The author, an elementary teacher, used an online message board and wikis to engage students in literature discussions and to deepen their understanding of and interest in the books they were reading. Her students were much more motivated to read and discuss books using the online tools.

Models of user generated content (UGC) creation such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube are facing robust growth accelerated by the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies and standards. These business models offer a fascinating avenue for exploring the role of social influence online. This dissertation is motivated by the success of YouTube, which is…

This was a qualitative study which examined school counselors' perceptions of cyberbullying. Thirty-two school counselors were asked seven reflection questions in regards to their experiences, roles/responsibilities, concerns, challenges and recommendations in handling cyberbullying occurrences with students. From the data analysis, three…

This mixed methods study examined the various aspects of multimodal use of non-verbal communication in virtual worlds during dyadic negotiations. Quantitative analysis uncovered a treatment effect whereby people with more rhetorical certainty used more neutral non-verbal communication; whereas people that were rhetorically less certain used more…

When groups engage in math problem solving in an online environment like the VMT (Virtual Math Teams) service, they can face significant challenges from troubles of individual and group understanding that emerge in their problem-solving process. We are interested in how shared understanding is interactionally constructed and accomplished in a…

Ethnographic and interview data from a long-term study of "NetU," a wired community and college, are used to investigate the effects of computer-mediated communication on social relationships. During the course of this research "LAN" residents of NetU are compared with a similar group of non-LAN residents who lived in the same neighborhood, but…

This study aimed to develop a scale to investigate cybervictimization among the members of an online social utility. Eight hundred ninety-six participants were recruited with a 36-item web-based survey, which was developed through literature review and expert opinions. The dataset was used for an exploratory factor analysis. After dysfunctional…

The use of social media is a phenomenon that is changing the way people communicate. Along with the Internet, social media provide unparalleled opportunity for schools to interact with students, families and community. They also provide incredible resources for improving curricular experiences and improving instruction. Because the growth of…

Comparisons were made between instructor and student contributions in an online course that engaged eight graduate students asynchronously in discussion of early intervention principles and practices. Discourse patterns and levels of cognitive complexity were analyzed as indices of engagement and "critical thinking". The online…

Transient populations, cultural diversity, language barriers, competing loyalties, and geographic separation are just some of the challenges international schools face in communicating and connecting with their alumni. And these issues are not going to get any easier as the sector grows. Communicating effectively with large, diverse groups of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is the presentation of a new method for blog quality assessment. The method uses the temporal sequence of link creation events between blogs as an implicit source for the collective tacit knowledge of blog authors about blog quality. Design/methodology/approach: The blog data are processed by the novel method for…

This paper explores the phenomenon of cyberbullying. The argument here is that, although there is a case for sanctions, schools also have a critical role to play in preventing and reducing cyberbullying through a process of awareness-raising, the education of the emotions and active participation of children and young people themselves.

Preparing preservice teachers for ICT integration in the classrooms is a key focus for many teacher education institutes. This paper examines the perceived development of preservice teachers in terms of their technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge and the synthesis of such knowledge, i.e., the technological, pedagogical,…

Education facilities managers are faced with a daunting set of challenges: They must find new ways to reduce energy consumption and carry out greener energy policies. HVAC typically accounts for more than 30% of a building's electricity costs, so there is a clear incentive to eliminate unnecessary heating and cooling of unoccupied rooms. With more…

This study examined the overarching issue of how temporal transitions, specifically duration of message flow, affects momentum or wellness of discussion in an asynchronous forum. Quantitative data representing time indicators in discussion activity included posting patterns related to duration (density, intensity, latency, and response count),…