The successful implementation of blended learning depends on many factors, but the interactions between academics and students far outweigh technology and all other factors put together. However, so far, no satisfactory research has been conducted relating to teacher education or to providing a comprehensive analysis on academic and student teachers’ perceptions. For the purpose of this study, thirteen academics were interviewed or attended focus group meetings to share their views on blended learning. Some of them were classified as information technology (IT) academics whilst others were not. The academics had a very positive attitude towards the concept of blended learning and there were no notable differences between IT and non-IT academics. Their findings are also cross referenced with findings from students who participated in a questionnaire survey. There were a total of seventy student teachers, who participated in the survey. Forty-four of them were regarded as IT students whilst the rest was regarded as non-IT students. These two groups of students gave high ratings on most of the questionnaire items. There were some minor differences between the two groups of students but the differences were not very statistically significant. These thought-provoking findings not only serve as practical and beneficial information for The Hong Kong Institute of Education, but they also serve as an invaluable source of knowledge and information for all individuals in the field of teacher education.
[Copyright © 2010 IGI Global.]

The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) largely provides training to students who wish to pursue their career in teaching in compulsory education. The authors, computer literacy lecturers, were interested to find out if there was any difference between the perceptions of computer student teachers when they were at year one and at year two regarding the importance of computer knowledge they should possess as competent computer teachers. A questionnaire was distributed to student teachers of Northcote Campus after teaching practice in 1996 and again in 1997. The content of the questionnaire was based on the computer literacy curriculum for lower secondary students. The computer topics were grouped under basic computer knowledge, Logo programming, computer applications and others. Student teachers perceived all the computer knowledge were important. Student teachers gave highest regards to computer applications category, followed by Logo programming category, basic computer knowledge category and others category when they were in year one. However, the rankings of basic computer knowledge and Logo programming category were reversed in 1997. The rankings for computer applications category and others category remained the same even though the average mean scores for computer applications category had increased and others category had decreased in 1997. The means for the first three categories actually were very close for both years. When we looked into details we found that five out of seven topics of computer applications category had increased their importance. It was not surprising to find out the largest increase was the social implications of computers on society as there were successful charges for computer hackers recently for the first time. For the basic computer knowledge category, the increase was mainly caused by the large increase of importance of limitations of computers which was also the greatest among all topics. For Logo programming, all the sub-categories

Our Chief Executive announced in his 1997 Policy Address to promote the use of information technology (IT) in education. One of his aims was to have 25% of the school curriculum taught through IT in five years' time. The author, a computer lecturer, believes one of the best way is to promote IT in education is to prepare student teachers for this new trend. She practised what she preached by integrating World Wide Web (Web) into her teaching. A tailored-made Web site was implemented and students were able to learn some computer concepts by surfing to the Web. Although there are many successful stories of adopting IT in education and yet there were very few studies to examine if Web-based learning are indeed more effective than paper-based learning. Therefore, the author attempted to investigate such an issue by conducting a case study. The participants were pre-service student teachers studying at the Hong Kong Institute of Education taking Computer Literacy (Information Technology) as one of their electives. Two groups of student teachers, one group consisted of ten participants whilst the other group consisted of eleven participants, participated in this study. Each study consisted of : (1) a pre-test, (2) a learning activity - Group A used the materials posted on the Web whilst Group B used the same materials but which was printed on papers, and (3) a post-test. All the questions asked in the pre-tests were asked again in the post-tests so that students well understood what to learn during the learning session and it was also easier to find out the effect of the learning medium. The average Group A students performed slightly better than Group B students in the pre-tests. However, Group B students performed much better than Group A students in the post-tests. The findings suggested that student teachers were able to learn more effectively using Web-based materials rather than paper-based materials. The limitations and implications of this study will be discussed.

The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) provides training to students who wish to pursue their career in teaching. The authors, computer literacy lecturers, would like to find out if there is any difference between the expectation and perception of the computer knowledge students should possess in order to be competent junior secondary computer subject teacher. The authors would also compare the computer knowledge required with the present Computer Literacy curriculum and suggest amendment if necessary. A questionnaire was distributed to student teachers of Northcote Campus before and after teaching practice in 1996. The questions were grouped under basic computer knowledge, Logo programming, computer applications and others. Student teachers regarded all the computer knowledge as important. They gave highest regards to Logo programming, followed by computer applications, basic computer knowledge and others before teaching practice. However, after teaching practice, student teachers gave lower regards to all categories of computer knowledge except for the topics included in the"others" categories. It might be due to the anxiety they had before teaching practice and they found the reality was not so demanding. Student teachers found that computer applications were more important than the knowledge of Logo programming after teaching practice. The importance of other computer knowledge remained unchanged. It could be due to the fact that not all schools required student teachers to teach Logo programming to their junior form secondary school students. Although the importance for most topics in the"others" category had decreased, there was a slight increase of importance in the topic of artificial intelligence, computer organization, database programming, objected oriented programming language, operating systems and systems analysis and design. The present HKIEd curriculum has covered all the topics in basic computer knowledge, Logo programming and computer applications

Lifelong and life-wide learning are the foci of learning in an information age. The World Wide Web (Web) is thought to be the driving force behind these changes as it is vast, flexible, and accessible with virtually no boundaries. Although there are many claims of the advantages of using the Web for module deliveries and promoting higher order learning, the results are controversial. The author attempted to examine whether a Web-based learning system could enhance flexible and collaborative learning. The thirty-two participants in the study were pre-service student teachers form the Hong Kong Institute of Education taking Information Technology as one of their minor studies. The module materials, discussion forum and announcements were presented on a dedicated Web site. Participants were encouraged to access this site for learning resources and to communicate using an e-forum. Twelve learners volunteered to attend five focus group meetings to share their experiences and opinions about using the Web. It was observed that they greatly valued the opportunity to use the Web, as it was convenient and flexible. In particular, the e-forum was found to be an invaluable arena for collaborative learning during their teaching practice period when they did not meet each other on campus.
[Copyright © 2002 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

Outcome Based Learning (OBL) is an initiative from the University Grant Committee which emphasizes learning outcomes of university graduates. In view of such a requirement, the information and communication technology (ICT) educators reviewed relevant literature and came up with a list of desirable attributes of graduates who will teach ICT or related subjects at primary or secondary schools. A questionnaire was developed according to the attributes and the generic outcomes that represent the expectations of the Institute's graduates and also the distinctive attributes and qualities for ICT teachers in the primary and secondary education sectors. Since it is very important to know the desired expectation from the stakeholders, the questionnaires were sent randomly to teachers of schools, pre-service ICT teachers and related colleagues at the HKIEd. It was found that the respondents gave the highest scores to "graduates should be able to demonstrate responsible and positive attitudes towards the use of ICT" and the lowest to "graduates should apply pedagogies suitable for teaching the whole class and are not required to cater to individual needs". A chosen course outline has been revised to reflect the expectations of our stakeholders. Finally, the assessment methods and mind set of both educators and learners must also be changed.
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