The Akshaya project in the rural Malappuram district of Kerala, India is home to the first and largest district-wide e-literacy project in India, and one of the largest known Internet Protocol-based networks. Through a network of 600 kiosks, the project has been designed to reach computer literacy into over 600,000 households, and bring 3.6…

This paper reports on the Digital Historical Inquiry Project, an initiative for developing activities and programs that enable preservice and inservice social studies teachers to learn the methods of digital historical inquiry and implement those methods in their teaching experiences. At one of the project sites, San Diego State University social…

Research on distance education in Mexico is still in the embryonic stage, in spite of its long history. One indication is that among the lines of research defined by the Mexican Council on Educational Research, the leading organization in the field in Mexico, distance education does not even appear. Only recently, in the last few years, has an…

Based on the findings of a national survey conducted in 2004 designed to examine the support systems for both learners and tutors engaged in tertiary-level Web-based English education in mainland China, this paper reports the findings of secondary analysis by identifying the tensions in the current learner and tutor support systems. For…

The purpose of this study was to describe how four teachers in four different cities in Missouri implemented a constructivist-based learning environment (CBLE) that included an innovation cluster that paired an emerging online technology with a unit design framework. The motivating question for the study originated from prior research on teacher…

A database that tracked information requests from University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) distance students using the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library's Off-Campus Services (OCS) indicated that, beginning in 2001, students became more self-reliant searchers. Reasons for this trend included: increased number of licensed online resources from which to choose;…

The use of activity theory is considered in the evaluation of a web based academic writing course in a New Zealand university. Activity theory is an aspect of sociocultural theory and provides a model for the understanding of goal directed social activity. Like other recent developments in applied linguistics, research and evaluation in second…

Health professionals are attracted to the flexibility of the virtual classroom for their on-going education. Recent studies have documented the differences in pedagogy between Internet based learning online and the traditional classroom setting, but few have investigated student health professionals' transitional process while engaged in online…

Web-based technology increases the hours we spend sitting in front of the screens of our computers. But can it also be used in a way to improve our social skills? The blended learning paradigm of Person-Centered e-Learning (PCeL) precisely aims to achieve intellectual as well as social and personal development by combining the benefits of online…

This paper describes the analysis undertaken to design a 1-credit-hour online orientation course for students new to online learning. An instructional design team, as a part of an advanced instructional design course, worked with a university-based client. The client identified specific problem areas encountered by novice students of online…

The purpose of my qualitative, action study was to gain a better understanding of the effects of an experimental college course in computer applications. This inquiry was made concerning both the teacher's and learners' points of view. A holistic, arts-based approach was used by the researcher/teacher in order to design, develop and facilitate a…

With the increasing prevalence of online education, institutions of higher education may encounter challenges as they seek to hire instructors who have the skills, knowledge base, and competencies that "best fit" the unique characteristics associated with online teaching. This article describes the initial development of the Systematic Interview…

This paper presents an evaluation of two on-line-based programs designed to teach practice skills. One program teaches crisis intervention and the other teaches suicide assessment. The evaluation of the use of these programs compares outcomes for two groups of students, one using the interactive program outside a class context and the other using…

Student perceptions were investigated toward their experience of learning online in a web-based graduate social policy course. Overall, student perceptions were positive toward the online features of this course with the most useful features being the PowerPoint lecture notes and the Discussion Board. Students were more satisfied with their…

In this paper, ULearn (University of Surrey learning on-line) and e-learning techniques are used to enhance the students' understanding and participation in Dynamics modules for an undergraduate programme in the School of Engineering, University of Surrey. The Dynamics modules are taught at Levels 2 and 3 and contain several mechanisms and…