Describes a study that examined current practices of distance educators regarding their use of synchronous (chat) and asynchronous (bulletin board) text-based communication in online courses, based on an ongoing worldwide online survey of distance educators. Discusses reasons for using each type of communication and offers recommendations for…

Suggests that William Gibson offers a way to negotiate the conventional discursive elements used within online communication. Notes that cyberspace discourse appears to be at its best not when it tries to minimize the effects of the conventional narratives from which it is built, but instead when it exploits those discourses most fully to reveal…

Presents a project where educators assign a joint class project to students at the University of Northern Carolina at Greensboro, at Indiana University, and at Fachhochschule Rheinland-Pfalz in Worms, Germany. Discusses how team members use the Internet to participate in electronic meetings leading to a group consensus. Encourages readers to…

Presents a descriptive analysis of 29 online writing lab sites for email tutoring, currently the most popular mode of computer-mediated collaboration. Considers how email tutoring interfaces represent the literate practice of email tutoring, shaping expectations and experiences consistent with its literate aims. Suggests that email tutoring…

Describes a technique to blend distance learning with traditional educational methods using electronic office hours to connect teachers and students outside the classroom. Explains the use of various existing computer mediated communication tools and techniques, including email, Usenet newsgroups, text-based conferences, video-based conferences,…

Describes how more institutions are encouraging students to create electronic portfolios to highlight their academic work, help them reflect on their campus experiences, and perhaps land them a job. (EV)

Provides a definition of e-mentoring and an exploration of its potential for enhancing mentoring relationships from technical and social perspectives. Considers benefits of and barriers to e-mentoring and describes strategies for establishing an e-mentoring relationship. Includes Internet resources. (EV)

Explores whether computer-mediated communication can be used to initiate and sustain peer-peer and mentor-protege relationships and alleviate barriers to in-person communication faced by individuals with disabilities. Compares e-mail interactions between high school students with disabilities and adult mentors in a program at the University of…

Argues existing theory and research on computer-mediated communication (CMC) provide a limited view of information-seeking behavior. Proposes a conceptual model for its examination via CMC and new media. Discusses strategies for seeking social information, and identifies factors influencing their selection from alternatives. Describes two…

A nursing school used asynchronous computer conferencing for student discussion groups and three distance sites and one host site. Course evaluation showed students appreciated the ability to review discussions and reflect before commenting and felt team collegiality. A switch to different software reduced the technology learning curve, but…

Reports on a study of virtual cross-functional teams located in a small southern United States town and a northern United States city. Discusses how team members responded to the demands of the team arrangement, how they communicated both remotely and face-to-face, how they adjusted to cultural distinctions, and how their learning was situated in…

Discusses the value of feedback in performance improvement and reviews an emerging theoretical perspective called feedback intervention theory as well as emerging technologies and practices related to feedback delivery in instruction. Topics include theories of learning; electronically mediated communication; and immediate feedback. Contains 53…

A computer-conferenced nursing course was evaluated by 10 graduate students and 3 faculty. They identified such benefits as enriched learning, meaningful interaction, and opportunities for reflection, creativity, and flexibility. (SK)

Explains procedures for students participating in an author chat using the Internet, based on experiences with children's author Mary Pope Osborne and a third grade class. Discusses equipment needs, how to formulate appropriate questions, and benefits of online chats, including the immediate response time. (LRW)

Compares two extended interactions that took place on the Internet, one from an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel and the other from an academic listserv discussion group. Discusses the gender dynamics which are characterized as harassment of female by male participants and presents a rhetorical analysis. (Contains 64 references.) (Author/LRW)