Collaborative learning can be a worthwhile and valuable part of a student's online course experience, and interpersonal exchanges among members of an online course community often rely on greater intentionality within the design of the learning experience. We present a synergistic framework for strategic design of collaborative learning in the…

The sudden emergence and rapid spread of COVID-19 is a reminder of our frailty, where the magnitude of the impact facing the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has become increasingly apparent. One way that we have effectively responded to this emergency educationally, has to become innovative in our relationship with technology. The value…

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought great changes to classrooms and students around the world. As the virus swept into cities and communities, students were swept out of their routines--experiencing many sudden and profound losses. In one urban school district in the United States, elementary students lost the writing communities they had…

For better and worse, the COVID-19 crisis will necessarily advance a number of instrumental responses for online education under the global shutdown of face-to-face classrooms. COVID-19 has accelerated but did not begin the move to online education. This essay asks its readers to consider the online environment and the shutdown of face-to-face…

This article proposes a gamification approach that aims to motivate students in online discussions. While some efforts have been made in gamification for teaching and learning, insufficient attention has been paid to gamification grounded in "both" theories and evidence from empirical studies. After identifying five motivational needs of…

Learning Management Systems (LMS) reinforce the learning process through online classroom environments. A standard LMS supports an inclusive learning environment for academic progress with interceding structures that promote online collaborative-groupings, professional training, discussions, and communication among other LMS users. Instructors…

At the request of President Trump in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, a Federal Commission on School Safety was assembled to provide meaningful and actionable recommendations to maintain student safety in schools. This article summarizes the overarching points of the Commission's report and shares concerns raised the National Association of…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university professors are challenged to re-envision mathematics learning environments for virtual delivery. Those of us teaching in elementary teacher preparation programs are exploring different learning environments that not only promote meaningful learning but also foster positive attitudes about mathematics…

Interactive learning tools are emerging as effective educational materials in the area of computer science and engineering. It is a research domain that is rapidly expanding because of its positive impacts on motivating and improving students' performance during the learning process. This paper introduces an interactive learning environment for…

Over the last 15 years, the subject of feedback on assessment has come under considerable scrutiny in the literature, with a particular focus on the utility of feedback for subsequent assessment (i.e. feed-forward). Organisations such as the Higher Education Academy (HEA) have synthesised research on this topic into guidance for tutors through the…

There are many unique characteristics of cyberbullying that are impacting adolescents in many negative ways. The anonymity, 24/7 invasion of privacy, and the vast audience that the perpetrator takes advantage of have taken bullying to a new level. With greater access to advanced technology and youths' obsession with it, cyberbullying is on the…

Although most states across the United States have enacted anti-bullying legislation, state laws vary greatly in detail and direction, leaving many school districts wondering how to best address the problem of bullying and comply with their state's legislative requirements. In response, a comprehensive, statewide training initiative was conducted…

With the advent of open source virtual environments, the associated cost reductions, and the more flexible options, avatar-based virtual reality environments are within reach of educators. By using and repurposing readily available virtual environments, instructors can bring engaging, community-building, and immersive learning opportunities to…

This chapter aims to answer some of the questions that emerge when carrying out educational ethnography in a blended learning environment. The authors first outline how Virtual Ethnography (VE) has been developed and applied by other researchers. Then, to better illustrate the approach, they describe a doctoral research project that implemented…

Blogging, social networks, e-mails, instant messaging, and web-forums are different ways that today's technologically savvy culture can communicate with others all across the world. Although beneficial, some have used these popular online forms of communication to harm others, thus termed cyberbullying. The purpose of this paper is to define…