The present study aims (1) to investigate the specific study strategies that may lead to a success in Matriculation as well as at University; and (2) to investigate whether these study strategies that are effective in Matriculation also work efficiently at University. A revised version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI, Weinstein, Zimmermann, & Palmer, 1988) was used and we found that there were significant differences between study habits of students with high academic achievement and those with low academic achievement in Matriculation. However, this was not the case at University. More importantly, we also found that those effective study strategies used in Matriculation may not work at University. These results are discussed in terms of the focus and the academic demand of different learning phases of higher education in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Educational Research & Evaluation is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13803610500110414]

This paper reports on a study which investigates the implementation of a synchronous e-learning system (Interwise) for online tutorials on an information technology related course offered by the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). It examines a set of interview data related to students' and tutors' views on the use of the system. Issues concerning students' participation in online tutorials, opportunities for interaction in using the system, and tutors' roles in real-time conferences are discussed. The findings suggest that both the students and tutors are positive about the use of Interwise for online tutorials in general. Some students, however, indicate dissatisfaction with the one-way communication and teacher-control functionalities of the system. The results also indicate that the tutors are concerned about the workload involved in using Interwise in terms of managing the functionalities of the system and the different learning tasks. Implications are then drawn for supporting synchronous online learning both in the OUHK and a wider academic context.
[Copyright of International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning is the property of Athabasca University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.irrodl.org]

The growing popularity of e-learning may pose one of the greatest challenges currently facing traditional educational institutions. The questions often asked are how, rather than whether, to embrace this new form of instructional delivery and how to create an appropriate learning environment for the learners. Educational institutions in Hong Kong have the option of adopting programmes or learning materials developed in other parts of the world for local learners, or not. Such an approach of acquiring learning materials is not without risks in terms of the suitability of materials embedded with cultural contents 'foreign' to local learners, or in terms of the suitability of assumptions in the communication context. What are the issues involved in the globalization of education through e-learning? This paper explores - from a critical-dialectical perspective - the implications of globalization on educational policy through cross-border delivery of educational programmes by e-learning, with particular attention given to the threat of cultural imperialism. The paper concludes that Hong Kong seems to be coping with 'cultural imperialism' rather well because of its unique history of being a cross-road for East and West, and also with some recommendations to e-learning providers to mitigate the potential damage of cross-cultural delivery of e-learning.
[Copyright of International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning is the property of Athabasca University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.irrodl.org]

Standard Written Chinese is expected to be scripted or recorded in Putonghua expressions, the national lingua franca in China. However, due to the influence of mother tongue, Hong Kong students often unconsciously employ Cantonese dialect expressions in their writing. This paper introduces CPWrite, an implemented Web-based CALL package to help tackle this problem. The important functions of the software are to test and improve students' ability in Cantonese dialect recognition and Putonghua translation, at both lexical and grammatical levels. The underlying strategies employed by CPWrite can be applicable to converting authentic language to standardized formats.
[Copyright of Computer Assisted Language Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/call.16.4.367.23413]

With the rapid development in technology and learning methods, delivery of content is becoming more computer-dependent. Learning has advanced to interactive learning, problem-based learning (PBL), self- and peer-teaching, and web-based learning among others. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University hosted its low vision rehabilitation course on its in-house website in collaboration with the University of Houston, College of Optometry. Web course tools (WebCT) was used to stimulate students and deliver content on the subject of low vision rehabilitation. The site acts as a reference sourse for course material and laboratory instruction. It includes self-tests, quizzes, diagrams, photos, and some animated simulations for students to better understand and assimilate low vision rehabilitation concepts and principles. With web-based learning, low vision concepts and become easier and more fun. Data gathering, grading, and analysis can be more efficiently performed with advance planning and programming. The use of WebCTt and similar platforms holds promise for greater accessibility to low vision rehabilitation content worldwide.
[Copyright of Visual Impairment Research is the property of Informa Healthcare. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/vimr.4.2.85.15636]

This case study examines the changes that took place in a 5th-grade mathematics classroom in Hong Kong when an American-made technological artifact was introduced. Using classroom observation, videotaping, and daily interviews with the teacher and students, the study documents the changes that occurred in the classroom and the factors shaping those changes. Using the artifact prompted the teacher to make changes by altering the content, the sequence of instruction, and the social arrangements for class participation. In addition, the class engaged in extensive discussions about the social implications of solving complex mathematics problems. Most of these changes, however, were made after the attempts to maintain routine instruction broke down. The study suggests that new technologies that are not compatible with the existing practice may lead to intense and sometimes profound reflections about which aspects of the individuals, their environment, and the new artifact to adapt into a new classroom structure. A significant challenge is how to support participants' role shifting and their subsequent psychological changes when new technology is introduced.
[Copyright of Cognition & Instruction is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S1532690XCI1904_1]

This paper describes a series of awareness-raising activities for English language secondary school teachers-in-training - with a view to evaluating future, that is, 'intelligent', CALL for English language teaching. The paper first puts the development of CALL applications into perspective (after Atwell, 1999; Warschauer and Healey, 1998) in terms of its impact on ESL teachers. The paper then describes a series of activities intended to raise English language teachers' awareness and to enable them to evaluate advances in IT technology - as these will affect ESL teaching and learning. In order to achieve this future perspective, the activities described centre around language engineering software that than current CALL software per se. The paper makes reference to the secondary education system in Hong Kong, where there has been a strong push by the government for IT to support the classroom teaching of all subjects by at least 25%. For such a policy to even begin to be achieved, and for the classroom use of IT to be appropriate and effective, two conditions need to be in place. Firstly, teachers need to be familiar with and comfortable in the use of IT - specifically, the widening range of language engineering software. Secondly, they need to be able to evaluate the possibilities that IT offers. It is only if these two conditions are met that there is a greater chance that future use of CALL will be integrated into teaching in a worthwhile manner.
[Copyright of Computer Assisted Language Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0958822042000334226]

This paper is a narrative about the use of narrative as a means to understand how the use of technology assisted the educational community of Hong Kong during the SARS crisis of 2003. It is not a carefully planned conventional research study. It is based on seven narratives written by staff at The Chinese University of Hong Kong about their experiences during SARS. The experience of an online conference run by the author has also been considered. Overall, in our context, technology was able to come naturally and appropriately to the fore in our time of crisis. For me, it is a message that technology is now a mainstream tool that can be rapidly mobilized and that is very satisfying indeed.
[Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523980410001680806]