With advanced technologies available, multimedia-based e-portfolios are replacing paper-based portfolios. For teaching and learning purposes, e-portfolios have been used at a growing number of education institutions. This article reviews four important issues regarding e-portfolio use in the field of education: benefits, adoption concerns,…

The beginning of the 21st century is characterized by globalization--the integration of national economies and the development of technology and information technology--and by a new type of society--the knowledge-based society. Changes in society require changes in education, the mission of higher education institutions, and traditional ways of…

Contrary to the long-running controversy as to whether learning is a transmission or a constructive process, this article stresses that the (e-)learning process is both a transmission process from the instructor to the learner and a knowledge construction process of the learner. However, the use of interactive technologies in e-learning needs to…

This article presents a detailed description of the powerful and necessary role which technology can play in the information-age paradigm of education described in the four articles comprising this series. This article calls for a learning management system (LMS), a comprehensive and integrated application of technology to the learning process,…

This article opens by discussing what paradigm change is and why it is needed. Then it describes the new AECT initiative, "FutureMinds: Transforming America's School Systems," beginning with its purpose (to help state departments of education to facilitate paradigm change in school districts), the fundamental ideas underlying the initiative (e.g.,…

This article discusses a possible approach to the evaluation of virtual community environments (VCE), intended as the integration of members, processes, and technologies characterizing a given community of professionals. In particular, as to the return on investment for VCE, the article supports the idea that tangible returns for the organization…

The "Semantic Web" is an idea proposed by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the "World Wide Web." The topic has been generating a great deal of interest and enthusiasm, and there is a rapidly growing body of literature dealing with it. This article attempts to explain how the Semantic Web would work, and explores short-term and long-term…

Everything old is new again. In a recent "Point of View" editorial commentary in "Educational Technology," Richard E. Clark revisits the now-famous media-effects debate with a focus on serious games. Clark argues that serious games have little to offer that improves upon traditional methods. This article responds to those claims. While Clark's…

For those with a vested interest in online technologies for learning, the knowledge and skills that constitute successful participation in massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) places these games squarely among the most promising new digital technologies to date. In this article, the author broadly outlines the qualitative results of a two and…

Human cognitive architecture is a constant in a continually advancing educational technology environment. That architecture should be central in determining which technologies should be adopted and how they should be used. In this article, cognitive load theory is used to indicate aspects of human cognition relevant to instructional design, with…

College today is part of a brave new world, populated by the technologically literate young people of the Net Generation. In this article, the authors offer two vignettes of Net Gen students, taken from their research, to provide portraits of college students' everyday technology use. These vignettes, which report technology practices and beliefs…

This article takes a "point/counterpoint" approach to considering the educational use of mobile devices. It views the possibilities and problems surrounding the use of small laptops, cellphones, iPhones, etc. Although clear answers to questions regarding the classroom use of digital devices are hard to come by, the authors believe that educators…

This article discusses the use of narrative and myth to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of instructional design. The central aim is to better connect instructional experiences with cognition. Explicitly stated, this writing proposes a structure for the interaction between the new technologies of contemporary education and the culturally…

Digital collections enable university students and faculty to share academic scholarship across their campuses and beyond. Based on interviews, the authors present cases of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates to illustrate some factors that seem to determine why they do or do not use digital collections in their research, teaching, and…

If ubiquitous computing becomes a reality and is widely adopted, it will inevitably have an impact on education. This article reviews the background of ubiquitous computing and current research projects done involving educational "ubicomp." Finally it explores how ubicomp may and may not change education in both formal and informal settings and…