From transaction to transformation: information and communication technology, professional development and the formation of communities of practice

Abstract Using the concept of ‘layers of community’, this paper describes and explains the ways in which teams of teachers, teacher educators and researchers worked together on the research project InterActive Education: teaching and learning in the information age. The focus is on the development and dissemination of professional knowledge as it relates to teaching and learning that incorporates information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool. Drawing on a range of data, we illustrate how ‘micro‐’, ‘meso‐’ and ‘macro’‐communities inter‐connect to create the settings for improved professional growth. The purpose is to challenge the linearity embedded in much of the professional development processes associated with ICT and to re‐model the relationship between practice and research.     

Testing a recent model of ICT in development: Botswana and its university

A recent model analyzing the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in development shows promise. The model coheres with theory on contingency, the problem of reductionism, and distinctions between deeply and shallowly inscribed organizational change arising from ICT. Conditions of e-readiness at the University of Botswana provide an opportune case study for the model. On the whole the original model holds up well, although the case study reveals relevant factors missed by the model: underlying support infrastructure and postimplementation growth in demand. Accordingly, we define an explicit role for time in the model and add a major new dimension of financial sustainability. These additions equip the model to better account for realities affecting ICT's role in development. Further research needs include case and cross-case studies of the revised model. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Understanding the roles of online meetings in a net-based course

Abstract It is argued elsewhere that online learning environments constitute new conditions for carrying out collaborative learning activities. This article explores the roles of a series of online meetings in such an environment. The online meetings are arranged as part of a net-based course on object-oriented programming, and constitute a recurring shared experience for the participants throughout the semester. Through an activity theoretical analysis, we find that the meetings mediate the learners' actions towards the construction and maintenance of a community of practice. Our finding has implications for the standardization of digital learning resources. This is an issue that will challenge designers of research-oriented learning environments, should they attempt to move their systems into wider adoption. We suggest that an awareness of the internal systemic connections among the components of the course design we studied is of importance when considering redesign, with respect to the reuse and standardization of learning resources.     

年龄与群体创建决策方案数量和质量的实验研究

实验研究中国文化环境下,成年人面对面口头群体成员年龄对于想法产生类任务群体决策的影响.实验分等大小和不等大小2阶段,实验主体分为平均年龄21岁、32岁和43岁3种情况.结果表明,群体产出方案数量随其成员年龄增加而下降,但质量上升.     

E-learning as innovation: Exploring innovativeness of the VET teachers’ community in Estonia

In this article, the acceptance of e-learning by teachers of vocational secondary and professional higher education institutions (hereafter: VET teachers) in Estonia has been analysed. The analysis is based on questionnaire study, carried out in 2007. The theoretical framework of the article has been inspired by Everett Rogers’ innovation diffusion theory. It appears that there exists a statistically reliable difference between innovators and the remaining adopter categories among VET teachers. One can see that in the context of the VET teachers’ working environment, a multi-dimensional innovation gap appears, embracing gaps in the actual use of e-learning tools, different types of skills and competences, access and support indicators. The model of innovativeness constructed shows that the competences are predictors of innovativeness. The development of competences related to e-learning (ICT competence, e-learning competence, pedagogical competence) and innovativeness are closely related. It will be argued that while one of the challenges for the developers of e-learning is to provide teachers with relevant continuous training as well as making efforts in developing existing support structures, we can assume that for different adopter categories among teachers different strategies and support schemes should be applied, as the values and attitudes of different groups vary.     

The Xanadu project: training faculty in the use of information and communication technology for university teaching

Abstract Technology‐enhanced learning (TEL) methodologies are becoming an important part of University teaching but faculty members have tended to shy away from using them. So, how can they be enticed to use them effectively? What approaches can be used? The purpose of the Xanadu project was to analyse the problems involved and to propose a model for training, based on experimentation at the University of Turin. Besides providing a model, this article will deal with the follow‐up, particularly regarding the faculty members' initial approach to using information and communication technology (ICT), as well as examine the motives and conditions influencing their choices. In this sense, the project has enabled us to come to a better understanding of the typical misconceptions leading teachers to favour methodological approaches based on the distributive use of ICT (which are considered less demanding to manage), rather than networked collaborative interaction, which actually involve students more. In this regard, Xanadu has shown how teachers' awareness may be developed towards adopting a wide range of TEL approaches through both gradual training (project‐oriented with a basic and an advanced course) and with the help of a graduate assistant capable of following e‐content development and online collaborative activities. The effectiveness of the method may be confirmed by the large number of faculty members continuing to use ICT to support their teaching despite having no specific university TEL projects.     

E-learning in a low-status female profession: the role of motivation, anxiety and social support in the learning divide

Abstract   The literature seems to suggest that women may be at risk from being excluded from adult education programmes, which use e-learning, especially when they have low economic status. Based on a survey of 551 women, family day care providers, we conclude that there is a persistent divide in PC access and use, as well as in perceived PC skills according to age. Yet, this divide seems to run less along traditional lines, suggesting that personal factors play a more important role. Motivation and anxiety are two related but distinct personal factors that influence computer use and skills in this population. We also found that these factors are mediated by the family context: motivation is higher when (young) children are present in the family. Moreover, children may represent an important form of social support for women not yet using computers. This study concludes that the concerns about the gender gap in computer use may benefit from taking the scaffolding possibilities of the family into consideration and that there may be a case for growing optimism in the use of information and communication technology for adult learning in specific, gender-segregated professions with low status.     

智能教学系统中基于案例推理的教学策略研究

把基于案例推理(CBR)技术引入智能教学系统中教学策略的推理和控制中,提出了在全局教学策略和局部教学策略控制中CBR应用模型,并提出了在这种模式下,案例库的初始化、案例的学习与修正方法.该模型应用以前学生学习的经验作为以后学生学习的引导,从而实现教学策略的自动组织、自动规划,实现学生的自主选择,自由学习.最后进行了总结,提出了下一步研究的方向.     

软件需求分析中的用例建模研究与应用

需求是软件项目的基础,如何把握用户需求,是项目成功与否的关键.一个灵活的软件需求分析技术,可以帮助开发人员准确获取用户需求.用例建模是面向对象软件开发技术的重要组成内容,它能够完整地捕捉系统的功能性需求,体现用户和系统之间的交互关系.通过一个实例分析,简要介绍如何使用用例建模技术,完成软件需求分析.     

Assessing a cross-border logistics policy using a performance measurement system framework: the case of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region

For the most rapidly growing economic entity in the world, China, a new logistics operation called the indirect cross-border supply chain model has recently emerged. The primary idea of this model is to reduce logistics costs by storing goods at a bonded warehouse with low storage cost in certain Chinese regions, such as the Pearl River Delta (PRD). This research proposes a performance measurement system (PMS) framework to assess the direct and indirect cross-border supply chain models. The PMS covers four categories including cost, time, quality and flexibility in the assessment of the performance of direct and indirect models. Furthermore, a survey was conducted to investigate the logistics performance of third party logistics (3PLs) at the PRD regions, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The significance of the proposed PMS framework allows 3PLs accurately pinpoint the weakness and strengths of it current operations policy at four major performance measurement categories. Hence, this helps 3PLs further enhance the competitiveness and operations efficiency through better resources allocation at the area of warehousing and transportation.     

用例模型重构工具的设计与实现

用例模型重构是一种保持模型中系统与外部实体的交互不变而重新组织模型的活动。采用用例模型重构工具,可以快速建立高质量的用例模型。针对重构工具的开发,提出了用于存储用例模型的DTD结构,描述了实现该工具的软件结构。     

用例模型与装配式软件系统的开发

用例是获取需求的主要工具,用例模型成了与用户交流的手段。装配式软件是一种能提高软件适应性和生命力的系统,它是建立在基于组件的工程基础之上,以便系统维护时可以按组件装配、拆卸和替换。讨论了用例模型中的用例如何与组件建立映射关系,并给出装配式软件开发的具体过程。     

Student teachers' first reflections on information and communications technology and classroom learning: implications for initial teacher education

Abstract This article explores student teachers' views of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools. There is limited research literature regarding the perceptions that such students develop in relation to the use of ICT in teaching while observing practice in schools. The paper offers an interpretive analysis of the opinions that a cohort of undergraduate student teachers at a Scottish University expressed in an online forum, following a period of school placement. As part of their initial teacher education (ITE), the students were asked to post messages on the forum in relation to the factors that they perceived as promoting or hindering the use of ICT in schools. Perceptions that students held were found to be complex and varied. Students associated the use of ICT with changes in the nature of classroom relations, as well as a reshaping of learning and teaching. While they welcomed the introduction of ICT as a tool for modernising teaching, students identified a variety of factors that hinder this process. The paper finishes by identifying some of the implications for those working with student teachers in encouraging their development of reflective practice with ICT and enhancing their positive attitudes in relation to the use of ICT in schools.     

边缘计算开源平台综述

首先介绍了边缘计算(EC)的基本概念和研究现状,并从多视角讨论了边缘计算平台的设计要求;接着聚焦到4个典型的开源平台,并从应用领域、部署方式等方面比较了它们之间的异同点;随后选取了两个典型的应用案例,分别针对它们的优势、搭建进行了概述和分析;最后对边缘计算平台之间的合作、安全、标准化等问题进行了归纳和展望.     

一种改进的用例建模方法及其在电子政务中的应用

用例建模作为一种需求建模方法受到广泛的关注和应用。文章总结了用例建模方法的优点和不足,针对其局限性给出了相应的解决方案,提出了用例建模的改进方法。该方法将传统需求分析思路与用例建模方法有效融合,将分解模式转移至角色模型避免了功能分解,并解决了前置条件降低有效性验证的问题,同时利用可视化建模提高系统模型的易理解性。文章采用改进的用例建模方法对电子文件审批系统进行了需求分析和模型设计,该改进后的用例建模方法可以同时满足用户获取系统价值和引导开发人员系统开发的两方面需求。