Students are most successful in online courses that provide ample opportunities for them to interact with the instructor, other students, and the course content. An interactive online course must engage students as active learners rather than as passive participants. How can instructors design virtual classrooms that offer students with a variety…

In June 2004, "Thwarted Innovation: What Happened to e-learning and Why," a report by Robert Zemsky and William F. Massy, created a minor stir among many professionals associated with distance learning. This article addresses many of the issues arising from the publication of "Thwarted Innovation," and in addition, it borrows several concepts from…

Online course delivery can be a dynamic learning experience where information is used to shape and extend thinking. The challenge is creating a virtual classroom that combines evocative resources with tasks that enhance and stimulate student learning. New models are needed to reflect the changing learning environment that began with the advent of…

Purpose: The paper argues that virtual situated learning environments (VSLE), designed as authentic learning experiences, can provide managers with broader learning opportunities while also cater for the learning needs of the increasing number of peripatetic managers. Design/methodology/approach: An action learning methodology, using first person…

This paper reports the findings of a case study in which audio feedback replaced text-based feedback in asynchronous courses. Previous research has demonstrated that participants in online courses can build effective learning communities through text based communication alone. Similarly, it has been demonstrated that instructors for online courses…

With the advent of new technologies, more convenient and effective ways of learning are being adopted. However, despite the growing advancements there remains a lack of literature in applications of using these technology teaching approaches. This book offers in-depth analysis of new technologies in blended learning that promote creativity,…

Higher education and in particular Colleges of Education are viewed as falling behind in the use of technology for teaching and learning (Lederman & Niess, 2000). With today's student population identified as digital natives and the evening news discussing the potential of virtual worlds as new learning environments, an examination of the…

A ubiquitous learning environment provides an interoperable, pervasive, and seamless learning architecture to connect, integrate, and share three major dimensions of learning resources: learning collaborators, learning contents, and learning services. Ubiquitous learning is characterized by providing intuitive ways for identifying right learning…

A brief review shows several suggested ways in which cultural historical activity theory has proved valuable to technology supported learning environments. Three of our own design cases are then described (evaluating a peer to peer interface for learning objects, designing an on-line school, and rethinking a public science centre). These are…

This paper describes efforts made by the faculty at Santa Fe Community College (Florida) to provide a learning-centered instructional environment for students in an introductory statistics class. Innovation in instruction has been stressed as institutions switch from "teacher-centered classrooms" to "student-centered…

This project started as a pilot study that examined and evaluated a single course that was delivered during the 1999-2000 academic year in a traditional lecture-based section, as well as in a telecourse section and a Web-based section. The hypothesis of the study was that there was no significant difference between the three courses in terms of…

Offers advice on how to implement an online learning program. Includes a description of the planning process, funding requirements, teacher training, technology requirements, access options, and management and control issues. Describes some common types of online learning programs and virtual schools. Includes excerpts from "Guide to Online School…

The article documents a two-year interpretive case study of fourth through sixth grade students engaged in a problem-based telecollaboration exchange between classrooms in Laramie, Wyoming, and Monteverde, Costa Rica. Problem-based learning was viewed in concert with a constructivist perspective to guide examination of global issues. The…

As a result of the growth of virtual schools across the United States, K-12 school courses and diplomas are increasingly offered, either completely or partly, at a distance. In light of this increase, it is apparent that there will be demand for teachers who are prepared to teach from a distance and a complementary need for local counselors. The…

The author builds theoretically off an alternative conception of the virtual, through a series of steps. First, he explores four processes of engagement through which immersion happens (interest, involvement, imagination and interaction); these will prove especially important for understanding the educational potential of virtuality. Second, he…