This article discusses peer apprenticeship learning (PAL) as situated within networked learning communities (NLCs). The context revolves around the diffusion of technologically-mediated learning in Singapore schools, where teachers begin to implement inquiry-oriented learning, consistent with 21st century learning, among students. As these schools…

Jan Herrington is a Professor of Education at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where she teaches educational technology in the School of Education, including a compulsory first year unit called "Living and Learning with Technology." She has been active in the promotion and support of the effective use of educational…

Profitable creative ideas can emerge from within virtually any phase of the instructional design and development process. However, the design of user interactions is perhaps where learners can most directly experience the benefits of such ideas. In this article, the authors discuss principles of learner interaction as found in the instructional…

Case-based instruction (CBI) offers a promising method for promoting problem-solving skills in learners. However, during CBI, the instructor shoulders major responsibility for shaping the learning that takes place. Research indicates that the facilitation techniques used during case discussions influence what gets covered, and to what extent,…

In this regular feature of "Educational Technology," Michael F. Shaughnessy and Susan M. Fulgham present their interview with Ryan Watkins, Associate Professor of Educational Technology at the George Washington University and the author of 10 books and more than 95 articles. In this interview, Watkins discusses the following topics:…

This article presents a framework for understanding learning experience as an object for instructional design--as an object for design as well as research and understanding. Compared to traditional behavioral objectives or discrete cognitive skills, the object of experience is more holistic, requiring simultaneous attention to cognition, behavior,…

"Continuous partial attention" is a term that was coined in the late 1990s, to describe the increasingly dispersed nature of attention in online environments. The purpose of this article is to describe the concept, discuss its implications for online learning, and propose a new agenda for research in what has been called "the Age of Interruption."

In a world dominated by change and transformation, this article explores instructional technology connections to and applications of transformative learning. The author provides an overview of the theory of transformative learning, which embraces the hallmarks of 21st century learning. Rather than focusing solely on how to use technology,…

Contrary to the long-running controversy as to whether learning is a transmission or a constructive process, this article stresses that the (e-)learning process is both a transmission process from the instructor to the learner and a knowledge construction process of the learner. However, the use of interactive technologies in e-learning needs to…

The number of international students who take online courses in the U.S. is growing, and consequently a need exists to understand how these online minority groups learn in Western-designed online educational settings. This article proposes applying a concept of acculturation into online teaching practice to allow examination of international…

Working in teams is an important aspect of learning in various educational settings. Although education has embraced instructional strategies that use multiple learners to facilitate learning, the benefits of team-based learning need to be substantiated. There are limited efforts to evaluate the efficacy of learning processes associated with…

This article provides an overview of research in the Learning Sciences from a Design Research perspective, as it has been framed in Singapore by the National Institute of Education (NIE). The initial research agenda is considered in the light of challenges and the subsequent re-casting of objectives, based on the working out of a tripartite…

Discussion of the use of information and communication technologies to support educational processes focuses on electronic learning systems and problems related to the management of the complexity of these systems. Presents electronic learning models and discusses the need for specific research about their organizational development. (Author/LRW)

Explores what a return to a more theory-based scientific approach to education might mean for the study and practice of educational technology. Topics include science, technology, and constructivism; knowledge construction; how to deal with complexity; and roles of educational technology, including creating virtual learning environments and…

Discusses learning within the context of communities of practice, analyzes Internet-based communities to discover why some online communities thrive and why members are motivated to participate in them, distinguishes quasi-communities from communities, and suggests future directions. (LRW)