Discusses how the Internet is altering the intermediary roles of teachers, librarians, and media specialists. Highlights include the role of the middleman, research the way it used to be, research and learning now, online classrooms and distance learning, visions of the future, a timeline of the Internet and schools, educational research Web…

Increasingly computers in primary schools are being used to support the interactions and learning of students online. Gaining access to online spaces gives students new ways of interacting, not possible in a face-to-face setting. For example, interacting through online environments allows students to interact more informally with each other and…

The development and validation of an instrument designated as the Classroom and School Community Inventory (CSCI) are described. Scores on both the classroom form and the school form of the CSCI possess strong content validity, construct validity, internal consistencies, and 2-week test-retest reliability. Using a sample of 341 traditional and…

The University of Wisconsin Learning Innovations Center's instructional design model for World Wide Web delivered courses incorporates a range of collaborative discussions and interactive experiences for the learner. In addition, these courses capitalize on the multimedia learning environment that the web offers to accommodate many kinds of…

This article presents a summary of a study that was undertaken to increase the level of understanding of some of the issues associated with distance learning in higher education. The authors sought to do this by gathering and comparing direct feedback from both on-campus and off-campus students regarding discussion, attendance, and student…

This presentation is a discursive treatment of the migration of a classroom based translation class to online delivery using the Virtual Learning Environment WebCT. The main focus is not on the VLE itself, but on the pedagogical challenges posed by the move to online delivery and the course structure developed to retain as many of the advantages…

Student perceptions were investigated toward their experience of learning online in a web-based graduate social policy course. Overall, student perceptions were positive toward the online features of this course with the most useful features being the PowerPoint lecture notes and the Discussion Board. Students were more satisfied with their…

Student responses to a tertiary, flexibly delivered physics course are examined. The course was designed to provide secondary science teachers in rural regions of NSW, Australia, with a qualification appropriate to teach senior physics, and is a response to the lack of new physical science teachers currently being trained. Evaluations indicate…

While technology has for many years been a critical component in programs for adults and calls to mind sophisticated gadgetry with expensive price tags, it is often the nexus where technology and humans intersect that proves most critical to the success and quality of adult degree programs.

"Keeping Pace" has several goals. First, it strives to add to the body of knowledge about online education policy and make recommendations for advances. Second, it serves as a reference source for information about programs and policies across the country, for both policymakers and practitioners who are new to online education as well as those who…

This report is the third in a series of annual reports looking at the state of online education across the country. The goal of "Keeping Pace" is to be a useful document for policymakers and practitioners, and as such it takes a journalistic approach to research and writing instead of an academic approach. This report has two goals: first, to add…

This article presents sets of observations and recommendations for Web-based distance learning, based on formative and summative performance and opinion data collected from participants involved in the design, development, and utilization of Wired Class, a Web-based learning environment that was developed to teach mathematics to Egyptian secondary…

The goal of "Keeping Pace" is to to serve as a useful document for policymakers and practitioners, and as such, it takes a journalistic approach to research and writing. Most state and program profiles include footnotes that reference state laws, state policies, and websites of programs. However, in some cases, the information is general and was…

This paper reports on a pilot project in which German universities in Freiburg, Constance, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Ulm connected computer science departments via the Internet for a summer 1997 telelecture and teletutorial on computers and society. The first section provides background on telelearning and introduces the case study. The second…

Online learning is growing rapidly across the United States within all levels of education, as more and more students and educators become familiar with the benefits of learning unconstrained by time and place. Across most states and all grade levels, students are finding increased opportunity, flexibility, and convenience through online learning.…