Creating engaging online resources is an important part of the rapidly changing discipline of e-tutoring. There is increasing use of a wide range of media for online training but only a limited number of studies assessing their effectiveness. This study involved an educator working collegiately with cohorts of online students studying a specialist…

For students who major in meteorology, engaging in weather forecasting can motivate learning, develop critical-thinking skills, improve their written communication, and yield better forecasts. Whether such advances apply to students who are not meteorology majors has been less demonstrated. To test this idea, a weather discussion and an eLearning…

This article begins by critiquing the long-established acronym CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning). We then go on to report on a small-scale study which examines how student non-native speakers of English use a range of digital devices beyond the classroom in both their first (L1) and second (L2) languages. We look also at the extent to…

The use of electronic voting systems (EVS) in teaching at all levels is increasing as the technology becomes cheaper and easier to use. Although many educators initially take a cynical view of the educational value of such technology, many of those who use EVS express a very positive view of their experiences. This article aims to share these…

Listening plays a crucial part in the learning of overseas students in the United Kingdom. Students can never follow a lecture or discussion in English without listening. Traditional classroom teaching in listening limits students' time and space. However, the Web-based listening course accommodates listeners a great deal, enabling them to access…

Open education resources (OER) are taking centre-stage in many higher educational institutions globally, driven by the need to raise institutional profiles, improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning and achieve universal access to education. Many academics attracted to the idea of turning teaching materials into OER have, however, found…

In this paper, we urge practitioners to consider the potential of podcasting for teaching, learning and assessment. Our perspective is drawn from research on IMPALA (Informal Mobile Podcasting And Learning Adaptation), which showed that there is a range of successful podcasting approaches for students on campus. After briefly surveying the…

Finite element modelling software has been used to allow secondary school students to study nanoscale magnetic materials for hard drive recording applications. The students were introduced to the basic concepts of finite element modelling using a freely available internet game before modelling the magnetization reversal of single magnetic grains.…

This article will discuss the issues concerning the storage, retrieval and use of multimedia technology in dance, and how semantic web technologies can support those requirements. It will identify the key aims and outcomes of four international telematic dance projects, and review the use of reflective practice to engage students in their learning…

Social and mobile technologies offer users unprecedented opportunities for communicating, interacting, sharing, meaning-making, content and context generation. And, these affordances are in constant flux driven by a powerful interplay between technological innovation and emerging cultural practices. Significantly, also, they are starting to…

The Open University (OU) has a long and distinguished history of teaching biology at a distance by a supported open learning model. This article examines some of the challenges in delivering biology via distance teaching, explores some of the lessons learned, and discusses the opportunities and hazards of new teaching technologies that the OU has…

The use of the Web to deliver open, distance, and flexible learning has opened up the potential for social interaction and adaptive learning, but the usability, expressivity, and interoperability of the available tools leave much to be desired. This article explores these issues as they relate to teachers and learning designers through the case of…

This paper reports on an evaluation of Net-Detectives, a creative online role play activity aimed at 9-12 year olds. Net-Detectives forms part of Kidsmart, an Internet awareness programme aimed at school children. It was evaluated through a multiple method data collection using questionnaire surveys, follow up telephone interviews with teachers…

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale study that documented the use of information technology for learning by a small group of postgraduate students. Our findings support current knowledge about characteristics displayed by effective e-learners, but also highlight a less researched but potentially important issue in developing…

What and how much can children learn without subject teachers? In an attempt to find a limit to self organized learning, we explored the capacity of 10-14 year old Tamil-speaking children in a remote Indian village to learn basic molecular biology, initially on their own with a Hole-in-the-Wall public computer facility, and later with the help of…