Given the importance of online instructional procedures that engage students in rich online discussions and enhance the quantity and the quality of the discussions, the purpose of this study was to investigate how a particular online instructor engaged graduate students in rich asynchronous online discussions, what roles the instructor played to…

This qualitative teacher research study employed narrative inquiry in order to gain greater understanding of how secondary teachers and students made connections using digital online media. Interviews, focus groups, internet artifacts, and other demographic data were used in this interpretivist study. The teacher and student participants utilized…

One-to-one computing programs and laptop programs have been a popular approach to education reform in developing countries over the last decade. A motivation behind so many one-to-one laptop programs is the desire to overcome with one powerful resource the historical lack of educational tools and resources available in developing countries.…

In addition to growing epidemics of HIV transgenders in Thailand, a low awareness of how to access justice increases their vulnerability to HIV infection. This paper presents a unique case study of how one community-based and led organisations used social networking and instant messaging to address this problem among transgender community in…

Learners and teachers of a foreign language in online and blended learning environments are being offered more opportunities for speaking practice from technological developments. However, in order to maximise these learning opportunities, appropriate task-based materials are required which promote and direct student to student interaction in…

As a part of language learning at schools and universities, students write a variety of texts, such as essays, short compositions and reports, which are then read by teachers who typically comment on the content and grammar of these texts to help the students improve their skills as writers. Although teachers can simply use pen and paper, or a…

The amount of time that people, especially young people, spend on communicative activities in social media is rapidly increasing. We are facing new arenas with great potential for learning in general and for language learning in particular, but their impact on learning is not yet acknowledged as such in educational practice (e.g., Conole, 2010;…

Environmental education (EE) is now clearly specified in educational standards in many parts of the world, and at the same time the view of language learning is moving towards a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) strategy, to make English lessons more relevant and attractive for students (Eurydice, 2006). In this respect,…

This paper updates earlier work in which we defined three generations of distance education pedagogy. We then describe emerging technologies that are most conducive to instructional designs that evolve with each generation. Finally we discuss matching the pedagogies with learning outcomes. (Contains 3 figures.)

In this study, we have investigated developmental patterns of virtual groups in the e-learning environment. Our findings suggest that for virtual groups formed for the purpose of e-learning, dependency and inclusion characterize the initial stage of group development, as such characteristics reinforce cooperative relationships and help to build a…

This study examines online mentor roles and effects with the online mentoring process in computer-supported collaborative learning environments in communities of in-service teachers. Interest in the online mentors' activity encompassed their participation in the online interactions, the influence of their activity on participants' patterns of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore teenagers' and young adults' use of social networking sites (SNS), in light of certain personal, social and educational outcomes and attitudes. Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered on the basis of surveys, and were analyzed through a series of multivariate models. Findings: It was found…

Web users in the 21st century are no longer only passive consumers. On a contrary, they are active contributors willing to obtain, share and evolve information. In this paper we report our experience regarding the implementation of Web 2.0 concept in several Computer Ethics related courses jointly conducted at two Universities. These courses have…

Web-based learning promotes computer-mediated interaction and student-centred learning in most higher education institutions. To fulfil their academic requirements, students develop appropriate strategies to support learning. Purposes of this study were to: (1) examine the relationship between students study strategies (assessed by Learning and…

How do open and distance learning institutions review and renew themselves to ensure their continued fitness for purpose? Here we report on the work of a change team in the UK Open University, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning created to examine, innovate and improve student support. The existence of the Centre for five years from…