Focuses on designing the right questions for promoting discussion in online adult learning environments. Discusses levels of questions; purposes of questions; tips for online questions; principles for designing an online discussion; preparing learners for discussions; and managing the discussion in process. (Contains 9 references.) (AEF)

Reports research on ways in which university academics design and incorporate computer-facilitated learning (CFL) environments into their courses. The study was based on archive material for 36 externally-funded technology-based projects. Projects were sorted into categories based on educational assumptions and practices, and use of educational…

Discusses issues involved in teaching a master's degree course online via the World Wide Web. Highlights include distance education; course construction; content; basing online courses on existing traditional courses; interaction among students and with the instructor; and the importance of timely communication. (LRW)

Asynchronous online discussion has been shown to enhance communication between students and to elicit many cognitive indicators. Nevertheless, historians have often been reluctant to make use of such instructional technology. Students enrolled in a fully online world civilization course corroborated qualitative research findings regarding the…

Previous studies have suggested significant benefits to using computer-mediated communication in higher education and the development of the relevant skills may also be important for preparing students for their working careers. This study is a review of the introduction of a virtual learning environment to support a group of 60 campus-based,…

Eight experienced Chinese language arts teachers from a typical junior high school in Taiwan participated in this study to discuss the potential uses of information and communications technologies (ICT) in Chinese language arts instruction. After meeting for 12 roundtable sessions and using a web forum as a supplement for exchanging ideas, they…

A considerable use of technology to supplement classroom instruction could improve student learning. A high school teacher reveals the ways in which the use of online discussions of literature assignments increases student participation by extending dialogue beyond the physical space and time of a single class.

Much has been written about the transformative influence of new technology on the school curriculum, but only a small number of studies have focused on the practical implications for primary literacy. The dominant paradigm seems less concerned with transformation, instead favouring a view of "technology as enrichment". This case study…

The aim of this paper is to describe a task-cycling pedagogy for language learning using a technique we have called "Stimulated Reflection". This pedagogical approach has been developed in the light of the new technology options available, especially those that facilitate audiovisual forms of interaction among language learners and teachers. In…

Tandem language learning--a configuration involving pairs of learners with complementary target/native languages--is an underexploited but potentially very powerful use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in second-language pedagogy. Tandem offers the benefits of authentic, culturally grounded interaction, while also promoting a pedagogical…

Given the growing use of virtual interaction in international business activities, business schools must provide students with experiential learning opportunities that prepare them to work in virtual organizations. This paper uses multiple case study methodology with analysis at the transaction level to analyze the dynamics of the virtual teams,…

The advent of e-learning in higher education has entailed extensive use of online discussion boards to promote collaborative learning among students; however, the role of instructors as online facilitators is typically ill-defined due to a lack of sufficient standards or guidelines for good practice. In their audit of online discussion forum…

Blended Learning, a learning facilitation that incorporates different modes of delivery, models of teaching, and learning styles, introduces multiple media to the dialog between the learner and the facilitator. This paper examines online communication as the link between established theory of learning and literature on e-learning in order to…

An online collaborative writing project was carried between two report writing classes from two separate institutions, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP). The aim was to test how successfully a peer-to-peer mentoring system could be established using asynchronous and synchronous communication features. The…

This paper discusses an exploratory study to investigate the existence, and nature, of student problem formulation and resolution processes in an undergraduate online Problem-Based Learning (PBL) course in Agricultural Sciences. We report on the use of a content analysis instrument developed to measure problem formulation and resolution (PFR)…