The new Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science (CS) Principles course increases the need for quality CS teachers and thus the need for professional development (PD). This article presents the results of a 2-year study investigating how teachers teaching the AP CS Principles course for the first time used online PD material. Our results showed…

This study shared unique design experiences by examining the process of transferring residential courses to the Web, and proposed a design model for individuals who want to transfer their courses into this environment. The formative research method was used in the study, and two project teams' processes of putting courses, which were being taught…

Purpose: The current literature examining the design of effective online learning opportunities recommends an array of best practices but no agreed upon and unifying model. The purpose of this paper is to survey the existing research of effective design models for online learning in an attempt to identify best practices and present a new model.…

This study investigates and compares the relative importance of Web module design dimensions and their attributes as perceived by student participants in a research study and those defined by a selected group of researchers in the literature. We aim to understand whether the dimensions of clarity, organization, structure, visual/aesthetical…

This article reports the findings of a recent empirical study that was conducted at a large university in the United States. The study compared the findings from modern learning theories to reported perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in online learning environments. The intention of the study was to compare perceived…

Distance education and web-based courses are mainstream in the United States higher education and growing (NCES, 2003) involving over 80% of four year public universities in 2002. The National Academy of Science review of "how people learn" suggests that technology-mediated learning can be used to respond to students' preferences and…

Online learning is expanding rapidly today in many Canadian universities. Fuelled by Canada's unprecedented broadband access, online teaching is creating new challenges for faculty and new responsibilities for educational developers. Although there is adequate literature with regard to faculty thinking about course planning in general, there are…

Scot Headley outlines five roles that online instructors can use to increase the sense of community and depth of learning in their courses; they are space planner, pacesetter, host, connector, and mirror. These roles underscore the importance of strong relationships between teacher and student, particularly in an online setting. Headley provides…

Online education holds great potential for rural states like South Dakota, which has been recognized for advances in distance education. To maximize the potential of online learning, design elements that students believe are needed for successful online learning experiences must be identified. In this study, we present the qualitative and…

There is a growing number of web-based and web-assisted course development tools and products that can be used to create on-line learning environment. The utility of these products, however, varies greatly depending on their feasibility, prerequisite infrastructure, technical features, interface, and course development and management tools. WebCT…

Despite the ever-increasing number of higher education institutions offering online courses, there are still a lot of controversial debates and a strong sense of confusion about how well the concept of Web-based distance learning is being implemented. This paper summarizes the 10 primary steps toward the assessment, planning, design,…

The proliferation of online courses underscores the need to re-examine the foundations upon which courses are grounded. In particular, an emerging perspective in science education requires designers to account for scientific inquiry in student-centered science learning environments. With a focus on open-ended learning environments and grounded…

This paper describes how student reactions shaped the design of a WWW (World Wide Web)-based course environment at the University of Twente (Netherlands), using the example of a first year course. The first section discusses the importance of user interface (re)design for WWW-based courses. The University's focus on student evaluations of…