Explains I-Help, a computer-based peer help network where students can ask and answer questions about assignments and courses based on the metaphor of a help desk. Highlights include cognitive style; user modeling in I-Help; matching helpers to helpees; and types of questions. (Contains 64 references.) (LRW)

Constant and continued upgrade of skills and qualifications is imperative in a knowledge society (Davies, 1998; David and Foray, 2003), however identifying and using effective (maximise retention/recall) and efficient (minimise time to learn) learning practices is often a challenge. Spacing Effect is a robust phenomenon that suggests that the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of learning style characteristics to self-directed learning propensity among adult learners. The learning style characteristics investigated were learning style balance as measured by a scoring method developed by Mainemelis, Boyatzis, and Kolb (2002) and learning style dimensions as…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether field-dependent/independent style awareness affects learning outcomes and learning strategies used in a hypermedia instructional module. Field-dependent/independent style was measured using the Global Embedded Figures Test. Style awareness meant that students were provided with information and…

The central place of the learning environment and the personal characteristics of the learner in influencing whether students adopt deep or surface approaches to learning is well evidenced in the literature (for example, Marton & Saljo, 1976; Biggs, 1987; Entwhistle, 2001; Ramsden, 2003). For this reason, tertiary educators are constantly…

As a number of recent studies suggest applications of networked computers in education have very inconsistent results ranging from success stories to complete failures. Literally, thousands of e-learning projects have been carried out that greatly differ in their outcomes. Until now, however, there is no systematic or a standardized way of…

Background: Students in higher education are known to vary in their conceptions of learning, their approaches to studying, and the personal development and personal change that result. Aims: This study aimed to explore the relationships among these four aspects of students' experience; to examine whether there were variations across academic…

The author examined the impact of environmental education lessons in a study that compared activities conducted in the schoolyard with traditional classroom activities involving elementary school boys and girls. Participants were 109 4th- and 5th-grade students. Researchers conducted a 2 (group: traditional/treatment) X 2 (gender) multivariate…

This mixed methods study explored the dynamics of interaction within a self-paced online learning environment. It used rich media and a mix of traditional and emerging asynchronous computer-mediated communication tools to determine what forms of interaction learners in a self-paced online course value most and what impact they perceive interaction…

The purpose of this study was to investigate medical students' information commitments toward online web medical information. The sample consisted of 534 volunteer medical university students with internet experience from 6 medical universities in Taiwan. This study used the Information Commitment Survey (ICS) for an investigation of medical…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether matching navigation mode of a learning environment with learners' preferred navigation mode would facilitate their learning in a web environment. Sixty-eight undergraduate students were randomly assigned to treatments (linear vs. nonlinear navigation mode) and received four criterion tests designed…

Chapters in this book include: (1) Courseware Adaptation to Learning Styles and Knowledge Level (Boyan Bontchev and Dessislava Vassileva); (2) Assisted On-Job Training (Claudio Teixeira and Joaquim Sousa Pinto); (3) Self-Directed Learning Readiness Factors in Physicians for Implementing E-Learning in the Continuing Medical Education Programs…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of using learner-generated and instructor-provided multimedia annotations on foreign language reading comprehension and attitudes. The four research questions are: (1) what are the effects of using different multimedia annotations on reading comprehension for learners of different…

Despite the rigorous and robust evaluation of learning styles theories, models and inventories, little objective evidence in support of their effectiveness has been found. The lack of unambiguous evidence in support of these models and practices leaves the continued popularity of these models and instruments as a puzzle. Two related accounts of…

The authors' goal in this paper is to initiate a dialogue among educators who continue to make assertions about the usefulness of identifying students' learning styles with little or no research support. They discuss the status of learning style instruction and the unsubstantiated claims made by authors of learning style instruments and by…