This study investigates how students perceive and use collaborative technologies while also examining the meanings students assign to both collaboration and technology. A qualitative inductive analysis of students' assignments in a professional communication course demonstrates that students use technology to collaborate for its Accessibility,…

Online environments increasingly are becoming a part of our schools. While online education holds tremendous promise--offering viable and attractive options for advancing student skills, increasing access, and potentially lowering the cost of educational services--there is little research on the efficacy of online instruction for students with…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between students' emotional intelligence, social bond, and their interactions in an online learning environment. The research setting in this study was a 100% online master's degree program within a university located in the Midwest of the United States. Eighty-four students participated…

Wawasan Open University (WOU) was established in 2007 with the sole aim of providing affordable and accessible higher education opportunities to working adults in the fields of business, technology, education and liberal studies. As part of its Open Distance Learning (ODL) delivery, WOU provides tutorial support for students every semester through…

This quasi-experimental, mixed methods study examined the transfer of a well-established pedagogical strategy, Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), to an online workshop environment (cPLTL) in a general chemistry course at a research university in the Midwest. The null hypothesis guiding the study was that no substantive differences would emerge between…

The careers profession in England is facing unprecedented challenges. Initiatives to improve service delivery while keeping costs low are attractive and online training holds the promise of high impact at low cost. The present study employs a qualitative methodology to evaluate a series of online "webinars" conducted with 15 careers…

Our contribution focuses on synchronous oral telecollaboration in secondary schools. With reference to the EU project TILA, aspects of task design and implementation are discussed against the backdrop of issues of technological quality in connection with class organisation in computer labs. Case study evidence is provided in favour of the…

In this paper, we present findings on moderation of synchronous, small-group argumentation in blended, co-located learning environments. Drawing on findings from the literature on human facilitation of dialogue in face-to-face settings, we first elaborate on the potential promise of this new practice. However, little is known about what…

This study investigated the effectiveness of incidental focus on form in promoting second language development in text-based live chats. Sixteen college-level Taiwanese English language learners were partnered with American college students to complete two communicative tasks via synchronous chats on Instant Messenger. Language-related episodes…

A pilot program to provide real-time library webcasts to Regis University distance students using Adobe Connect software was initiated in fall of 2011. Previously, most interaction between librarians and online students had been accomplished by asynchronous discussion threads in the Learning Management System. Library webcasts were offered in…

Two groups of college students majoring in translation participated in the study. They were enrolled in an English grammar course. The control group received face-to-face in-class grammar practice; whereas the experimental group received synchronous online practice using Elluminate Live, a web-conferencing software associated with Blackboard LMS.…

In this paper we examine how two groups of middle school students arrive at shared understandings of and solutions to mathematical problems. Our data consists of logs of student participation in the Virtual Math Teams (VMT) system as they work on math problems. The project supports interaction both through chat and through a virtual whiteboard. We…

Online education is often assumed to be synonymous with asynchronous instruction, existing apart from or supplementary to face-to-face instruction in traditional bricks-and-mortar classrooms. However, expanding access to computer-mediated communication technologies now make new models possible, including distance learners synchronous online…

This study investigated the attitudes of peer tutors who received web conferencing training in preparation for synchronous online tutoring. A quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate changes in peer tutors' attitudes toward distance learning following participation in an online tutor training program. Peer tutors were found to have: (a)…

With increasing demand of mobile devices and cloud computing, it becomes increasingly important to develop efficient mobile application and its secured backend, such as web applications and virtualization environment. This dissertation reports a systematic study of mobile application development and the security issues of its related backend. …