Interactive learning systems evaluation

King, Kathleen (2003) Challenge and promisefor higher education Hampton Press (Cresskill,N.J. (& Eurospan, London)) ISBN 1-57273-472-8 238 pp £19.95 (boards £40.95)eurospan.co.uk [email protected]

About three years ago I had the opportunity tohear Kathleen King present her research oneffective staff development planning at a con-ference. It was an “aha” moment for me in thatI came away from her presentation with some-thing new to think about, generally a rare giftto a seasoned conference-goer! When I got theopportunity to read this, her new book in thepublisher’s “Keeping Pace with Technology”series, I was not disappointed.

King’s book focuses on the potential of educa-tional technology, when used within highereducation teachers’ professional developmentand practice arenas, to become a “journey oftransformations” for them. King maintains (pp 17–18) that

by examining the adult learning theory and researchof transformational learning, we see how looking atfaculty [staff] as adult learners helps us to under-stand their needs and experience better... . This is aprogression, a journey, that unfolds the potential tofundamentally change faculty’s learning, teachingand educational practice.

The book begins with an introductory chapter(“Are you ready?”), then is divided into three sections: Part One describes the journey(Chapters 2 and 3); Part Two guides thejourney (Chapters 4 and 5); and Part Threeoffers resources and strategies to maintain the transformation (Chapters 6, 7 and 8) onceit has begun. King’s model asks the reader to go beyond supporting and integrating tech-nology into the curriculum. She asks us to look

at how professional development with staff,and an exposure to the use of educationaltechnology in practice, can fundamentallychallenge and change teachers’ perceptions oftechnology, teaching and their classrooms. Shebacks up her assertions with theory, researchand practice tied to both professional experi-ence and over eight years of research into thearea.

The book has a number of supporting featuresthat are useful when undertaking this journeyof transformation. Appendix A is a summaryof the transformation research King con-ducted since the early 1990s, includingmethodology and results. Appendix B is asurvey she created to “explore the experiencesof teachers” as they become technologicallyproficient and move toward understandingtechnological pedagogy. Appendix C is a list of resources (both traditional and web-based) to be used by educators. Finally, Appendix D features instructions for using the book’s companion web site and discussionarea at http://www.fordham.edu/gse/kpking/journey/. I would caution, however, that thereare some inconsistencies between the informa-tion in the beginning of the book about the companion web site and what is found inAppendix D.

Overall, King delivers on what she promises.This book is a treasure filled with examples andviewpoints that I have come to recognise in myown work and practice over the past years.Professional development within an educa-tional technology framework can be transfor-mative for the faculty member who undertakesthe journey. This book is the roadmap for thatjourney and an assurance that you do not takethe journey alone.

© British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2004.Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 35 No 2 2004 247–257

Reviews

Please note that all books from Kogan Page reviewed here are now published by and avail-able from RoutledgeFalmer: tandf.co.uk [email protected]

http://www.fordham.edu/gse/kpking/

248 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 35 No 2 2004

© British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 2004.

Diane P JanesAssistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan,[email protected]

le Versha, Lin & Nicholls, Gill ed (2003)Teaching at post-16 Kogan Page (London & Sterling, Va.) ISBN 0-7494-3348-5 218 pp£17.99kogan-page.co.uk [email protected]

This volume of articles is targeted at newteachers and teachers in training employed atthe post-16 level in Britain (where age 16 is theend of compulsory schooling). It presents valu-able information about the history, constructsand intent of education in that stage. Thelayout is particularly useful to teachers andtrainee teachers, with tasks related to the topicof the chapter placed in shaded text boxes. Forthose readers who do not work in Britain,however, there is also valuable backgroundinformation about the evolution of the voca-tional certificate of education, the history of ALevel examinations (normally taken at age18), and the development of key skills in thecurriculum—and some of the examples aretypical of classrooms everywhere.

Part One of the text is well written and easy toread. It provides immediately useful informa-tion and approaches to key skills and learningstyles, and makes some valuable observationsabout the transition from secondary to post-16education.

However, Part Two, “Teaching for Learning”,while equally well researched and laid out forease of use, operates on the premise that theteacher is always the figure of authority in the classroom and must control the learningexperience—from the front of the class. Theapproach to learning objectives in the class-room is teacher-centred: the examples are constructed on what the teacher will do to gen-erate and assist learning (contradictory to theintent of learning objectives based on what thestudent will know or be able to do at the end ofthe learning experience), and much discussionis on classroom behaviour management. It isworrying when post-16 students are assumedto be fighting for control in the classroom andthe teacher must enter that fight in order to

win: could the situation not be turned to givecontrol to the students? The design of the questioning techniques assumes teacher-ledexperiences, and lesson planning emphasisesthe teacher’s control of the situation. There issome discussion on the use of group work, butthe teacher is assumed to manage the experi-ence and control learning. Perhaps the high-light of Part Two is the analysis of assessmentplanning and alternatives.

It is worth noting that although le Versha andNicholls are listed as the editors of this book, leVersha, who is vice principal of a sixth-form(16–19) college, has actually contributed 9 ofthe 14 articles that comprise it.

In summary, then, the topics contained in thevolume are covered thoroughly and creativelyand the theory presented will be useful to thebeginning teacher. However, if this book isused in an educational theory class, it shouldbe tempered with other titles that presentlearner-centred models of class planning andimplementation.

Nancy A GeorgeDirector of Curriculum Development and Evalua-tion, University of Technology, [email protected]

Loveless, Avril & Dore, Babs (2002) ICT inthe primary school Open University Press (Buckingham, UK & Philadelphia, Pa.) ISBN 0-335-20916-5 178 pp £16.99 (boards £55)openup.co.uk [email protected]

This collection of articles calls our attention to how information and communications technologies (IT) might fruitfully be used in primary schools, not simply to follow currentcurriculum requirements but effectively toimprove learning. It is addressed to teachers,teacher trainers and teacher students—but canalso offer much of significance to researchers inthe field of educational technology.

The book is structured as a sequence of chap-ters by different authors, addressing differentaspects of IT in primary schools (in Britain,Years 1–6, ages 5–11) or offering some generalconsiderations on the very meaning of IT lit-eracy and its impact on learning.

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Four chapters discuss, from various perspec-tives, the priorities and purposes of using ITwith young children, based on experiences in the UK, Australia, the United States andFinland. Another four chapters focus on environments where children may becomeengaged in key processes, emphasising whatmakes the richness and value of such experi-ences. Finally, two chapters address key issuesrelated to professional preparation and devel-opment. The chapters are connected to eachother by means of some cross-references, buteach could also stand alone.

A possible criticism is that a few papers remainat a rather generic level, presenting considera-tions that are of general interest but have littleimpact with respect to the topic considered.Nevertheless, the other ones have interestingelements of novelty, and in general the bookoffers intriguing and pleasant reading.

A strength of this collection is the variety ofviewpoints and experiences presented, and thefact that the issues addressed are mostlyanalysed in a deep and careful way; moreover,some of the papers consider the issue of learn-ing with IT from a general point of view, hencepossibly resulting in interest not only for thoseworking at the primary level, but also forscholars working at other educational levels.

Giuliana DettoriResearcher, Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche, [email protected]

Reeves, John & Hedberg, John (2003) Inter-active learning systems evaluation EducationalTechnology Publications (Englewood Cliffs,N.J.) ISBN 0-87778-304-7 297 pp $59.95BooksToRead.com/etp [email protected]

Work through this book and you will learn,and understand, how to evaluate (digital)interactive learning systems. OK, it’s one of theendearing and challenging characteristics ofany fast-moving new technology to have fuzzylanguage and terminology: just so with edu-cational technology. I therefore added the“(digital)” bit just now to emphasise that we’redealing with the use with learners and traineesof systems that depend on new informationtechnology ... actually a subset of that. Thus,

this book does not delve into such things aslearning via correspondence courses (butthere’s quite a bit on distance learning), face-to-face tutorials, or even the “modern” asynchronous equivalents like teaching withemail, the computer conference or the videoconference (though there’s a glance at audio-graphics—the use of telephone conferencetechniques—and quite a bit on interactivevideo—when did you last think about that, Iwonder?), or language labs.

Indeed, Reeves and Hedberg rightly—and fas-cinatingly—spend much of the first chapter oftheir excellent book exploring terminology,which systems and techniques to include asexamples in their treatment, and which toomit. That’s before they turn to just as stimu-lating and thought-provoking a considerationof learning theory, specifically interactivelearning theory. Just so: educational technol-ogy is, crudely, the appliance of educationalscience, and educational science is, almost ascrudely, the theory of learning.

What else is technology (supposed to be)about? Ah, yes, of course—being methodicalproblem-solving, any consideration of anytechnology in action must include evaluation.And that’s what this book is about—explicitly,comprehensively, persuasively, pervasively.Why do so few titles on educational technologygive little, even no, thought to the evaluationof possible solutions to learning problems?Why have all of us—yes, surely all of us—spent so much of our professional livesjumping happily onto new bandwagons,pushing them along with gusto (yes, I know: amixed metaphor, but it’s there to make apoint), and not abandoning them until they’restuck in the mud of, well, failed evaluationreally?

But, sorry—there are as many hobbyhorsesthere as bandwagons: back to Reeves andHedberg (the latter of whom, by the way, usedto be a BJET reviewer till he moved from Wollongong to Singapore)...

That methodical but highly readable firstchapter sets the tone for the whole. No band-wagon here—the book’s authors make theirway slowly and carefully, but never ponder-ously, from concept to concept, ensuring by a



myriad of techniques that they carry usreaders along with them. Why, it’s not till afifth of the way into the book that they startmaking a real play to convince us (we all needconvincing in practice; see above) how im-portant thoughtful and reproducible evalua-tion is.

But carry us along they do. This book—almosta textbook in feel, and to be widely adopted assuch, one must hope—is indeed well written.Not only is the style attractive, but eachchapter starts with clear (albeit hardly smart)learning objectives and ends with pages (toomany maybe?) of references. And throughoutthere are good diagrams and tables, marginalInternet references (likely to date uncomfort-ably fast, of course), and relevant, simple cartoons. Eventually we end up with im-pact evaluation and maintenance evaluation,and with the reporting of evaluation out-comes (including the evaluation of evaluationreports).

I sat on this book for a long time, dipping infairly frequently and really using it quite fre-quently, before starting to work with it inearnest. Have I said it’s very good indeed? Ishould have—it’s very good indeed. How do Iknow? I applied some of its own tenets to itselfin my hands; I think if you do the same you’llnot only learn even more about the subjectthan you already doubtless know, but you’llagree it’s helped your thinking a lot.

Oh, and what do the authors mean by interac-tive learning systems? To be honest, I still don’tknow. But I do know it doesn’t matter: I’ve successfully applied their ideas to a range ofsituations—from the computer-aided learningthey frown on so much to the use of virtuallearning systems and interactive white-boards—and I know it doesn’t matter.

Eric DeesonConsultant in education and training technology,[email protected]

Senk, Sharon & Thompson, Denisse ed(2003) Standards-based school mathematics curricula Erlbaum (Mahwah, N.J. (& Eurospan,London)) ISBN 0-8058-4337-X 515 pp $110erlbaum.com [email protected] [email protected]

School mathematics in the United States hasseen a surge of curriculum development activ-ity over the past fifteen years based on stand-ards devised and advocated by the NationalCouncil of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

Changes in the mathematics curriculumalways result in controversy about the appro-priateness of new content and the effectivenessof new styles of teaching. This book describesand evaluates a number of projects based onthe NCTM’s standards.

Viewed from my perspective as a mathematicseducator in England, there was much interest-ing material and food for thought and I notethree significant differences in content andapproach. The first is the relative lack ofemphasis in learning about number given tomental calculation as a valuable practical tool,as a vehicle to develop understanding and asan antidote to over-dependence on calculators.The second is the strong emphasis on present-ing mathematical ideas in the context of real-world applications in contrast to helpingstudents see mathematics as intrinsicallyworthwhile as well as having considerableutility (although often at a higher level thancan be considered at school).

The third issue, which is of particular rele-vance to readers of this journal, is the role oftechnology in learning mathematics. TheNCTM’s standards and most of the projectsdescribed in the book acknowledge the poten-tial value of computers and graphical calcula-tors for learning mathematics, but there isrelatively little detail about the ways in whichthey can be used. One is left with a sense ofmany opportunities missed when there is suchan abundance of interesting software availableto open up new teaching approaches and raisequestions about curriculum content.

In the final chapter Jeremy Kilpatrick reviewsthe issue of evaluating curriculum develop-ment and raises important questions about theconsiderable complexity of the issues whichmake it extraordinarily difficult to draw usefulconclusions here. Indeed, he suggests thatmuch of the evaluation described in the bookis concerned with reassuring parents andpublic that the new curricula are no less suc-cessful than the old in achieving acceptable

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“results” measured in traditional terms. Henotes that as a consequence there has beenlittle or no evaluation of the effects of usingcomputers and graphical calculators, and that other aspects of the projects whose objec-tives have diverged from those of traditionalcurricula have been similarly neglected. New technology should be a catalyst forthoughtful change in approaches to learningschool mathematics, but success must bejudged on wider criteria than achieving thetraditional “results” that our societies deem tobe so important.

Doug FrenchLecturer in Education, University of [email protected]

Simpson, Ormond (2003) Student retention in online, open and distance learning Kogan Page(London & Sterling, Va.) ISBN 0-7494-3999-8168 pp £22.50 / $35kogan-page.co.uk [email protected]

“Dropout” is a matter of concern for educa-tionists at all levels—schools, colleges and universities—for the institutional resourcesinvested in students are wasted due to dropout.However, in distance education, providing ageneric definition of dropout is a more complexaffair. Institutions differ in providing differentkinds of access and flexibility to the learnersfor completing a programme, and thus meas-uring retention in terms of acquiring qualifi-cation is questioned. Students in open learningjoin a programme with various intentions andsometimes do not appear at the examination toobtain certification. Such students are consid-ered dropouts in technical terms, but philo-sophically they may not be dropouts in the realsense of the term.

The book under review is a critical analysis ofmany such issues, though the major emphasisis on student retention—a positive representa-tion of the term “dropout”. For the first time, acomprehensive analysis of the issues arounddropout and retention of students in open, dis-tance and online learning is discussed, in asmall compendium of 168 pages. Divided intoten chapters, following a brief introduction,the book looks into the what and why of

dropout, and provides “how to do” tips onimproving retention.

Simpson gives us a theoretical perspective onthe whole issue of dropout through the follow-ing classification, based on the four stageswhere students withdraw:

• Recruitment—analysing the relationshipsbetween student admission and retention

• Retention on course—covering what makesstudents continue a course/programme

• Retrieval—those who have withdrawn froma course/programme but can be retrieved tothe same presentation of it

• Reclamation—bringing back students whohave actually withdrawn to a later offeringof the course/programme

These four stages are discussed in depth withexamples, experiences and research datadrawn from the UK Open University. InChapter 4 the author presents the concept of“integration”—social and academic. In socialintegration, the role of family, friends andemployers is discussed as having significantbearing on student retention, while in aca-demic integration issues are discussed relatedto how to prepare the students, introduce themto the new system and motivate them. Chapter8 discusses such factors affecting dropout ascourse design, workload and readability. Insti-tutional policy and concern for retention ofstudents are covered in Chapter 9, whileChapter 10 provides a summary of how todevelop a retention-friendly institution.

Overall, the book argues for better studentsupport services in open and distance learn-ing to improve student retention. Implicitly the author recommends a “customer care”approach to educational services, though inChapter 6 he admits that applying the prac-tices of commercial organisation would be dif-ficult in any educational context. The bookprovides enough pointers on how to designsystems and practices that would reducedropout. The author’s 25 years of experiencein providing student support are reflected inthe book through its unique blending ofstories, experiences and research data onstudent retention to present a simple, andlucid, text on a highly complex topic in openand distance learning. It is a book thatdemands serious reading by all concerned with



design, development, delivery and manage-ment of open, distance and online systems.

Sanjaya MishraStaff Training and Research Institute of DistanceEducation, IGNOU, New [email protected]

Tait, Alan & Mills, Roger ed (2003) rethink-ing learner support in distance educationRoutledgeFalmer (London & New York) ISBN0-415-30144-0 218 pp £19.99tandf.co.uk [email protected]

The mixture of case studies, reflection on practice and theoretical discussion in this collection is thought provoking, and thesixteen contributions from authors working on five continents capture a wide range ofexperience.

The editors of the collection are very clear thatthe opportunities and challenges of new tech-nology in education are intertwined with verysignificant changes that cut across the highereducation sector. Alan Tait and others explorethe implications of these changes and, in par-ticular, the ways in which tensions between“student as consumer” and “student aslearner” impact on learner support. The drivefor flexible, “customer focused” provisionclearly has implications for both pedagogy andaccess. At the same time, higher education students are increasingly diverse. Roger Millssuggests that the design and funding of openand/or distance learning (ODL) systems oftenunduly benefit course production and thetransmission of content over learnersupport—and argues that in the context ofincreasing diversity, the evidence “points toeven greater importance of learner support”.Examples from southern Africa illustrate theimportance of context and how issues ofaccess to technology have to be central to thedesign of ODL systems.

Definitions of learner support are contested.Helen Lentell suggests that, too often, it is con-ceived narrowly as the administrative supportand services provided in ODL systems. Sheargues that the role of the tutor is undervaluedand poorly understood by many managers andwriters in distance education, and looks at the

potential for using new technology to enhancethe role of tutor as facilitator, coach andmentor. The importance of the tutor in provid-ing affective and motivational support is exem-plified in a piece by Jennifer O’Rourke whichalso examines the differences between distancelearning programmes designed in a non-profitcontext from those originating in increasingly“marketised” higher education structures.

Roger Mills’s argument for a paradigm shift inODL is reinforced by a number of the contrib-utors. Distance learning is often conceived as atriangle with tutor, student and materials atthe vertices. Information technology offers thepotential for forms of communication that rad-ically transform the relationships implicit inthis model. Mary Thorpe suggests that thesetransformations require that learner supportbe integrated into course design from thebeginning. New forms of communicationmean that group work can be incorporatedinto distance learning, but the practical andpedagogic demands on tutors require furtherexploration and development. Carol Bertramshows how in a face-to-face context in SouthAfrica students can use opportunities forgroup interaction in ways not necessarilyanticipated or expected by course designers.

This book provides a very useful window oncurrent debates—it’s full of interesting exam-ples and poses questions that lie at the heart ofthe future development of ODL.

Pete CannellCentre for Academic Practice, Queen MargaretUniversity College, [email protected]

Thorpe, Sara & Clifford, Jackie (2003) The coaching handbook Kogan Page (London &Sterling, Va.) ISBN 0-7494-3810-X 231 pp£19.99/$29.95kogan-page.co.uk [email protected]

The Coaching Handbook is written for trainersand managers and takes the reader step by stepthrough a six-stage coaching model. It definescoaching as “the process of helping peopleenhance or improve their performancethrough reflection on how they apply a specificskill and/or knowledge”.

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The authors claim that it is the “definitive”coaching handbook. An action kit and a one-stop-shop of a book, it offers everythingmanagers and trainers need to harness thetechnique of coaching. It provides a detailedand clearly structured step-by-step approach,helps anyone to develop the ability to coachothers, and provides valuable guidance onwhere to start when coaching a colleague, howlong the coaching will take, which methodsshould be employed, and when to employ them.

The Coaching Handbook has three parts: Thecoaching process, Case studies, and Activitiesand exercises. The advantage of such a three-part structure is that readers can focus on anyarea that satisfies their greatest need and inter-est. For instance, a new coach often fears thatthings might not go according to plan—andPart 1, which deals with the coaching process,has in fact a section in each of the six stages ofthe coaching model dedicated to “what couldgo wrong”.

Part 1’s chapters sequentially develop the fol-lowing areas: the nature of coaching; learningtheories; introduction to the coaching model;job description, skills and qualities of a coach;preparing to coach; clarification of coachingneeds and goals; agreement upon specificdevelopment needs; formulation of a detailedplan for coaching; performance of a task oractivity; review of activities and improved performance planning; termination of thecoaching relationship; third-party-initiatedcoaching; and skills (analytical skills, asser-tiveness, conflict management, facilitation,influencing, listening, observation, planning,prioritizing, presenting ideas and information,questioning, rapport building, and using andinterpreting non-verbal communication). Youcan, in true handbook style, dip in and out inany order. If you are the worrying type, forinstance, you might first choose to read all the“what could go wrong” and “what you shoulddo” sections in Part 1. Or you could read alleighteen case studies to find the ones that most closely match your situation and thecoaching approach of your choice. In addition,the titles under Further Reading are conveni-ently subdivided into the ten skills necessaryfor successful coaching—so you can chooseyour additional studies from the pre-selectedrecommendations.

The 28 activities and exercises are instantlyapplicable. (I found the blank and half-blankpages useful for recording the degree of successwith any of the exercises, or any ideas for adap-tation.) In training situations, for example, thecase studies and the “what could go wrong”sections lend themselves ideally to group discussion or teamwork. Many sections in the book can be adapted for local use and actas a catalyst for designing templates for recording and customising one’s own coach-ing techniques.

The rationales underpinning The CoachingHandbook are that all coaching techniquesmust be learner-centred for the developmentprocess to take place, and that coaching tech-niques can be learned.

I can thoroughly recommend this. Should itever be revised, I suggest the authors considerincluding some cross-references between thethree parts of the book. For instance, it wouldbe useful to link the exercises from Part 3 to theindividual approaches in Part 2 and to theoriesand processes in Part 1.

Inge MartinIndependent coach, Corporate Coaching and [email protected]

Tomei, Lawrence (2003) Challenges of teach-ing with technology across the curriculumInformation Science Publishing (Hershey, Pa.(& Eurospan, London)) ISBN 1-59140-109-7327 pp £57.50 boardseurospan.co.uk [email protected]

This book is designed as a guide for teachersinterested in incorporating information andcommunications technologies (IT) into thepre-school to Year/Grade 12 curriculum.

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the basicprinciples of educational technology and puts forward a taxonomy for learning in thetechnology domain. Chapter 2 examines the history of word processing, spreadsheets,database management systems, computergraphics, hypermedia, multimedia and theInternet—and their uses in the classroom.Chapters 3–9 describe how to develop IT-based



materials and how to select software and websites for teaching science, mathematics, socialstudies, language arts, foreign languages, finearts and technology. Chapter 10 is concernedwith technologies for students with disabilitiesand Chapter 11 with creating IT-based in-structional material using Microsoft Word andPowerPoint, and Netscape Composer (a website/page development tool).

In attempting to cover so much ground in 327pages, the book inevitably deals with thevarious theories, issues and strategies ratherbriefly. However, the chapters also providemany useful references to other web- andprint-based resources. Some of these are pri-marily for teachers—for example, lesson plans,lessons with Web links and examples of how IThas been used in teaching the various disci-plines. Others are for their students—such asdatabases, informational and instructionalresources, and sites specifically designed forlearners. The chapters also include rubrics forevaluating the computer software and websites.

The book provides a strong advocacy for usingIT in the classroom. Some of the web sitesreferred to are British, Canadian, Irish andAustralian—but the majority of the referencesand instructional resources are US in origin, sosome adaptation of the contributors’ ideas toother curricula and cultures may be necessaryin a non-US context.

The final chapter is entitled “Integrating tech-nology into the curriculum”, but unfortu-nately neither here nor elsewhere in the bookare there answers to such questions as these:What new forms of blended learning activitymight characterise the curriculum in the ageof e-learning? How much control and choiceshould be given to the learners in such inter-active environments? How might the learnersbe helped to unearth, analyse, verify, integrate,share and re-use Internet resources for them-selves? How might they be helped to cope withthe plethora of information thrown up bytoday’s powerful search engines and web-crawlers? To what extent should independentinquiry and collaborative learning be em-ployed in using these artefacts? What benefitsmight computer games and role plays bring tosuch a learning milieu? How can online dis-

cussion be used to gain appreciation of others’perspectives? And what challenges mightteachers and learners encounter in adoptingthese new approaches, and how might theyovercome them?

Colin LatchemOpen Learning Consultant, [email protected]

Trend, David (2001) Welcome to cyberschoolRowman & Littlefield (Lanham, Md. & Oxford)ISBN 0-7425-1564-8 158 pp £14.95 (boards£47)www.rowmanlittlefield.com

The scope of this book is much wider than thetitle would suggest. Education is the first issuewith which the author deals and one to whichhe returns many times. It is not, however, theonly focus. Politics, economics and, above all,democracy are examined in the context of theapparently unstoppable advance of cybercul-ture. In the final pages the author himselfstates that “much of this book has beendevoted to an analysis of digital culture, and itsrelentless co-optation by corporations”.

Schools are seen as being among the firstvictims of this corporate co-optation. Writingfrom an American perspective, the authortraces the advance of the commercialisation of education from the schools-as-businessesmodel of the 1980s to the current encroach-ment of business in curriculum design andpolicy making, as corporations exploit thelucrative market created by the perception oftechnologisation as the essential path to edu-cation reform.

In Trend’s view, the results of this have beendisastrous. Educational, civic and humanitar-ian values—which traditionally formed part of the “hidden curriculum” of schools—havebeen discarded. A new curriculum hasemerged, which, for all the liberal and pro-gressive hype which surrounded it, reducededucational institutions to mere “knowledgefactories” and suppliers of fodder for corporategreed. A new cyberculture of competitive-ness and individualism has permeated educa-tion, reflecting the values of profit-hungry corporations.

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This cyberculture, dominated by a white, pre-dominantly male, middle class, is a “WorldWhite Web” which exacerbates the inequitiesthat exist in the material world. The povertyand digital divides throughout the world arehugely widened. The catastrophic impact ofthis schism on the global economy and onhuman misery is vividly portrayed.

All of this is far removed from the Utopian viewof technology as the brave new world ofliberty, equality and community peddled bymultinational corporations. Trend concedesthat the Internet has the potential to helpdeliver on these values, but, as manipulated bycorporate interests, it actually enslaves, disen-franchises and isolates. Democracy is distortedand demeaned. The author misses no opportu-nity to issue prophet-like warnings of the con-sequences of an unquestioning acceptance ofthe Utopian view of the Internet, while failingto recognise its dark side and the forces which“mitigate (sic) against equality, communityand social justice”.

The final message, however, is that cyberspaceis not totally lost to democracy. The Internetcould be used to provide a “third space” for ahealthy democracy that goes beyond thebinary tension between individual and com-munity. Schools and other educational institu-tions and centres would have to re-think theirpurpose and roles and assume the burden ofhelping to create this space.

This book is provocative and challenging.David Trend writes with passion and zeal. Hisperspective is of course mainly American, butthe rush to technologise not only our schoolsbut almost every aspect of our lives hasbecome a global phenomenon. Readers every-where will find much on which to reflect.

Marie MartinConsultant to Classroom 2000 (C2k)[email protected]

Triffin, John & Rajasingham, Lalita (2003)The global virtual university RoutledgeFalmer(London & New York) ISBN 0-415-28702-2166 pp £22.50tandf.co.uk [email protected]

Triffin and Rajasingham’s book The GlobalVirtual University is interesting and timely. Itsblend of the historical with contemporarydescriptions of the purpose and life of modernuniversities sets the discussion and analysis offuture possibilities well into the socio-politicalcontext influencing higher education policyand trends.

The book is well structured and written in aneasy-to-read style. It both challenges andengages the intellect. The authors’ knowledgeand experience of information and communi-cations technologies is very evident. Animpression that they considered the possibili-ties created by technology in isolation from thesocial and pedagogical aspects of the univer-sity life-world would, however, be an incorrectone. Much discussion of new methods andtechnologies used in university instruction—and the blunt assertion that re-inventing theexisting paradigm but in new media couldmake university instruction worse rather thanbetter—demonstrates thoughtful frankness inthe critique. Well-thought-out instructionalmodels provide points of comparison betweenhow we teach in universities today and how wemight teach in the world of hyper-classes, just-in-time artificial tutors, intelligent computer-assisted instruction and organic curricula.

The new paradigm is claimed to have thepotential to be more effective and efficient thanconventional systems of instruction. However,I was left wondering how the emotional needfor personal engagement of students andteachers would be catered for. Not for long: theauthors acknowledge that socialisation andpastoral care, which are features of the tradi-tional role of universities, are critical issues.Here, as with other major questions such asthe possible shape of a global curriculum andappropriate assessment practices, the authors’approach stimulated reflection on core issuesthat all thinking academics should considerand discuss if they want universities to surviveand contribute to the growth and developmentof societies in the future as they have in thepast.

Robyn SmythLecturer in Higher Education, Teaching and Learn-ing Centre, University of New England, [email protected]



Also receivedPlease note that coverage here does not precludelater fuller review.

Cabell, David & English, Deborah ed(2002) Publishing opportunities in educationalcurriculum and methods Cabell (Beaumont,Tex.) ISBN 0-911753-18-4 1151 pp $99.95cabells.com [email protected]

For its BJET entry, this sixth edition (for2002–03), which comes in two fat volumes,includes four sides of essential information but no independent advice or evaluation forintending authors, and much the same is trueof the entries for the other 350 or so serialscovered. Actually, BJET is fortunate—fewentries are longer and none comes with adviceor evaluation. (There is, however, a lengthyindex which lists the serials in categories withnear cryptic notes on the review process typeand depth and an indication of acceptancerate, and the almost as lengthy guide to usingthe work tells users to make the quality ofthe target publication the most important criterion—admittedly without reporting anyassessment of that or indicating how users canassess it themselves.) BJET is lucky too in beinglisted at all—the large majority of entries areof US publications; your reviewer looked forentries on a number of other British-publishededucation serials, some as clearly internationalas BJET—and found none of them—and alsocame across only one not in English (Die Unter-richtspraxis, incorrectly translated as TeachingGerman).

The next edition of this mighty work is due toappear in the spring of 2004. It will doubtlessbe even more bulky—but bulk is by no meansthe main criterion of quality for a guide likethis.

Farrell, Michael (2003) The special educationhandbook David Fulton (London) ISBN 1-85346-974-2 226 pp £17fultonpublishers.co.uk

[email protected]

This is the third edition of an important andreasonably priced guide to working in schools

with learners with special educational needs(SEN, more appropriately called additionalneeds, a term that doesn’t appear as a mainentry—the book is encyclopedia style—or inthe very hard to use “thematic” index). It isclaimed to be explicitly a guide to the Britishscene, but in fact deals with that in Englandand Wales only: there is no trace of Scotland,whose educational and legal systems differmarkedly from those in the rest of the UK. Thisis significant as there is a lot about require-ments and practice in this book, not just—thegood—coverage of specific disorders and cur-ricular aspects, which are worldwide. As well,English law has changed markedly recentlywith a new code of (educational) practice andthe 2002 SEN and Disability Act, SENDA, ofinterest to all but not applicable to Scotland.

Murphy, Richard (2003) Going on-line: devel-oping LRC web pages School Library Association(Wanborough, UK) ISBN 1-903446-20-1 22pp £6sla.org.uk [email protected]

The main reason for a school’s learningresource centre (library for books plus plusplus—a common term in UK) to considerhaving a web site, or a few pages on a schoolweb site, is to allow learners to log on and findout how the centre can help with “my workon—whatever—Miss”. This tiny A4 bookletdoesn’t go into any of the hands-dirtyingaspects of site/page design and development,but pleasantly—and realistically—considersgeneral design criteria, usage and mainte-nance. It does so in readable text, followed by ashort list of model sites (all appear to be for sec-ondary schools, some in the independentsector, but including the one this reviewer usesas a model in his own “build your departmen-tal web site” training); then there’s a fairlylengthy case study, which does on occasionbecome a wee bit more technical than the restof the booklet.

Sweet, John et al ed (2003) Effective learningand teaching in medical, dental and veterinary education Kogan Page (London & Sterling, Va.)ISBN 0-7494-3799-5 228 pp £19.99/$32.50kogan-page.co.uk [email protected]

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Is there any fundamental difference betweenthese areas of education and training and anyothers? Admittedly here we have a concern forsuch professional tools as being “patient-centred” (yes, even for the vets), but in generalthere are accounts just like those one wouldfind in any coverage of effective teaching andlearning. These include working with individ-uals and with groups of different sizes; usingIT in many ways (though there’s remarkablylittle about the relevant use of email, computerconferences and virtual learning systems);skills development and work-based learning;and assessment. (And, yes, even evaluatingassessment, though the concern is mainly withsummative assessment, whereas formativeassessment relates more closely to effectiveteaching and learning.) But it’s so interestingseeing these in this unusual environment, foreverything is very closely linked to the profes-sional areas concerned; doubtless educatorsand trainers in these three healthcare fieldswill find much that is familiar as well as muchto learn too.

Williams, John & Easingwood, Nick (2003)ICT and primary science RoutledgeFalmer(London & New York) ISBN 0-415-26954-7162 pp £16.99tandf.co.uk [email protected]

How much are the information and communi-cations technologies (IT to us) used as a matterof course as tools to improve the effectivenessof science teaching and learning in Years/Grades 1–6? Even in Britain, where primaryschools have on average an Internet-readycomputer for 15–20 learners, the answer tothat question is “not much”! This encouragingand well-written book follows the traditionalsoftware-driven route to give readers animproved appreciation of the great—indeedforbidding—potential of IT in the scienceclassroom. By that I mean there are chapters(inter alia) on each of using spreadsheets, database work, sensing/logging, control andvirtual visits—but hardly anything on thatmost abused area of software: the word pro-cessor family (including “publishing” software,presentation and web page design). Andthere’s not much that is hardware-driven—apart from some consideration of CD-ROM,scanning, and still and video digital data:newer hardware, such as data projectors andinteractive whiteboards (in every classroom inmore and more British primary schools), hasno place here.

Traditional this book may be, but it faces littlecompetition and it is encouraging and wellwritten—and it contains a lot of exemplarmaterial, guidance and references to rathermore academic sources.

Documents

Interactive learning systems evaluation