Online discussions are widely adopted in higher education to promote student interaction. However, prior research on online discussions falls short to estimate the effect of multiple factors collectively shape student interaction in online discussion activities. In this study, we applied a dynamic network analysis approach named relational event…

Institutions of higher learning are providing access to free and low-cost open resources to support students with prior college-level learning during every step of their educational journey. This unconventional approach to education removes traditional barriers to college credit by placing learners in an open environment, which encourages…

Knowing an individual's geographic affiliation may be useful in evaluating a student's previous knowledge. To test this hypothesis, students in an online master's program were given presurveys to evaluate their previous knowledge in meteorology and geology, as well as geological and meteorological sense-of-place surveys.

Learning style is traditionally assumed to be a predictor of learning performance, yet few studies have identified the mediating and moderating effects between the two. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing a model that examines the mediating processes in the relationship between learning style and e-learning performance…

The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. "Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and…

Blogs have evolved from simple online diaries to communication tools with the capacity to engage people in collaboration, knowledge sharing, reflection and debate. Blog archives can be a source of information about student learning, providing a basis for ongoing feedback and redesign of learning activities. Previous studies show that blogs can…

In Italy, accreditation of prior learning is a sensitive issue. Despite the lack of laws or qualification frameworks regulating the recognition of non-formal and informal learning, most Italian universities proceed with caution, allowing only a restricted number of credits in the university curriculum related to practical activities or to external…

Providing college credit for prior learning is nothing new. The American Council on Education's Credit Recommendation Service (CREDIT), the largest national program making credit recommendations for workplace and other training, dates to 1974. Several colleges that specialize in the practice--Excelsior and Empire State in New York, Thomas Edison…

G. K. Chesterton famously once said: "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." This, the author believes, applies to distance learning as well. There is far too much self-congratulatory hyperbole about the growth and pervasiveness of online learning--which exaggerates reality and overlooks the…

M-learning will play an increasingly significant role in the development of teaching and learning methods for higher education. However, the successful implementation of m-learning in higher education will be based on users' acceptance of this technology. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to study the factors that affect university students'…

International postgraduate students are important to the higher education sectors of many countries. They arrive from all over the world with diverse cultures and prior experiences. Such students present additional challenges in terms of programme-based learning and teaching support. This action research was undertaken at a large university…

As states seek to significantly increase college completion rates in a time of declining public resources, the fear is that the traditional model of higher education is no longer affordable or appropriate for the increasingly diverse marketplace of students who seek a college credential to improve their prospects in an increasingly competitive job…

Purpose: Acquiring computer skills is more important today than ever before, especially in a developing country. Teaching of computer skills, however, has to adapt to new technology. This paper aims to model factors influencing the success of the learning of computer literacy by means of an e-learning environment. The research question for this…

As the number of online degree programs continues to grow among higher education institutions in the United States, engaging online adult learners to online degree programs is getting more difficult than before. Therefore, this study, situated in a land grant university, investigated the motivational factors that contribute to adult learners'…

Understanding instructors' perceptions of distance education transactions is becoming increasingly important as the mode of distance learning has become not only accepted, but preferred by many students. A need for more empirical data was evident as anecdotal information still dominates the research literature. The study focused on the faculty of…