Building communicative competence in textual and multimodal literacies has become a linchpin of learning, of engagement with the world, and of participation in online and blended spaces. Young creators now compose online and with digital tools, often in what we call "user-generated content affinity spaces" -- interest-based spaces that…

Evolving digital technologies provide opportunities to engage students in activities that go beyond print-based reading and writing and help them develop skills for reading, writing, and communicating with digital technology. Virtual reality apps are a rapidly emerging form of digital technology that provides immersive experiences in real or…

In the present study, the interaction between specific measures of endorsement for extremism (e.g. endorsement for religious, left-wing or far-right extremism), thrill-seeking, and active online exposure to extremism via social media with regard to the explanation of politically and/or religiously motivated aggression is investigated. While the…

This review explores Jackson and Seiler's "I am smart enough to study postsecondary science: A critical discourse analysis of latecomers' identity construction in an online forum" by considering the analytic framework for figured worlds guiding this study. We consider the specific affordances of cultural production theory for examining…

The main focus of this research is to understand how the use of communication technology impacts students of color performance in online gateway courses. The analysis for this research study is part of a larger, ongoing study of online students of color at the institution. The archival data was obtained from Introductory to Business and…

This study examined the extent of cyber-bullying among college students and how well Ronald Akers' Social Learning Theory predicted cyber-bullying perpetration. In addition, this study explored students' use of media and the characteristics associated with involvement in cyber-bullying behaviors as victims, perpetrators, and observers.…

This mixed methods study investigates the effect of cultural and sociolinguistic textures of talk on authentic discussion patterns and whether reading comprehension and inferencing are affected in an online booktalk environment with adolescents. The research will also investigate the contextual features of the classroom community to be studied to…

Rare diseases impact small numbers of people. In the United States, a rare disease is one affecting less than 0.06% of the population. Although any given rare disease is, by definition, rare, the number of people living with a rare disease is substantial. It is estimated that 10% of people world-wide have one of the approximately 7,000 different…

To identify a possible relationship between cyberbullying in the elementary school setting with increasing feelings of empathy and prosocial behaviors a mixed-method, quasi-experimental study was conducted. Lessons centered on prosocial behaviors, feelings of empathy and cyberbullying were conducted weekly in the classroom's morning meetings. The…

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…

Online student success and retention is a growing concern in online programs offered in higher education. As online enrollment continues to increase, online student success has seen little improvement. Colleges that are beginning to expand their online degree programs need to ensure that services are available to the growing population of online…

In the e-learning context, social network analysis (SNA) can be used to build understanding around the ways students participate and interact in online forums. This study contributes to the growing body of research that uses statistical methods to test hypotheses about structures in social networks. Specifically, we show how statistical analysis…

Bullying in schools, defined as a systematic abuse of power in interpersonal relations, may be undertaken individually and/or by groups. The extent to which schoolchildren report that they are bullied by their peers in each of these ways was examined in a survey of Australian schoolchildren (N = 1688) in Years 5-10 attending 36 coeducational…

The rapid and impressive development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in less than half a decade has generated contrasting arguments about their social dimension. This paper investigates how the socio-economic background of learners affects their own experience and chances of course completion. The analyses test whether learners with a low…

Emotions are part of human life, and they are present on several occasions, like decision making and in social interactions. Computational identification of emotions in texts can be useful in many applications, especially in distance learning courses. This research introduces an animated pedagogic agent, integrated to a Moodle virtual learning…