In recent years, a large number of learning management sites (LMs) have emerged in the higher education sector, but these systems are generally not well-maintained. Most of the time the burden falls upon the lecturers to populate and maintain the content on these sites. The problem is, most of these online environments are built around complex…

A key challenge for higher education practitioners is to identify how to construct more engaging online environments that promote key learning skills and encourage self-directed learning. This paper discusses a study that investigated how online university courses could be designed to be more engaging. The study employed a design-based research…

Professionals responsible for the delivery of education and training using technology systems and platforms can facilitate complex learning through application of relevant strategies, principles and theories that support how learners learn and that support how curriculum should be designed in a technology based learning environment. Technological…

Providing learners with control over their learning does not always result in improved learning. For instance, research on tool-use in computer-based learning environments has demonstrated that tool-use behavior of learners is often suboptimal and does not fully support learning. Advice, or guided instruction, has been recognized as an…

This study investigated the use of multimedia materials to enhance student learning in a large, introductory biology course. Two sections of this course were taught by the same instructor in the same semester. In one section, video podcasts or "vodcasts" were created which combined custom animation and video segments with music and…

Lack of connectivity and sustainability are two common problems in asynchronous online discussions. In this paper, the author proposes that the two problems may have to do with the structure of threaded forums, that is, the design of threaded forums may constrain participants from having well-connected and sustained discussions. A new discussion…