This report provides national estimates on distance education at degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 2006-07 academic year. While this report covers many of the topics in the previous three reports, the data are not comparable. The definition of distance education in the 2006-07 study reflected two major changes from earlier studies.…

This paper explores the feasibility of using a blended approach to postgraduate research-degree supervision. Such a model could reduce research supervisors' workloads and improve the quality and success of Masters and Doctoral students' research output. The paper presents a case study that is based on a framework that was originally designed for…

In the context of hybrid instruction, this study was designed to explore whether gender has an influence on learners' preferences for synchronous or asynchronous modes of computer-mediated communication, and whether this decision impacts learners' self-efficacy (SE) towards knowledge acquisition. The participants were 180 teacher-education…

Critical thinking and knowledge construction have become essential competencies for people in the new information age. In this study, we designed an interactive learning environment involving three forms of interaction: individual reflections, group collaboration and, class discussions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is a cultural gap in student perceptions of online collaborative learning and to investigate to what extent student perceptions, motivation, and learning strategies change over time due to the actual involvement in a collaborative e-learning environment (ELE).…

This paper discusses a university-wide pilot designed to encourage academics to creatively explore learner-centred applications for digital audio. Participation in the pilot was diverse in terms of technical competence, confidence and contextual requirements and there was little prior experience of working with digital audio. Many innovative…

Pre-laboratory activities have been known to improve students' preparation before their practical work as they assist students to make available more working memory capacity for actual learning during the laboratory. The aim of this investigation was to compare two different teaching approaches which supported a pre-laboratory session by using the…

Drawing on the University of Massachusetts experience in developing successful blended local programs, this paper suggests guiding principles that include mission-driven responsiveness to local contexts and partnerships; using low-cost marketing strategies available through local relationships and brand; attending to students' preferences for…

Several forms of blended learning at Pace University offer flexible options for learners, and its growth reflects its appeal to traditional and corporate learners.

This article describes WebCampus.Stevens, the online graduate education and corporate training unit of Stevens Institute of Technology, which delivers one of the largest and most effective asynchronous learning network (ALN) and blended programs of any college or university in the New York metropolitan region. Under a newly awarded Sloan…

The Eduventures survey examined next-generation demand for online postsecondary education, assessing online experience, delivery mode and marketing channels preferences, and perceptions of price, quality and location, identifying key takeaways in each area.

The literature and research on online learning has grown significantly in the past decade. Many studies have been published that examine the extent, nature, policies, learning outcomes, and other issues associated with online instruction. Much of this literature focuses specifically on postsecondary education. With almost 4 million students or 22…

Development workers studying at the graduate level benefit from exposure to the great variety of cultures and worldviews. In the Australian National University's Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development (MAAPD) program, peer learning is giving current and future development workers in the field and in the classroom the chance…

The present study examines the impact of a novel online video lecture archiving system on in-class students enrolled in traditional math courses at a mid-sized, primarily undergraduate, university in the West. The archiving system allows in-class students web access to complete video recordings of the actual classroom lectures, and sometimes of…

Online education is established, growing, and here to stay. It is creating new opportunities for students and also for faculty, regulators of education, and the educational institutions themselves. Much of what is being learned by the practitioners will flow into the large numbers of blended courses that will be developed and delivered on most…