This article presents the author's response to Randy Garrison's article titled, "Implications of Online and Blended Learning for the Conceptual Development and Practice of Distance Education." Garrison's article seems to have missed many important developments relating to distance education and obscures the evolution of distance…

In the old days, professional development didn't extend any further than the workshops teachers would attend to learn new applications. After the workshop, the teachers were on their own once they returned to school and had to figure out how to use their new tools. Today, things are different as technologies are too complex and the need to…

This article presents a virtual roundtable discussion with instructional design leaders on mobile technology application which included: (1) Jim Wolfgang, director of the Digital Innovation Group at Georgia College & State University and member of "Campus Technology's" ("CT's") editorial advisory board; (2) Michael Cottam,…

This article presents an interview with Chere Campbell Gibson, a professor emerita in the School of Human Ecology and graduate program in Continuing and Vocational Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Gibson shares her years of experience in distance education, discusses her book titled "Distance Learners in Higher Education:…

This paper argues that the internet is built around key technology design features of openness, robustness and decentralisation. These design features have transformed into social features, which are embodied within the cultural values of the internet. By examining applications that have become popular on the net, the importance of these values is…

Purpose: Today's technology supports the design of more and more sophisticated interactive learning environments. This paper aims to argue that such design should develop from first principles. Design/methodology/approach: In the paper by first principles is meant: learning theory and principles of course design. These principles are briefly…

Discusses the formation of communities of electronic learners through computer networks. Topics addressed include differences from face-to-face communication; the rapid evolution of electronic communities; and rights and responsibilities of electronic communities as outlined in the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Electronic Learners. (LRW)

Describes the Space Shuttle Commander software package, which utilizes the dynaturtle microworld to teach elementary and middle school students about Newton's laws of motion. Design considerations for computer-based microworlds that represent a compromise between the philosophies of constructivism and direct instruction are presented. (91…

This paper suggests that considering fundamental issues in educational research may help researchers conceptualize more productive research methodologies for computer based instruction (CBI). Inconsistent findings and methodological shortcomings in media research, including CBI, raise the possibility that current research methodologies may be…

This paper first examines views of developmental dyslexia in the 1960s and the 1970s; then discusses issues of the 1980s (e.g., the importance of verbal efficiency); and then projects to the 1990s the challenges of computer technology as mediated learning, "bounded rationality," and "collective rationality" in education. (DB)

Examines issues relating to privacy in the electronic community. Highlights include digital information versus print products; the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Electronic Learners; electronically stored personal information; institutional versus individual ownership; the right of free speech versus the right of privacy; and the need for…

Develops properties of tasks that are pedagogically efficient and allow students to discover mathematical concepts for themselves. Illustrates the structure and philosophy of powerful tasks for the concept of angle. Presents seven examples of powerful tasks, including two involving two-dimensional graphic systems. (Contains 39 references.)…

This report summarizes a conference sponsored by the Southeastern Regional Council for Educational Improvement which explored issues related to the purposes, roles, and practices of the schools in regard to the new technologies. After a brief introduction, Part 1 focuses on strategies for integrating various technological approaches into the…

Computers can provide four kinds of help to practicing writers: (1) data storage and retrieval, (2) computer-assisted instruction and text feedback, (3) utility or word processing programs, and (4) telecommunications capability. Writing teachers must incorporate certain values into the planning of computer applications in the writing curriculum.…

High technology is a valuable educational tool, not a goal. Therefore, implementation must accord with primary purposes of education. An approach is described based on seven critical assumptions about education for the information age, followed by plans derived from these assumptions. (TE)