This study explored the use of a web-based tool, VoiceThread, as it relates to enhancing active learning and learner engagement in two online business courses. VoiceThread was integrated into various learner-centered activities supporting learner-learner, learner-content and learner-instructor interactions as part of an online course improvement…

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has become an increasingly popular platform for delivering education the world over. The acceptance of ODL as a viable alternative to traditional brick and mortar educational institutes has been a topic of debate however. Furthermore, many questions have been raised about the different levels of interest…

In the present paper we describe the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from asynchronous learning networks, the virtual forums that take place in VirtualNet 2.0, the platform of the University Manuela Beltran (UMB), inside the course of Educommunication, from the master of Digital technologies applied to education. Here, we performed a…

This quantitative study used a web-based questionnaire to assess the attitudes and perceptions of online and hybrid faculty towards student-centered asynchronous virtual teamwork (AVT) using the technology acceptance model (TAM) of Davis (1989). AVT is online student participation in a team approach to problem-solving culminating in a written…

Interaction is a necessary condition for second language (L2) learning (Long, 1980, 1996). Research in computer-mediated communication has shown that interaction opportunities make learners pay attention to form in a variety of ways that promote L2 learning. This research has mostly investigated text-based rather than voice-based interaction. The…

In massive open online courses (MOOCs), low barriers to registration attract large numbers of students with diverse interests and backgrounds, and student use of course content is asynchronous and unconstrained. The authors argue that MOOC data are not only plentiful and different in kind but require reconceptualization--new educational variables…

Before massive numbers of students can take online courses for college credit, the challenges of providing tutoring support, answers to student-posed questions, and the control of cheating will need to be addressed. These challenges are taken up here by developing an online course delivery system that runs in a cluster computing environment and is…

This study investigated course design factors influencing social presence and the development of ICT self-efficacy. Instructional design factors that promoted authentic uses of threaded discussions as a vehicle to establish social presence, self-directed learning and cooperative learning resulted in 900 posts in a semester, when no posts were…

A pilot program to provide real-time library webcasts to Regis University distance students using Adobe Connect software was initiated in fall of 2011. Previously, most interaction between librarians and online students had been accomplished by asynchronous discussion threads in the Learning Management System. Library webcasts were offered in…

Online communication forums allow students to collaborate and construct understandings of course material together, but little is known about students' discussion participation across online and blended (hybrid) classroom environments. This study begins to address this research gap by examining students' asynchronous discussions (number and length…

K-12 online learning is growing in Canada and elsewhere in the world. However, the vast majority of literature is focused on practitioners and not on systematic inquiry. Even the limited published research has largely excluded the perspectives of students engaged in virtual schooling. This study examines secondary student perceptions of components…

College courses that include universal design features can minimize the need to provide accommodations for students with disabilities and make courses accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. This article examines how principles of Universal Instructional Design (UID) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be incorporated into an…

The purpose of this collective case study is to describe and explore a virtual learning community as experienced by women reentering higher education in an online graduate degree program. The grand tour question for this study was: How do reentry women in an online graduate program describe their experience in a virtual learning community? …

Higher education institutions deliver web-based learning with varied success. The success rate of distributed online courses remains low. Factors such as ineffective course facilitation and insufficient communication contribute to the unfulfilled promises of web-based learning. Students consequently feel unmotivated. Instructor control and in the…

The World Wide Web is evolving in response to users who demand faster and more efficient access to information, portability, and reusability of digital objects between Web-based and computer-based applications and powerful communication, publication, collaboration, and teaching and learning tools. This article reviews current uses of Web-based…