In a knowledge-driven society, secondary education should let students develop appropriate and meaningful skills to live, think and work. To attain this aim, teachers require specific knowledge and competences about technology-mediated collaborative learning strategies while overcoming preconceptions and a general sense of inadequacy towards these…

In this qualitative study, we analyze postgraduate students' perceptions of strategic behaviors they developed during their online studies and their ability to extend this behavior to their own praxis. Findings suggest that strategic behavior centers around the development of four core skills: engaging in self-directed thinking; fostering…

The objective of this study was to evaluate students' self-regulated learning (SRL) skills used in a Web-intensive learning environment. The research question guiding the study was: How did the use of student SRL skills and student engagement in online activities compare between higher- and lower-performing students participating in a…

This study investigated the impact of the critical inquiry model through peer feedback strategies in an online environment on university students' critical thinking skills and examined their attitudes towards learning through the critical inquiry model and peer feedback strategies. Pre-and post-tests were employed to measure critical thinking…

For the forty-fourth time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online and onsite during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with…

Recent research into the merits of online discussion (computer-mediated communication) has shown that it promotes active learning behaviors and enhances learner outcomes. Scholars have also shown that, when instructors employ effective questioning and moderating skills, students can show higher levels of critical thinking in online discussion. In…

Some scholars argue that students do not achieve higher level learning, or cognitive presence, in online courses. Online discussion has been proposed to bridge this gap between online and face-to-face learning environments. However, the literature indicates that the conventional approach to online discussion--asking probing questions--does not…

Results from this study show that the use of online discussion forums as an instructional tool in a face-to-face course improved undergraduate preservice teachers' critical thinking skills. Participants in the study were 93 students registered in four sections of an Educational Psychology course at a Midwestern university. To control for learning…

The present study focuses on the use of thinking types as a possible way to structure university students' discourse in asynchronous discussion groups and consequently promote their learning. More specifically, the aim of the study is to determine how requiring students to label their contributions by means of De Bono's (1991) thinking hats…

In this paper, we report on survey and focus group data relating to the activities and perceptions of learning with Web 2.0 technologies of students aged between 11 and 16 years in 27 UK secondary schools. The study confirms that these learners had high levels of access to Web 2.0 technologies and that Web 2.0 activities were prolific. However,…

This paper discusses an innovative blended learning strategy which incorporates online discussion in both in-class face to face, and off-classroom settings. Online discussion in a face to face class is compared with its two counterparts, off-class online discussion as well as in-class, face to face oral discussion, to examine the advantages and…

Contends that online courses enrich and extend the core curriculum, and inherently support the acquisition of Internet-related skills. States that quality threaded discussions are the single most critical aspect of online education--they support interactive conversations that help students analyze, synthesize and evaluate in response to questions…

The purpose of this exploratory experimental study was to examine how online cognitive facilitation that promotes cognitive presence, while keeping facilitator's social presence constant, affects student learning and satisfaction in an online community of inquiry. In this context, we explored the following questions: (1) Does online high cognitive…

Researchers define learning in many different ways, but all agree learning causes a permanent change in human behavior. The purpose of this DETC Occasional Paper is to illustrate how the principles of learning can facilitate the design of effective instruction. The authors first describe the principles of learning (contiguity, repetition,…

The main purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss the main characteristics of project-based online learning (PBOL) for a graduate enchased Web-based course, Designing and Developing Distance Education, to promote the critical learning skills of online learners to engage them in projects designed to be realistic, intriguing and relevant real…