Scholars from three universities in three different parts of the world--North America, Africa, and Eurasia--across different cultures, disciplines, and contexts, collaborated with the objective of advancing transversal skills and intercultural competences through immersing their students in international virtual teamwork. Students and lecturers…

This dissertation is comprised of three linked studies investigating integrating online feedback practices into traditional classrooms. It focuses on one innovative practice, that of online peer-to-peer feedback, and highlights aspects of the process of developing this practice in each article. Each article relies on separate but connected…

This research links learner engagement with interactions when Hybrid Virtual Learning models are used. Various aspects have been considered, such as learners' prior experiences related to virtual worlds, their preconceptions regarding their use as a learning tool, and the impact that instructional designers' choices have on enhancing the…

Much is said about the importance of reflective practice especially in the professions. Yet much of what happens as part of reflective practice in the professions such as teaching is most of the time left to chance. Reflective practice allows practitioners to see the link between theory and practice by thoughtfully considering their own…

In recent years, a number of models concerning problem solving systems have been put forward. However, many of them stress on technology and neglect the research of problem solving itself, especially the learning mechanism related to problem solving. In this paper, we analyze the learning mechanism of problem solving, and propose that when…

This study investigated course design factors influencing social presence and the development of ICT self-efficacy. Instructional design factors that promoted authentic uses of threaded discussions as a vehicle to establish social presence, self-directed learning and cooperative learning resulted in 900 posts in a semester, when no posts were…

This article considers the problem of peer-producing rich online learning environments, a task that appears techno-socially feasible, but is not without challenge. The author draws on the self-professedly "utopian" approach developed by Baudrillard in "The Mirror of Production", to establish and understand the two key dimensions of leverage…

Although K-12 teachers are frequently exhorted to maintain classroom websites, little is known about how they view or accomplish such work. To address this gap in the research literature, the study described here used qualitative methods, including computer-mediated interviews and document analysis, to explore secondary English teachers'…

The purpose of the present study is to describe faculty development activities at one university and to show how these activities were reviewed for relevance to students. As a means to validate faculty development activities and make adjustments for future development activities, a survey of students was undertaken. A survey was completed by…

With the advent of web 2.0 and virtual technologies and new understandings about learning within a global, networked environment, online course design has moved beyond the constraints of text readings, papers, and discussion boards. This next generation of online courses needs to dynamically and actively integrate the wide-ranging distribution of…

Online resources can deepen student learning--if teachers design the right tasks and learner supports. In this article, the authors look at instructional websites teachers will want to use with their students. They focus on three types of web-based learning environments--(1) informational reading systems; (2) interactive learning systems; and (3)…

This theoretical paper attempts to clarify design issues that the field of education has encountered in the context of OER (Open Educational Resources), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and increased emphasis on informal learning, as examined through the lens of the Interaction Equivalency Theorem. An overview of the core concepts of the…

The Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. Begun in 1968 as the College and University Eleven-Thirty Users' Group…

Purpose: This paper aims to report on an externally-funded project and forms part of its dissemination. Design/methodology/approach: The objectives are achieved through a theoretical framing of the project and an alignment of these with the contexts for the project--namely the Professional Standards Framework of the HEA, its use in postgraduate…

This study examines on-site facilitator practices and activities that support rural high school students taking online courses. We compare online instructors' perspectives of facilitator practices with facilitators' own reports of their practices and activities. A qualitative analysis of end-of-course interview data from instructors and…