This study explores the extent to which college context (two- vs. four-year), gender, and race/ethnicity correlated with worsening course outcomes during emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, by comparing outcomes within students between the fall 2019 pre-pandemic and spring 2020 pandemic terms. In particular, it explores the…

Many powerful teaching techniques have not yet fully transitioned from face-to-face use to the new remote instructional paradigm forced on teacher educators and teacher candidates during the pandemic. Experiences by candidates and by instructors in this new environment need to be compiled and shared as we head forward into structures and…

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in February of 2020 made online learning in higher education a necessity. Because faculty are key to the success of online instruction, their attitudes, experiences, and motivation need to be understood and respected (Hoffman, 2018). Some faculty more readily adapt to online learning instruction than others.…

Many colleges and universities are moving towards online learning as it increases access to education and aid in managing the growing enrollment. Students' engagement in schools has been a growing concern for academic institutes especially in today's time where online learning is prominent. This study explores instructor's perspective on the…

The healthy functioning of a school system depends upon many factors. The internal micro factors require a leader to take into account the heart and human conditions that coexist within the lived environment. The external macro factors are the events that occur in unexpected ways. When these internal micro factors are not functioning well, and a…

COVID-19 shuttered schools across the United States, upending traditional approaches to education. We examine teachers' experiences during emergency remote teaching in the spring of 2020 using responses to a working conditions survey from a sample of 7,841 teachers across 206 schools and 9 states. Teachers reported a range of challenges related to…

Opening with the history, recent advances, and emerging ways to use avatar-based virtual reality, an instructor who has used virtual environments since 2007 shares how these environments bring more options to community building, teaching, and education. With the open-source movement, where the source code for virtual environments was made…

We have developed a tool called Secure WEb dEvelopment Teaching (SWEET) to introduce security concepts and practices for web application development. This tool provides introductory tutorials, teaching modules utilizing virtualized hands-on exercises, and project ideas in web application security. In addition, the tool provides pre-configured…

When the modern U.S. environmental movement began in the 1970s, it relied largely on regulation to reduce negative environmental impacts. Companies responded by creating centers of environmental expertise within their organizations. The major focus of a second wave of corporate environmentalism, which began during the late 1980s, was on…

Over the past decade, online courses and entire online degree programs have been made available, serving millions of students in higher education. These online courses largely have been designed and taught using the theoretical concepts and practical strategies of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). During 2003-04, approximately two million…

Although online course completion rates are commonly believed to be lower than in other delivery modes, some programs achieve equal or better course completion rates. This issue presents studies that suggest certain practices contribute to student success. Readers are invited to contribute to work-in-progress on key factors for a framework of…

This paper is basically the "story" of the Sloan Semester. It is written in a journalistic/case-study style. The Sloan Semester was a vibrant and vitally important undertaking that required the immediate attention of a group of dedicated educators. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, though its sponsorship of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C),…

The "right to education" proclaimed by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights requires access to learning as well as the support systems. Since access can be interrupted by various circumstances, the possibility of providing continuity despite external dangers by using online distance education, offers an intriguing and valuable…

In the U.S., only 38 of every 100 ninth graders enroll in college; of these 38, only 18 complete bachelors' degrees within six years. Asynchronous learning networks (ALN)--asynchronous, highly interactive, instructor-led, resource-rich, cohort-based learning--can yield high success rates. Growing demand for online education and the expectation…

This article presents the results of a three-year study of "Gamestar Mechanic" (www.gamestarmechanic.com), a flash-based multiplayer online role-playing game developed for the MacArthur Foundation's digital media learning initiative by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gamelab in New York. The game's objective is to help children…