The ability to collaborate online is an essential skill that allows learners to bring together diverse perspectives to deepen understanding regardless of physical location. As online learning and hybrid workplaces have become more prevalent since the COVID-19 global pandemic, the critical nature of this skill has become particularly relevant for…

This exploratory research documents the use of the web conference technology WebEx™ to expand the variety of focus group data collection methods. Drawn from four synchronous online focus groups with older adults from across Canada, who create and use online personal learning networks to enhance and support their informal self-directed learning…

In this Insights essay, we propose a new concept of "offlineness" that builds on current language around digital practices, yet addresses an element of young people's experience that is not adequately represented in current research or educational discourse. This work is informed by a recent cross-national arts-based research project…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between student motivation and technology in the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) in a technologically enhanced active learning classroom (ALC). Design/methodology/approach: PBL was implemented in an undergraduate course in human osteology (n=49) at a large Canadian…

This article explores the critical digital practices and pedagogies of two novice teacher educators. Employing self-study research methodologies, we examine our collaborations and integrations of critical digital practices into two literacy methods teacher education courses. Seeking to emphasize the 'critical' aspects of critical digital…

This proposal presents findings from the large-scale study "Literacy Teacher Educators: Their Backgrounds, Visions, and Practices" which includes 28 literacy/English teacher educators (LTEs) from four countries. Five LTEs who use a constructivist approach are presented. Three aspects of their constructivism are discussed: knowledge is…

From a design perspective, the intentionality of students to engage in surface or deep learning is often experienced through prescribed activities and learning tasks. Educators understand that meaningful learning can be furthered through the structural and organizational design of the online environment that motivates the student towards task…

Sustained discourse is critical to the learning potential of online courses. And, while research has surfaced many factors that mediate interaction, it further suggests that sustained interaction remains elusive. In this paper, I propose that student facilitation may have an impact on the quality of facilitators' interactions following a week of…

The introduction of digital literacy practices has created a tension in academia, with many academics challenging the view that critical thinking can be fostered on social networks. A quasi-experimental study was conducted on two sections of university-level writing classrooms to determine if there were meaningful differences in the quality of…

The study buddy is a learning strategy employed in a graduate distance course to promote informal peer reviewing of assignments before submission. This strategy promotes student-student interaction and helps break the social isolation of distance learning. Given the concern by Arum and Roksa (2011) that student-student interaction may be…

Behind every educational concept an opposing notion is waiting for recognition. Despite their avowed objectives, however, academic debates do not always encourage the discussion of opposing views. A review of sessions at the December 2011 Online Educa Conference illustrates that point and others about academic meetings. Opposing viewpoints may be…

In the 2011 Winter semester, the University of Guelph engaged in a pedagogical experiment: an online first-year seminar. This article is a conversation about the learning journey that surrounds this seminar, as experienced by three participants: Jacqueline Murray (JM), Professor of History and Director of the FirstYear Seminar Program (FYS);…

Given the emerging focus on the intercultural dimension in language teaching and learning, language educators have been exploring the use of information and communications technology ICT-mediated language learning environments to link learners in intercultural language learning communities around the globe. Despite the potential promise of…

The development of computer-mediated communication enables teaching and learning to take place across geographical boundaries. An online synchronous learning environment with cyber face-to-face features affords students the sense of learning together online. This study reports a novel design of organizing a 16-week seminar for doctoral students…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…