Research has shown that online interaction and technology, which has been used to facilitate interaction, affect the success of online learning (Downing, 2012; Harper, 2018; Keengwe et al., 2013; Moore, 1989; Saadatmand et al., 2017). This dissertation aimed to address how a group of exemplary instructors effectively implement technology to…

Transactional distance theory (Moore, 1973, 1993, 2013, 2019) identifies transactional distance as a psychological or communication gap that can be perceived by learners based on their personal educational needs and/or preferences. These perceptions of distance can occur in any learning environment but especially in distance learning or online…

A societal shift from print-based to digital texts has afforded the ability to embed reader support within an instructional text. Numerous factors make eBooks an attractive option for colleges and universities, though undergraduates consistently reaffirm a preference for print-based materials. Given that many undergraduates arrive to college with…

Online texts present unique challenges to readers, requiring them to interact with texts in ways that differ from their interactions with static, print texts (Kress, 2003; 2010; McKenna, 2003; Reinking, 1998). Due to the multimodal, multilayered, and nonlinear nature of online texts, readers may also employ strategies when they read online,…

This research study had two purposes, (a) to design and develop a Web-based learning environment that supports the use of a set of reading strategies, and (b) to investigate the impact of this Web-based learning environment on readers' "memory" and "understanding" of an instructional unit on the human heart (Dwyer &…