Driven by the forces requiring rapid innovation in competitive world markets, today's knowledge economy is enabled by ICT's capacity to search, filter, store, transmit, encapsulate, process, and manipulate information. Workers of a knowledge economy are expected to possess ICT literacy: the ability to use technology to develop 21st century content knowledge and skills. This new kind of literacy is considered a key '21st century skill', together with global awareness, civic engagement, financial, economic and business literacy, and learning skills that encompass problem solving, critical thinking, and self-directional skills (Partnership for 21st century Skills, 2005, p.15). 21st century schools are seen to play a critical role in producing a workforce that is highly educated and skilled to support a country's economy. This recognition of education as a key contributor to the economy has led school curricula in many countries to mandate ICT as a central component, with teachers being increasingly expected to infuse ICT into the teaching and learning processes. This paper examines some of the major developments and strategies related to ICT in the education reform of three countries where the author has worked professionally. Lessons will be drawn from their experiences in enhancing music education curriculum reform for a technology-infused future.

It was a classroom research study with two main purposes. First, to describe, using the information gathered during observation, some of the richness and variety of what goes on in a kindergarten classroom. Second, to search for patterns from among these events and the complex interactions of theory, practice and beliefs in order to help explain why certain teachers do one thing while others do something else. This will enable kindergarten teachers to reflect on their own practice in a way which up to now has not been possible, since there was little attention given in Hong Kong to the systematic study of teaching by observing teacher behaviour in the classroom. The research would help identify some hidden aspects of classroom culture or beliefs that affects teachers’ professional development. No claim is made that either of these in any way typical of kindergarten teaching as a whole. However, it casts light on approaches which some teachers have found appropriate in the circumstances. Moreover, it should allow those how train student teachers to bridge the gap between theory with practice by offering the means of illuminating theory with precise and detailed information about life and perception inside the kindergarten classroom.

Empirical Research Background: Krashen (1982) holds that affective factors are important for success in acquiring a foreign/second language. This paper attempts to operationalize the affective factors using comfort levels of English language learners. A Rasch calibrated scale properly designed targeting comfort levels in using the English language to exemplify a straightforward and efficient way to tap the affective factors in language acquisition. Empirical Research Aims: The study aims to establish a measure of comfort in using English as an index of the affective filter in learning English. The hypothesis is that levels of comfort in using the English do indicate level of ability in English. Empirical Research Sample: The sample consists of 15000 plus individuals from 7 regions in the Asia region: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The sample was randomly selected by commercial internet sampling firms in the regions. Empirical Research Method: A questionnaire targeting 3 areas of English language use was designed. The areas are contact with native speakers of English, using English media and reading English publications. 9 items were developed with categories of each item containing descriptions of different levels of comfort in using the English language. The questionnaire was administered via the internet in the 7 regions. Empirical Research RASCH: The returns were calibrated using the Rasch model. The locations of the item categories provide the basis for profiling three of comfort. Empirical Research Results: The levels of comfort in using the English are found to be significantly correlated with self-assessed English language ability included in the questionnaire. Empirical Research Conclusions: Calibration of item categories, if meaningfully described, can provide more detailed information on a survey instrument than the common used Lickert type scale with levels articulated in relative terms of more or less in some fashion

How do people’s international experiences affect what is learned in school? This study examines how teachers and students in diverse school settings in Hong Kong and The United States bring their international and cross-cultural experiences into classroom learning. Through the theories of global education and intercultural development, the authors analyze how students’ and teachers’ experiences are contextualized within classroom instruction and identify ways in which the shared experiences influence learning about the subject under study. The paper also synthesizes findings within and across schools and countries with illustrations to flesh out both commonalities and differences.

This study is an investigation in using action research and the VMS (Valuable-MuddiestSuggestion) method to improve the teaching and learning of a new General Education course for Early Childhood Education student-teachers. According to Kemmis and McTaggart (1992), to do action research is to plan, act, observe and reflect in continuous cycles with more careful, more systematic, and more rigorous way. Based on research evidence, self-assessment is asserted by some to be an essential skill for effective learning and lifelong learning, and this skill should be developed in university courses (Black & William, 1998; Boud, 1995; Cowan, 1998). VMS method is used to engender dual self-assessment of students and teachers in the course. Participants were undergraduate students enrolling in a Bachelor programme at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The VMS method is designed to record students’ responses in each lesson on their “valuable (V) learning experience in the lesson”, “the muddiest (M) point in the lesson” as well as “suggestions (S) for improvement”. Records of their valuable learning (V), their muddiest point (M), and their suggestions (S) can be assessed and analyzed by the students themselves and the teacher to explore the learning experience of the students as well as the content and pedagogy of the lesson. The results of the study is encouraging. The action research cycles with dual self-assessment give valuable hints and insights to the students for self-directed learning to clarify their muddiest point and to the teacher for self-assessment and reflection on content and pedagogy of teaching.

Creativity is of growing significance in educational reform worldwide. The Thinking School, Learning Nation policy of Singapore in 1997, the White Paper on Creative Education of Taiwan in 2003, the Learning to Learn educational reform of Hong Kong in 2001 and the report of National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education of England in 1999 all gave creativity a significant role in education (Craft, 2011; Hui & Lau, 2010). Nevertheless, creativity assessment in schools is always criticized as lagging behind the educational policies (Craft, 2011; Leong, et al., 2012). A tension view of creativity and assessment is common (Cunliffe, 2008). “Does assessment weaken student creativity?” (Beghetto, 2005, p. 254) is a question on the minds of many educators. Yet, Craft (2011) suggested that creativity assessment is multi-faceted. Assessment is not necessarily a negative force, but its influences depend on what kinds of assessment are conducted (Beghetto, 2005). Assessment may even have a strong leverage effect on educational reform, especially in the Chinese context (Cheng, 2010a). Started from the classic study of Black & William (1998), “assessment for learning” is of growing significance in education field. Parallel reforms are widespread around the world (Burnard, 2011; Earl, 2013) and in Hong Kong (Mok, 2010). Assessment is not merely for measuring and grading student achievements. “Assessment is an integral part of learning, guiding the process and stimulating further learning” (Earl, 2013, p. 25). Following this direction, this study explores various assessment practices which may facilitate (or hinder) creative teaching and creative learning. In the Routledge International Handbook of Creative Learning , Burnard (2011) had offered a review chapter titled “Constructing assessment for creative learning.” This article revisits this topic by using classroom improvisation as a lens to search for various forms or possibilities of creativity-conducive assessments

This paper reports an on-going case study on the project of “Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) for seamless science inquiry” in a primary school in Hong Kong. The study aims at investigating how the students advanced their content knowledge in science inquiry in a seamless learning environment supported by their own mobile devices. The topic of inquiry was “The Anatomy of Fish”. Data collection included pre- and post-domain tests, student artifacts, class observations and field notes. Content analysis and a trialogical approach were adopted in the data analysis to trace the students’ knowledge advancement. The work of one group of students was used as an example. The research findings show that the students advanced their understanding of the anatomy of fish well beyond what was available in the textbook.
[Copyright © 2013 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.]

In this paper, we report on the findings with regard to classroom activities and their time use in a number of mobile technology-mediated classrooms at Hong Kong. The data was collected from a mobile learning project specifically designed to promote students' group and independent learning across a range of subject disciplines through using mobile devices within school environment. A total of 30 lessons in 10 primary and secondary schools were videotaped and analyzed. Results indicate that mobile devices can support establishing a well-balanced structure of classroom activities controlled by both teachers and students, where about 40% of the total class time was allocated to direct teaching and 40% was assigned to students' learning in independent and/or collaborative ways.
[Copyright © 2010 The authors.]

The goal of this study was to forward information technology (IT) in education among secondary schools for promoting the paradigm shift to learner-centered learning. This study investigated the readiness of secondary schools in Hong Kong for IT integration into curriculum delivery. All 463 secondary schools in Hong Kong were invited for a territory- wide survey. With the response rate of 72.79%, the feedback from 337 schools indicated that most of the secondary school teachers confidently and habitually used IT for curriculum delivery. The teachers were adapted to integrate the use of digital resources, especially the free-of-charge ones, into students’ in-class learning process and after-school learning tasks. The teachers were also willing to try the pedagogical use of Web 2.0 technologies for supporting subject learning and teaching. This study revealed that secondary schools in Hong Kong are ready to forward IT integration into curriculum delivery for learner-centered learning. It also revealed the need of sustainable and scalable teacher development to help teachers enhance pedagogical competency in promoting learner-centered learning along with the trend of digital classrooms.
[Copyright © 2013 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.]