This case study used screen-capture technology and a cued retrospective think aloud called the "virtual revisit think aloud" to understand teachers' self-directed online learning (SDOL) experiences. Three elementary teachers were involved in a series of in-depth, one-on-one SDOL sessions where they informally used the Internet for their…

Self-perception, which mediates between knowledge and behavior, increasingly plays an important role in the determination of the ability to comprehend and respond to information on the Internet. Teachers need to gain insights about how EFL readers feel about themselves as readers in the Internet-based learning environment. There is a critical need…

This study explores Iranian EFL learners' online reading metacognitive strategy use and its relation to their self-efficacy in reading comprehension. It further examines the effect of gender in this respect. To these ends, the Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS) and reading selfefficacy questionnaire were adopted and administered to 63…

This study examines how students in Finland (16-18 years of age) constructed meaning and knowledge in a collaborative online reading situation. Student pairs (n = 19) were asked to write a joint essay on a controversial issue. First, the pairs discussed the topic freely to activate their prior knowledge. Next, they gathered source material on the…

Having the skills and strategies to comprehend and respond to information on the Internet plays a crucial role in students' success in a digital information age. Defined as the deliberate conscious control of one's own cognitive actions, metacognitive reading strategies can help readers overcome problems they encounter and ultimately achieve…

With the widespread availability of Internet and computer technology, on-line web-based learning has become prevalent in the field of teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language (CSL/CFL). This study examined the concepts of usability and types of design elements that help construct an effective web-based learning environment, as well as their…

This article reviews the emerging research literature on literacy in transnational migrant contexts and extends research in this area through an-depth study of how two immigrant teenagers navigated online media across countries to participate in a domain of interest, which included online forum discussion of philosophy and websites related to…

There is a growing use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes. However, much of this activity is not yet documented in the public domain, or is descriptive rather than analytical. This paper presents a case study in which university students were tasked with building an interactive learning experience using Second Life as a…

According to government reports, new Internet technologies present readers with new reading opportunities and challenges (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; RAND Reading Study Group [RRSG], 2002). However, we are just beginning to understand the specific complexities that Internet text imposes on the reading…

Findings from this study of how two pairs of eighth-grade students each transacted with a website during think-aloud sessions at the conclusion of a curricular unit on Mexico and migration highlight the ways the students engaged in three interrelated tasks: (1) Identifying and making sense of "new" information; (2) Evaluating claims and evidence;…

The coming era of Web 2.0 focuses on users' active online participation and interaction. Among such interactive media, the blog is one representative tool of online knowledge construction. The purpose of this study is to explore the behavioral patterns and the depth of knowledge construction when using blogs for teachers' professional development.…

The Internet is a significant information resource for students due to the ease of access it allows to a vast amount of information. As the quality of the information on the Internet varies, it is important that students are able to evaluate such information critically. The aim of the study was to investigate how students evaluate Internet sources…

Two small studies, one an "eye-tracking" study and the other a "remote observation" study, have been conducted to investigate ways to identify two kinds of online learner interactions: users flicking through the web pages in "browsing" action, and users engaging with the content of a page in "learning"…

This paper reports on a locally initiated investigation into the suitability of the Internet in helping to meet the information needs of women in small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the textile industry in Botswana. The background is the stated government policy to encourage the development of SMMEs and the Internet infrastructure. The…

The evaluation of virtual community usage and user behaviour has its roots in social science approaches such as interview, document analysis and survey. Little evaluation is carried out using traffic or protocol analysis. Business approaches to evaluating customer/business web site usage are more advanced, in particular using advanced web…