The development of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) is in the scope of research groups and educators aiming to propose suitable mechanisms for the organization of self-controlled and self-directed learning, providing students with tools and services for access to content and human intelligence inside and outside the educational institutions.…

This study used qualitative and quantitative approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of self-learning modules (SLMs) developed to facilitate and individualize students' learning of basic medical sciences. Twenty physiology and nineteen microanatomy SLMs were designed with interactive images, animations, narrations, and self-assessments. Of 41…

"Present text accompanying pictures aurally to promote learning" is a well established principle of instructional design. But recently, it was shown that under certain conditions visual texts can be preferable. Instructional pacing seems to be one of these conditions that mediate effects. Especially, enabling learners to pace an…

This paper reports on a study that examined teachers' perspectives on learner centredness in a distance learning context. Data collection relied on semi-structured interviews conducted with 42 Canadian high school teachers. Teachers' perspectives were analysed then categorized according to the four dimensions of a research validated framework of…

Research findings in recent years provide compelling evidence of the importance of encouraging student control over the learning process as a whole. The socially based tools and technologies of the Web 2.0 movement are capable of supporting informal conversation, reflexive dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide…

The opening premise of this paper is that education must change but that the nature and direction of that change is uncertain. In England, but not necessarily the UK as a whole, the policy is to produce a more personalised learning experience for all pupils. The policy of personalisation is to be delivered in part by increased use of digital…

A study of 67 sixth graders assigned to four instructional treatments examines the relationship between level of self-regulatory skills and type of instructional control in computer-based instruction. Results suggest that the level of students' self-regulatory skills was an important variable affecting the exercise of effective learner-control…

In its second decade of education reform and its third cycle of national ICT master plans, Thailand struggles to transform its aspirations into practice. This paper chronicles three decades of Thailand's ICT national plans and their relation to education reform. It also discusses the effect of global trends, Asian cultures, and Thai cultures on…

Investigates the effects of learner-control and the aptitude-treatment interaction effects between instructional control and learner characteristics in procedural learning. Participants were 128 undergraduates. Results indicate empirical evidence illustrating the power of learner-control and relevant ability on learning procedural tasks in…

In educational environments, it is desirable to support the mechanism by which people can participate in interesting communities without any trouble and also to promote successful learning activities. Now that Web-based environments have been successively organized under a virtualized communication network or a logical interaction space, the…

Suggests that distance education advocates and critics alike should learn that responding to learners' needs for independent learning is a fundamental principle. Discusses learner autonomy; new admirers of distance education; lack of sensitivity to individual learning differences and the increased use of streaming media; and the position of Dr.…

To prepare diverse learners for various roles in life, teachers should develop contextualized learning environments that enable students to develop individual skills while contributing to the knowledge of the classroom community. This is accomplished by integrating various subject matter domains with interdisciplinary themes that incorporate…

Investigates students' perceptions on learning through Web technology. Results suggest that Web-based instruction permitted the students to control their own learning and empower individual learning activities; provided meaningful learning and flexible practice; and provided greater accessibility to learning materials. Concerns and suggestions by…

Some research indicates that individuals learn more when given control over their instruction, while other data suggests that individuals learn less effectively when given control over their instruction. This document describes a study which investigated the effects of matching university-level learners with the amount of instruction they prefer.…

This document combines a students' manual and a manual for teachers. The students' manual is a self-teaching guided discovery manual for junior high, high school, and college students that provides self-paced explorations into recursion. It includes a disk with lessons that are to be used with the written material. There are eight lessons…