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This article investigates the relationship between Web-based learning and Critical thinking (CT) in a web-based course on the fundamentals of Information Technology at a university in Montreal, Canada. In particular, it will identify what part(s) of the course and to what extent, critical thinking is perceived to occur. The course contains two categories of learning modules namely resources and interactive activity components. The study aimed at answering the following questions: (1) What is the effect of the learning modules on Critical Thinking? and (2) What is the relative contribution of the various learning modules on Critical Thinking skills requirements?

This article investigates students' perceptions of the relationship between Problem-Solving and the activities and resources used in a Web-based course on the fundamentals of Information Technology at a university in Montreal, Canada. We assess for the different learning components of the course, the extent of perceived problem-solving skills acquisition including research, creativity and critical thinking skills. The course entailed two categories of learning, namely resources-based and interactive components. The study aimed at answering the following questions: 1) To what extent do students understand the definitions of Problem-solving, Research, and Creative Idea Generation skills, and Critical Thinking skills? (2) What is the relative contribution of the various learning components (activities and resources) of the course to the perceived acquisition of Problem-Solving, Research, and Creative Idea Generations skills, and Critical Thinking skills; (3) Is the understanding of the definitions correlated with the perceived contributions of the learning components (activities and resources) of the course to the skills development? (4) To what extent is perceived Problem-solving skill acquisition explained by the acquisition of the other three skills?

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This paper compares students' perceptions of support provided in the acquisition of various thinking and team-building skills, resulting from the various activities, resources and technologies (ART) integrated into but moderate support from the online resources and technologies provided in the course, which was in opposition to the grades received. It also seems that those in the traditional computer lab setting perceived online resources as more supportive of higher-order thinking skills than those in other sections and those in the electronic classroom perceived the least support. The results were mixed for team-building skills and for material in Blackboard less important for developing these skills than onsite students.

QuickSmart is a basic academic skills intervention designed for persistently low-achieving students in the middle years of schooling that aims to improve the automaticity of basic skills to improve higher-order processes, such as problem solving and comprehension, as measured on standardized tests. The QuickSmart instructional program consists of three structured, teacher- or teacher aide-directed, 30-minute, small-group lessons each week for approximately 26 weeks. In this study, 42 middle school students experiencing learning difficulties (LD) completed the QuickSmart reading program, and a further 42 students with LD took part in the QuickSmart mathematics program. To investigate the effects of the intervention, comparisons were made between the reading and mathematics progress of the intervention group and a group of 10 high-achieving and 10 average-achieving peers. The results indicated that although the standardized reading comprehension and mathematics scores of QuickSmart students remained below those of comparison students, they improved significantly from pretest to posttest. In contrast, the standardized scores of comparison students were not significantly different from pretest to posttest. On measures of response speed and accuracy gathered using the Cognitive Aptitude Assessment System (CAAS), QuickSmart students were able to narrow the gap between their performance and that of their high- and average-achieving peers. Implications are drawn regarding the importance of interventions that emphasize the automaticity of basic academic skills for students with learning difficulties.

A major issue facing the multinational corporation (MNC) knowledge management (KM) function is grappling with how information and communications technology (ICT) can best assist in promoting innovation and creativity, shepherding ideas from concept through reality. This paper presents a model in which to examine this development that is designed to promote continued competitiveness in an increasingly interlinked and interdependent global marketplace. The model distinguishes between a tacit knowledge zone (TKZ), a non-binding refinement zone (NRZ), and an explicit knowledge zone (EKZ) and suggests areas for research within the context of this model.