Modern technology and the Internet have opened the door to a plethora of new opportunities to learn. It is now easier to research, communicate and study, thanks to advances in technology. There are, however, problems and dangers associated with new technology. Teachers need to remain up to date on these advances. The widespread popularity of…

Self-disclosure--the communication of information about oneself to another--is fundamental to the construction of a personal online presence. In many online venues (e.g., MySpace, Facebook) users self-disclose themselves into being. This study examined who said what about themselves on MySpace and how consistently they did so in comparison to…

To support European Commission activities, the Eurydice network carried out a study regarding the Education on Online Safety in schools. The data collection was coordinated by the Eurydice Unit of the EU Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) with the collaboration of the National Eurydice Units. Participation in this study by…

Background: Asynchronous discussion boards provide opportunities for participants in online courses to engage with course content and extend learning through the process of discussion. However, simply requiring online discussion does not guarantee high-quality discussion posts and interactions. Goals: This study examined the extent to which…

This paper draws on data from questionnaires and participant discussion posts on WebCT to show how native and non-native English speaking student teachers explore the topic of peer feedback. Engaging in peer feedback for their own draft papers provides student teachers an opportunity to gain experience, then reflect on their experience and…

The use of a blog as a pedagogical aid for the learning of foreign languages is gaining support among teachers' communities (Soubrie, 2006; Tome, 2007) as it can help students develop online interactions and authentic productions. The current study is analysing the use of such a multimedia setting in a group of Master's students in France,…

In this paper, we urge practitioners to consider the potential of podcasting for teaching, learning and assessment. Our perspective is drawn from research on IMPALA (Informal Mobile Podcasting And Learning Adaptation), which showed that there is a range of successful podcasting approaches for students on campus. After briefly surveying the…

Social interactions within virtual communities are often described solely as being online experiences. Such descriptions are limited, for they fail to reference life external to the screen. The terms "virtual" and "real" have a negative connotation for many people and can even be interpreted to mean that something is "false" or "inauthentic."…

A problem-based learning approach was adopted for a unit of study in first year agricultural economics at the University of Sydney with the aim of starting development of students' research skills earlier than usual. The novel teaching approach employed a structured and guided problem activity in the first semester and progressed to a more…

New literacies have challenged all players in the educational enterprise in many different ways. Youth are now engaged in literacies that extend well beyond the safe and respected traditional texts that their parents experienced in school. In this research we analyze parents' perceptions of the relative educational value of their children's…

This article compares three self-developed subject guides and one commercial online subject guide (LibGuides) to provide information to other institutions which have a plan or are in the process of developing a plan to implement similar services to support online, distance and traditional education. This is a comparison of the current subject…

The expectations placed on library instruction programs by the Association of College and Research Libraries are high. Many universities also include information literacy competencies as learning objectives to be assessed at the institutional level. With those standards in mind, it is becoming increasingly difficult to adequately educate students…

Today's culture consists of offerings, not norms. Liquid-modern culture, unlike the culture of the nation-building era, has no "people" to "cultivate." The solid-modern policy of dealing with difference, the policy of assimilation to the dominant culture and stripping the strangers of their strangehood, is no longer feasible.…

This case study investigated the relationship between degree of online collaboration and quality of group project among four teams. Thirteen participants were randomly assigned to form 4 teams to work on 4 collaborative projects across 16 weeks. Two different data sources of discussion archives and quality of group projects were collected and…

Student engagement is perhaps the key element for almost any learning context. When engaged, learners are enthusiastic and excited about the subject. Their work is informed by the enjoyment of discovery. Engaged learners work willingly, instead of by coercion, and approach their assignments as something that matters to them personally. The spirit…