Multimedia data and application systems accessible over the Web are valuable assets for developing instructional materials for teaching, training, problem solving, and decision support. These assets can be used to construct learning objects, each of which is a reusable granule of instruction designed to meet a specific instructional objective. In…

This paper reports the results of a research project investigating the use that Distance Education (DE) students at university make of the learning materials that are supplied to them. The research is based on a survey of 998 DE students enrolled in ten undergraduate subjects spread across all five Faculties at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in…

Is creative teaching something new? Is it not true that teachers have always found creative ways of making their teaching more creative, engaging and effective for their students no matter what century they were in and that includes those in the 21st century? It would appear therefore that "there is nothing new under the sun." However,…

While classroom teaching and management strategies are well documented, the online learning environment presents different challenges and benefits. Teaching in an online environment requires a special set of teaching skills since many of the strategies and tactics associated with best teaching practices are somewhat constrained by the primarily…

South Africa's public education system is going through massive transformation, moving away from limited educational opportunities based on race and poverty levels to social and educational inclusiveness. While there is still work to be done, the country's education officials are committed to increasing access to a quality education for all…

We show how an interactive website can help first-year undergraduates acquire independent study skills, and provide a user-friendly way of approaching challenging material in introductory level evolution and ecology. Students embraced the opportunity to undertake self-assessment tasks online, which allowed them to gauge their understanding and…

Pervasive gaming has tremendous potential as a learning tool and represents an interesting development in the field of video games and education. The literature surrounding video games and education is vast: For more than 20 years, educationalists have been discussing the potential that exists for the application of video games to learning.…

Despite some spectacular e-learning failures in recent years, e.g. the British government's "e University", educational technologies have continued developing and have made advances in several learning paradigms. These new learning paradigms appear as new ways to deal with the old traditional learning concepts and philosophies throughout…

The evolution of Internet Technology has influenced the basis of education by introducing new methodologies in to teaching and giving a new dimension to distance learning. On the other hand, there is an emerging need on the users part to define some standards that will be used for judging the quality and effectiveness of the educational Websites.…

This paper describes a model of online learning communities characterized by online mentors (OLCOM), which has been implemented at a large southeastern state university. The OLCOM is a virtual online learning community, which incorporates online mentors to assist online teaching and facilitate online learning along with other members in the OLCOM.…

As computer-mediated communication (CMC) is becoming more mainstream in higher education (HE), the issue of social interaction online and its impact on learning has been raised. CMC theorists have argued that shared group identity produces the online social presence necessary for successful interaction but that other identities may be inhibiting.…

In recent years, the emergence of non-traditional educational experiences such as online learning and certification, combined with the growth of the life-long learning market, has presented a new set of challenges for the higher education community. Increasingly, the U.S. economy is technology driven, and the need for trained personnel to support…

Online education holds great potential for rural states like South Dakota, which has been recognized for advances in distance education. To maximize the potential of online learning, design elements that students believe are needed for successful online learning experiences must be identified. In this study, we present the qualitative and…

Multivariate statistical analyses were used to determine if there were differences in social community, learning community, and perceived learning between male and female students in 12 online graduate education courses in which female students (n = 162) outnumbered males (n = 31). Study results provided evidence that females felt more connected…

A structure for online discussion within a framework for deep learning provides three strategies for dynamic online discussion; flexible peer, structured topic, and collaborative task discussion. This article examines the discussion structure and the three separate roles demonstrated by the instructor in the promotion of deep learning through the…