The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between forum quality and student engagement. It was hypothesized when the forum prompt was of expected quality it would be a driver of student engagement and examined the length of the forum prompt in relation to student engagement. The methodology adopted for this study was…

The Virtual University was established in 2002 and it is the first Pakistani University based completely on modern information and communication technologies. The sub campuses are situated in one hundred cities of Pakistan and these campuses are facilitating students to provide infrastructure. The dropout rate is continuously increasing during the…

This paper explores the concept of translocality, of being 'simultaneously situated' in more than one place, in the context of 'distance' education in the digital university. The author works with the concept of critical time to propose an additional term, "transtemporality", to also recognise the multiple times and temporalities engaged…

Understanding how to best support online postsecondary students is critical for student success and the credibility of online education as measured by student retention. With the growing trend of online education as an alternative to traditional face-to-face instruction, meeting the needs of online learners is essential. It is also essential that…

The objective of this study was to explore the impact of online education and to analyze the online education on students' academic learning. The study helps both the students and teachers to know the impact of online education on students' learning. 300 students from Virtual University of twin cities (Islamabad and Rawalpindi) of Pakistan were…

Several tools and resources have been developed in the past years to enhance the teaching and learning process. Most of them are focused on the process itself, but few focus on the assessment process to detect at-risk learners for later acting through feedback to support them to succeed and pass the course. This research paper presents a case…

Transformations in contemporary higher education have led to an explosion in the number of degrees delivered online, a significant characteristic of which is the incorporation of multimedia to support learning. Despite the proliferation of multimedia and growing literature about the affordances of various technologies, there are relatively few…

An important part of online courses is the delivery of instruction via video lectures. Video lectures should use media effectively to reduce extraneous load and maximize cognitive processing, thereby helping students to learn. Instructors may be able to reduce extraneous load by varying the number of audio and visual media used. This study…

This intervention study explored the development of self-regulated learning skills in virtual university students, focusing specifically on an online collaborative group project with a wiki. Participants of the study were male and female students (n=28) on a Master of Business Management (MBA) Programme of the university. Students participated in…

This study is aimed at exploring the knowledge sharing methods adopted by the students in distance learning mode. Students studying in distance learning do not have formal/regular classes where they can go and have academic discussions. Though, this convenience of not attending the classes facilitates many but at the same time poses certain…

The emergence of new ODL institutions and keenness of conventional universities to offer online degree programs in higher education predict its popularity. However, the challenge of how to ensure the quality of learning in ODL institutions is also emerging. In this regard, Virtual University of Pakistan (VUP) has nearly developed first ever…

This paper reviews two main historical approaches to creativity: the Romanticist approach, based on the culture of the irrational, and the Enlightenment approach, based on the culture of the objective. It defends a paradigm of creativity as a sum of rich semiotic systems that form the basis of distributed knowledge and learning, reviews historical…

This study investigated the online university students' attitudes toward nonmedical prescription stimulant (NPS) use for cognitive enhancement, recreation, or as a negative effector. While there have been numerous studies done on the physical campus university students' attitudes toward NPS use, there has not been a study done on the online…

The Professional Learning Community (PLC) has been used in higher education to provide a platform for faculty members to discuss challenges and build professional skills. While the virtual PLC (VPLC) is becoming a more acceptable delivery mechanism for faculty professional development, successful practices for designing these learning environments…

This article examines effective instructional strategies for K-12 teacher education in an online university setting with a diverse, global student population enrolled in a K-12 teacher education program. Student learning can be constructed with three distinct design features that provide a framework for an instructional vision and direction for…