The problem was the lack of SEL and social presence practices in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused student engagement to decline. The purpose was to explore educator perceptions of how SEL social presence practices affect student engagement during the transition from traditional learning. Grounded in social constructivism…

Online discussion forum is an important component for most online courses. There are different approaches to evaluating the quality of online discussion. This study proposed a multiple-dimensional evaluation framework from a knowledge building perspective. The proposed framework focused on how a topic was advanced in a sub-thread, what was the…

The number of students being enrolled in distance learning institutes is huge, which is a token of success for this mode of education. But literature showed that many students could not complete their degrees due to various reasons. Some of the reasons are common but can vary in different regions according to resources available and socio-economic…

The pandemic resulted in countless tips about how technology can replace face-to-face instruction. This paper illustrates how pedagogical philosophies can impact online course decisions and how a PCK frame offers a gateway for thinking about epistemological access and social justice during Emergency Online Teaching (EOT). This research followed an…

Online programs are becoming more ubiquitous in higher education; however, there has been a lack of research on the merit of this style of educating. Using the concept of constructivism as a framework, the idea that individuals construct their own understanding of world experiences, the authors generated a case study to explore the efficacy of…

This proposal presents findings from the large-scale study "Literacy Teacher Educators: Their Backgrounds, Visions, and Practices" which includes 28 literacy/English teacher educators (LTEs) from four countries. Five LTEs who use a constructivist approach are presented. Three aspects of their constructivism are discussed: knowledge is…

This case study provides evidence-based suggestions for the use of Question and Answer discussion forums for improving quality and assessment of online learning. General online discussion forums are accessible at any time to all subscribers, making it possible for some learners to update, concur with or paraphrase discussions posted earlier by…

Background: Despite the accumulating evidence highlighting the significant roles of an effective facilitator and appropriate pedagogies that a facilitator employs in shaping the professional learning environment, there is a paucity of research that explores how facilitators learn to facilitate. Purpose: The overall purpose of this study was to…

Sustained discourse is critical to the learning potential of online courses. And, while research has surfaced many factors that mediate interaction, it further suggests that sustained interaction remains elusive. In this paper, I propose that student facilitation may have an impact on the quality of facilitators' interactions following a week of…

This article investigates and interrogates notions of student-centered music learning through collaboration in digital spaces. By harnessing the power and potential of Internet networks, one music educator in Miami, FL challenged his students to an online music collaboration project (OMCP) where students were asked to engage in deterritorialized…

The rapid growth of technology has had a significant effect on educational activities. As a result of this growth, a shift has taken place from a behaviorist teaching style to a constructivist perspective which enables adult learners to build up knowledge collaboratively. Mentoring, a valuable tool within the constructivism approach, can offer a…

Recent progress in the discipline of computer applications such as the advent of web-based communication, afforded by the Web 2.0, has paved the way for novel applications in language learning, namely, social networking. Social networking has challenged the area of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) to expand its research palette in order to…

This article discusses insights gained from a case study on telecollaboration for intercultural communication in foreign language school contexts. Focus was on non-native English and German lingua franca conversations between pairs of students (aged 14-16, B1 level) from schools in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Telecollaboration…

Web annotation is a Web 2.0 technology that allows learners to work collaboratively on web pages or electronic documents. This study explored the use of Web annotation as an online discussion tool by comparing it to a traditional threaded discussion forum. Ten graduate students participated in the study. Participants had access to both a Web…

There is a severe shortage of rural physicians in America. One reason physicians choose not to practice, or persist in practice, in rural areas is due to a lack of professional community, i.e., community of practice (CoP). Online, "virtual" CoPs, enabled by now common Internet communication technology can help give rural physicians the…