Demonstrates the use of a Web-based participative virtual learning environment for graduate students in Brazil enrolled in an electronic commerce course in a Masters in Business Administration program. Discusses learning communities; computer-supported collaborative work and collaborative learning; influences on student participation; the role of…

Proposes some possible ways of using an interactive whiteboard as a means of stimulating pupils' thinking and active participation. (KHR)

Explains how Rutgers University libraries have been experimenting with platforms in which more complex Web database technology can be reused by designing generic software functions and a generic database. Describes a platform for collecting and cataloging Web sites for an undergraduate course in history. (LRW)

Discussion of online learning and standards for web-based and computer-based courseware focuses on learning objects, defined here as small, stand-alone units of instruction that can be tagged with descriptors and stored for reuse in various instructional contexts. Presents principles of learning object design and guidelines for assuring that…

Presents a study in which participants of the Virtual Geography Department (VGD) at the University of Texas (Austin) were interviewed in order to learn about the effects the VGD had on their educational practice. Demonstrates that the VGD inspires innovative practice in geography by training faculty members in online instruction. (CMK)

Reports on a qualitative emergent design study of a preservice teacher's Web-enhanced course on science, technology, and society interaction. Highlights include intellectual scaffolding needed to develop understanding through open-ended inquiry; students' discomfort; paradigm shifts in science education and distance education; metacognition; and…

Discussion of distance education focuses on a study that investigated how learning strategies and motivation influence performance in Web-based and lecture settings of a business information systems course. Considers deep, surface, and undirected learning strategies and suggests implications for course design and instruction that should take…

Discusses group learning on the Internet and problems of unequal participation and describes the development of a Web-based learning system called NetShare (Networked Sharing Construction Environment) that uses a cooperative-competitive learning strategy to facilitate participants' equal contributions. Reports preliminary results of a study with…

Web-based training will probably become the medium of choice for most technology-delivered training because of its worldwide accessibility and the ease with which it can be updated. The effect it will have on learning will depend on how well principles of learning and instruction are applied. (JOW)

Discusses Web-based training for corporations and offers guidelines to help determine whether an organization is ready for this use of technology. Considers the organizational culture, size, characteristics of learners, content complexity, technical infrastructure, just-in-time or anytime training needs, and support available. (LRW)

Describes the following phases of multimedia courseware production: (1) needs assessment; (2) content and design; (3) rapid prototype; (4) storyboarding; (5) building the course using the production pathway; (6) usability testing; (7) quality assurance and testing. Benefits of Web-based courseware, courseware development team members and roles,…

Discussion of the current change process in universities focuses on a study at the University of Twente (Netherlands) that identified scenarios regarding organizational practice to guide decision-making for the future. Considers educational trends, including changes in social context, flexibility, commercialization, and technology; and scenarios…

Explains the Universal Design for Learning that provides students with multiple representations of information. Highlights include a graduate course that offered printed materials, online text, movies, videotapes, and a Web site; providing multiple representations of content for students with disabilities; and multiple options for expressing…

Examines how the use of server-based courseware development solutions affects the instructional design process when creating online distance education. Highlights include pedagogical, visual interface (e.g., visual metaphor and navigation layout), interaction, and instructional design implications of online courseware. (Contains 54 references.)…

Examines the Korean National Open University's (KNOU) four recent technology initiatives for distance education, including an online database and multimedia digital library, an integrated Web-based student support system, a videoconferencing network, and Web-based course. Suggests that it is instructional design, not technology, which is at the…