Tools for measuring cognitive engagement within online groups have been concerned only with measuring an individual participant's cognitive engagement, without any concern for measuring cognitive engagement within groups. There remains a serious need for a scheme that measures cognitive engagement of groups and the validation of such a scheme…

This research describes a methodology for applying design- and management-based scaffolding techniques aimed to enhance cooperative behavior. Based on assumptions of how successful online learning groups act together, we developed feedback-based mechanisms that aimed at contributing to group functions of well-being, member support, and productive…

Kenneth W. Dobbins, president of Southeast Missouri State University, discusses attending a June 2004 conference on "The Key to Competitiveness: Understanding the Next Generation Learner," sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, EDUCAUSE, and Microsoft. The conference addressed what today's students, the…

Purpose: This paper aims to review the literature on the utility of employing the construct of cognitive style in understanding behaviour in web-based learning environments. Design/methodology/approach: The paper initially examines whether the web architecture may be matched to an individual's cognitive style in order to facilitate learning,…

With the expansion and continued development of computer technology, a new world of educational opportunities is opening up via on-line distance learning. While distance learning is far from new, recent years have seen an explosion in the mechanisms and tools available for its implementation and support (Spodnick, 1996). It is also reported that…

In lecture halls, in secondary school classrooms, during training workshops, and at research conferences, PowerPoint is becoming a preferred method of communicating, presenting, and sharing knowledge. Questions have been raised about the implications of the use of this new medium for knowledge dissemination. It is suggested PowerPoint supports a…

This article discusses the processes of interaction among learners in higher education using a model of content analysis to examine their social construction of knowledge through computer-mediated communications. We examined students' conference transcripts for evidence that their collaborative communicative acts generated constructions of new…

As adolescent Internet use grew exponentially in the last decade, with it emerged a number of correspondent expectations. Among them were the following: (1) that gender predicts usage, i.e., that boys spend more time online, surfing the web and playing violent games, while girls chat or shop online; (2) that Internet use causes social isolation…

More universities are offering online instruction for students though we know little about effective online learning. Some have found online instruction increases student participation while others have reported that students prefer the traditional face-to-face format. This study of gifted education graduate students follows the expectation that…

This article briefly reviews initiatives that have attempted to create communities of educators using Web-based, electronic conferencing. The authors critically analyze the advocacy for electronic communication as a medium for bringing educators together across time and distance with an emphasis on what is known about urban schools, access to…

Where learner discourse has been the focus of much recent research on asynchonous online instruction, the specific forms of instructional discourse used by online educators has yet to be examined. Indeed, the majority of work in the area of foreign language and telecommunications has concentrated on student-student, student-peer interaction, and…

The landscape of education was permanently changed with the onset of online (web-based) distance education. As the number of participants in online education increases, providing effective instruction that focuses on the needs of adult learners is paramount. While the idea of taking a standard course curriculum and using a different vehicle to…

The University of South Alabama's Baugh Biomedical Library recently initiated a chat reference service targeted at distance education students in the biomedical sciences. After one year of service, the library conducted an evaluation of the chat reference to assess the success of this mode of reference service. Both traditional reference and…

This article presents an insider view of an online community of adults involved in sharing digital photography through a host website, Flickr. It describes how reciprocal teaching and learning partnerships in a dynamic multimodal environment are achieved through the creation of a "Third Space" or "Affinity Space", where "Funds of Knowledge" are…

Over the last 10 years the Internet has become an essential part of the way companies do business. These days, it is as important to have a Web site as it is to have a phone book listing. Unfortunately, many Web sites are riddled with perplexing navigation and unclear priorities that leave many users confused and frustrated. This article presents…