School closures in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic resulted in an immediate and universal pivot to online teaching. More than 3.7 million teachers in the U.S. were suddenly asked to teach in an entirely new setting with little preparation and no advance notice. This has caused an unprecedented threat to children's education, giving…

Online discussions enable peer-learning by allowing students to communicate ideas on what they have learned in and beyond the classroom. Peer-learning through online discussions is fostered when online discussions are interactive. Interactivity occurs when students refer to and use perspectives shared by peers, and elaborate, respond to, or…

With the rapid advancements of technology, online communication in both K-12 and post-secondary instruction has been widely implemented. Instructors as well as researchers have used various frameworks to evaluate different aspects of online discussions' quality. The online discussions take place synchronously or asynchronously in chat rooms,…

Many mathematics teachers engage in the practice of blogging. Although they are separated geographically, they are able to discuss teaching-related issues. In an effort to better understand the nature of these discussions, this paper presents an analysis of one particular episode of such a discussion. Wenger's theoretical framework of communities…

Online education continues its growth trajectory benefitting public four-year institutions of higher education as well as private universities. Recently, private non-profits have experienced double-digit increases despite late entry into online education. Situated within the context of a private nonprofit institution and its recently developed…

The purpose of this study was to examine student-to-student interactions in an asynchronous online undergraduate course in higher education. Respondents (N = 228) were students enrolled in an undergraduate course taught by one of the authors. Regression analyses were conducted to measure students' (a) perceived ability to learn, (b) feeling of a…

Currently available web page accessibility guidelines focus more on reading and writing, with inadequate attention to other aspects of online learning such as computer-mediated communication. This study aims to explore the engagement of Malaysia secondary school students with dyslexia and students without dyslexia on various synchronous and…

The cognitive apprenticeship framework melds situated, authentic learning with social learning theory. The learning strategies included in a cognitive apprenticeship are modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration. Previous research indicates that the most beneficial strategy for the learner is coaching, and is also…

Since student retention in online courses is related to the students' community, this dissertation explores the effect of discussion board prompt format on students' sense of community of inquiry (CoI). The quasi-experimental study design examined the participation levels, sense of CoI (i.e., social, teaching, and cognitive presence), and final…

Face-to-face, hybrid, blended, and online learning have all provided adult students flexibility in how they participate. However, these courses are constructed in a manner where the instructor dictates the mode of instruction. Student choice and flexibility are important for adult students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to…

Different learning tools are available within virtual learning environments, including forums, quizzes, and ePortfolios. This article investigates perceptions of helpfulness and ease of use of these three tools, including how they are impacted by learner characteristics and what predicts frequency of use of each tool. Critically, the relationship…

Asynchronous online discussion has become a staple of many higher education courses. The current study was designed to understand more fully the student experience within online discussions, with an emphasis on the experiences of undergraduate students outside the field of education. The research described in the current paper was a case study…

Peer moderation has been used as a beneficial strategy in asynchronous online discussions to assist student learning performance. However, most studies in peer-moderated asynchronous online discussions (PMAOD) have focused only on learning effectiveness and perceptions of students rather than on students' knowledge dimensions and cognitive…

To investigate how college students understand and use cloud technology for collaborative writing, the authors studied two asynchronous online courses, on science communication and on technical communication. Students worked on a group assignment (3-4 per group) using Google Docs and individually reflected on their experience writing…

This article addresses reflections of one University instructor's teaching and her pre-teacher education students' innovative digital learning practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020. The question of "How has one instructor embedded digital practices in her virtual teaching to engage and purposefully introduce and connect…