The educational potential of Second Life is still in the process of being developed and harnessed. According to Stephanie McKinney, Agi Horspool, Renee Willers, Omar Safie, and Laurie Richlin, an essential step in this development will be to figure out how to use Second Life to support learning-disabled (LD) students who face numerous challenges…

While there is some overlap in the uses and structures of virtual worlds, games, and simulations and the three often look similar, their differences are profound. Clark Aldrich presents a taxonomy of virtual environments that recognizes both the distinctions and the similarities among virtual environments for learning. All three, he suggests, are…

The pace of technological change has challenged historical notions of what counts as knowledge. Dave Cormier describes an alternative to the traditional notion of knowledge. In place of the expert-centered pedagogical planning and publishing cycle, Cormier suggests a rhizomatic model of learning. In the rhizomatic model, knowledge is negotiated,…

Scott Windham details his redesign of the interactive syllabus, a Web-based method of organizing course themes and assignments developed several years ago by Sylvie Richards. Windham suggests that reconceptualizing the interactive syllabus as an assignment guide, integrating both well-structured and ill-structured techniques into it, and using it…

Academic department Web pages are important tools commonly used to inform students. However, little research has been done to determine what kinds of information students value on department Web pages. Trevor Hall, Ryan Jensen, and Daniel McLean examine how 65 undergraduate students value information that is typically placed on department Web…

Virtual worlds provide unique opportunities for instructors to promote, study, and evaluate student learning and comprehension. In this article, Victor Vergara, Thomas Caudell, Timothy Goldsmith, Panaiotis, and Dale Alverson explore the advantages of using virtual reality environments to create simulations for medical students. Virtual simulations…

As a reflective practitioner of higher education, Margaret Farren seeks to contribute to a knowledge base of professional practice by using a "living educational theory" form of action research in her approach to teaching and learning. She focuses her research on the Masters program in e-learning at Dublin City University where professional…

Catheryn Cheal describes student reactions to a course she and Vagner Whitehead taught in Second Life. The course required students to research a topic about virtual worlds, write a paper, and illustrate their findings by building an environment in Second Life. Negative student responses to the course coupled with the observation that students…

Traditional e-learning efforts use information communication technologies to create and support educational opportunities that are not constrained by temporal and spatial considerations. The focus of ee-learning is to couple e-learning's approach with experiential education models that employ service-learning methodologies and with…

Alan McCord, Denise Easton, and James Shimabukuro discuss "Innovate-Ideagora", a new social and professional networking site designed to enhance professional communication in the "Innovate" community. The site will both increase and elevate discussion among "Innovate" readers, providing a forum in which collaboration…

The future of education will be shaped by innovative online communication tools that will change both the context and the nature of the relationships that influence education. In this article, Nancy Evans, Thalia M. Mulvihill, and Nancy J. Brooks explore the educational possibilities of "Second Life", a three-dimensional virtual online…

Despite the growing use of virtual worlds in distance education, no studies have shown how self-representation in these environments impacts collaboration in multicultural learning groups. In this article, Paul Wallace and Jim Maryott report on a preliminary study in Micronesia designed to investigate the impact of negative social attitudes based…

Based on their work leading three experiential, online workshops with over 180 participants from around the world, Lindsey Godwin and Soren Kaplan share reflections on designing and conducting successful ee-learning courses. The workshops sought to translate a popular face-to-face seminar in appreciative inquiry, an increasingly popular…

Technology adoption in any sector is rarely uniform. Understanding the drivers and constraints associated with technology adoption makes it easier to anticipate how technology will be used and what populations will benefit the most. Robert G. Henshaw examines factors likely to influence technology adoption within U.S. higher education over the…

Catherine McLoughlin and Mark J. W. Lee discuss the new pedagogical landscape made possible by the emergence of Web 2.0 social software, which allows users to become active contributors. Web 2.0 tools offer unparalleled opportunities for participation, productivity, and interaction. Through a discussion of emerging learning scenarios enabled by…