This paper traces the genesis of the MIT OpenCourseWare project from its initial strategic precursors in 1999 and 2000, through its launch in 2001 and its subsequent evolution. The story told here illuminates the interplay among institutional leadership, and strategic planning, and with university culture in launching major educational technology…

The research presented in this paper is an examination of the applicability of IUI techniques in an online e-learning environment. In particular we make use of user modeling techniques, information retrieval and extraction mechanisms and collaborative filtering methods. The domains of e-learning, web-based training and instruction and intelligent…

Explores the potential of Web-based training for PACS (Picture Archival and Communication Systems) used in radiology departments for the storage and archiving of patients' medical images. Reports results of studies in three hospitals in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines that showed that the Internet can be used effectively for training.…

To participate in a particular Web-based training session students work with a number of tools reflecting a particular training strategy. By doing so they access different training objects containing relevant information for their current training task. Since modern WBT systems support dozens of different, sometimes rather complex tools and…

Plants, Pathogens, and People is a Web site promoting agricultural awareness via multimedia lectures about plant diseases and online lab activities in which students investigate phenomena. The use of the site in large-enrollment classes for 6-plus years affords a well-documented case of Web-enhanced instruction. Qualitative and quantitative data…

Students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are confronted with multiple external representations (MERs) in their learning materials. The ability to learn from and communicate with these MERs requires not only that students comprehend each representation individually but also that students recognize how the…

The self-directed learning (SDL) in all of its characteristics measured in students and in various learning contexts continues to have a very important role in educational research and requires new explorations. Contemporary research indicates that there is a direct positive relationship between the level of student self-directed learning…

Many times distance education policy is created after an institution has already begun offering online courses and programs. In addition, faculty members may be left out of the discussions about and creation of distance education policy, yet expected to willingly teach online courses. A recent study exploring faculty perceptions of the distance…

Millipore Corp.--a global company of 6,100 employees for which the author serves as the science and patent information specialist--supplies products and expertise that span the research, development, and production stages in the life science research and biologic drug manufacturing fields. Millipore's corporate library, the information group,…

Motivation in distance education (DE) has been studied mostly at the postsecondary level with few studies having been conducted at the high-school level. This paper breaks with this tradition by reporting on the perspectives on motivation of 42 Canadian high-school DE teachers. Data collection involved one-hour long, semi-structured telephone…

A comprehensive approach for integrating technology into a TESOL teacher preparation program is described. Ten specific ways to assure constructivist technology use in teacher education are highlighted. These techniques have been synthesized into a compact model with three pillars: (a) electronic assessment system (e-portfolios for individual…

This case study describes the philosophy underlying the delivery of online programs and courses at the University of Illinois-Springfield. The strategies used to implement the UIS model and the measures used to validate its success are outlined. These factors are reviewed in the context of the Sloan-C Five Pillars for quality learning environments.

The following paper presents two stages of an action research project involving two oral proficiency courses held in the virtual world Second Life. Course 1 was conducted during the Autumn of 2007. Based on the experiences of this course, we redesigned many aspects of it in order to improve student activity in terms of oral participation and gave…

Anecdotal accounts from teachers have long suggested the possibility that virtual teaching experiences have a positive impact on face-to-face teaching practices, a so-called "reverse impact" phenomenon. Survey and focus group data collected as part of a statewide evaluation of a virtual school offered an opportunity to explore this impact.…

This study investigates the effects of using both specific labels and diagrammatic arrows in the animation of salt dissolution. Four different versions of the animation served as treatments that were developed based upon principles of educational technology and cognitive psychology. The researchers studied the effects of spatial ability (high or…