In this article, we provide a commentary on the current state of gamification in higher education by reviewing the research literature, noting a lack of research focused on the design of gamified postsecondary courses. To address this issue, we discuss four potential pitfalls instructors may encounter when designing gamified learning activities.…

This article describes how the author's skepticism about online education turns into belief when he teaches his own online course. Throughout the process of designing and facilitating his online course, he found himself slowly evolving from critic to champion of online education. Here, he shares the benefits of online learning.

This paper focuses on the lack of technological skills that educators do not have to intertwine pedagogy with technology. Teachers are finding themselves lacking the skills necessary to keep up with their tech savvy students, therefore the electronic rift is growing bigger. Educators must be able to master software that allows them to become more…

This paper is a response to "Challenges and Opportunities: Using a science-based video game in secondary school settings" by Rachel Muehrer, Jennifer Jenson, Jeremy Friedberg, and Nicole Husain. The article highlights two critical areas that I argue require more research in the studies of video games in education. The first area focuses on the…

While the growing prevalence of Web 2.0 in education opens up exciting opportunities for universities to explore expansive, new literacies practices, concomitantly, it presents unique challenges. Many universities are changing from a content delivery paradigm of eLearning 1.0 to a learner-focused paradigm of eLearning 2.0. In this article, we…

This is the fourth and final installment in a series of articles presenting a new outlook on the methods of instructional design. These articles examine the nature of the process of instructional design and are meant to stimulate discussion about the roles of designers in the fields of instructional design, the learning sciences, and interaction…

Reflecting the digital turn in composition studies, multimedia writing courses have become commonplace in many writing programs. Yet these technology-rich courses take on new significance when located within a rhetorically based writing major, especially as a core course. This article explores a developing writing and rhetoric major through…

Discusses the role that technology must play in schools to be effective in changing the nature of students' learning. The relationship between schools, society, and technology is examined; the traditional research approach is described as inappropriate; and new design experiments that use successive refinement to improve innovative instructional…

This paper first outlines the need for an application of Total Quality Management (TQM) principles to create a Total Quality Education (TQE) System. The paper then suggests that a combination of Competency Based Grading (CBG), Computer Aided Instruction (CAI), Business Internships (Externships) and their Merit/Demerit System for behavioral…

For various reasons many teachers struggle to harness the powerful informational, communicative and interactive learning possibilities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general. This is perhaps typified by how e-learning platforms and web portals are often used mainly as repositories for content and related online discussion…

The sixth in a series, this article presents an interview with Dr. Todd Hoover, Associate Professor of Curriculum Instruction and Educational Psychology at Loyola University Chicago, whose work has included designing developing, and assessing major initiatives for the integration of technology into learning and teaching. (AEF)

Considers several perspectives on interaction strategies for computer-aided learning; examines dimensions of interaction; and presents a model for the design of interaction strategies. Topics include pacing; navigation; mental processes; cognitive and physical responses; the role of quality and quantity; a conceptual approach; and suggestions for…

This paper describes the design and implementation of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) task-based module consistent with Skehan's information processing model of second language acquisition (1998) and with the framework for task design elaborated by Willis (1996), using the Internet as a primary source of language input. In settings where…

Presents a critique of the five case studies of blended learning environments in this issue. Comments are organized around the following four frameworks: (1) the J-curve of implementation; (2) the theory of Engaged Collaborative Discourse; (3) adaptation to individual differences; and (4) Validity-Centered Design. (MES)

Distance Educational Practice is today supported by a range of information systems (IS) design theories. Still, there are surprisingly few strong pedagogical ideas and constructs that are communicated across distance educational institutions. Instead it is often the technology, the software and the medium that is at the centre of attention as we…