Computer Literacy is one of the complementary subjects required for all first-year students in Hong Kong Baptist University. This subject covers both general computer knowledge and selected software packages. In addition to lectures, laboratories are arranged for students to gain hands-on experience with software operations. However, no assignment or tutorial is assigned for the part of general computer knowledge. Due to large class size, traditional paper-and-pencil assignment may not be appropriate. Hence, a multimedia web-based assessment system was developed. This system provides assignments on general computer knowledge. Students can access this system via the World Wide Web. In this paper, we present our findings on students' behaviour, performance and perception in the use of this assessment system.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703290110074542]

Despite emphasis and progress in developing collaborative inquiry in computer-supported collaborative learning research, little attention has been given to examining how collective learning can be assessed in computer-supported collaborative learning classrooms, and how students can have agency in assessing their own collaborative process. We propose that assessments should capture both individual and collective aspects of learning and be designed in ways that foster collaboration. We describe the design of student-directed electronic portfolio assessments to characterize and "scaffold" collaborative inquiry using Knowledge Forum™. Our design involved asking students to identify exemplary notes in the computer discourse depicting knowledge building episodes using four knowledge building principles as criteria. We report three studies that examined the designs and roles of knowledge building portfolios with graduate and Grade 12 students in Hong Kong and Canada. The findings suggest that knowledge building portfolios help to characterize collective knowledge advances and foster domain understanding. We discuss lessons learned regarding how knowledge building may be fostered and provide principles for designing assessments that can be used to evaluate and foster deep inquiry in asynchronous online discussion environments.
[Copyright of Journal of the Learning Sciences is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10508400701193697]

This paper reports findings about a curriculum innovation conducted at The University of Hong Kong. A CD‐ROM consisting of videos of two lessons by different teachers demonstrating exemplary science teaching was used to elicit conceptions of good science teaching of student‐teachers enrolled for the 1‐year Postgraduate Diploma in Education at several stages during the programme. It was found that the videos elicited student‐teachers' conceptions and had impact on those conceptions prior to the commencement of formal instruction. It has extended student‐teachers' awareness of alternative teaching methods and approaches not experienced in their own schooling, broadened their awareness of different classroom situations, provided proof of existence of good practices, and prompted them to reflect on their current preconceptions of good science teaching. In several ways, the videos acted as a catalyst in socializing the transition of student‐teachers from the role of student to the role of teacher.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690500239805 ]

This study examines the Chinese learner in the current changing education contexts with their emphasis on 21st century learning goals of inquiry, teamwork, and learning how to learn. With socioeconomic and technological changes, internationalisation and educational reforms, pedagogical approaches developed in the Western countries, such as inquiry-oriented and technology-based learning are becoming increasingly common in Confucian-Heritage Culture (CHC) classrooms. This paper reports on a case study of an expert teacher implementing a computer-supported knowledge-building approach in Hong Kong classrooms over a period of three years. The analyses indicated that the Chinese learners used seemingly contradictory approaches to make meaning, given the contextual dynamics. Similarly, the teacher did not merely adopt the Western model; he developed a transformed pedagogy integrating Chinese and Western approaches to scaffold student learning. The Chinese learners and Chinese teachers employed approaches that transcended the polarised categorisation of surface vs. deep, student-centred vs. teacher-centred, and didactic vs. constructivist approaches in the Chinese classroom. Implications for teaching and learning for Chinese learners in the changing educational contexts are discussed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500790802485245]

This study explores how an online integrated learning environment (ILE) to cater for individual learning differences is used by teachers in two primary schools in Hong Kong. The findings reveal a positive change in both perception and pedagogy of the participants. The results indicate that scaffolding activities led to an enhanced ability to engage in independent learning. Principals and teachers were prepared to alter systemic structures to support the use of the ILE. During the 3-year period teachers developed coping strategies which led to ICT-enriched learning, provision of extended learning opportunities and development of study units for online delivery. Evidence also suggests that adoption of the ILE allowed teachers to pay fresh attention to the need to engage students, to respond to them properly and efficiently and to ensure that at each step of the way the students fully understand the work they are doing and that the work set is at an appropriate level.
[Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523980500237807]