Journal of Instructional Science and Technology ISSN: 1324-0781 Editors-in-Chief: Olugbemiro JEGEDE (jegede@ouhk.edu.hk) and Som NAIDU(s.naidu@meu.unimelb.edu.au)

Volume 1 No 2, March 1996
- - - Editorial - - -

We are pleased to offer the second issue of Volume 1 of the electronic journal of Instructional Science and Technology (e-JIST). We hope you enjoyed the contents of issue one and are looking forward to more on the areas covered by this journal. Welcome to this second issue of e-JIST. In this second issue of Volume 1, we have two interesting articles for you. Both the articles are very topical and they deal with aspects of technology enhanced learning and teaching.

The first article is by Dirk Spennemann of Charles Stuart University in Australia. This paper entitled “Gender Imbalances in Computer Access Among Environmental Science Students” examines the imbalances between males and females in their access and use of computers and computer-based resources. This paper claims that the observed imbalances which are clearly NOT in favour of the females reflect the economic imbalances in our society among females and males. It argues for a recognition of this imbalance and steps to be taken towards its remedy.

The second paper is a contribution by two enthusiastic professors (W. R. Klemm & J. R. Snell) from the Department of Veterinary Anatomy & Public Health at Texas A&M University in Texas, USA Their paper “Enriching Computer-Mediated Group Learning by Coupling Constructivism with Collaborative Learning” addresses the common problems with the use of computer mediated communication for teaching and learning. Much of the existing practice, they argue is fraught with poor learning and instructional designs. In this paper they argue for greater integration of the capability of CMC-based systems in the learning and instructional processes towards the achievement of enhanced learning and teaching effectiveness.

We hope that you will find the papers selected for this second issue of the Journal of Instructional Science and Technology interesting reading.

Enjoy

Som Naidu and Olugbemiro Jegede