This special report examines how K-12 professional development is taking a more digital and freewheeling approach to educator training. The report--which also features a webinar and online chat--shows how professional development programs are now blending face-to-face and online training, incorporating social networking tools, offering…

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…

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offer new approaches towards knowledge acquisition and collaboration through distance learning processes. Web-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) have transformed the way that education is conducted nowadays. At the same time, the adoption of Virtual Worlds in the educational process is of great…

Universities have witnessed the consistent growth of increased college-level distance education programs with 32 percent of all students having taken at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2013). Key to this continued growth, however, is understanding the factors that contribute to the greatest growth and success in these programs.…

Over the past twenty years phenomenal developments in technology have changed the nature of education. Students now have access to a vast range of resources 24/7. This instant access has created a certain expectation on the part of the student and there must now be very few, if any, courses taught in higher education where the lecturer does not…

According to Molnar (2014), full time virtual school education lacks a measurement tool that accurately measures effective virtual teacher practice. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the current study sought to understand the common practices among full time K-8 virtual school teachers, the extent to which teachers believed such…

Chapters in this book include: (1) Adaptive Model for E-Learning in Secondary School (Todorka Glushkova); (2) Electronic- and Mobile-Learning in Electronics Courses Focused on FPGA (Giovanni Vito Persiano and Sergio Rapuano); (3) Promoting E-Learning in Distance Education Programs in an African Country (Kenneth Addah, Desmond Kpebu and Olivia A.…

In 1992, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation began its "Anytime, Anyplace Learning Program", the purpose of which was to explore educational alternatives for people who wanted to pursue an education via Internet technology. Part of this grant activity was a research award to the Babson College Survey Research Group to examine online learning in…

The world of virtual schooling is experiencing a host of major policy shifts that are opening doors for its expansion, but at the same time holding it up to greater scrutiny. This special report, the first in a three-part 2012-2013 series on virtual education, examines how state policymakers, educators, and schools are rethinking and changing the…

Using mixed methods, this study examined the nature of teacher-student interaction in an asynchronous, statewide, self-paced virtual high school. Eight teachers were interviewed to understand their perceptions on the nature of interactions and their role as a virtual school teacher. Interactions were primarily instructional in nature, taking the…

This study examines player activity in a game-based virtual learning environment as a means toward evaluating instructional and game design. By determining the goals embedded in project development and the availability and structure of in-game activities, the first part of this research highlights opportunities for players to engage with learning…

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have become ubiquitous in colleges and universities but have failed to consistently improve learning (Machin, 2007). An alternative interface can be provided in the form of a mashed-up personal learning environment (MUPPLE). The aim of this study was to investigate student perceptions of its desirability and…

This study evaluated the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) known as Second Life, integrated with Moodle and SLOODLE technologies, as an exploratory course delivery platform and for its ability to enable teachers to meet elements of NETS.T. Graduate student participants (N = 17) interacted, constructed simulated schools, and attended classes…

Leveraged by federal support to address the critical crisis in science education, scientists, science education researchers, and school teachers have started to join efforts to explore how to maximize the use of emerging technologies to improve science teaching and learning. There has been a surge of interest in the use of emerging 3 dimensional…

Despite the continued growth of K-12 online learning, there remains a need for additional research addressing roles of online facilitators and how they can improve the sense of community at K-12 online schools. The first article of this dissertation presents a case study illustrating how online facilitators can provide the same level of support…