Reductions in perceptual fluency have been shown to negatively impact attitudes towards learning material, but not learning itself. The current study extends this work to spoken presentations and examines whether the presence of a foreign accent negatively affects learners' experience in an online learning environment. Results indicate that the…

This research draws upon community of practice theory to explore the factors that enabled or hindered participation in an online "Foundations of Communities of Practice" workshop--a course that is designed to align with Wenger's communities of practice perspective. The research used a mixed methods approach, drawing upon log-on and posting data,…

One of the most common uses of a course management system in the on-campus environment is to offer lecture resources to students. Few researchers have investigated how students use such resources. This study considers student use of lecture resources that offer a representation of the lecture presented (i.e. lecture outline, lecture summary, audio…

It is argued elsewhere that online learning environments constitute new conditions for carrying out collaborative learning activities. This article explores the roles of a series of online meetings in such an environment. The online meetings are arranged as part of a net-based course on object-oriented programming, and constitute a recurring…

As a result of the general improvement in living conditions in industrialised Western countries, people aged over 60 years usually reach the third age in good mental and physical condition. Contemporary society has thus had to endeavour to offer the new old not only social services but also pastimes, leisure, social, cultural and educational…

This paper considers gender differences in online contexts and examines current trends in women's performance, access and experience of online courses. It uses supportive case study examples and specific research into students' academic engagement, conceptions and perceptions of learning support in online environments. The analysis shows that…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of formative assessment and learning style on student achievement in a Web-based learning environment. A quasi-experimental research design was used. Participants were 455 seventh grade students from 12 classes of six junior high schools. A Web-based course, named BioCAL, combining three…

The present study investigated the effects of a self-monitoring strategy on web-based language learning. Both students' academic performance and their motivational beliefs were investigated. The interaction between the use of a self-monitoring strategy and the level of learners' English proficiency was also examined. A total of 99 college students…

The development of Internet technologies has the ability to provide a new era of easily accessible and personalised learning, facilitated through the flexible deployment of small, reusable pieces of digital learning content over networks. Higher education institutions can share and reuse digital learning resources in order to improve their…