There is a body of evidence supporting the claim that informal interactions in educational environments have positive effects on learning. In order to increase the opportunities of informal interaction in online courses, an instant messaging tool, called CENTERS, was developed and integrated into online learning environments. This tool provides…

This paper draws on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin and Norman Fairclough to show how dialogue is central to the construction of identity in networked management learning. The paper is based on a case study of a networked management learning course in higher education and attempts to illustrate how participants negotiate issues of difference,…

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are often portrayed as offering a collaborative community space in which native and non-native language speakers reciprocally scaffold linguistic, cultural and content knowledge, a space which assists students in overcoming well-documented challenges encountered in traditional classrooms (Leki,…

Researchers studying socialization in online learning note that definitions are quite broad, suggesting that "Socialization is about people being able to mingle and establish connections on one or more levels. They speak[with] one another; share ideas and information and confirm the connections made through an agreed upon means." More broadly,…

Libraries transform communities by providing well-organized information resources and services. Conversely, communities can also transform libraries if librarians appreciate the rich diversity of the communities' information needs, acting as bridges between communities as well as enabling and facilitating community-building. The roles of…

The objective of this research was to compare the quality and quantity of teacher and student interaction in an on-line versus face-to-face learning environment. A Master's level course on nursing theories was taught by the same professor by both methods. Transcripts of the face-to-face class and on-line postings were analyzed to identify…

The opportunity to engage in discussion with others about teaching issues is essential to a teacher's professional development, and can potentially be afforded through online discussions. The following study explored the use of online discussion as a way to engage beginning teachers in professional development. An investigation was conducted to…

This research started with the design and implementation of an online digital video database, followed by a study of how three student teachers used it in building a virtual learning community that enabled the sharing of teaching practices during their first teaching practicum in the teacher education program. The student teachers made use of…

This paper examines the impact of the implementation of an online learning management system (LMS) on pre­-service teachers during their major pre-­service practicum. The LMS enabled students to remain connected to peers, professors, and supervisors while new relationships were formed with in­school personnel such as mentor teachers, principals,…

This qualitative study explored how collaborative technologies influence the informal learning experiences of virtual team members. Inputs revealed as critical to virtual informal learning were integrated, collaborative technological systems; positive relationships and trust; and organizational support and virtual team management. These inputs…

The term of "new technological paradigm" is become an indispensable concept for all educational organizations. Consequently there is a growing necessity to describe what the term technological paradigm is. With the gaining speed of technological changes, a new dimension of educational and training paradigm is being formed. The sources of this…

Related literature indicates that the Internet has an important role and great potential in foreign language learning. It is also obvious that attitudes of learners affect learning process significantly. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of foreign language learners and to find the relationship between attitudes and subject variables.…

This paper draws on a part of the doctoral research study that investigates the potential impacts of Internet cafe use on Turkish college students' social capital. In this study, Internet cafe usage was portrayed by the amount of time spent and the frequency of online activities engaged at the cafes. Social capital, on the other hand, was…

This study aims to investigate how Singapore primary schools use their web sites, what kind of information is contained in the web sites, and how the information is presented. Based on an analysis of 176 primary school web sites, which represent all but one of the country's primary schools, findings indicate that most of Singapore's primary school…

In recent years, designing useful learning diagnosis systems has become a hot research topic in the literature. In order to help teachers easily analyze students' profiles in intelligent tutoring system, it is essential that students' portfolios can be transformed into some useful information to reflect the extent of students' participation in the…