Imagine the challenge of being immersed in a dynamic learning network where you play brinkmanship with being overwhelmed by a plethora of information, comments, and conversations on a topic of intense interest to you. Through adept facilitation, the comments and encouragement of fellow participants, and your own perseverance, you develop a network…

Social media are fundamentally changing core practices in various industries. Although surveys indicate that social media are impacting social scientists, we know little about how education scholars, specifically, use social media for their work or professional learning. This article explores how educational scholars incorporated the social media,…

Mobile learning environments are human networks that afford the opportunity to participate in creative endeavors, social networking, organize/reorganize social contents, and manage social acts at anytime, anywhere through mobile technologies. Social acts that elicit identities, develop awareness, cement relationships, ensure connections, and…

This study proposes the use of case-based reasoning to help educators design with Web 2.0. Principles for designing a web-enhanced case-based activity (CBA) were used to design an online professional development course for a group of 16 in-service educators. The Learning in Context model was used as a scaffold to help participants in their design…

This study presents an exploration into facilitation practices of teacher professional development networks. Stimulating networked learning amongst teachers is a powerful way of creating an informal practice-based learning space driven by teacher needs. As such, it presents an additional channel (besides more formal traditional professional…

The "cyberinfrastucture" is a broad informational network that entails connections to real-time data sensors as well as tools that permit visualization and other forms of analysis, and that facilitates access to vast scientific databases. This multifaceted network, already a major boon to scientific discovery, now shows exceptional promise in…

Using the example of an undergraduate unit of study that is taught both on-campus and externally, but uses Internet-based learning in both cases, we explore how social media might be used effectively in higher education. We place into question the assumption that such technologies necessarily engage students in constructivist learning; we argue…

The aim of this study was to identify social patterns in mobile technology mediated collaboration among distributed members of the professional distance education community. Ten participants worked for 12 weeks designing a master's programme in information sciences. The participants' mobile technology usage activity and interview data were first…

Educators participating in networked learning communities have very little support from integrated tools in evaluating students' learning activities flow and examining learners' online behaviour. There is a need for non-intrusive ways to monitor learners' progress in order better to follow their learning process and appraise the online course…

The authors use their own experiences with social software to argue for the need for caution in its uses in education. They particularly draw attention to difficulties in engagement, the effects on identity, an emphasis on superficial issues, lack of coherence, and problems with authenticity and trust. While Facebook and Second Life appear to have…

The International Education and Resource Network (I*EARN) was used to conduct an experiment in which elementary and secondary school students explored the topic of family in various cultures. Electronic mail, teleconferencing, and hypertext WEB were used. The experiment included compiling a multilingual dictionary, debates, role-changing between…

Describes the partial conversion of Iceland's three-year teacher certification course into distance education mode. The social context and rationale of the project and the conditions and experience of participants in the initial phase of this pilot project are discussed. Technological and pedagogical concerns and program prospects are mentioned.…