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…

The authors work as online tutors for a BSc (Hons) physiotherapy programme at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. This paper represents a stage in our developing understanding, over a 3 year period, of the impact of group dynamics on online interaction among physiotherapy students engaged in sharing with their peers their first experiences…

This paper summarizes the activities of the Darmstadt University Department of Computer Integrated Design (Germany) related to: (1) distributed lectures (i.e., lectures distributed online through computer networks), including equipment used and ensuring sound and video quality; (2) lectures on demand, including providing access through the World…

At the University of Birmingham, Information Services, together with the Staff Development Unit and the Learning Development Unit have been working together to set up a number of initiatives to support staff to use WebCT to underpin its learning and teaching strategy within a flexible framework. The framework seeks to invest in developing…

For the twenty-eighth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This collection of essays, which is separated into 4 sections, concerns open and distance learning at school level, or grades K-12. The first section, "The Knowledge Society," includes the following chapters: "Classroom Open Learning: A Case of Old Wine in New Bottles?" (Jenkins); "Living and Learning in the Information…

This paper describes two experiences in which traditional face-to-face and World Wide Web-based teaching methods were combined at the University of Barcelona (Spain) as part of a regular course in Environmental Education for student teachers. The first experience took place within the university when a Web-based module was delivered to a group of…

The Virtual University is an Internet-based learning environment developed at the University of Hagen (Germany). Complex teaching activities based on new concepts integrating net-based communication and cooperation facilities take place in the Virtual University. Experiences show that there is a threshold, especially for tutors in non-computer…

For the twenty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

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.

Universities are increasingly looking toward technology to overcome geographical barriers to access, and this has placed new demands on faculty to explore the potential of technology in their classrooms. As a result, faculty development in the use of appropriate applications for teaching and learning has become a critical issue. In the 2000…

This paper discusses the role of customized learning environments in the teaching of English to undergraduate science and technology students and focuses on a more subject-specific and skills-oriented approach in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It may be argued that multimedia technology and the Web have a vital role to play in integrating…

This paper discusses a qualitative participatory action research study, which examined the nature of the cohort learning experience in an online master's program, from both faculty and student perspectives. After describing this online master's program in adult education designed from a social constructivist theoretical frame, this paper discusses…

"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…