Extensive studies have been conducted on programming knowledge, instructional environments and effective pedagogies in order to improve the teaching and learning of computer programming. However, there have been few studies on the usefulness and effectiveness of using simulation. The aim of this paper is two-fold: to describe the design and development of a computer-based simulation tool for learning computer programming and to report a case study of four students' learning experiences using the simulation tool, which provides a learning environment in the context of daily life. In solving the problem posed by the simulation tool, students are encouraged to think and construct their own solutions. Three categories with respect to students' learning processes were observed in the study, namely dynamic learning experience, fostering cognitive approaches and stimulating attitude change. Implications of the simulation for learning programming are also discussed. It is hoped that the simulation tool will inspire students to look beyond a specific simulation and transfer insights gained from the simulation to the learning of computer programming.
[Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523980600641452]

Web-based leaching opens new opportunities for international collaboration in offering courses to students. It also allows students to attend courses offered by instructors situated outside their own country. This paper presents the lessons learned from one such course offered by instructors located in Texas and Hong Kong to students residing in Shanghai studying in a collaborative Master of Social Service Management Programme (MSSM) between HKU and Fudan University. The course, titled 'Information and Communication Technology for Social Service Organizations,' was offered twice in the past two years using an Internet-based class chat room supported by a course website and other web based tools. While the offering was successful based on student evaluations, many problems and issues had to be addressed. The course background, learning outcomes, lessons learned, and future recommendations are presented. In addition, an analysis of the Shanghai student IT applications is provided to help understand the current state of human services IT in China.
[Copyright of Journal of Technology in Human Services is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J017v25n01_04]

This paper focuses on reconfiguring assessment processes so that they support a learning function, in addition to the more traditional measurement function. In the first half of the paper we discuss a framework for 'learning‐oriented assessment' derived from a project carried out in Hong Kong. We conceptualize learning‐oriented assessment as containing three key components: assessment tasks as learning tasks; student involvement in assessment; and explicitly forward‐looking feedback. The second half of the paper presents an action research case in which the first author implemented some of the principles of learning‐oriented assessment within a module in a teacher education context. The module, focusing on multimedia and web authoring, was taught through blended learning with an emphasis on peer learning and project‐based learning. A particular feature was the interplay between students' learning experiences and the module assessments.
[Copyright of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09695940600703944]

This study investigated the challenges and opportunities associated with the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) into the early childhood curriculum in Hong Kong kindergartens. Thirty-one principals completed questionnaires before they implemented a new curriculum initiative plan that involved the integrating of ICT into children's learning activities. They completed the same questionnaire and were interviewed within 1 month after they had implemented the curriculum. Findings indicated that the main problems were as follows: the low level of teachers' ICT competence, hardware and software problems, the lack of resources and technical support, and parental level of ICT competence. In-service training was regarded as the pivotal solution to these problems. The 5 levels of ICT transformation of the educational and learning processes (Mooij & Smeets, 2001) were evident in the participating schools. Most of the principals admitted that they were just "technology learners" (Yee, 1999), with regard to their information technology leadership. Sociocontextual accounts and implications of these findings are discussed.
[Copyright of Early Education & Development is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15566935eed1703_7]

A review of recent studies in Hong Kong suggests that possible problems in secondary school algebra may be due to the procedural paradigm orientation in the curriculum and the conventional style of teaching in the classroom which do not provide sufficient opportunities for students to develop conceptual understanding. Based on the works of a number of projects in the West, it is hypothesized that the introduction of technology in lessons which embody a cognitive model in their design and delivery will provide a viable alternative for enhancing algebraic thinking. The key features of the cognitive model are concrete preparation, cognitive conflict, construction, metacognition and bridging, imbedded in a 'mediation' style of teaching. These features are exemplified by detailed accounts of classroom episodes from a Hong Kong lesson supported by the use of graphics calculators. Results indicate that while the approach places particular demands on teachers (a tension between a transmission style of teaching and mediating) there is real potential for supporting more dynamic student constructions.
[Copyright of International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology is the property of Taylor & Francis. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/002073900412660]