Blended learning or hybrid courses that combine face-to-face and online learning are increasingly offered at colleges and universities across the United States, with growing evidence that they can enhance student learning. Their various pedagogies and technologies have prevented acceptance of a single, authoritative model for designing and…

The focus of this paper is on how pre-service teachers investigate using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to incorporate e-teaching into their lessons. Digital convergence in the classroom makes technology an integral part of teaching rather than an add-on feature (Kent, 2004a, 2004b). To establish a context for the use of IWB in schools, the paper…

More video streaming technologies supporting distance learning systems are becoming popular among distributed network environments. In this paper, the authors develop a multimedia authoring tool for adaptive e-learning by using characterization of extended media streaming technologies. The distributed approach is based on an ontology-based model.…

This paper focuses on some of the author's research studies over the past thirty years and places these in a wider context to reflect on research into affective issues in learning technologies over this period, and to consider whether and how the issues uncovered by research have changed as technologies have developed over time. Three issues are…

Technology and change are so closely related that the use of the word innovation seems synonymous with technology in many contexts, including that of higher education. This paper contends that university culture and existing capability constrain such innovation and to a large extent determine the nature and extent of organisational change. In the…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a need exists for faculty training to improve accommodation for students with disabilities enrolled in electronically delivered courses at a statewide university system. An online survey was used to determine if instructors had students who had been identified as needing accommodation in their online…

This article analyzes the current trend towards online education. It examines some of the reasons for the trend and the ramifications it may have on students, faculty and institutions of higher learning. The success and profitability of online programs and institutions such as the University of Phoenix has helped to make the move towards online…

Partnering with private industry is presented as a sensible solution to some faculties at institutions of higher education during the current economic downturn. The authors discuss the historic context for increased efficiencies and provide descriptions of how two institutions responded to the prospect of "collaborating" with a corporation. In one…

In this article, I describe the process that five graduate students used to collect oral histories about racial desegregation in a community in southern Illinois. Using these stories, I and a project team developed a unique online learning environment that facilitates and assesses the user's abilities to engage in historical thinking as a means…

Many consider online courses to be an inferior alternative to traditional face-to-face (f2f) courses because exam cheating is thought to occur more often in online courses. This study examines how the assessment design in online courses contributes to this perception. Following a literature review, the assessment design in a sample of online…

The Open University, an open distance learning institution, is increasingly using a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that requires internet access. This paper investigates how the move to a VLE has affected one group of students who do not have internet access--offender learners studying in prison. Members of the armed forces and secure hospital…

Creating new distance e-learning modules requires considerable staff expertise. To help develop and expand this, mentoring holds promise. However, in lifelong learning provision, potential module creators are often very distant from potential mentors and asynchronously available. E-mentoring might overcome these logistical constraints. This study…

The rapid development of computer-supported collaborative environments has highlighted the need for collaborative knowledge construction devices. Because most available mindtools do not promote collaboration, there is a need for social mindtools that can be used in collaborative learning situations. We have used activity theory as a conceptual…

This paper discusses the harmonizing role of technology and interaction in a qualitative study on blended problem-based learning within the context of academic development in higher education. Within this setting, and as both designers and tutors in blended PBL, it is important to seek best practices for how to combine instructional strategies in…

Problem-based learning, or PBL, is a student-centered instructional approach that is derived from constructivist epistemology. It is based upon ill-structured real-world problems with the goal of strengthening and developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills in learners. Initially utilized in medical schools to strengthen diagnostic…