The application of virtual reality is becoming ever more important as technology reaches new heights allowing virtual environments (VE) complete with global illumination. One successful application of virtual environments is educational interventions meant to treat individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). VEs are effective with these…

Virtual learning environments (VLE) constitute the current information systems' (IS) category for electronically supported corporate training and development. Frequently supposed advantages of using VLE refer, for instance, to the efficiency, individuality, ubiquity, timeliness and task orientation of learning. However, a crucial precondition of…

Years ago, working in isolation meant that to develop professionally, librarians had to read journals and wait for the two times per year there were librarian conferences locally, statewide, or nationally that would help them improve their program. Now colleagues, suggestions, and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are merely a click away.…

In this article, the authors share what kinds of collaboration they engage in for the benefit of their students. The first author introduces the Bread Loaf Teacher Network which connects classes across the world--urban and rural, East Coast and West Coast, American, African, Indian, and European. The second author encourages teachers to consider…

Social factors play an important role in determining whether instructional communication in computer-supported settings will be successful. "Social presence" is a social factor, specifically addressing the feeling of being present with another person in a virtual environment. This article describes possibilities to influence the feeling of social…

Online teaching is in its adolescence and needs to mature in order to overcome some of its growing pains to reach its potential in the field of education. Reflecting upon the author's first three years teaching online, he notes practices and commitments that could help instructors better participate in and facilitate lifelong learning for…

Identifying the roles and competencies of faculty performing in virtual environments is crucial to higher education institutions in order to build a common frame for teaching and training initiatives. One of the goals of this study is to identify and systematize faculty's roles through a review of the most representative surveys. There has also…

Innovating in a higher education teaching context is never a straightforward matter. There are many factors influencing how, what, and when we teach, and the students' experiences of these things. This is especially so in the context of pre-service teacher education, forever evolving in response to rapidly changing technological, political and…

The purpose of this study was to identify significant differences in academic achievement among virtual students of various backgrounds, demographics, and virtual learning environments. The study also sought to identify factors that may predict the academic achievement, as defined by final course grade, of virtual students. This study examined…

In order to prepare new online students to be successful in the virtual classroom, many institutions opt to provide them with an orientation course. Academic institutions must understand the needs of their students in order to develop an orientation course that is best suited to prepare their students for success. In this study, online graduate…

The focus of this research is in the area of virtual schooling at the K-12 level, specifically looking into teachers' perceptions of important traits of teacher effectiveness and student progress in this online learning environment. Such a study is important in Indiana, as this is the first time in public school history when there is now a new…

The "North Dakota K-12 & School Choice Survey" project, commissioned by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research, Inc. (BRI), measures North Dakota registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education topics and school choice reforms. The author and his colleagues report response…

Coaching is a powerful tool for improving special education teachers' use of evidence-based practices. Recent technological advances have great potential to influence the manner in which coaching is implemented. Virtual coaching is an innovative cycle of coaching that utilizes video-conferencing and bug-in-ear technology in internet-mediated…

Purpose: Online schools were initially designed to provide access to diverse courses to advanced and homeschooled students, however, many online schools now market their programs specifically to students whose needs place them at-risk in traditional schools. The capacity of technology to address any of the needs of under-served students is largely…

Situated in the theoretical perspective of phenomenology, the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of three preservice teachers who voluntarily participated in a field placement in a virtual school in the southeastern United States. The preservice teachers were paired with online teachers for four weeks. Their experiences were…