Going down a slide, dancing to music, and pushing someone on a tire swing are more than simply "play activities" or a means to staying physically fit. Engagement in motor play provides important opportunities for preschoolers to develop a variety of skills, including gross motor, social, communication, and cognitive skills. However,…

A common rationale for offering online courses in K-12 schools is that they allow students to take courses not offered at their schools; however, there has been little research on how online courses are used to expand curricular options when operating at scale. We assess the extent to which students and schools use online courses for this purpose…

This study approaches teachers' identity development from a dialogical viewpoint, focusing on teachers' voices in a training course context about critical incidents (CIs) in teaching. The training course entailed the analysis and reflection of 15 CIs in online teaching from 12 online university teachers. The study's empirical element was 328…

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides a general-purpose categorization scheme for assessing the utility of new and emerging three-dimensional interactive digital environments (3D-IDEs), along with specific pedagogic approaches that are known to work. It argues for the use of 3D-IDEs on the basis of their ludic appeal and ability to provide intrinsic…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has automatically become a normal practice of the "Next Normal". Intensive English is a compact three-week course offered to get first-year students ready for university study. Online learning was something new for both students and instructors. A key challenge in online learning was how to…

With the proliferation of students' abilities to use technology, in particular virtual reality (VR) applications, teachers are experimenting with VR in virtual learning environments (VLE) to engage students; but clear ethics and safety guidelines are not available. Within the field of education additional research is needed to determine how VR is…

This paper is a follow-up to determine the accuracy of the predictions stated in a previously published article titled "Higher Education in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Dean's Perspective" (Rowley, 2020). Those predictions were more like educated guesses since the paper was written in 2020, the year the pandemic was beginning to spread…

This paper suggests changes that are likely to occur in higher education resulting from the coronavirus pandemic from a retired dean's perspective. Global events like the Great Depression and World War II led to significant societal and cultural changes. This global pandemic will have the same impact. Higher education will not be the same in the…

The underlying methodological approach of the CEFR is defined as being "action-oriented" and task-based (Council of Europe. 2001. "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment." Cambridge University Press: 9), although it explicitly leaves room for a variety of approaches, since the CEFR…

Purpose: This paper aims to present an approach to achieve accessible and inclusive Virtual Education for all, but especially intended for students with disabilities. This work proposes main steps to take into consideration for stakeholders involved in the educational process related to an inclusive e-Learning. Design/methodology/approach: The…

This article will review the experiences of a graduate counselor educator in teaching and evaluating her online courses. The author will summarize her most effective instructional and assessment mechanisms, based on student performance through achievement of course objectives as well as students' feedback and comments on specific online counseling…

Advanced three-dimensional virtual environment technology, similar to that used by the film and computer games industry, can allow educational developers to rapidly create realistic online vir-tual environments. This technology has been used to generate a range of interactive Virtual Real-ity (VR) learning environments across a spectrum of…

Wawasan Open University (WOU) was established in 2007 with the sole aim of providing affordable and accessible higher education opportunities to working adults in the fields of business, technology, education and liberal studies. As part of its Open Distance Learning (ODL) delivery, WOU provides tutorial support for students every semester through…

Virtual learning environments constitute current information systems' category for electronically supported training and development in (higher) education(al) and vocational training settings. Frequently expected advantages of using virtual learning environments refer, for instance, to the efficiency, individuality, ubiquity, timeliness and…

Using 3D virtual environments for educational purposes is becoming attractive because of their rich presentation and interaction capabilities. Furthermore, dynamically adapting the 3D virtual environment to the personal preferences, prior knowledge, skills and competence, learning goals, and the personal or (social) context in which the learning…