Explores challenges that the design and realization of Web-based collaborative learning activities present for authors, tutors, and students, and suggests how quality can be assured. Describes a pilot study at a German vocational institution in a business English class that used a chat tool as computer mediated communication. (Author/LRW)

Describes learning experiences of three students enrolled in a training company's Web-based course on network administration that included a variety of online technologies, including a live virtual classroom, coaches, chat, and bulletin boards, to try and develop an online learning community. Concludes that learners must be taught how to form…

Discusses problems with distance education, focusing on the higher dropout rate in online, Web-based courses compared to traditional campus-based education. Topics include feelings of isolation; frustrations with the technology; anxiety; confusion; course design; helping establish a collaborative community of learners; virtual office hours; and…

Discusses user acceptance of blended learning in higher education distance education programs and reports on a study that investigated acceptance of Web enhancements to learning for on-campus and off-campus learners, access to computers, teacher-student interaction, and acceptance based on amount of use. Combined face-to-face instruction with…

Discussion of quality assurance strategies in university distance education programs focuses on a quality assessment designed around five components: administrative leadership and support, ongoing program concerns, Web course development, student concerns and needs, and faculty concerns and needs. Explains the University of Central Florida's…

Combining concepts of instructional design with the attributes of Web technology is one way to maximize Web-based learning. Highlights the applications, limitations, and cognitive implications of Web-based organizational techniques such as frames, image maps, and tables, and outlines a two-phase Web-based learning design model. (PEN)

Presents the methodology, results, and difficulties encountered in the development and delivery of a course through the Internet at a university in Rio de Janeiro. Provides a model for group work, including group discussions; and shows how a Web-based environment can be used to provide support and to facilitate cooperative learning. (Author/LRW)

Discusses learner-centered active assessment, or interactive assessment, and applies it to an instructional design course that used WebCT (a Web-based authoring/management tool) to support a face-to-face classroom setting. Highlights include a definition of classroom assessment; and results of pretests and posttests, class surveys, and course…

Proposes a variety of criteria for evaluating the potential of natural history museum websites for enhancing student learning in science, especially in those aspects of the science curriculum concerned with processes, methods, evidence, and interpretation. Reveals a diversity of perspectives and assumptions about the scientific research undertaken…

Identifies five principles for grading the products of student collaboration in on-line courses, derived from a survey of on-line instructors: thoroughly structure the project, construct the groups and match membership, monitor and communicate effectively, evaluate consistently, and evaluate the many as one. Offers a cautionary note on handling…

Reports on a pilot study conducted to determine whether the benefits of the case study method as a training framework for change initiatives in academic libraries could successfully transfer from traditional instruction to a virtual Web-based format. Presents results of a survey that evaluated the study and showed positive feedback. (Author/LRW)

Contends that the instructional potential of the Web, though vast, is not yet fully realized. Discusses a computer program called "The Office" which provides a learning environment to teach basic skills to adult learners or to learners of any age. Notes that the user/learner is able to move to different areas around the desk, use the office…

Describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a distributed Web-based learning community (DisWBLC) based on knowledge sharing for college students. Highlights include virtual learning communities; Web site resource searching; databases; screen design; user interface; feedback from teachers and students; and future possibilities.…

Graduate students (n=11) collaborated on a case study using either synchronous voice, asynchronous voice, or synchronous text communication system. Participants kept a log, wrote reflections, and were interviewed. Analysis reveals that each group strategically supplemented the system that had been assigned to them with additional communication…

Investigates the related characteristics of asynchronous learning material used for distance education and Web-based instruction and proposes a material characteristics model. Discusses the relationship among the degree of difficulty of the material, student characteristics, and student abilities; social factors; suitability of teaching materials…