Daily advances in technology are restructuring the way we live, work, learn and interact. The rapid development of synchronous online venues available to distance education has lead to a heightened need for theory & practice in the effective use of these collaborative learning live venues. This paper is directed to faculty members who are already…

In the 1900s, distance education attempted to mimic the traditional classroom lecture via the transmission of live or "canned" broadcasts, regardless of the technologies used: satellite, television, film, or radio. These kinds of media predisposed distance education (DE) to closely adhere to the lecture (sit and absorb) model, where…