This article describes a recent collaborative project (PASS-IT) which investigated the use of online assessment in secondary education in Scotland. The aim of PASS-IT was to explore the potential of formative and summative assessment in secondary education, and to build on previous research into the applicability and validity of online…

Future CSCL technologies are described by the community as flexible, tailorable, negotiable, and appropriate for various collaborative settings, conditions and contexts. This paper describes the key design issues of a generic synchronous collaborative learning environment, called Omega+. In this approach, model-based genericity is applied to the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the design of a context-aware service for synchronous support in web-based educational systems. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed service supports synchronous interaction among tutors and students, based on their current context, thus increasing the communication channels, the reasoning and…

This book provides a total "how-to" approach for the use of technology, including information on the types of systems, hardware, and software available. It offers guidelines for determining how to match specific systems and needs, as well as strategies for implementing technology and Total Quality Education (TQE) to improve teaching. It…

This proceeding of the third WebNet conference--WebNet 98--addresses research, new developments, and experiences related to the Internet, intranets, and extranets. The 265 contributions of WebNet 98 presented in this volume consist of the full and short papers accepted for presentation at the conference from a collection of more than 600 submitted…

New information technology is rapidly becoming part of the localized education process, while offering the tools and the infrastructure for the establishment of a distance education process. At Rhodes University (South Africa), an Interactive Remote Tutorial System (IRTS) was built to support distance education. IRTS will be used as an…

This paper describes an Interactive Shared Journal System (ISJS) that provides access, support, and sharing for the processes of learning to become a teacher. This system is a component of the undergraduate teacher education program at the University of Missouri-Columbia. ISJS is a flexible system for the development and support of learning…

The Cupertino-Fremont Model Technology Schools (MTS) Project was designed to provide teachers with working knowledge and access to technology while achieving an ultimate goal of integrating technology into instruction to develop students' higher order thinking. By the end of the project's third year, 15 months of research had been completed to…

This project developed a new kind of computer simulation and explored its impact on teaching and learning in introductory biology. The aims of the project were to: (1) develop a flexible simulation environment that would permit students to design, build, and test realistic simulations; (2) support student experimentation with intelligent tutoring…

This paper describes a Web-based question-answering system called E-teacher that can be used in both traditional and distance learning courses to review academic contents. E-teacher is a self-editing template-based system that consists of a set of PHP scripts that generate the HTML code dynamically, or "on the fly." The entire E-teacher…

This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation framework for a variety of organizations that wish to find the perfect fit between the needs of the organization and the online solutions they adopt. The framework described in this paper is an outcome of a collaborative effort between the department of Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation…

The use of intelligent software agents within computer mediated learning environments has become an important focus of research and development in both AI and educational contexts. Some of the roles envisaged and implemented for these electronic entities involve direct interactions with students, participating in the "social" dimension of the…

This paper describes the implementation of data conferencing to provide visual stimuli to students in the Homebound Program, a college degree program designed to accommodate students who are unable to come to campus for classes. The data conference system, a simpler, more cost effective alternative to video conferencing, transmits still images as…

This research explored the challenge of how students might successfully perform real laboratory experiments over the Internet without being in a laboratory. Numerous distance learning environments were surveyed, and the effectiveness and disadvantages of laboratory facilities currently available over the Internet were assessed. Full and part-time…

Maccia's epistemology of intelligent natural systems implies that computer systems must develop qualitative intelligence before knowledge representation and natural language understanding can be achieved. Emotion and sensation--capabilities which computers do not currently possess are vital to the growth of the mind (Stanley I. Greenspan).…