Up to this point, university education has largely remained unaffected by the developments of novel approaches to web-based learning. The paper presents a principled approach to the design of problem-oriented, web-based learning at the university level. The principles include providing authentic contexts with multimedia, supporting collaborative…

In this article the author explores the seamlessness between children's online and offline worlds. For children, there is no dichotomy of online and offline, or virtual and real; the digital is so much intertwined into their lives and psyche that the one is entirely enmeshed with the other. Despite early research pointing to the differences that…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits and challenges of using a virtual learning community (VLC) as a vehicle for workforce development. This paper argues that VLCs provide a flexible vehicle for workforce development. However, workplace realities may lead to unexpected challenges for participants wanting exploit the…

Reflection and professional development are two key practices that characterize an effective teacher and that are frequently overlooked in preservice training (Bowles, 2003; Halen-Faber, 1997; Patrick & Reinhartz, 1999). Reflection can be defined as the type of thinking that serves to challenge notions of prior learning (Halen-Faber, 1997), and…

Higher education is undergoing radical shifts that are part of the larger wave of changes taking place in the society. The transformation affects all sectors of higher education, especially distance learning and how it relates to the University's regular offerings. In this article, the author begins with clarifying the terms commonly associated…

Adoption of new educational technologies usually requires a dissemination strategy as an explicit element in the design of a system. This paper reviews elements in a "student-driven" dissemination strategy for Internet services, based on experiences with "cleo" and "carmen," Internet hosts operated by Murdoch…

Students and teachers need to develop skills in using available technological capacities. The curriculum described here is designed to familiarize students and teachers with equipment and software available at the Escuela Internacional Sampedrana's Primary School (EIS) in Honduras. Key features of the curriculum include the use of the Internet and…

The Internet is a vast network of computers that connects people and information all over the world. Children often know far more about computers than their parents do. However, children need their parents' involvement, experience, and judgment, whether the children are experienced computer users or just getting started. This booklet provides…

The capacity for immediate, or almost immediate, interaction between teacher and student is often cited by distance education program developers as one of the key reasons why interactive satellite courses can be as effective as face-to-face instruction. This paper analyzes the interaction between the learner and the instructor in the distance…

This report documents benefits and costs of restructuring two undergraduate courses at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to better utilize instructional technology. Professors of the two courses, one in philosophy and one in microbiology, participated in workshops designed to help faculty explore the potential of electronic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of computer conferencing on expository writing for undergraduate students (n=109) of seven intelligence types (linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal). Students were assigned to four treatment groups that provided…

Teacher training is high on the priorities of the European Commission. One action has been to fund three Telematics projects that focus on telematics and teacher training within the Telematics Application Program. This paper is part of the work of the T3 (Telematics for Teacher Training) project which is coordinated from the University of Exeter.…

In 1994, the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund made a commitment to school-age care by launching the MOST Initiative--a $6.5 million, multi-year project aimed at systemic community-based change to improve the quality and availability of out-of-school time for children in three cities: Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. The MOST Initiative was…

This paper describes a computer-supported environment designed to facilitate distance learning through collaborative problem-solving. The goal is to encourage distance learning students to work together, in order to promote both learning of collaboration and learning through collaboration. Collaboration is defined as working together on a common…

This paper looks at the pressures under which academics in Australia are currently working, with special regard to small regional universities. Some time will be spent in explaining the situation and context of those working in the field of education at Northern Territory University as an example. In many respects small regional universities are…