Improving student engagement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses generally, and organic chemistry specifically, has long been a goal for educators. Recently educators at all academic levels have been exploring the "inverted classroom" or "flipped classroom" pedagogical model for improving student…

Recent developments and new directions in education have emphasised learners' needs, profile and pedagogical aspects by focusing on learner-centered approaches in educational settings. e-Learning, on the other hand, guarantees learners the opportunity of learning in their own way, and leads to new considerations in course design. e-Learning is…

The success of Web 2.0 inspires e-learning to evolve into e-learning 2.0, which exploits collective intelligence to achieve user-centric learning. However, searching for suitable learning paths and content for achieving a learning goal is time consuming and troublesome on e-learning 2.0 platforms. Therefore, introducing formal learning in these…

Taking advantage of the continuously improving, web-based learning systems plays an important role for self-learning, especially in the case of working people. Nevertheless, learning systems do not generally adapt to learners' profiles. Learners have to spend a lot of time before reaching the learning goal that is compatible with their knowledge…

Examines Ivan Illich's ideas for replacing institutionalized schooling with community-driven opportunity webs that would enable learners to be in control of their own learning and that would allow teachers to offer their services in an entrepreneurial fashion. Considers how the World Wide Web has created opportunities for those ideas. (Author/LRW)

WebTOP is a three-dimensional, Web-based, interactive computer graphics system that helps instructors teach and students learn about waves and optics. Current subject areas include waves, geometrical optics, reflection and refraction, polarization, interference, diffraction, lasers, and scattering. Some of the topics covered are suited for…

Twelve learner-centered recommendations for Web-based instruction are discussed, relating to safe learning communities; student engagement; students' choice; facilitating learning; public and private feedback; apprenticing student learning; recursive assignments; electronic writing and reflection activities; student Web link suggestions; clear…

This paper describes the three-year evolution of an online Economics I course, reports on student outcomes and evaluations, and discusses the lessons learned. Results show that, as the course evolved from an instructor-led to a student-centered learning pedagogical model, several indicators of completing students' learning and satisfaction with…

This paper describes the development of an interoperable meta-database system--a system of applications using metadata--that is intended to facilitate learner-centered collaboration, access to learning resources, and the fitness of channels of information to the emerging needs of learners at both individual and group levels. Highlights include:…

Faculty, administrators and support staff are reinventing formal education at the University of Central Florida (UCF) through the World Wide Web and instructional design. Campus services and degree programs are being re-engineered and invented to extend flexible educational opportunities to serve diverse students and faculty. Preliminary research…

E-learning is increasingly being used in higher education settings, yet research examining how students use e-resources is frequently limited. Some previous studies have used the think-aloud method (an approach with origins in cognitive psychology) as an alternative to the more usual questionnaire or focus groups, but there is little discussion in…

This paper reports outcomes from a development and evaluation effort focused on a specific World Wide Web-based learning environment (WBLE) for school library media specialists (SLMS). Background information is provided explaining how the decision to create a WBLE for the SLMS course was derived. The three main groups contributing to the WBLE…

Explains how to design, implement, and evaluate self-contained Web-based learning modules for university students. Discusses remote access for distance education; interactivity; multimedia; student control of learning; content; intended audience; scaffolding; individualized feedback via online assessment; navigation; collaboration and expertise;…

Modeling the functions of a teacher in a computer interface is not a new practice; most computer applications employ electronic performance support systems (EPSS) such as online help, wizards, coaches, and even some forms of artificial intelligence. This paper presents easy-to-implement strategies for increasing learner autonomy by embedding…

This paper discusses a framework for designing online tasks that capitalizes on the possibilities that the Internet and the Web offer for language learning. To present such a framework, we draw from constructivist theories (Brooks and Brooks, 1993) and their application to educational technology (Newby, Stepich, Lehman and Russell, 1996; Jonassen,…