Online fora have become not only one of the most popular communication tools in e-learning environments, but also one of the key factors of the learning process, especially in distance learning, as they can provide to the students involved, motivation for collaboration in order to achieve a common goal. The purpose of this study is to analyse data…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' experiences using Facebook as a learning management system during a course. The study participants were 18 junior education faculty students attending a compulsory distance education undergraduate course delivered by the Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department at a university in…

As higher education institutions in United States offer online courses to growing audiences, there is increasing desire to understand how best to engage students with both course content and their peers. This case study examines the effects of assigning chat roles and facilitating self- and group reflection on student--content and student--student…

Learning to monitor and regulate one's learning in an academic setting is a task that all students must engage in. Learning in "group" situations requires both self- and co-regulation. This research examines a case study of a small group of medical student interactions during an on-line problem based learning activity (PBL) where…

This article focuses on developing guidelines for the effective facilitation of avatar-based group discussions. This qualitative inquiry is guided by an investigation of (1) social affordances of avatar-based discussions, with an emphasis on social and physical presence, (2) strategies to help establish rapport with other avatars, and (3) the…

Intergroup dialogues are co-facilitated, face-to-face dialogues between two groups that have a history of conflict (for example, White people and people of color). Although researchers have explored the outcomes of these dialogues among students, little is known about the role of facilitators. Drawing from a case study of an intergroup dialogue…

The purpose of this case study was to assess a history instructor's attempt to redesign an introductory history survey course. Traditionally, it has been taught in a face-to-face environment within the university's core curriculum program. It was redesigned as a synchronous online course that provided students with opportunities to work…

This case study reports on patterns of participation in a virtual collaboratory organised around goals associated with the involvement of graduate students in research and writing projects. Traditionally, distance learning classrooms have been devoted to teaching content matter (in a virtual context) yet this case study reports on the use of…

Online discussions have been widely utilized as an educational activity, and much research has been conducted on the process and behaviors involved in asynchronous discussions. However, research on behavioral patterns in learners' synchronous discussions, including the process of social knowledge construction and project coordination is limited.…

Blended synchronous learning involves using rich-media technologies to enable remote and face-to-face students to jointly participate in the same live classes. This article presents blended synchronous learning designs from seven case studies that were part of a project funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching and…

This study explored the use of the Web-based virtual environment, Adobe Connect Pro, in a postgraduate online teacher education programme at the University of Waikato. It applied the tenets of Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance (Moore, 1997) in examining the efficacy of using the virtual classroom to promote quality dialogue and explored how…

This exploratory study centered its investigation in the participants' responses provided in 2 different instructional teaching delivery methods (traditional and online) that utilized active-like teaching learning techniques (case studies, group projects, threaded discussions, class discussions, office hours, lectures, computerized assignments,…

Teachers are searching for new venues through which they may meet stringent professional development requirements. Under competitive funding from NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Office of Education and the NASA Explorer Schools Project, U.S. Satellite Laboratory, Inc. created a series of live, online, interactive…

In order to collaborate effectively in group discourse on a topic like mathematical patterns, group participants must organize their activities in ways that share the significance of their utterances, inscriptions, and behaviors. Here, we report the results of a ethnomethodological case study of collaborative math problem-solving activities…

Online learning is evolving into much more than discussions via Blackboard. Today's online learners are spending time engaged in discussions, meeting in virtual classrooms, and combining online and on-the-ground learning, even if they live time zones away from campus. In response, universities are adjusting their curriculum, learning expectations,…