Within an online science teacher education course, an important although secondary goal was to prepare students for a high-stakes licensure portfolio at some time after course completion. Thus, various communication technologies including synchronous virtual reality meetings and asynchronous student self-created video commentaries were interwoven…

With the advent of open source virtual environments, the associated cost reductions, and the more flexible options, avatar-based virtual reality environments are within reach of educators. By using and repurposing readily available virtual environments, instructors can bring engaging, community-building, and immersive learning opportunities to…

This research links learner engagement with interactions when Hybrid Virtual Learning models are used. Various aspects have been considered, such as learners' prior experiences related to virtual worlds, their preconceptions regarding their use as a learning tool, and the impact that instructional designers' choices have on enhancing the…

To assess the effectiveness of a cooperative learning activity, students were randomly assigned to small groups and asked to lead an online discussion. Responses to a survey administered at the completion of the course suggest that the activity was effective in meeting its goals of promoting student interaction and increasing perceived student…

Building a strong sense of community in text-based computer-mediated communication courses can be a challenge to instructors. This article presents how a sound practical approach called STEP is implemented into one text-based fully online course and one hybrid course at a university in the northeastern region of the United States. Students'…

The growth of online resources and the advances in Web 2.0 technology are changing the information landscape and impacting teaching and learning. While information literacy has been recognized as a critical component of undergraduate learning, little if any discipline-specific research is done in the lower division mathematics/computer science…

Threaded discussion forums have been a popular topic for the past few years in distance education research and studied as a factor in student participation, satisfaction, learning outcomes, social presence, and interaction. Only recently has it been considered as a potential vehicle for the development of critical thinking skills and deep…

This research examined whether collaborative hypermedia systems could improve upon results achieved in traditional collaborative and individual learning environments without a computer. The students did not feel positively disposed to sharing their ideas and work with their peers; the group experience did not improve the quality of individual…

With the advances in Internet technologies, online education is fast gaining ground as an extension to traditional education. Webcast allows lectures conducted on campus to be viewed by students located at remote sites by streaming the audio and video content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. However when used alone, webcast does not provide…