This article looks at what constitutes an open educational resource and considers the issues and benefits to an educational institution that is moving to participate in open educational resource development and to adopt more open educational practices. It describes the initial steps in these directions being made by the Educational Development…

Computer-based virtual patients (VPs) are an emerging medium for medical education that addresses barriers faced by geriatrics educators. Research has shown VPs to be as effective in changing knowledge and behavior as more traditional forms of teaching. This paper presents a descriptive study of the development of the University of Iowa's…

The structure and composite nature of a learning object is still open to interpretation. Although several theoretical studies advocate integrated approaches to the structure and aggregation level of learning objects, in practice, many content specifications, such as SCORM, IMS Content Packaging, and course authoring tools, do not explicitly state…

Activity theory (AT) is a powerful tool for investigating "artefacts in use", ie, the ways technologies interrelate with their local context. AT reveals the interfaces between e-learning at the macro- (strategy, policy, "campus-wide" solutions) and the micro-organisational levels (everyday working practice, iterative change, individual…

Guided by the principles of learner-centered teaching methodology, a Second Life project is designed to engage students in active learning of virtual commerce through hands-on experiences and teamwork in a virtual environment. More importantly, an assessment framework is proposed to evaluate the learning objectives and learning process of the…

The need for public health knowledge is ever increasing, but the educational options have been limited to coursework delivered by academics to individuals who can afford the cost of tuition at public health institutions. To overcome this disparity, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) has joined the Massachusetts Institute of…

No longer can courseware providers deal with one homogeneous target group, one learning form and possibly one pedagogical approach. Instead they must develop a broad range of courseware, each serving its specific target group, each adjusted to a specific learning and teaching form, each appealing to its own learning and teaching scenario, and each…

Course management systems (CMSs) support thousands of courses at colleges and universities worldwide, delivering fully online courses as well as supplementing traditional face-to-face instruction. While quite a few studies have focused on the numerous benefits and technological advantages of CMSs, there is a paucity of empirical work focused on…

Different approaches have demonstrated that learning improves when implemented in a constructivist and social way. In addition, electronic games and simulations are perceived to have high educational value because of their motivational and emotional factors. This potential value can be developed by defining appropriate scenarios in which players…

Educational institutions have rushed to put their academic resources and services online, beginning the global community onto a common platform and awakening the interest of investors. Despite continuing technical challenges, online education shows great promise. Open source software offers one approach to addressing the technical problems in…

Research provides ample evidence that students rarely or often inadequately use instructional interventions in learning environments. This lack of use becomes especially problematic in open learning environments, where students have a large amount of control over tool use. In this contribution it is studied whether advice on the use of tools can…

Virtual worlds are engaging, stimulating spaces where students can meet online for normal class activities, including lectures, discussions, case studies, projects, papers, exams, and labs. Classes are a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activity. A virtual world class differs from a traditional course management system, such as Blackboard or…

The goal of this article is to draw a roadmap for designing an "ideal" virtual world for higher education, pointing decision-makers in a general direction for implementing virtual worlds and noting various barriers along the way. When using a roadmap, one can take many different paths to reach a desired destination. Similarly, institutions can…

This article describes how a team of instructional support personnel redesigned an online graduate course in research methods for pre-service and in-service teachers. The course has been taught annually each spring semester since it went online in 2000. The major revision in the online version of the class was to use a series of path simulations,…

Dr. Sally Knipe, Course Coordinator, Bachelor of Education (Middle Schooling) at Charles Sturt University has been teaching undergraduate students in this program for six years. When Charles Sturt University introduced a learning management system, Interact she, with the faculty's educational designer, Miriam Edwards worked together in developing…