The cookbook-style implementation of practical experiments in schools and colleges has prompted a critical re-evaluation of their values and needs. Various studies have revealed that the use of new technologies, e.g., computer simulation, in practical experiments does not necessarily result in learning enhancements. In fact, in some cases, the opposite happened. In the present article, I will describe and discuss a case where a computer simulation was used to help students learn practical skills in a pre-lab. The result of this investigation indicates that the use of virtual lab actually gives rise to virtual, rather than real, understanding.

This paper is to share the experience gained during deployment of smart card technology to enhance campus service of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The Institute has been issuing smart card based identity cards (IEdSmart) to all its teaching and administrative staff, students, and other campus users for a few years. Surrounding the technology, many applications were deployed and planned to enhance its campus services, and facilitated its teaching and researching quality. They include access to both physical properties as well as information in its computer network, e-payment services toward a cashless campus, rooms and facilities management, etc. This paper reports the objectives, applications deployed and planned, difficulties encountered and resolved, benefits realized, and the future opportunities available to further enhance the campus services.

With the rapid development of information technology (IT), various schools of thought and approaches have been developed to apply technology in education. This paper starts with a discussion on the assumption of the development of a computer-based project: Knowledge Base in Video Post Production, and then the project is revised and initiated into another working project about constructing knowledge of digital video production through a networked learning environment. After years of development in these projects, the authors reflect that integrating technology in education fundamentally shifts the traditional teaching model to a learning model where a fixed time and space teaching model has been changed to a technology enhanced student-centered learning environment.

Facing recent holistic curricular reforms, project works and action research are key learning tools and methods at primary level in Hong Kong. By integrating information technology (IT) into general studies curriculum in the form of student-based project works, the authors tried to highlight several key stages, accounting for intra-teacher and inter-teacher dimensions of teacher professional development, by conceptualizing qualitative data patterns of organized learning activities, IT-induced pedagogical strategies and collegial collaboration in a local primary school through an action research. The reflexive teaching experiences could help improve teacher professional development when implementing similar school-based reform.

The author has helped to develop IT educational projects in various departments at the tertiary level for the last three years, and is alarmed by the many technological writings on the benefits of IT in education, which arguments look suspiciously simplistic and all pervasive. The author also witnessed the frustrations of teachers who are often disempowered under the impact of the IT education reform. This paper is a result of such concern and dissatisfaction of the seemingly uncritical and narrow approach in theorizing and implementing IT in education. It is hoped that by offering a more in-depth inquiry of the subject, that researchers and education professionals alike can take a holistic approach towards their work in teaching and learning with or without IT

This paper begins by describing the impact of computer technology on the student's thinking and learning. It gives a brief survey of the development of information technology in education in different parts of the world, including the fiveyear strategy (1998-2003) for the use of IT for learning in Hong Kong. The paper focuses on evaluating the utilization of IT in arts education in Hong Kong. Through a questionnaire survey of primary and secondary school teachers, it investigates several aspects of using information technology in art and music teaching for the five years after its implementation: the teaching and learning of art and music; lesson preparation and student assessment; student self-learning, teachers' perspectives and their professional needs when utilizing IT in teaching the arts. The findings reveal that teachers have a very positive view of IT, believing that it motivates student interest and facilitates arts teaching and learning. However, provision and funding for it are not satisfactory, and this creates problems and hinders progress. A concerted effort is needed from the various parties involved, in order that IT can be properly utilized to achieve fully its potential impact on student learning.

The majority of on-line lectures are composed of one or more of the following three components: video, audio and text. Are all three components necessary? If not, which combination is the best for on-line course delivery? When it comes to designing an on-line course, several important factors must be taken into account: the efficiency of the available network, the shooting of classroom videos, and the formats of the deliverables. In this article, I will discuss the essentiality of each of these three deliverable components for on-line course delivery and how to construct them effectively. The article aims to offer a practical solution on the development of online courses for efficient web-delivery.

This paper is an evaluative report of forty Grade Seven students using a CALL courseware on enhancing learning English, in comparison with a control group of the same size with traditional pedagogy (non-IT) within two weeks. Unlike previous CALL research done on their students' learning attitude or oral ability in Hong Kong, the research focused on testifying the benefits of CALL to junior secondary students' learning English usage through a linguistic post-test, and depicting their perceptions of its user-interface design and instructional activities through a semi-structured survey. Research findings confirmed that in each academic ability group, mean post-test scores were higher when using CALL than not, and that median-ability students had the best post-test performance, compared with other ability groups. Survey responses helped improve the user-interface design with an attention to academic ability factor for future instructional activities.

In 2003, Hong Kong was one of the places in the world seriously suffering from the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). From March to April, schools were instructed to suspend classes to help prevent the spread of the disease. During the class suspension period, students were advised to stay home and they could continue their study through different distance education media. Electronic learning via the Internet played an important role in this period. However, without face-to-face contact among students and teachers, electronic learning would be very dry and boring. In addition, students might need some psychosocial assistance and support in this difficult period. Mentoring in electronic form is suitable for the exchange of both information and morale support.

In 1998, a Five Year Strategy outlined new initiatives for information technology in education (ITE) in Hong Kong schools. The 'vision' for ITE involved a 'paradigm shift' in teaching and learning activities, ' from a largely textbook-based teacher-centred approach to a more interactive and learner-centred approach'. However, strategies to bring about these changes were not elaborated. Two years later, when other educational reforms were proposed, it was recognised that current practices in teaching and learning would be resistant to change. Hence, an 'incremental and interactive approach' to change was suggested, in which 'generic skills' including ITE were to be gradually 'infused' into school curriculum over time. The research reported in this paper aimed to investigate whether an 'incremental and interactive approach' could be an effective way to promote greater use of information technology in history teaching in secondary schools. Over a two year period, a small group of teachers made personal decisions about using new technology in their teaching, then met to discuss what happened when they did so. Initially, teachers believed that ITE and PowerPoint presentations were synonymous, and that the role of new technology was to facilitate expository approaches to teaching. However, ideas about ITE gradually changed and teachers became more willing to try 'new' activities involving information technology as ideas about curriculum and pedagogy were examined. It is suggested that professional development activities which provide opportunities for teachers to investigate ITE could be an important initiative in implementing curriculum reforms in schools.