The evaluation of virtual learning environments (VLEs) and similar applications has, to date, largely consisted of checklists of system features, phenomenological studies or measures of specific forms of educational efficacy. Although these approaches offer some value, they are unable to capture the complex and holistic nature of a group of…

Instructional communication researchers, by focusing attention on "how-to" matters and forays into conventional areas of study (i.e., immediacy, apprehension), neglect a nuanced treatment of student and teacher identity. Such a perspective is relatively disembodied and fails to engage actual classroom interactions. By engaging in autoethnographic…

This special report is a supplement to a series of special education primers created to inform state officials, authorizers and charter school operators about special education in the charter sector. The primer series also provides tools to help these stakeholders build charter school capacity to provide special education and related services. In…

Translating basic sciences into a clinical framework has been approached through the implementation of various teaching techniques aimed at using a patient case scenario to facilitate learning. These techniques present students with a specific patient case and lead the students to discuss physiological processes through analysis of provided data…

Six years ago the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation began a virtual high school within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Designed primarily to provide courses in specialized areas to students in rural areas, where schools have difficulty in attracting second language, mathematics and science teachers. However, there has…

This article examines the broad scope of systemised learning (e-learning) in post-statutory education. Issues for discussion include the origins and forms of learning systems, including technical and educational concepts and approaches, such as distributed and collaborative learning. The VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) is defined as the…

This study focuses on a synchronous e-class project which was developed to increase the effectiveness of a second year advanced reading course within the Distance English Language Teacher Training (DELTT) program in Turkey. The aim of the study is to explore the perceptions of learners who participated in the e-class application and the impact of…

This publication presents the following nine articles: (1) ATE [Advanced Technological Education] Readies Technicians for International Competition; (2) Technicians in Demand Worldwide; (3) Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Endorses International Protocols for Technicians; (4) Entrepreneurial Educator Creates InnovaBio to Meet…

This paper reports a synchronous project, "the virtual classroom" prepared for the Distance English Language Teacher Training (DELTT) Program. The process of developing the synchronous project and the interface with its specific components were reported with examples and supported by theoretical background from the related literature.…

The Virtual Math Teams Project is exploring how to create, structure, support, and assess an online chat-based collaborative community devoted to mathematics discourse. It is analyzing the forms of group cognition that emerge from the use of shared cognitive tools with specific functionalities. Centered on a case study of a synchronous online…

Virtual courses and schools--in which the student and the teacher are in different locations--have become commonplace at the university and high school level. Public, full-time virtual schooling for younger students, however, is still on the frontier of education. About a dozen states now offer full-time virtual schools among their public school…

Realizing the potential of online or virtual communities to facilitate teacher professional development requires educators to change their current perceptions of professional development. This calls for educators to develop new images of ongoing opportunities for professional development, based on their needs within an online community of learners…

Case studies are frequently used to prepare preservice teachers through reflection and analysis of classroom situations. Previous research suggests asynchronous online discussions provide more opportunity for reflection and analysis than face to face environments. Online case study discussions of two groups of preservice teacher education…

This paper discusses the role of blended learning in teacher education on a Master's programme at Manchester University. Blended learning is the bringing together of traditional physical classes with elements of virtual education. The paper focuses on one particular module of the degree and attempts to capture students experiences of using a…

This qualitative, explanatory study examined Post-RN baccalaureate nursing students' experiences of empowerment with distance education and computer conferencing (CC) for fit with the constructs of Kanter's (1977, 1993) Theory of Structural Power in Organizations. Seven post-RNs from Canadian distance education nursing programs were interviewed.…