The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between disciplinary difference (exact and natural sciences versus humanities) and the dialogic behavior that occurred in Open University course forums. Dialogic behavior was measured in terms of students' and instructors' active participation in the forum (posting a message) as well as…

Written environments in online learning enable professional discourse to be analysed in depth and provide greater knowledge for improving learning and for planning and delivering courses aimed at professional development. Until now, research into professional discourse has highlighted the importance of interaction in the development of…

Education is one of the pillars in which a Welfare State is effectively based on in order to achieve an equitable distribution of wealth. In contemporary society, knowledge and education are among the most appreciated goods, and everyone should have the right to acquire them, without distinction of gender, race, age, health or religion. From our…

A two-part screening procedure was used to assess school-age children's experience with bullying. In the first part 16,799 students (8,195 girls, 8,604 boys) in grades 4 to 12 were provided with a definition of bullying and then asked about their experiences using two general questions from the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (1996). In the…

This paper reports some of the findings of a distinctive innovative use of audio-conferencing involving a population (campus-based advanced learners) and a type of application (task-based language learning) that have received little attention to date: the use of Wimba Voice Tools to provide additional opportunities for spoken interactions between…

According to "Standards of Excellence in Teaching Mathematics in Australian Schools," excellent teachers of mathematics need to create "an environment that maximises students' learning opportunities"; so that they can encourage self-directed learning, "model mathematical thinking and reasoning," and provide…

This is an exploratory paper that uses the construct of connectivity to examine the nature of effective language teaching and learning in both face-to-face and online learning environments. Broader in scope than Siemens' notion of connectivism, the term connectivity accommodates both transmission approaches to teaching and learning and social…

With the proliferation of computer networks and the increased use of Internet-based applications, many forms of social interactions now take place in an on-line context through "Computer-Mediated Communication" (CMC). Many universities are now reaping the benefits of using CMC applications to collect data on student evaluations of…

Integrating social presence theory and social identity theory, this study brings system design and social influence aspects together to explain their joint effects on knowledge contribution in virtual communities (VCs). Different from most prior information systems (IS) research that adopts a uni-dimensional approach and restricts social presence…

The wiki is an excellent tool for student collaboration and teacher assessment. Students' comfort with online social networking makes the wiki a perfect forum for students to coauthor works and to respond to each other's writing. In this article, the author discusses how to use a wiki to promote discussion and aid students with writing. He tested…

The authors realized that participating in a book club with friends has often provided the incentive to read books they normally wouldn't choose on their own. Book clubs have offered them relaxed and informal places to share and compare opinions, to explore texts and authors they wouldn't as readily appreciate or fully understand without friends…

Synchronous e-learning has received much less research attention, as compared with asynchronous e-learning. Practitioners that consider using and designing synchronous e-learning are in urgent need of guidance. In order to address this need, we propose design exemplars for synchronous e-learning. They are directed towards a primary constituent…

The importance of reflection in supporting the continued professional learning of preservice practitioners is well recognised. This study examines one aspect of the outcomes of preservice teachers' reflection: the development of their own self-image as a teacher. In making the transition from student to teacher, preservice teachers create their…

This paper explores a labelling feature designed to support higher-level online dialogue. It investigates whether students use labels less often during a structured online dialogue than during an unstructured one, and looks at students' reactions to labelling and to both types of tasks. Participants are from three successive course offerings of a…

Tutors often make use of explanations that do not promote learning. One reason for the ineffectiveness of explanations might lie in tutors' failure to take into account a tutee's understanding in order to individualize instruction. To test whether tutors provide more effective explanations when they are assisted in assessing a tutee's…