This case study investigated 12 graduate students' online collaborative experiences and attitudes in an instructional design course. The instructor divided students into 4 groups based on their academic backgrounds. Content analysis of asynchronous group discussion board messages was used to measure degrees of collaboration of each group in terms…

This article reviews research related to the construct of interaction in the educational technology and distance education literature. The review is limited to higher education and includes theories and empirical research that inform the construct of online interactions. Conceptual and operational definitions of "interaction" are categorized from…

Since the 1990s we have seen an increase in consideration of social and cultural aspects of learning as a way to foster organizational learning and human performance. Despite strong interest among practitioners and scholars, the study of organizational learning is lacking in empirical research. The study described here calls attention to the…

Objective: This article highlights the importance of distributed broadband networks as part of the core infrastructure necessary to deliver academic research and education programs. Method: The authors review recent developments in the field and present the University of California, Davis, environment as a case study of a future virtual regional…

Foreign or second language (L2) acquisition literature frequently makes the claim that, by not facilitating interaction, distance learning fails to create the conditions necessary for achieving the goals of widely accepted L2 communicative curriculum. This assumption is not as yet supported by any empirical evidence from L2 acquisition research.…

Parents of children with mental or physical handicaps often experience overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety. Research indicates that support for the primary caregiver can help alleviate some stressors involved in raising a child with a handicap. This study examined how level of support affects feelings of satisfaction the primary caregiver…

In order to better serve Illinois individuals and schools, human service organizations must pursue collaboration among and within state agencies, community organizations and resources, and families. Families have the primary responsibility for raising their children, but economic and social factors make it increasingly harder for families to do…

Multimedia is developing fast due to the convergence of different media (text, data. graphics, video, audio) into a common digital platform, and due to the convergence of telecommunications, television, and computing. Parallel to these technical convergencies is another set of developments in work and leisure that is opening up new markets for…

The PICKLE Consortium of independent college libraries (Nebraska) has acquired the ARIEL system of hardware and compression software designed to transfer print materials via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) over the Internet. This development follows on the heels of a 1989 fax grant which was used to cooperatively develop the libraries' journal…

Eight papers are presented from the 1995 CAUSE conference track on professional development issues faced by managers of information technology at colleges and universities. The papers include: (1) "Developing as Information Technology Professionals: Profiles and Practices" (Diane Balestri and Ruth Sabean), which discusses professional…

This technology guide is intended to introduce adult literacy providers to the concepts,hardware, and procedures of online communication. The six-part guide explains the following: (1) what electronic networks are; (2) why adult literacy practitioners may want to join the Internet; (3) how adult literacy practitioners are already using the…

A collaboration among teachers, education researchers, and computations scientists is described. The collaboration sought to apply advanced information technology in the K-12 classroom. In the Syracuse University Living Schoolbook project, developers created prototype Education Information Infrastructure (EII) services, conducted teacher team…

This report describes two studies on the extent of the implementation of the Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS), part of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Study 1 was an external evaluation using 8 university field observers (names are given); study 2 was a self-assessment study using 47 anonymous district technology…

The purposes of this paper are to: share insights into the development of online collaborative learning experiments; discuss the role of instructional systems design (ISD); and present examples of design components within an ISD-based framework. The model presented explains the people, processes, and products that are involved in creating online…

During 1996, the Center for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, was in a process of rapid transition. Staff participated in a retreat during which a vision of CACE's work was rebuilt. CACE staff were closely involved with the Western and Northern Cape Provinces Departments of Education in the…