This article examines key issues in how new technologies are impacting upon how we teach, learn and collaborate, and uses an educational research project called GRAIL (Graduate Researcher's Academic Identity Online) under development to illustrate some fundamental issues in adopting new technologies. A significant challenge to the effective use of…

Asynchronous text based discussion boards are included in many online courses, however strategies to compare their use within and between courses, from a disciplinary standpoint, have not been well documented in the literature. The goal of this project was to develop a multi-factor metric which could be used to characterize discussion board use in…

Recent empirical evidence suggests that the updated DeLone and McLean's information systems (D&M IS) model can identify the determinants of success of online communities in terms of member loyalty (Lin and Lee 2006). This study is similarly concerned with the challenge of identifying the determinants of success of online communities, but it…

The student learning process is important in online learning environments. If instructors can "observe" online learning behaviors, they can provide adaptive feedback, adjust instructional strategies, and assist students in establishing patterns of successful learning activities. This study used data mining techniques to examine and…

This article described the experiences of an inservice professional development program for teachers with a focus on online synchronous discussions. Transcripts of six online synchronous discussions containing 3600 messages from an online teacher professional development course were analyzed. In addition, the researchers interviewed 10…

Critical thinking and knowledge construction have become essential competencies for people in the new information age. In this study, we designed an interactive learning environment involving three forms of interaction: individual reflections, group collaboration and, class discussions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is a cultural gap in student perceptions of online collaborative learning and to investigate to what extent student perceptions, motivation, and learning strategies change over time due to the actual involvement in a collaborative e-learning environment (ELE).…

This discussion guide offers suggestions for conversations about sexual harassment. Its purpose is to help readers use dialogue to understand the legal definition of sexual harassment and to clarify and develop their own and others' definitions of acceptable behavior between men and women in the workplace, on campus, or wherever people gather. An…

This document consists of two publications: a participants' booklet designed to promote discussion among small groups, and a Leader's Guide. The participants' booklet contains information on four important issues in the 1992 election year: health care, the economy, welfare reform, and foreign policy. "The Health Care Crisis in America" contains…

The concept of parent education, i.e., activities or programs that offer parents an opportunity to gain information and knowledge to aid them in their role as parents, is outlined and discussed. The topics considered are: 1. What Is the Purpose of Parent Education?; II. What People Does It Serve?; III. How Organize Parent Education and Recruit…

Suggests a balance between the student-oriented writing workshop and the instructor-oriented lecture/discussion in dealing with nontraditional students. Discusses background information, assumptions about methodology in teaching writing skills, the workshop model, and the use of the peer response sheet designed to direct discussion. (EL)

In a teaching experiment, 16 face-to-face and 11 e-mail Finnish university students engaged in an argumentation course. The 19 students of the control group did not study argumentation. The course involved two lectures, exercises with argumentative texts, and face-to-face or e-mail seminar discussions based on these texts. The topics of the texts…

The pedagogical functions of simple World Wide Web-based discussions during work-based learning periods in vocational education were examined in a study of a secondary-level work-based practical nursing program in Finland. The students (age range, 16 to 43 years) participated in 17 Web discussion groups during their 120-week practical nursing…

This study examined whether and how computer conferencing could be used to help prospective teachers become aware of the consequences of action. Results indicated that conferencing activities provided clear insight into prospective teachers' awareness of the consequences of action. Four levels of consequences were apparent in students'…

Designed to be used before and after attending a performance of the musical play "The Very First Family" (in which a Stone Age family and their neighbors bring three of Rudyard Kipling's stories to life), this cue sheet for teachers presents information about the performance and suggests classroom activities. The activities in the cue…