Research Reports

This study set out to explore Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions on the implementation of online EFL instruction. The study revealed that the implementation of online EFL instruction in Iran is challenging due to a number of perceived impediments and obstacles. Lack of online facilities and resources, lack of interaction in online instruction, cultural resistances to online instruction and teachers’ limited knowledge of online instruction were the main challenges.

This paper discusses features of MOOCs and looks at them from a developing countries’ perspective to conclude that due to a complicated set of conditions (‘access’, language, computer literacy among others) prevailing in developing countries, MOOCs may not be a viable solution for education for a large proportion of people in these areas of the world. The paper further shows the need for more data on the demographics of MOOC participants from developing countries to form a better understanding of MOOCs role in educating people from developing countries.

This study set out to investigate whether prospective English language teachers’ (PELTs) Facebook adoption processes had an impact on their educational use of Facebook and whether PELTs’ purposes of Facebook use had an impact on the educational use of Facebook.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the attitudes of Estonian primary school teachers and parents regarding the role of teacher-parent digital communication in socialising the child and in the child’s academic progress, their communication channel preferences, and related experiences and opinions.

This paper reports the results of a survey that sought to assess levels of eLearning readiness, applications and trainee requirements in Botswana’s private sector. While the overall findings suggested low levels of eLearning readiness, applications and trainee requirements in Botswana’s private sector, seventy percent of trainers reported that their organizations encouraged them to acquire basic computer skills to facilitate eLearning.

The report consists of an overview of the higher education landscape in Africa and three case studies on Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. The case studies of Ghana, Kenya and Uganda show that recent development policy frameworks and program initiatives in the three countries demonstrate a clear focus on the interconnectedness between science technology, and innovation and development planning. However, the level of coherence within and among the existing policies, programs, and institutions still remains relatively weak.

Mobile communications networks are creating a new platform for the exchange of information and knowledge in both developed and developing countries. If leveraged across the economy and throughout sectors, ICTs, including Internet, wireless networks, mobile phones, and other communication media, can catalyse development and economic and social change. This report highlights these linkages and looks at the interconnected policy coherence issues for both developed and developing countries.

Despite a decade of large investment in ICTs to benefit education in OECD countries, and increasing use of ICTs in education in developing countries, important gaps remain in our knowledge. In addition, there appears to be a dearth of useful resources attempting to translate what is known to work and not work in this field for policymakers and donor staff working on education issues in developing countries , especially those issues related to Education For All and other education-related Millennium Development Goals .

With the aim of having a better understanding of the application and people's perspectives on the new technology in K-12 schools in China, a survey was conducted to investigate the tablet computer's application, user's perspectives and requirements among K-12 students, teachers and educational administrators in developed areas in China. The findings of the study showed that K-12 students, teachers, and educational administrators, still need deeper understanding of the new technology's application in K-12 education.

Employing the theory of Community of Practice (CoP), this paper shows how the use of multimedia led a group of pre-service teachers to build a community of practice in the process of completing their individual digital stories for assessment. The paper is focused on a group of diverse pre-service teachers doing their final year at a teacher education institution in Cape Town.