This paper attempts to explain the various concepts related to self-directed learning and also the various theories and models regarding adult participation and also non-participation in self-directed learning programs. Because of the extensive amount of previous literature and research findings dealing with self-directed learning, it is necessary…

Teacher has a new role in the digital age. Call him facilitator or mentor. He is expected to help learners learn at their own pace rather than push concepts and rules onto them. Though such roles have been around for years, e-learning is forcing them in letter and spirit and changing many a rules for the teacher and the taught. Profile and…

As the 21st century's first decade draws to a close, America's public school students are participating in online academic classes in increasingly large numbers. More than one million K-12 public school students took online courses in the 2007-2008 school year, according to an estimate in a recent Sloan Consortium survey. This represents a 47…

Mobile devices are more powerful and portable nowadays with plenty of useful tools for assisting people to handle daily life. With the advance of mobile technology, the issue of mobile learning has been widely investigated in e-learning research. Many researches consider it is important to integrate pedagogical and technical strengths of mobile…

This paper reviews research on learning from dynamic visual representations and offers principles for the design of animations and simulations that assure their educational effectiveness. In addition to established principles, new and revised design principle are presented that have been derived from recent research. Our review focuses on the…

Learning in immersive virtual worlds (simulations and virtual worlds such as Second Life) could become a central learning approach in many curricula, but the socio-political impact of virtual world learning on higher education remains under-researched. Much of the recent research into learning in immersive virtual worlds centres around games and…

Advocates of online learning are optimistic about its potential to promote greater access to college by reducing the cost and time of commuting and, in the case of asynchronous approaches, by allowing students to study on a schedule that is optimal for them. This goal of improved access has been one of the top motivators for postsecondary…

The majority of school districts in the U.S. are providing some form of online learning for their students. In the past, virtual schools primarily targeted advanced students who didn't have access to certain courses in their regular schools. Recently, however, many virtual schools have shifted their focus to credit recovery as a way to provide…

Argumentation is an important skill to learn. It is valuable not only in many professional contexts, such as the law, science, politics, and business, but also in everyday life. However, not many people are good arguers. In response to this, researchers and practitioners over the past 15-20 years have developed software tools both to support and…

This article reports on a comprehensive study, investigating the use of e-tools for formative assignment assessment. The study conducted a large-scale literature review and interviews with 90 academics at five New Zealand tertiary institutions. The focus of the study was on formative assessment provided in assignments, an area in which educational…

This literature review explores research regarding the perception of potential employers or "gatekeepers" about online degrees in comparison with those earned in a traditional format. This review contributes to the field of knowledge because higher education can benefit from understanding how these perceptions affect students' employment…

In this article I survey educational research conducted in South Africa based on articles published in the "South African Journal of Education" ("SAJHE") over the past five years. The themes that feature prominently in "SAJHE" over the past five years are: "Africanisation and indigenous knowledge,"…

Through literature review, this paper examines six empirical studies. Three cases are from the United States and the other three are from studies conducted in Asian. The purpose of this study is to identify whether or not self-directed learning is a key factor leading to successful academic performance in web-based learning environments. The…

This study explores the relationship between graduate students' communication practices and their perceived sense of program-level community within a graduate program. The program under study consists of both traditional on-campus students, as well as students who take classes via a distributed-learning model. This particular program has made a…

This paper examines the possible influence of podcasting on the traditional lecture in higher education. Firstly, it explores some of the benefits and limitations of the lecture as one of the dominant forms of teaching in higher education. The review then moves to explore the emergence of podcasting in education and the purpose of its use, before…