The use of video in distance education courses has a long tradition, with many colleges and universities having been delivering distance education courses with video since the 80's using the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) and cable television. With the emergence of the Internet and the increased access bandwidths from private homes…

The purpose of this study was to examine how incorporating technology into teaching methods (including the phases of organizing video conferencing sessions) promotes college students' construction of knowledge. Video conferencing technology via the Internet afforded an enriched environment in which students interacted with educators at different…

The issue of structural and semantic interoperability among learning objects and other resources on the Internet is increasingly pointing towards Semantic Web technologies in general and ontology in particular as a solution provider. Ontology defines an explicit formal specification of domains to learning objects. However, the effectiveness to…

In this paper, the authors describe a mechanism for the introduction of small variations in the original learning design process defined in a particular Unit of Learning (UoL). The objective is to increase the UoL reusability by offering the designers an alternative to introduce slight variations on the original design instead of creating a new…

A frequent concern raised by distance educators is that e-learning takes more time to facilitate than traditional classroom instruction. The simple fact that it takes more time to read and write than to speak and listen warrants consideration. To establish viable e-learning programs, we need to optimize the amount of time educators spend online.…

This article provides an overview of research about how teachers, parents, and others can help young people develop literacy practices for success in school and life beyond school. The authors, members of the International Reading Association's Commission on Adolescent Literacy, present the results of its review of the literature in the form of…

Teachers know that a constructivist approach involving project-based, student-centered activities can result in students taking an active role in their own learning and engaging in thought-provoking challenges. When accomplished with collaborative activities, students develop skills that will serve them well in the future in any group project.…

Reports of teens and pre-teens stalked or abducted by predators who got personal information the students provided on websites like MySpace.com now worry many school officials. These popular websites let students write just about anything about themselves for the world to see. Many don't grasp that not only their friends and classmates are reading…

In its most basic form, a blog is simply a Web-based journal in reverse chronological order. It allows the writer to post ideas and thoughts quickly using conversational language for many to read. It allows the writer to link easily to other sites for support as well as for examples. And it provides a repository for such items. Also, both readers…

The importance of paying attention to the technology agenda in the educational policies of the United States was demonstrated by Cynthia Selfe (1999) in her analysis of the 1996 initiative "Getting America's Students Ready." Selfe showed how the technology literacy project enjoyed considerable public support induced by popular utopian…

Google's extraordinary success is usually attributed to innovative technology and new business models. By contrast, this paper argues that Google's success is mostly due to its adoption of certain library values. First, Google has refused to adopt the standard practices of the search engine business, practices that compromised service to the user…

The goals of this case study were to: (1) determine the efficiency and effectiveness of three survey methods--postal mail survey, web-based survey, and random in-class administration survey--in assessing tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors among college students and (2) compare the response rate and procedures of these three methods. There was…

Most school administrators have a good conceptual grasp of technology and understand its value in education. Yet many are "closet techno-incompetents" when it comes to personal use. In this article, the author presents ten tips for the techno-challenged. The "advanced search" option, among others, is a helpful way to search for information.…

Investigates small and medium-sized tourist enterprises (SMTEs) in the European hotel sector and their utilisation of the Internet and their perception of online learning systems. Aims to demonstrate to SMTEs that training is imperative and that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can enable them to improve their inventory…

More than 100 colleges and universities have arranged to give people using the Google Scholar search engine on their campuses more-direct access to library materials. Google Scholar is a free tool that searches scholarly materials on the Web and in academic databases. The new arrangements essentially let Google know which online databases the…