This article examines how to prepare professional social workers for real-world nonprofit leadership roles. A pilot course assignment that incorporates a quasi-organization fieldwork simulation developed by the author is described. Development and application of critical thinking skills are reviewed, the course objective is explained, and methods…

The trustworthiness of a qualitative study can be increased by maintaining high credibility and objectivity. Of utmost importance to these factors is the reflexivity of the researcher. Standard journaling techniques are frequently used to maintain an audit trail and document tentative interpretations of a study. One of the major limitations to…

In many ways, specialized computer labs are the black holes of IT organizations. Budgets, equipment, employees--even space itself--are sucked in. Given a choice, many IT shops would engage warp drive and escape their gravitational pull forever. While Captain Kirk might have looked to Scotty for a fix to the problem, colleges and universities are…

Previous research studies on factors influencing student higher-level knowledge construction in asynchronous online discussions have largely focused on the instructors' role, student learning style, and the complexity of the discussion task. This study explores the issue from a different angle--that of student facilitators' habits of mind.…

Given that little is empirically known about the use of distance education within deaf education teacher preparation (DETP) programs, the purpose of the present study was to obtain baseline data on distance education activities in these programs. Using a census of the program coordinators of the 68 DETP programs in the United States, the…

It isn't a stretch to say that the definitions of "teaching online" and "teaching with technology" vary, even from instructor to instructor. Whatever the level of technology, and regardless of teachers' comfort level with it, one has to remember that for all that educational technology can offer through new communication methods and the ability to…

Online coursework is common across the United States, and many institutes of higher education include it in their strategic plans (Allen & Seaman, 2011). Special education has embraced distance education technology--especially personnel preparation programs that are in rural areas and/or prepare teachers who will work in rural areas.…

An increasing array of diverse instructional models is being made available to all students due to school reform through publicly funded charter schools. Emerging at the intersection of innovations in technology, shifting theories of learning, and the changing perception of schools as the situational broker of education, non-classroom…

"Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age" is for all those interested in considering the impact of emerging digital technologies on teaching and learning. It explores the concept of a digital age and perspectives of knowledge, pedagogy and practice within a digital context. By examining teaching with digital technologies through new learning…

Through analysis of a qualitative online ethnography in an Internet text-based website message board database called "WidowNet" (http://www.widownet.org/wnbb3), I studied online text conversations of adults who lost their life partners to death. This online autoethnographical research investigates how and why online widows/widowers perform their…

Online communication forums allow students to collaborate and construct understandings of course material together, but little is known about students' discussion participation across online and blended (hybrid) classroom environments. This study begins to address this research gap by examining students' asynchronous discussions (number and length…

This study aims to compare the single cyber asynchronous learning approach with the blended cyber learning approach in distance English education. Two classes of 70 students participated in this study, which lasted one semester of about four months, with one class using the blended approach for their English study and the other only using the…

Much research in recent years has focused on the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to universities, documenting practice, and sharing experience ([2], [9], [45] and [58]). Attention has been directed towards the importance of online dialogue for learning as a defining feature of the VLE. Communicative tools are an important…

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in Spain has increased the number of degrees taught through English, although secondary schools do not ensure an appropriate set of linguistic skills for bilingual degrees. A holistic, accountable model for Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-supported learning can give students the adequate…

This paper analyses the online talk of students working in groups collaboratively in a hybrid university course. In particular, this study investigates how students situate themselves relationally through their use of language and how particular moments of talk contribute to the construction of community in an online classroom environment. The…