This study uses social network analysis to describe the social network of college mentors in a college access program. Urban students in the program are paired with college mentors-students, professors, and other institutional agents-to help improve their college going process. The study analyzes the social networks within which the mentors are…

Illinois Shifting Gears is a multilevel initiative that has simultaneously created bridge programs in the field and altered state policy to facilitate the creation of more programs in the future. These efforts have informed each other, giving policymakers the opportunity to interact with practitioners, troubleshoot bridge programs, and make…

An exploration of the mediation strategies applied to social networking tools for purposes of enhancing social presence for students participating in online course work. The article includes a review of the literature, specific examples from the authors' professional practice and recommendations for creating a positive social experience for online…

An implicit perception of international students is that they have difficulty in becoming involved in social exchange with other students who do not share their "culture" and language. This picture of a group of students isolated and disadvantaged by their lack of contact with "UK culture" is questioned in this article. Data…

Although there is limited research into the success of primary school networking initiatives in the UK, there is a drive at national government level for promoting school collaborative working arrangements as a catalyst for whole-school improvement. This paper discusses the findings from research into two such initiatives: "Networked Learning…

This paper relates developments in the use of Internet-based communication technologies to contemporary exchanges of geographical ideas and content. A brief history of the Internet provides the basis for a review of uses of broadband Internet in contemporary Geography. Two themes are explored: the first is the concept of virtual communities of…

The social environment prevailing within higher education institutions in Australia has seen many changes in recent years. Many factors have contributed to these changes and this paper explains the areas in which student life in Australia has changed and the challenges these changes have posed to students. This paper argues that universities in…

The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the school-parents-community partnerships created by teachers who received the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education. This study analyzes the applications of the 28 teachers who received the Award in 2007 and addresses three questions: How do teachers who received the Queen Rania Award…

This research study is a collaborative project between faculty in social foundations, special education, and instructional technology in which we analyze student data from six undergraduate and graduate courses related to the use of a virtual classroom space. Transactional distance theory (Moore & Kearsley, 1996) operates as our theoretical…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a theoretically based coding framework for an integrated analysis and assessment of critical thinking in online discussion. Design/methodology/approach: The critical thinking assessment framework (TAF) is developed through review of theory and previous research, verified by comparing results to…

Mobile phone usage among students is virtually universal, presenting an opportunity for higher education to pursue. Higher education, however, has failed to notice the potential of mobile devices to provide students with educational experiences and services. In this article, the author presents a collection of scenarios which demonstrates the many…

There has been extensive reporting on the interactional characteristics of multi-participant text-based chat rooms. In these chat rooms there are several students typing at the same time, often on more than one topic. As a result, it is not uncommon to see multiple overlapping utterances. Despite these communicative challenges, research suggests…

This study analyzes middle school students' spontaneous mathematics-related help-seeking behavior, in view of making ecologically valid recommendations for the design of supporting tools or "help systems". Our aim was to investigate the content of students' help-seeking messages--Are there different forms of help-seeking messages and do…

This article examines student teamwork in the academic field from a structural perspective. Student teams are often prearranged and then left to organize themselves and get on with their work, without any further structural support; this, however, can become a negative experience on teamwork. A varied contribution among team members often occurs…

This article offers reflection on the validity of relational data such as used in social network analysis. Ongoing research on the transformation of the support network of caregivers of persons with an Alzheimer-type disease provides the data to fuel the debate on the validity of participant report. More specifically, we sought to understand the…