The article introduces a systematic comparison of video-based dyadic interviews and focus groups using newly developed tools for evaluating the success of one way of doing focus groups over another. We conducted a series of online discussions using a video conferencing tool, half of which consisted of four-person focus groups and the other half…

This article introduces a new method of multimodal discourse analysis to study synchronous online learning through using screen-captured digital video as the data source. This new methodology is applicable to researchers and educators interested in using video files as a foundation to map out the interactions of the multiple semiotic modes used in…

This exploratory study focuses on the design and evaluation of teaching analytics that relate social learning structure with performance measures in a massive open online course (MOOC) prototype environment. Using reflexive analysis of online learning trace data and qualitative performance measures we present an exploratory empirical study that:…

This article describes a study of online educators' use of technology as part of the accommodations they provided to students with disabilities at their school. Specifically, research focused on four teachers who were members of an interdisciplinary team in a large virtual school program, in a state with established policies regarding online…

While social media is widely used by youth around the world, research is only beginning to document how transnational students employ these technologies. This study investigated how English-learning adolescents in the United States use social media to engage in social, academic, and identity work. Data were collected during a four-day social media…

This study explores how visual narratives stemming from the experience of healthy embodiment in social virtual worlds, especially for individuals living with chronic disease or disability, both fosters relationships and more broadly impacts physical and emotional life experience and overall quality of life. It does so through the lens of social…

Young people's online safety continues to be a high priority for educators and parents. Cybersafety policies and educational programs are continually updated and revised to accommodate for the innovative ways they engage with digital culture. However, empirical research has shown that despite these efforts young people, especially teen girls,…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the role of social presence in a professional online conference. This study explored how presenters and attendees convey social presence and how might it influence their conference experience. The participants were presenters and attendees registered for the 21st Annual Teaching Colleges and…

Virtual learning environments are used in higher education around the world to promote student learning. However, in many countries it has not yielded the expected effect on student interaction and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of certain pedagogical approaches would promote student interaction,…

In the 21st century, the use of information technology in the classroom is advancing rapidly, especially in higher education. The Internet, through social networking, has made it possible for students to learn and teachers to teach outside the classroom walls. Facebook in particular has made it possible for students to interact and communicate…

In online learning environments, tutors have several problems to carry out their activities, such as evaluating the student, knowing the right way to guide each student, promoting discussions, and knowing the right time to interact or let students build knowledge alone. We consider scenarios in which teaching and learning occurs in online social…

While the potential benefits of participating in online learning communities are documented, so too are inequities in terms of how different populations access and use them. We present the online learning support roles (OLSR) framework, an approach using both automated analytics and qualitative interpretation to identify and explore online…

This paper focuses on 25 UK teenagers' language and literacy practices on Facebook; it draws on data from interviews as well as from Facebook "walls". To explore whether Facebook provides opportunities for new literacy practices through text-making, the research considers how teenagers use the site to present themselves and "do…

Students with disabilities represent a growing number of learners receiving education in K-12 fully online learning programs. They are, unfortunately, also a large segment of the online learning population who are not experiencing success in these environments. In response, scholars have recommended increasing instruction in self-regulation skills…

According to Swain, Kinnear, & Steinman (2011), we use a language with others as a form of shared cognition, and in the process we scaffold each other. This action research investigates how students' online written output affects each other's writing. One thousand twenty online entries written by 21 Japanese university sophomore English majors…