Technology is recognised as playing a part in the changing landscape in higher education; altering delivery modes and providing flexible opportunities for learning. Research into the use of wikis has shown that they provide many opportunities for student learning and the development of twenty-first century skills, however, there has been limited…

This study explores the writing of Wikipedia articles as a form of authentic writing for learners of English in Hong Kong. Adopting "Second Language Socialization and Language Learning & Identity" approaches to language learning inquiry, it responds to an identified shortage of research on computer-mediated language socialization.…

With the availability of Web 2.0 technologies, blogs have become useful and attractive tools for teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in their writing classes. Learners do not need to understand HTML in order to construct blogs, and the appearance and content can be facilitated via the use of photos, music, and video files (Vurdien,…

Role-plays have been almost ubiquitous in foreign language classes and their potential has been widely recognised. In the last decade, the dissemination of Web 2.0 has created a wide range of possibilities for this type of activity, including conducting online role-plays between institutions, the opportunity to combine synchronous and asynchronous…

This study explores a strategy for Web-based collaborative inquiry learning (WCIL) for the purpose of developing students' digital literacy (DL). In view of the problems and difficulties identified in a previously published case study of WCIL practice in a class of secondary 3 students (aged 14 to 15), another round of WCIL activity was carried…

Over the years, researchers have consistently reported that, regardless of the subject matter, students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats (Beckman, 1990; Chickering & Gamson, 1991). The majority of these research studies have…

Brown (2012) asserts that faculty perceptions of Web 2.0 for teaching will influence its adoption. For example, social media's influence on educational delivery is growing (Hrastinski and Dennon 2012). Zulu et al. (2011) note that business educators are only beginning to understand social networking related to education. We report an exploratory…

The introduction of digital tools to a distance education environment often creates tensions due to students' past educational experiences and can require a shift in their concepts of the lecturers' and learners' responsibilities. The purpose of the study was to determine how well distance education students adapt to interactive online learning…

This article reports on the results of a project which used a social network site to support students on a year abroad and foster informal learning, particularly in the area of intercultural communication. The project employed a peer-mentoring structure to solve the problem of role conflict, in which users of these sites may feel some tension as…

This exploratory research investigates how students and professionals use social network sites (SNSs) in the setting of developing and emerging countries. Data collection included focus groups consisting of medical students and faculty as well as the analysis of a Facebook site centred on medical and clinical topics. The findings show how users,…

This paper considers professional development in a context that is familiar and problematic to teaching teams in tertiary education everywhere, that of delivering online programmes with an ever-decreasing complement of staff. The Teaching Qualification Further Education (TQFE) teaching team at University of Dundee confronted the reality of reduced…

This paper examines how emergent technologies could influence the design of learning environments. It will pay particular attention to the roles of educators and learners in creating networked learning experiences on massive open online courses (MOOCs). The research shows that it is possible to move from a pedagogy of abundance to a pedagogy that…