Autonomy in language learning does not simply equate with independence, as language learning is a social activity that requires interaction with others. This also applies just as much to distance language learners, who need to reconcile independent language learning and interdependence with others. This article draws on findings from 43 mid-course…

The paper presents findings from a large-scale mixed methods study of young people's uses of new technologies at home to address a number of key conceptual issues in understanding the home as context for learning. First it is argued that young people's engagement with new technologies is fundamentally bound up with their own identity. It then goes…

This case study focuses on the feedback that is provided by tutors to learners in the course of synchronous online teaching. More specifically, we study how trainee tutors used the affordances of Visu, an experimental web videoconferencing system, to provide negative feedback. Visu features classical functionalities such as video and chat, and it…

How does early feedback change the programming problem solving in an online environment and help students choose correct approaches? This study was conducted in a sample of students learning programming in an online course entitled Introduction to C++ and OOP (Object Oriented Programming) using the ANGEL learning management system platform. My…

This paper captures and characterises the interplay between a group of student teachers' narratives of social network practice and their emergent professional practice with technologies. Teachers on an Initial Teacher Education programme in the UK spent a semester studying a module that synthesised university-based lectures with a professional…

Mobile phones have rapidly been absorbed into the fabric of our day-to-day lives. They are now a key consumer item, a symbol of social capital and they connect their users to a mobile web with multiple applications. As ownership and access to smartphones has spread into the teenage years, their place in institutions of formal education has been…

This article explores the practice narratives of a group of 25 caregivers who work with babies in daycare settings in England and seeks to illustrate awareness of, resistance to and compliance with powerful discourses. It is argued that multiple voices exert an influence over baby room practice, disempowering the caregivers and reducing their…

This paper reports on the task-based interaction of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in the 3D multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) Second Life. The discussion first explores research on the precursors of MUVEs, text-based 2D virtual worlds known as MOOs. This is followed by an examination of studies on the use of MUVEs in Computer…

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte's College of Education offers a 100% online teacher licensure program. One component of the licensure program is the Graduate Internship, which involves the observation of graduate interns' teaching. With many current and potential students located in more remote areas of the state, the remote…

Web-based communication technologies that enable collaboration and sharing of information among users - such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, message boards, and others--are used commonly in contemporary organizations to increase and manage employee learning. In this investigation, we identify which of these collaborative communication technologies are…

In this study, we explore the cognitive style profiles and linguistic patterns of self-organizing groups within a web-based graduate education course to determine how cognitive preferences and individual behaviors influence the patterns of information exchange and the formation of communication hierarchies in an online classroom. Network analysis…

What is network neutrality? The basic premise is that people should have the right to access online, in a free and unfettered manner, any type of content that is not illegal, based on the predetermined speed they are paying their Internet-service provider (ISP) for each month. That is, with network neutrality, the content becomes irrelevant. The…

The building of teacher networks or communities is increasingly seen as an alternative form of professional development, allowing teachers to share experience, information and good practice. The present article describes and analyses the activities of such a community, developed within the framework of a national debate, initiated to investigate…

In the early 1990s, lives and activities of the younger generation changed with introduction of the Internet. Service providers such as American Online (AOL) offered the opportunity to use the Internet for research and commercial activities and as a source of entertainment with opportunities to engage in online games and cybercommunications (i.e.,…

Web 2.0 tools enable today's writers to connect with their audience in unprecedented ways. The advent of social networking and other Web 2.0 tools have changed the rules for how authors and book publishers market and communicate with their audience. Through tools like blogs, Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, Young Adult (YA) lit authors can choose…