In this paper the authors describe a novel "Virtual Research Environment" (VRE) based on the Sakai Virtual Collaboration Environment and designed to support education research. This VRE has been used for the past two years by projects of the UK Economic and Social Research Council's Teaching and Learning Research Programme, 10 of which were…

This paper describes how the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) has implemented and applied DSpace as a digital repository for project and programme outputs, including published articles, conference papers, research reports, briefings and press releases. The DSpace repository has become a major element in the user engagement strategy…

Drawing on research supported within the Scottish "Applied Educational Research Scheme" this paper explores the use of the Virtual Research Environment (VRE) in developing "communities of enquiry" in Scottish education and research. It focuses on the role of VREs in influencing collaborative working and educational research. The paper uses three…

This article is based on a pilot study which sought to directly engage pupils in a current government policy initiative using a variety of e-consultation mechanisms and explores how this innovative use of technology could support citizenship education in schools. Drawing on qualitative data collected from interviews with pupils and teachers it…

The Interactive Teaching and ICT project explores the process of interactive teaching and learning with and without information and communications technology. A key technique in the authors' methodology has been the use of video-stimulated reflective dialogue to assist teachers to reflect on key episodes in their teaching. In this paper the…

Determining the potential of educational information and communications technology for enhancing teaching and learning is the subject of a great deal of research activity. This paper argues that the technologies employed to enhance learning can also be exploited for the enhancement of research. Recorded learner-system interactions, dynamically…

Web-based technologies are increasingly being used in schools to support teaching and learning. With a similar increase in access to computers and the Internet by students away from school, the opportunities for providing resources for enhancing their studies out of classtime is increasing. This study focuses on one such example of a web-based…

This article reports on the experiences of six participants in a Master's degree in Education (M.Ed.) programme based at the University of Exeter who had all contributed to a collection of academic papers on educational research in a distributed community. The programme was a distance learning one which had a special focus on application of ideas…

Research into small island states emerged during the period of decolonisation with comparative case studies making a valuable contribution. This study was undertaken to evaluate information and communications technology (ICT) policies in primary education in Malta and Jamaica and to consider the influence of small island status on policy and its…

Adult education and ICT (information and communication technology) are intrinsically linked and ICT infiltrates every part of our lives. As those who have grown up and been educated in the ICT age become more prominent in society those who were not find themselves with the distinct possibility of becoming second-class citizens if not so already.…

This study is concerned with evaluating critical learning of 10-11 year-old students studying global citizenship through an online discussion environment. The evaluation is based on analysing the use of language as both a social reasoning tool and cognitive learning tool. Evaluation methods use: (1) content analysis of the online discussion…

In this article integrativism is proposed as a framework for e-learning and practitioner research. The philosophical bases of integrativism are outlined. Foundational principles of integrating education, derived from the notions of continual quality improvement and high-quality learning, are explained. The extension of integrating education to…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two teaching strategies, namely, technology-assisted and traditional methods of teaching in undergraduate algebra classes. Fifty-eight second-year mathematics education undergraduate students in an algebra class were randomly divided in equal numbers into two groups. One group was…

This research seeks to identify generic factors that have contributed to the successful integration of information and communication technology (ICT) across the curriculum in the secondary section of an international school in Brazil. The research took a case-study approach, focusing on one "successful" department to identify characteristics which…

Educational authorities in many developed countries are funding the development of online environments that aim to facilitate teacher professional learning through collegial, reflective sharing of practice. But is this a case of "if we build it they will come"? Are teachers ready to share ideas and experiences in online communities of practice to…