Language learning occurring in authentic contexts has been shown to be more effective. Virtual worlds provide simulated contexts that have the necessary elements of authentic contexts for language learning, and as a result, many studies have adopted virtual worlds as a useful platform for language learning. However, few studies so far have…

The purpose of this research was to: (a) explore graduate students' perceptions of and preferences for online credit courses; (b) analyze and compare this study's findings to those from previous research; and (c), based on findings, recommend further improvements to graduate online courses. Analysis of survey data from graduate students enrolled…

Despite the perception that face-to-face classrooms provide speaking opportunities, studies by Fassinger (1995), Nunn (1996), and Weimer (2013) have conveyed that there is limited interaction in a traditional college lecture setting. Social media networks such as Twitter provide an opportunity for instructors to utilize popular mobile technology…

The growth of the Internet, and specifically social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook, create opportunities for individuals to share private and identifiable information with a closed or open community. Internet crime has been on the rise and research has shown that criminals are using individuals' personal information pulled from social…

Higher education in the United States faces major challenges: increased competition from non-traditional players, online programs that are eroding regional monopolies, shifting demographics, the perceived irrelevance of some degrees, and the development of low-cost certification alternatives to those degrees. In other industries, information…

This small-scale study analyzes the use of service-learning pedagogy via non-profit translation in the intermediate-level language classroom. Forty-three students at the intermediate-high level in three Spanish classes in Greensburg, Pennsylvania served as part of a translation team for the non-profit organization Kiva, which helps to fund…

This paper presents the use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in educational research as a platform for enhanced pedagogical learning. The aim here with the use of a WSN platform was to go beyond the implementation stage to the real-life application stage, i.e., linking the implementation to real-life applications, where abstract theory and…

This study contributes to a growing body of literature focused on the role of the teacher's "invisible hand" in managing students social relationships. The authors focus on one specific aspect of attunement, teachers' social network knowledge, which they conceptualize as the completeness and accuracy of the teacher's social network…

The objective of this poster is to examine whether differences in the structural features of classroom peer networks (tight-knittedness, hierarchy, salience norms) are associated with differences in how individual students perceive the classroom environment (relational support from teachers and peers) and express achievement-related beliefs…

Research indicates that students residing at four-year institutions have been using online social networking sites such as Facebook as a means of efficient communication with one another. The technological advancements of social networking have also been identified as a means of creating community and belonging that may improve overall student…

Greater numbers of instructors are turning to social networking sites to communicate with students. This study examined whether posting social, scholarly, or a combination of social and scholarly information to "Twitter" has an impact on the perceived credibility of the instructor. Participants were assigned to one of three groups: a…

This study focused on exploring and creating life pathways with a group of twelfth graders at West Philadelphia High School. I invited students to inquire into "life pathways," broadly construed; participants chose to concentrate on transitions to college. Although scholars have investigated many elements of college access, there is…

The long-term goal of this program of research is to clarify how teachers may influence features of peer networks that, in turn, may affect students' perceptions of social support, achievement-related beliefs and academic achievement. As a first step in this process, in this study the authors focus on identifying teaching practices that are…

This document presents the final report on the Evaluation of the Pennsylvania Teleteaching Project, which was designed to accomplish six objectives: (1) to provide students with the opportunity to take courses that would otherwise be unavailable; (2) to provide students with a higher level of learning; (3) to be usable across a wide variety of…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…