The purpose of this study was to identify emergent themes regarding higher education instructors' perceptions concerning the provision of collaborative learning activities and opportunities in their online classroom. Through semi-structured interviews, instructors described their teaching experiences and reported specifically about the online…

This paper is a publication of the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) Mobile Strategy and Application Development (MSAD) Working Group. In higher education, nearly every user interaction that takes place on a desktop or laptop browser is also attempted using phones, tablets, watches, and more. As students, faculty, and staff…

When an institutional program review determined the Hillsborough Community College Libraries Web site was out-of-date, lacked resources, and was in desperate need of a makeover, the authors embarked upon a redesign project. The article describes the challenges and considerations that contributed to the authors' decision-making and design…

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based online learning technique. This technique has been widely adopted in K-16 education. Therefore, it is important that conditions of effective WebQuest design are defined. Through this article the author presents techniques for improving WebQuest design based on current research. More specifically, the author analyzes…

After speculation in literature about the nature of Personal Learning Environments, research in the design and development of PLEs is now in progress. This paper reports on the first phase of the authors' research on PLE, the identification process of what potential users would consider important components, applications, and tools in a PLE. The…

Spend Smart Eat Smart (SSES), a unique website combining nutrition and food buying education for limited resource audiences (LRAs), was revised using social marketing theory to make it more appealing and relevant to LRAs (25-40 years). Focus groups and surveys identified the needs and preferences of LRAs. Needs were cooking, basic health, and…

There are many reasons why interface design for interactive courseware fails to support quality of learning experiences. The causes such as the level of interactivity, the availability of the interfaces to interact with the end users and a lack of deep knowledge about the role of interface design by the designers in the development process are…

This study investigated how children designed computer games as artifacts that reflected their understanding of nutrition. Ten 5th grade students were asked to design computer games with the software "Game Maker" for the purpose of teaching 1st graders about nutrition. The results from the case study show that students were able to…

Animated pedagogical agents (APAs) are known to possess great potential in supporting learning because of their ability to simulate a real classroom learning environment. But research in this area has produced mixed results. The reason for this remains puzzling. This paper is written with two purposes: (1) to examine some recent research and…

Although the library's Web site has become a standard tool for seeking information and conducting research in academic institutions, there are a variety of ways libraries approach the often challenging--and sometimes daunting--process of Web site development and maintenance. Three librarians at Western Michigan University explored issues related…

It has become standard practice for professors of mathematics to have a course website with a syllabus and some basic information about the course. The author argues that many professors would be better served by using a course wiki instead. In addition to simplifying all of the tasks of a traditional course website, a course wiki facilitates…

The goal of this article is to draw a roadmap for designing an "ideal" virtual world for higher education, pointing decision-makers in a general direction for implementing virtual worlds and noting various barriers along the way. When using a roadmap, one can take many different paths to reach a desired destination. Similarly, institutions can…

The Computing Curricula (2005) place Information Systems (IS) at the intersection of exact sciences (e.g. General Systems Theory), technology (e.g. Computer Science), and behavioral sciences (e.g. Sociology). This presents particular challenges for teaching and learning, as future IS professionals need to be equipped with a wide range of…

Distance learning is appealing to small business owners, employees, municipalities, state establishments, non-governmental organizations. Distance-learning are ideal for people who have a full-time job or other commitments, who can't take time off to study full time. This might be a professional who needs to update his knowledge or skills, or a…

Describes the Performance-Centered Design (PCD) approach that tackles the usability dilemma of computer systems. Discusses PCD success factors; characteristics of adult learning incorporated into PCD methodology; PCD design techniques; interface requirements; and benefits of the PCD methodology. (AEF)