This qualitative study describes the ways by which Arab Open University (AOU) contributes to social development. Ever since it was founded in 2002 and with branches in seven Arab countries, the AOU has succeeded in allowing higher education access to students of all genders, nationalities, and age groups, including those who are over 60 years old.…

Although not a new concept, bullying continues to be a problem in schools across the nation. Bullying involves the intention to hurt the feelings of the victim. Research demonstrates that victims of bullying often experience low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, insecurity, oversensitivity, introversion, and withdrawal from social activities. This…

As organizations strive to succeed in an increasingly competitive international environment, they are recognizing the importance of maximizing intellectual capital, the collective knowledge that resides within their companies. More and more businesses are turning to wikis, sites where content is collectively edited by users, to maximize the…

Microblogging is one of the latest Web 2.0 technologies. The key elements are online communication using 140 characters and the fact that it involves "following" anyone. There has been a great deal of excitement about this in recent months. This paper reports on a research study that was carried out on the use of a microblogging platform…

Increasing instructor-student interactions and improving support personnel interventions with students positively affects their academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. This article discusses the Grade Performance Status (GPS) which is Northern Arizona University's new online, academic early alert tool for increasing instructor…

Online discourse from a class of 22 students (11 boys and 11 girls) was analysed to assess advances in conceptual understanding and literacy. The students worked over a two-year period (Grades 3-4), during which they contributed notes to an online Knowledge Building environment--Knowledge Forum[R]. Contributions revealed that both boys and girls…

Among a number of urban adolescents in Malaysia, going online is a much valued practice. They are regularly drawn to the Internet to engage in activities across school, nonschool, mainstream and alternative domains. The aim of this study is to know more about what these adolescents do online. Data on the online activities were collected from 535…

This article examines the linguistic construction of textual messages in the use of blogs and Twitter in the Nigerian 2007 electoral cycle comprising the April 2007 general elections and rerun elections in April, May, and August 2009. A qualitative approach of discourse analysis is used to present a variety of discursive acts that blogging and…

This report presents a cross case analysis involving faculty teaching online from off-site international and interstate locations. The study yielded enabling factors, benefits, communication systems, and challenges in the areas of administration, curriculum, communications, and faculty characteristics. The benefits included the opportunity to be…

Composition teachers have generally embraced collaborative learning in the years since Kenneth Bruffee published his first article promoting its advantages in "College English" in 1972. But assigning collaboratively written papers in an introductory college writing course is still rare. This study assesses the benefits and drawbacks of assigning a…

We show how coauthor, Delainia Haug, and her students use Web 2.0 technologies in educational and empowering ways. We offer an account of Delainia's purposes for her curriculum, along with units of study and students' responses to this curriculum. We argue that the curriculum, which focused on media analysis and production, engaged students--many…

This article reports key findings from the first phase of a research project investigating Net generation age students as they encounter e-learning at five universities in England. We take a critical view of the idea of a distinct generation which has been described using various terms including Net generation and Digital Natives and explore age…

In recent years, synchronous online peer response groups have been increasingly used in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing. This article describes a study of synchronous online interaction among three small peer groups in a Taiwanese undergraduate EFL writing class. An environmental analysis of students' online discourse in two writing…

Online education based on small self-managing groups, with slight supervision by a professional tutor, is a strategically interesting methodology for lifelong learning. This solution may combine aspects of cost-effectiveness (reducing tutors' work) with the demands for active and engaging learning methods based on the exchange and sharing of…

Social studies educators are responsible for successfully teaching students the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to be effective citizens. The National Council for the Social Studies urges educators to design technology-enhanced experiences that address social studies content and prepare students for effective citizenship. In this paper, we…