The December 2005/January 2006 issue of Innovate is now available at
www.innovateonline.info
We open this issue with a startling hypothesis by Hugh Osborn: the right educators and other leaders could start the evolution of an innovative, 21st century educational model for about the cost of developing a couple of textbooks. Sound intriguing but implausible? Then read the interview.
Deneen Frazier Bowen advocates giving students a greater role in their education. As technologically savvy individuals, students can provide expertise and fresh perspective to help outline policies, choose technologies, and even train educators.
Games are becoming an increasingly important tool in education. Carolyn Rude-Parkins, Karen Hughes Miller, Karen Ferguson, and Robert Bauer provide a number of considerations for software designers and educators seeking to incorporate gaming and simulation techniques into course-specific software.
Rethinking the way we train educators is also a part of the educational revolution. Tu Tran, Robert Baker, and Margo Pensaville examine the use of e-portfolios in teacher education. Lorraine Beaudin and Corey Hadden describe how the teacher education program at the University of Lethbridge incorporates technology and pedagogy into online coursework that allows pre-service teachers to simultaneously develop technical, critical, and reflective thinking skills.
The recent merger of Blackboard and WebCT has some educators looking for alternative course management systems that will provide flexibility and cost savings. Stephen Downes describes Moodle's Web site, an open source alternative to Blackboard and WebCT that is supported by a large international online community.
Please forward this announcement to appropriate mailing lists and to colleagues who want to use IT tools to advance their work and please ask your organizational librarian to link to Innovate in their resource section for open-access e-journals.
Thanks!
Jim
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James L. Morrison
Editor-in-Chief, Innovate
http://www.innovateonline.info
Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership
UNC-Chapel Hill
http://horizon.unc.edu