Social work programs are preparing professionals to respond to natural disasters and global pandemics when they arise. However, literature on the learning experiences of students in the social work classroom with synchronous instruction during a natural disaster or global pandemic is limited, as is documentation of the experiences of social work…

This brief presents a clear blueprint for how educators can design engaging and generative instruction for English Learners in distance learning environments. Acknowledging the challenges that prevent students from learning in traditional ways, Walqui emphasizes the importance of teaching students to engage in metacognition as a way of becoming…

Educational Technology and Design 879 is a graduate course that introduces students to the basics of video design and production. In an attempt to improve the learning experience for students a redesign of the course was implemented for the summer of 2011 that incorporated an authentic design studio model. The design studio approach is based on…

In today's information technology world, real time financial data is readily available via many financial websites, such as MSN Money, Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, etc. The incorporation of computer technology in finance classes has become more popular than ever in this information technology rich environment. Mediated classrooms have rapidly…

Take advantage of teen internet savvy and redirect students' online travels toward exploration of our environment through streaming real-time data (RTD). Studies have shown that using RTD adds relevancy to students' learning experiences and engages them in scientific investigations. (Contains 14 online resources and 5 figures.)

As online learning environments now have an established presence in higher education we need to ask the question: How effective are these environments for student learning? Online environments can provide a different type of learning experience than traditional face-to-face contexts (for on-campus students) or print-based materials (for distance…

Recently, many counselor education programs have considered whether and how to offer courses online. Although online counselor education courses are becoming increasingly common, the use of synchronous (real-time) teaching approaches appears to be limited at best. In this article, we provide a context and rationale for incorporating online…

Virtual worlds are engaging, stimulating spaces where students can meet online for normal class activities, including lectures, discussions, case studies, projects, papers, exams, and labs. Classes are a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activity. A virtual world class differs from a traditional course management system, such as Blackboard or…

Imagine soaring in the Earth's atmosphere to near the edge of space. Is there air to breathe? Is it dark? Are there clouds? What about air pressure? Fifth-grade students from Ferguson Elementary in Klamath Falls, Oregon, were wondering these questions as they participated in "To the Edge of Space," an exciting, yearlong collaborative…

"Elearning2.0" promises to harness the power of three of today's most disruptive technologies: social software, elearning, and Web2.0. Our own work in this disruptive space takes as a starting premise that social networking is critical for learning: finding the right person can be more important than "scouring the web for an answer" particularly…

Background: Many of the potential benefits of using virtual worlds for teaching and learning are difficult to define and often become overly focused on the functionality of the technology or on its ability to support informal or "social" forms of learning. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to highlight the experiential nature of virtual…

In order to match the customary strengths of the still dominant face-to-face instructional mode, a high-performance online learning system must employ synchronous as well as asynchronous communications; buttress graphics, animation, and text with live audio and video; and provide many of the features and processes associated with course management…