Much is made of the diversity for MOOCs learners--with their varied motivations and interests; yet MOOCs are often run and judged on the assumption that learners would progress through the course in its entirety, to completion. This paper presents an analysis of three recently delivered MOOCs that were designed to support a broader set of learner…

Four converging trends are undermining land-based campuses as the preeminent source of knowledge acquisition and certification. The emergence of the learning sciences, the wikification of knowledge, the unbundling of faculty roles, and the migration of learning online are driving fundamental institutional change toward location-independent…

This paper serves several purposes. First and foremost, it is devoted to developing a better understanding of the effectiveness of blended learning (BL) in higher education. This is achieved through a meta-analysis of a sub-collection of comparative studies of BL and classroom instruction (CI) from a larger systematic review of technology…

Mazoue's ("J Comput High Educ," 2012) article, "The Deconstructed Campus," is examined from the perspective of instructional design practice. Concerns center on: the knowledge base of precision instruction; the differential effectiveness of teaching procedural as opposed to declarative knowledge; the reliance on assessment of online learning; and…

Evidence-based approaches to the design of the next generation of interactive distance education need to take into account established multimedia learning principles. Cognitive load theory is a theory that has significantly contributed to the development of such principles. It has applied our knowledge of major features and processing limitations…

Is the curriculum in British universities being influenced by decisions about ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) in "open educational resources" (OERs) that are available online under Creative Commons licenses, free of charge? This paper provides the context for, describes and analyses three significant examples in British…

Within the field of instructional technology, scholars have long worked to define the scope and purpose of research and its role in informing practice. Increasingly, researchers outside of the instructional technology field are conducting studies to examine their use of technology in educational contexts. Few studies have been done on how…

Learning Management System (LMS) enables institutions to administer their educational resources, and support their traditional classroom education and distance education. LMS survives through instructors' continuous use, which may be to a great extent associated with their satisfaction of the LMS. Consequently, this study examined the key factors…

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte's College of Education offers a 100% online teacher licensure program. One component of the licensure program is the Graduate Internship, which involves the observation of graduate interns' teaching. With many current and potential students located in more remote areas of the state, the remote…

This paper presents a pre-orientation program for incoming college students, Active Citizenship through Technology (ACT), that engaged students in civic dialogue early in their academic experience while fostering a long-term peer support network. It leveraged youth's interest in Internet technologies to engage them in civic discussions and…

This study compares the efficacy of interactive video (ITV) delivered instruction to traditional course instruction in three distinct learning environments: traditional face-to-face format, ITV host (instructor present), and ITV distant (instructor not physically present) sites. Data were obtained from a half-day professional development course…

This article describes the development and assessment of a graduate level online art therapy class. An introduction briefly defines art therapy and the need for distance learning in this field. The challenges inherent in teaching art therapy online, including working with art media and developing appropriate interpersonal skills and group…

This article describes what interactive, group driven distance learning can be and what it can produce. It provides a solution to one of the primary concerns facing distance learning today, which is to find ways to increase the amount of student involvement and thus maintain student interest in what they are learning. The learning needs of today's…

This paper presents the results of a nationwide survey of deans, associate deans, and directors who make recommendations concerning the admission of applicants to graduate programs in their colleges and universities. A questionnaire was sent to a sample of academic officers in public and private institutions describing three different types of…

Evaluation activities provide vital information on which to base planning and implementation decisions related to today's rapidly changing educational environment. This article discusses the context of and rationale for the rigorous, well-planned evaluation of online courses and programs; differentiates among evaluation, assessment, and research;…