaning, coordination and resource management are id...

This article argues that current re#ective practitioner models have a temporally truncated bias that has resulted in an emphasis on retrospective over prospective re#ection. The temporally distributed nature of prospective teacher thinking is illustrated using data from a study that examined six Intern teachers' future-oriented re#ection. Themes that emerged from Interns' graphical depictions a...

Designing Distributed Learning Environments with Intelligent Software Agents discusses a possible solution to this problem. Using agents as an abstraction tool or a metaphor for the design and construction of distance-learning systems provides novel possibilities in delivering user-focused elearning content. Furthermore, the book presents the agent-oriented approach as a way to address the comp...

The poor assimilation of ICT in formal education is firmly rooted in models of learning prevalent in the classroom which are largely teacher-led, individualistic and reproductive, with little connection between theory and practice and poor linkages across the curriculum. A new model of classroom practice is required to allow for creativity, peer-learning, thematic learning, collaboration and pr...

We introduce a concept of Robots As Learning Objects (RALO) and a framework of methodology for robotics-oriented teaching of Computer Science (CS) topics based on the Constructivist and Empirical Modelling paradigms. Our methodology views robotic technologies not as mere tools, but rather as vehicles of new ways of thinking and reasoning about teaching, learning and education at large. We formu...

Regarding the education of deaf students (in Brazil), three conditions have to be met in order to bring qualitative reasoning (QR) models into the classroom: (a) a bilingual education should be provided, the Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) being the first and Portuguese the second language; (b) in the absence of scientific vocabulary in LIBRAS, it has to be created; (c) given the aural impairm...

Regarding the education of deaf students (in Brazil), three conditions have to be met in order to bring qualitative reasoning (QR) models into the classroom: (a) a bilingual education should be provided, the Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) being the first and Portuguese the second language; (b) in the absence of scientific vocabulary in LIBRAS, it has to be created; (c) given the aural impairm...

Teaching through story telling has been recognized as a pedagogical paradigm that enhances learning outcomes at many levels. Understanding life, science and even technological concepts becomes easier if the educational content is presented as a well-linked narrative. Movement Oriented Design (MOD) is a paradigm that views any presentation as a story telling artifact. From Aristotle’s time we ha...

The teaching of political economy offers an alternative, and a challenge, to conventional economics education. Its emphasis on the competing currents of economic thought and their association with rival political philosophies adds complexity to the subject. However, this engagement with controversial issues creates more intellectual excitement than a narrow, ‘technical’ treatment of orthodox ec...

A well-designed and constructed course plan or curriculum is an integral part of the foundation of effective STEM instruction. This paper presents a framework for outcome-based course design that can be translated into a semantic web-based tool which guides STEM educators through the complex task of curriculum design, ensures tight alignment between various components of a course (i.e., learnin...