Background: The global introduction of complex measures directed at the containment of the COVID-19 spread has spurred a massive shift to distance learning among educational institutions. As far as such a learning mode is rather forced and, probably, only a few establishments faced no difficulties with it, the matter of assuring teaching…

This 10-week, descriptive case study situated within a Masters course of practicing teachers investigated how the teaching presence of a synchronous online learning community facilitated participant active engagement through interaction. Results indicate that while the platform's modes can facilitate some form of interaction when used…

In the online environment, students and instructors are virtually, but not physically, present in the same environment. In the online environment, technology mediates learning: it mediates communications and information transfer between the student and the instructor, between the student and the content, and among the students. Critics fear that…

This paper reports and analyses data from a longitudinal qualitative research study which is investigating the changing teaching self-concept of university lecturers who combine online and face-to-face teaching. The first phase of this collective case study research has focused on the experiences of five 'early adopter' university lecturers during…

The Internet can be a useful tool that can enhance interactivity in classes. Accordingly, offering distance learning courses using the Web, especially in the asynchronous mode for the additional flexibility of time, is becoming an established practice in higher education. Web-based distance learning comes with numerous benefits, but not without…