This research explores a new model for facilitating trust in online e-learning activities. We begin by protecting the privacy of learners through identity management (IM), where personal information can be protected through some degree of participant anonymity or pseudonymity. In order to expect learners to trust other pseudonymous participants,…

In this study, we explore the cognitive style profiles and linguistic patterns of self-organizing groups within a web-based graduate education course to determine how cognitive preferences and individual behaviors influence the patterns of information exchange and the formation of communication hierarchies in an online classroom. Network analysis…

Looking back on the use of distance education tools by religious groups, one word that stands out is change. The old adage "We've never done it that way before" will become less valid as religious bodies find themselves in the midst of a world inundated with online possibilities that call them to question how they interact with members…

The debates surrounding the effectiveness of teaching social work online highlight the challenges of adequately preparing students for face-to-face practice by way of web-based technologies. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to briefly describe how a particular School of Social Work when designing its part-time undergraduate degree…

Teaching today's students requires an integration of learner-centered pedagogy with innovative technological resources. In this article, Blase Scarnati and Paula Garcia describe the redesign of a junior-level music history course guided by learner-centered principles and driven by a fusion of stimulating technology-based learning tools and…

Thirty-seven graduate students in two course sections were required to contribute to the online discussion of an instructional design case study. The discussion forums required different participation protocols; students in section one implemented a constructive argumentation approach while students in section two had less structure for their…

Web-based learning environments are a great asset only if they are designed well and used as intended. The urgency to create courses in response to the growing demand for online learning has resulted in a hurried push to drop PowerPoint notes into Web-based course management systems (WBCMSs), devise an electronic quiz, put together a few…

One of the most powerful technology tools available to science teachers is often the least used. A course management system (CMS) is a web-based application that provides an online distance learning platform for teachers and students. CMS platforms such as Blackboard, WebCT, Jenzabar, and Desire-2-Learn provide many opportunities for good science…

The education industry has obviously been influenced by the Internet revolution. Teaching and learning methods have changed significantly since the coming of the Web and it is very likely they will keep evolving many years to come thanks to it. A good example of this changing reality is the spectacular development of e-Learning. In a more…