This paper presents a study of practice that was conducted during the piloting of a vocational (health care) e-course at the Distance Learning department of a College of Further and Higher Education in England. The purpose of the study was to establish a course of action aiming to support non-native English speaking learners to successfully…

This study's purpose was to explore effectiveness of alternate format in-service delivery for what teachers needed to know to effectively teach their students with Autism Spectrum Disorder/High Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome (ASD/HFA/AS) in the general education setting. The study's research questions included: Did participants learn…

This paper reports on an empirical research on the Interaction Equivalency Theorem posited by Anderson (2003a), consisting of the three elements of teacher-student-content interaction. Using an author-developed survey, the paper reports the priority order of interaction elements to assure learning quality with two parameters of learning modes and…

This article explores student perceptions of social task development in an online group project and poses recommendations for implementation of group projects. Qualitative methods were used to analyze student perceptions of social task development in online group project. Respect, "being nice," follow the rules/follow the leader, communication,…

The present study investigated (1) the impact of cognitive styles on learner performance in well-structured and ill-structured learning, and (2) scaffolding as a cognitive tool to improve learners' cognitive abilities, especially field dependent (FD) learners' ability to thrive in an ill-structured learning environment. Two experiments were…

The lecture content of a Plant Biology class for non-majors was transformed from a traditional on-campus lecture to an asynchronous website for use both as a stand-alone internet-based course and as an adjunct to the on-campus course. Additional information and examples of the online interactive activities included in PLB 108, Concepts in Plant…

Higher education institutions deliver web-based learning with varied success. The success rate of distributed online courses remains low. Factors such as ineffective course facilitation and insufficient communication contribute to the unfulfilled promises of web-based learning. Students consequently feel unmotivated. Instructor control and in the…

Virtual learning is a popular teaching modality, and it has been reported in research that there is no significant difference in academic outcome as compared with face-to-face courses. Not all researchers agree with this assertion and some claim it is more difficult to teach math-oriented subjects online. Given that educational psychology theories…

This study explored rural middle-school students' participation in an online summer reading course. The research question explored the patterns and practices of the student's participation in an online reading course and the instructional moves made by the teacher. Data were gathered from a small group (n = 4) of rural middle school students…

This paper reports the results of the first phase of a mixed methods study investigating the attitudes of students enrolled in a distance education MBA program towards interacting more with other students online. It grapples with the issue of whether students enrolled in a successful distance education program grounded in instructivist and…

This study provides a simultaneous examination of all components of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Anderson, Rourke, Garrison & Archer, 2001; and Rourke, Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999) and seeks to extend previous work into the nature, development, and relationships between the constructs of…

This paper examines the differences that exist between the traditional face-to-face classroom and the online courseroom. Instructors should begin by identifying the epistemological foundation for the course conversion process. During the instructional design phase, courses can be developed from a team approach or by the instructor alone. Issues of…

Lack of student participation and intrinsic motivation in online learning environments is a challenge to instructional design. There are some online communities which overcome this challenge by attracting participants from diverse backgrounds to engage, learn, and share information within their context. Eksisozluk, an online collaborative…

Although online course completion rates are commonly believed to be lower than in other delivery modes, some programs achieve equal or better course completion rates. This issue presents studies that suggest certain practices contribute to student success. Readers are invited to contribute to work-in-progress on key factors for a framework of…

The online participatory exam transforms the traditional exam into a constructivist, cooperative and engaging learning experience. Students learn from designing and answering exam questions, from evaluating their peers' performance, and from reading questions, answers and evaluations. This paper, aimed at faculty who teach online and at…