English This article uses the experience of reviewing the evidence on the financial support available for defaulting home owners to consider the opportunities and challenges systematic review methods present to social policy. It addresses concerns about examining the strength of given evidence, and perceptions of it being a purely technical method to review existing research. It argues that there is merit in utilising the method to provide research users with transparent summaries of the most robust evidence with minimum bias. The article outlines the challenges presented and suggests that social policy researchers have a valuable contribution to make to the developing methods.

This article aims to provide an overview of the opportunities for developing computational thinking in young learners. It includes a review of empirical studies on the educational technologies used to develop computational thinking in young learners, and analyses and descriptions of a selection of commercially available technologies for developing computational thinking in young learners. The challenges and implications of using these technologies are also discussed.

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This research identifies six online course evaluation instruments used nationally or in statewide systems. We examined the characteristics (i.e., number of standards and criteria) and coded the criteria that guide the design of online courses. We discussed the focus of the instruments and their unique features. This is an author-produced, peer-reviewed version of this article. The final, definitive version of this document can be found online at Tech Trends, published by Springer. Copyright restrictions may apply. This is an author-produced, peer-reviewed version of this article. The final, definitive version of this document can be found online at Tech Trends, published by Springer. Copyright restrictions may apply.

Despite the rapid growth in online programs, online programs routinely face student attrition. How to retain students and help students successfully complete an online program is usually a top priority for online programs. This study investigated persistence factors that contributed to students' successful completion from one of the largest and most successful online programs in the United States. Results show that both personal and program attributes contributed to students' successful completion of a fully online program. Main individual attributes include interest in or career goals related to technology, time and effort invested, and perceived utility of learning. Main program attributes include relevancy of courses to individual or professional needs, satisfaction with courses and program, and ties between coursework and job promotion. Results of this study have implications for online programs in terms of prioritizing different attributes and strategizing resources to improve completion and graduation rates for fully online programs.