This study seeks to determine the state of online course development and faculty attitudes toward online instruction within technical teacher education programs in the United States. This study shows that a majority of research participants reported that less than 25% of coursework in their departments was offered fully online or Web-enhanced.…

Variation and polymorphism are concepts that are central to genetics and genomics, primary biological disciplines in which high school students and undergraduates require a solid foundation. From 1998 through 2002, a web-based genetics education program was developed for high school teachers and students. The program included an exercise on using…

This study examined how the use of Knowledge Forum (KF)[R], a networked, Internet-based learning environment, was related to the literacy development of 4-year-old children in a laboratory school affiliated with the University of Toronto. Over the course of the year, children participated in a longitudinal photo journal project. With adult…

Researchers studied the use of a suite of synchronous communication tools in support of a Web-based, senior high school French course whose students were dispersed over the vast, sparsely populated province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The objective was to describe interaction according to four types: student-teacher, student-student,…

In this article, the authors propose a method of course management system (CMS) administration of student evaluations of teaching (SETs). The method provides a mechanism for providing greater guarantee of anonymity to the student respondents. The authors report on a case study in which this guarantee was likely a significant factor contributing to…

In this article, an extension of the existing structure of learning objects is described. The solution addresses the problem of the access and discovery of educational resources in the distributed Internet environment. An overview of e-learning standards, reference models, and problems with educational resources delivery is presented. The paper…

The authors examined the efficacy of Web-assisted instruction for promoting the use of social cognitive theory (SCT) strategies related to physical activity. They recruited college students attending health courses. The authors created 3 groups (Web-assisted, comparison, and control) based on the course structure. The Web-assisted group received…

This is a paper about knowledge, learning and the idea of community in what we call "hybrid workspaces". Hybrid workspaces "bring together physical place and cyber place" in communication networks (Castells, 2001, p. 131). Many people work in various kinds of hybrid workspaces. A person working on a production line might have real-time co-workers…

Design prescriptions to create web-based courses and sites that are dynamic, easy-to-use, interactive and data-driven, emerge from a "how to do it" approach. Unfortunately, the theory behind these methods, prescriptions, procedures or tools, is rarely provided and the important terms, such as "easy-to-use", to which these…

This paper describes the forms of knowledge used by players of fantasy sports, games where players create ideal sports teams and compete to accumulate points based on professional athletes' statistical performances. Messages from a discussion forum associated with a popular fantasy basketball game were analyzed to understand how players described…

This article considers a hypothetical decision by a hypothetical learner about whether or not to participate in an online "discussion", viewed through the lens of risk analysis. It begins with the premise that participation online is desirable but that it involves the participant in risk, a fact that needs to be acknowledged and taken into account…

Internet access has recently been introduced into over 30,000 schools in the UK. While web provision has been heralded by some as an educational panacea, it is also recognised that there are dangers inherent in school Internet use. Adopting the cultural risk perspective, drawing upon a social-cultural analysis of Internet regulation and utilising…

Today's college students believe that learning technologies are necessary tools that should be integrated into their course work. However, faculty have not yet responded to these expectations. This qualitative study engaged approximately 100 faculty and undergraduate students at the University of Washington in focus groups to explore this…

Distance education has evolved through many delivery formats, conforming in varying degrees to an Information Age definition of "distance education" that emphasizes two-way electronic communication. The technological characteristics and limitations of each format have implications for pedagogical choices in designing distance education courses for…

In order to respond to learners' need for more flexible speaking opportunities and to overcome the geographical challenge of students spread over the United Kingdom and continental Western Europe, the Open University recently introduced Internet-based, real-time audio conferencing, thus making a groundbreaking move in the distance learning and…