Telecommunication technologies (computers with Internet/e-mail capabilities, desktop videoconferencing units, and fiber-based video links) provided by the Learning Community Link did indeed expand typical school boundaries and did increase communication possibilities for teachers and students. Using the power of computers to communicate, analyze…

For years, doing laundry at Columbia University (New York) was just as labor-intensive as it is at most universities. Fortunately, as of last spring, laundry life at Columbia has changed dramatically. Today, with the help of a real-time Web-based service called LaundryView, students can log on to the system via the LaundryView Web site from a link…

The use of information technology in higher education has increased significantly over the years. There is a paucity of controlled research which examines differences in electronic learning (EL) and face to face (F2F) learning. This study examined student (n = 1401) performance (final grade) in nine units offered in both F2F and EL mode over the…

Many online classes use synchronous communication--chat--as a way to conduct class discussion. However, chat can quickly disintegrate into nonproductive chaos if allowed to flow unchecked. The tools provided by course management systems such as Blackboard provide one solution to this problem by allowing instructors to grant or deny access to…

This paper centres on the sense of isolation that online study may engender among learners, a factor often ignored by many educators, but one that may make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful online learning environment for many students. The importance of a proper appreciation of the learners' social context is stressed, as is…

The purpose of the study reported on in this paper was to explore how teachers and students manifest social presence in the web-based synchronous secondary classroom (WBSSC). Data were collected using structured and unstructured observations of twelve online recordings of web-based synchronous classes in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador,…

Over the past few years, media use among children and teens has become more prevalent than ever. With the launch of the iPod, the explosion in instant messaging, the birth of mobile video and YouTube, and the advent of social networking sites like MySpace, young people are rarely out of contact, or out of reach of the media. Meanwhile,…

Online teaching is a complex professional practice. In addition to their content knowledge and pedagogical skill, online teachers must be qualified in methods of teaching the content online and have experience in online learning. This document examines some of the aspects of online teaching, specifically those related to communication and…

Background: Although much has been written about the ways in which new technology might transform educational practice, particularly in the area of literacy learning, there is relatively little empirical work that explores the possibilities and problems--or even what such a transformation might look like in the classroom. 3D virtual worlds offer a…

Despite improvements in educational indicators, such as enrolment, significant challenges remain with regard to the delivery of quality education in developing countries, particularly in rural and remote regions. In the attempt to find viable solutions to these challenges, much hope has been placed in new information and communication technologies…

School counselors should be knowledgeable about the influence of today's technologies on common issues dealt with in counseling. This article describes several of these issues and how they are affected by use of technology. Suggestions are provided to help counselors deal with the current challenges posed by the use of interactive communication…

The current educational arrangements of advanced liberal democracies continue to isolate various ethnic and racial groups. Disadvantaged minority students attend inferior schools. The overreliance on the curriculum as a design for teaching and learning renders school learning less relevant for "knowledge work" jobs in network societies.…

This study focuses on the various playful uses of language that occurred during a semester-long study of two German language courses using one type of synchronous network-based medium, the MOO. Research and use of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) have flourished in the study of second-language acquisition (SLA) since the late…

As recent second language acquisition (SLA) studies have shown, the negotiation of linguistic items such as vocabulary, verb tenses, and grammar rules with different types of interlocutors--native speakers (NSs) and advanced non-native speakers (NNSs) of English--seems to facilitate second language development among students. Findings from…

The study examined students' perceptions of social presence in online and face-to-face course environments. Data from surveys of 112 undergraduate students (80 in online, 32 in face-to-face classes) are presented. Statistical tests include t-tests and ordinary least squares regression tests. Students' perceptions of social presence were similar in…