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:…

East Carolina University recently hosted the first Virtual Worlds in Education Conference, a meeting held entirely in Second Life. The conference provided 135 faculty and administrators from around the world the ability to communicate and share their experiences on teaching, learning, and technology support in an online, multi-user virtual…

Discusses synchronous communication in learning via the World Wide Web and considers arguments for advantages of asynchronous approaches. Describes a synchronous Web-based professional development program for mathematics teachers in North Carolina and discusses the nature of online communication. (LRW)

Presents and applies a teacher professional-development-oriented analytical framework to provide clarity to the discussion of what role network-based communication may play in teacher professional-development experiences. A table presents a summary of advocacy and adversarial claims in network-based professional development by areas of…

Discusses three electronic conferencing tools that apprentice novice learners and encourage them to interact and grapple with alternative perspectives. Technical details of each tool are described, along with 1 instance where all 3 technologies were united, resulting in a highly interactive conversation shared by over 30 people at 4 different…

Defines a distributed course as one in which instructional events that have traditionally occurred in the classroom are made available to either distant or local learners. Discusses the challenges for distributed course designers and presents a taxonomy for distributed course design. Addresses design, development, and evaluation processes and…

Presents 4 guiding concepts--organization, communication, collaboration, and enculturation--and 10 related principles for supporting instructors as they develop online courses. The principles are described using examples from the authors' experience as faculty development specialists. Principles focus on technical, pedagogical, and production…

Describes how multipoint desktop video conferencing (MDVC) is used in preservice teacher education programs in Singapore to enhance the professional development of student teachers by allowing them to share ideas, experiences, and teaching resources in real time with an audience wider than the schools in which they teach. Summative evaluations…

Defines social and instructional interaction and outlines key elements influencing the design of adaptive computer-mediated learning. Discusses options for the design of interactivity: Web-based, groupware, programming tools, and hybrid course design programs; proposes a graphical model for choosing design tools balancing interactivity and…

Addresses issues related to the implementation of information and communications technology (ICT) in education and online learning with particular reference to Japan. Presents an integrated model for the introduction of ICT at all levels of education that suggests ways of bridging the gap between research and development and actual educational…

Examines integrating computer mediated communication (CMC) in graduate education and describes the use of CMC to promote experiential learning in an educational-technology course, highlighting approach and objectives, curriculum changes, design of virtual space, instructional method, and results. Suggests further implementations. (PEN)

Discusses the concept of a Virtual Company--a collaborative, distributed learning environment built on the notions of competence-based, constructivist, open learning, and distance education. It features an authentic, role-playing game that is strongly modeled upon the functional structures of real-life companies. Outlines the set-up of a Virtual…

Focuses on designing the right questions for promoting discussion in online adult learning environments. Discusses levels of questions; purposes of questions; tips for online questions; principles for designing an online discussion; preparing learners for discussions; and managing the discussion in process. (Contains 9 references.) (AEF)

Examines the "reality behind the hype" surrounding the Internet. Discusses its early development; growth and present state; and key applications, including e-mail, voice/video telephony, integrated messaging, electronic commerce, the World Wide Web, and Web commerce, Intranet, Extranet; education and training; security; ownership; and…

Discusses how to counter problems in coupling technical/technological courses with distance learning. Presents a model which incorporates up to nine different technologies (television; student response units; voice mail; electronic mail; fax; CD-ROM; Internet; videotape; and computer) and addresses administrative solutions for delivering such a…