e-Learning Communities
Teaching and Learning with the Web

Edited by Kwok-Wing Lai

In western societies, the growth in use of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools and classrooms - particularly in Internet connectivity - has been rapid. A recent study showed that 82 per cent of primary schools in New Zealand in 2002 and 78 per cent of secondary schools in 2001 had Internet connections. The Web is clearly a vital tool for both teachers and students.

This book is for people working in education and explores the dynamics of ICT use and the issues surrounding its implementation. Contributors examine ICT in the classroom and associated professional development, online professional and educational learning communities, virtual field trips, searching the World Wide Web, online plagiarism, the role of the ICT coordinator, cybersafety, and also explode some common assumptions about the potential of e-learning in schools.

Contents

1 Teachers using ICT: Myths and Realities
2 The Political Nature of the Digital Landscape
3 e-Learning and Pre-service Teacher Education
4 New Zealand's 'Grand Experiment' in Clustering Schools for Teacher Professional Development in ICT
5 ICT Leadership: the Role of the ICT Coordinator
6 Improving Educational Opportunities through ICT Partnerships
7 Interaction and Control in Online Educational Communities
8 Issues in Creating On-line Professional Learning Communities
9 The Use of Virtual Field Trips in the Classroom
10 Searching Information from the Web
11 Cybersafety: an Intrinsic Part of the Online Experience
12 An Educator's Resource Guide to Combating Online Plagiarism

Contributors

Bill Anderson, Mark Brown, Liz Butterfield, Nola Campbell, Merrin Crooks-Simpson, Shannon Curran, Garry Falloon, Vince Ham, Stephen Hovell, Kwok-Wing Lai, Judy M. Parr, Keryn Pratt, Ken Ryba, Linda Selby, Lorrae Ward, and Russell Yates.

About the Editor

Kwok-Wing Lai is the Head of Department and Professor in the University of Otago's School of Education. He is the founding editor of the journal Computers in New Zealand Schools and has previously published three books, e-Learning, Words Have Wings and Net-Working.

Publication details

ISBN 1 877372 01 3, paperback, 240 x 170mm, $39.95
Release: May 2005