This paper describes a computer-supported environment designed to facilitate distance learning through collaborative problem-solving. The goal is to encourage distance learning students to work together, in order to promote both learning of collaboration and learning through collaboration. Collaboration is defined as working together on a common…

Due to its sparse, rural population and long distances, Alberta province (Canada) has been providing education at a distance since 1923 for students in grades 1 through 12 and adults who wish to complete their high school education through correspondence. This handbook is published as a resource for Alberta schools that offer distance learning…

CNU Online is the computer-managed instructional delivery system of Christopher Newport University (CNU) (Newport News, Virginia). Fully functional to deliver online courses since fall 1994, CNU Online has undergone a thorough assessment as required in its original assessment plan. In the 1994-95 school year, the online population did not differ…

This paper describes a World Wide Web-based introductory course titled "Hypermedia Structures and Systems," offered as an optional part of the curriculum in computing science at the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands). The technical environment for the current (1996) edition of the course is presented, which features…

This paper presents a model of collaborative telelearning and describes how coordination theory has provided a framework for the analysis of actor (inter)dependencies in this scenario. The model is intended to inform the instructional design of learning scenarios, the technological design of the telelearning environment, and the design of…

The fifth in a series of selected ERIC bibliographies on computer-based education begun in 1973, Computer-Based Education: The Best of ERIC, 1983-1985 provides citations and abstracts for over 250 documents selected from the more than 500 that were entered in the ERIC files over the three-year period. The emphasis in selection was on documents…

This paper describes a project which created a set of World Wide Web (WWW) pages documenting the state of the art in educational multimedia design; a prototype WWW-based multimedia teaching tool--a podiatry test using HTML forms, 24-bit color images and MPEG video--was also designed, developed, and evaluated. The project was conducted between…

This collection is designed for use by educators who need to make decisions about the use of microcomputers in schools, or who want to keep abreast of new developments in the field. The report provides an overview of the literature entered into the ERIC database in 1989 on computer use in elementary and secondary education, adult education, and…

Online teaching and learning has been in transition for its entire existence. The number of courses offered at a distance has grown rapidly. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (Waits & Lewis, 2003), in 2000-2001 more than 56% of four-year colleges and universities in the United States offered distance education degree…

This paper describes a system called ANDES, designed for the management and delivery of distance education courses. ANDES enables students to study at home at their own pace, as well as interact with instructors and other students in virtual classrooms. It uses World Wide Web technology for transmission and delivery, with extensions relevant to…

Global civilization means simultaneously progress for everybody and destruction of the ethical and mythical nucleus of individual cultures. The role of education in the global world would be to start a universal dialogue between all the cultural groups of the world. Education will save the values now in danger, because a multicultural dialogue may…

This book explores the essentials of distance education and reviews issues facing large open universities (mega-universities) worldwide. It uses examples from industry and the knowledge media, to show how technology-based learning can be made attractive both to students and to institutions. The book's eight chapters, including 10 figures and 5…

This synthesis report provides an extensive overview of literature evaluating use and effectiveness of distance learning technologies in delivering continuing education (CE) for health professionals. Chapter 2 discusses advantages and disadvantages of correspondence materials, explores suggestions for improving print-based learning materials, and…

Instructional design is a critical factor in a successful distance education environment. An efficient design analyzes audience and needs, creates learning goals/objectives, develops materials, methods and media for content delivery, and plans for evaluation and feedback. Design implementation requires certain instructional criteria: (1)…

This paper presents a framework for producing learning environments (LEs) on the World Wide Web that improves productivity and quality at a reduced cost for both designers and learners. The resulting LEs are germane to fractals. Changes in scale are likened to levels in LEs; each level expresses a given viewpoint on knowledge. Self-similarity…