The Community of Inquiry Framework is based on the premise that online learning is a collaborative constructivist activity. However, not all courses are similarly oriented. In general, courses can be divided into constructivist and objectivist. In constructivist courses, learners develop solutions to problems through sustained discourse and…

This article focuses on introducing Web 2.0 technologies and possible uses for student and teacher learning and collaboration. Many of these tools are already used in social and business contexts. These new and emerging applications are also gaining popularity in classrooms across all education levels. Various applications are introduced to raise…

By showing students how to use Web-based channels to inform publics, advocate positions, contest claims, and organize action around issues they care about, participatory media education can influence civic behavior positively throughout their lives. Participatory media literacy is necessarily a hands-on enterprise, requiring active use of digital…

Technologically-mediated learning environments are an increasingly common component of university experience. In this paper, the authors consider how the interrelated domains of policy contexts, new learning cultures and the consumption of information and communication technologies might be explored using the concept of technography. Understood…

Whether or not it is an accurate portrayal, the old stereotype of higher education is the lecture hall, where students sit passively and take notes from a wise professor whose experience and knowledge can be shared only in the classroom. The professor's role is to dispense information, and the students' role is to receive it. However idealistic…

The purpose of this study is to provide guidelines for teachers to carry out cross-national educational projects in schools through the introduction of virtual environments as a means of reshaping classroom-based activities. The theoretical foundations of the study are rooted in computer supported collaborative learning and the community of…

This paper discusses research into the facilitation of academic writing for first year dance students using images, emails and the forum of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Taking place over several weeks in the early part of the academic year and within a core module entitled Personal and Professional Development in the single honours Dance…

The emergence of new technologies has made it increasingly easy for distributed collaboration in both educational and noneducational settings. Although the effectiveness in traditional settings of the dynamics of small group work has been widely researched, there is limited research that offers evidence on how teams can work effectively in a…

With the increased interest in using Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) such as Second Life to augment and amplify teaching or to develop communities of practice, the author engaged graduate students, all current K-12 teachers, in a qualitative study to examine their attitudes about communicating for the first time in a virtual setting represented by…

Game-based virtual learning environments have the potential to provide opportunities for engagement in authentic contexts while completing authentic tasks such as problem solving. However, research in problem-based learning indicates that scaffolding should be provided for learners to benefit from such learning environments. This paper describes…

Issues that will shape the future of higher education institutions and new trends in campus architecture were the themes of a recent international seminar. Francisco Marmolejo, former consultant to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presents here an overview of the seminar, explaining changes taking place in the…

In this paper we describe our research using a multi-user virtual environment, "Quest Atlantis," to embed fourth grade students in an aquatic habitat simulation. Specifically targeted towards engaging students in a rich inquiry investigation, we layered a socio-scientific narrative and an interactive rule set into a multi-user virtual environment…

For learners in distributed e-learning environments, it is difficult, but very important, to locate the right peer for collaboration on the right knowledge, at the right time and in the right way. This paper proposes the use of context awareness (CA) to support peer recommendation in the e-learning context. For this purpose, this paper explores…

Distance Education (DE) is one of the well-known methods of instruction and learning at many colleges and universities throughout the United States as well as other countries. Instructors teaching online courses need some form of training prior to teaching online classes. Most higher education institutions use some form of Learning Management…

Virtual schooling has been touted as one of the best ways to meet the needs of at-risk students, but what happens when a district's virtual education program is unsuccessful? That was the problem in Eastern Local School District, a small rural district in Beaver, Ohio. The district contracted virtual school services and used the virtual school for…