The development of the computer along with the widespread use of the Internet has rapidly promoted Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) as a very important communication media, which can be used widely and effectively in foreign language teaching and learning. This essay tries to explore the advantages of CMC as well as its proposed application,…

Content analysis of computer conferences provides a rich source of data for researching and understanding online learning. However, the complexities of using content analysis in a relatively new research field have resulted in researchers often avoiding this method and using more familiar methods such as survey and interview instead. This article…

This article reports on an investigation of students' perceptions of an online discussion group conducted using PalTalk, which is Internet-based audio conferencing software. After initial practice with the program, students conducted four group sessions in which they discussed nonconfidential topics related to supervision of counseling. Students…

Once, targets of bullying had to endure it only at school. Now, with the increasing prevalence of cyberbullying it can follow them home and go on 24 hours a day. For students who have been exposed to cyberbullying themselves, for parents who have either been exposed to it or are seeing their child experience it, and for educators who have either…

This case study examined interaction patterns between men and women and the effects of the patterns on gender participation in online debates. Students labeled messages to identify each message as an argument, challenge, evidence, or explanation when posting messages to the debates. The results revealed no differences in the number of male and…

Facebook is an online directory that connects people though social networks at schools, and while most students on any American campus are regular visitors to the site, many professors and administrators have yet to hear about Facebook, let alone evaluate its impact. This kind of social networking affects all levels of academe, and college faculty…

With technological advancements abounding, music educators should take advantage of technology to enhance their programs and streamline their operation. This article describes why a music program needs a Web site. Web sites for music programs and performing groups offer significant benefits. These benefits are: (1) better communication and…

In the early 1990s, Northern Michigan University started distributing laptop computers to its faculty and students. Soon, a taste for technology developed and the university community craved more. Having tempted their taste buds, they quickly found that patrons were no longer satisfied with traveling to the library and asked that they bring…

New innovations of online learning within blended environments create a need within academia for research on best practices in teaching. This book provides insight into the practice of blended learning in higher education. This unique book collects new international research into many aspects of blended learning from the perspectives of learners,…

Teacher leadership is "hard." Many of the reasons are obvious: Teaching is a highly labor-intensive profession to begin with, leaving little downtime for work with other adults. School schedules are notoriously stingy with space for adult collaboration. Teachers are rarely paid to exercise leadership; when they are, they are never paid…

Prior studies have shown that students who are the first in their families to attend college fail to persist in college more so than their continuing-generation (CG) counterparts do. Prior research on this phenomenon has helped to identify various factors that contribute to the lower college persistence of first-generation (FG) students. For…

The global rise of Internet-based education is discussed in relation to models drawn from social studies and epidemiology. Experiential and data density models are highlighted, also the capacity for technological change, and phenomena observed in the spread of disease. The lesson of these illustrations is that even apparently permanent phenomena…

Novice teachers today struggle to integrate engaging pedagogy into their standards based curriculum. 21st century students have been immersed in technology from birth and are accustomed to multi-tasking with several types of technology each day. Students no longer rely on the traditional ways of communication and absorb their information via…

In this study, we compare the first and the last sessions from an online oral proficiency course aimed at doctoral students conducted in the virtual world Second Life. The study attempts to identify how supportive moves made by the teacher encourage learners to engage with language, and what type of linguistic behaviour in the learners leads to…

Questions about the suitability of cognitively-oriented instructional approaches for students of different academic levels are frequently raised by teachers and researchers. This study examined student participation in knowledge-building discourse in two implementations of a short inquiry unit focusing on environmental problems. Participants in…