Teacher beliefs have become important constructs in educational research with the recognition that beliefs are the best indicators of teachers' planning, decision-making and subsequent classroom behaviour. In this movement many probes and strategies have been employed by researchers for effective data collection and analysis. This paper discusses…

The potential of online learning for enhancing international education is substantial, yet few studies have explored the conditions under which students feel motivated and engage productively in cross-national online interchange. This article examines the significance of social affordances, specifically social presence, on university students'…

Technology holds the key for bridging the gap between access to quality education and the need for enhanced learning experiences. This book contains case studies on divergent themes of personalized learning environments, inclusive learning for social change, innovative learning and assessment techniques, technology and international partnership…

This article presents findings from a comparative case study of the learning experiences of two graduate students in an online action research course. The key roles played by reflection and co-reflection, an emerging concept, are identified through the use of narrative analysis. Co-reflection is a collaborative critical thinking process mediated…

Online learning has become a well-respected alternative to traditional bricks and mortar. Almost every institution of higher education in the United States, and many secondary educational institutions, feature opportunities for students to take courses, if not earn an entire degree, online. Community colleges have been at the forefront of this…

In order to respond to learners' need for more flexible speaking opportunities and to overcome the geographical challenge of students spread over the United Kingdom and continental Western Europe, the Open University recently introduced Internet-based, real-time audio conferencing, thus making a groundbreaking move in the distance learning and…

This paper describes an online early childhood assessment course that was developed through a multi-university collaboration with support from a state improvement grant. Collaborators from three universities developed the course to address a new early childhood unified license (birth to age 8, regular and special education) in the state of Kansas.…

Technological advances in the new millennium may evoke disquiet among administrators and teachers taxed with understanding how to harness new capabilities and merge them with sound pedagogy. To understand how gaming might bridge the gap between student interest and how lessons are taught, graduate students in science education at North Carolina…

A ubiquitous learning environment provides an interoperable, pervasive, and seamless learning architecture to connect, integrate, and share three major dimensions of learning resources: learning collaborators, learning contents, and learning services. Ubiquitous learning is characterized by providing intuitive ways for identifying right learning…

This paper reports on an investigation into learning through discussions by undergraduate social work students. Second-year students studying psychology for social work experienced discussions began with face-to-face tutorials, and then continued for some time after online. This study used closed-ended questionnaires to investigate what students…

The rapid growth of online learning has mandated the development of faculty evaluation models geared specifically toward the unique demands of the online classroom. With a foundation in the best practices of online learning, adapted to meet the dynamics of a growing online program, the Online Instructor Evaluation System created at Park University…

Recently a number of quasi-experimental studies have investigated the potential of a cross-modality transfer of second language competency between real-time, conversational exchange via text and speech (Abrams, 2003; Beauvious, 1998; Kost, 2004; Payne & Whitney, 2002). Payne and Whitney employed Levelt's (1989) model of language production and…

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies have begun to play an increasingly important role in the teaching of foreign/second (L2) languages. Its use in this context is supported by a growing body of CMC research that highlights the importance of the negotiation of meaning and computer-based interaction in the process of second language…

In this article the focus is on methodology for analysing learner-learner oral conversations mediated by computers. With the increasing availability of synchronous voice-based groupware and the additional facilities offered by audio-graphic tools, language learners have opportunities for collaborating on oral tasks, supported by visual and textual…

This study contrasts two different ways of analysing interaction and participation in language learning tutorials: Social network analysis of frequency and QSR analysis of type of interaction. One task from three German beginners' language tutorials (one delivered face-to-face, the other two online) is analysed. A description of the background and…