Graphical representations (GRs) of the learning content are often used for instruction (Ainsworth, 2006). When used in learning technology, GRs can be especially useful since they allow for interactions across representations that are physically impossible, for instance by dragging and dropping symbolic statements into a chart that automatically…

"The First-Year Seminar: Designing, Implementing, and Assessing Courses to Support Student Learning and Success," a five-volume series, is designed to assist educators who are interested in launching a first-year seminar or revamping an existing program. Each volume examines a different aspect of first-year seminar design or administration and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in the evaluations of online course quality using the Quality Matters model among four groups of reviewers: instructional designers, faculty with subject-matter expertise, peer faculty with no subject-matter expertise, and administrators. A causal-comparative design was utilized to…

Threaded discussions represent conversational turn-taking in asynchronous, online learning environments. Given the crucial role that discussions play in the construction of knowledge within an online course, the quality of the interaction that occurs within threaded discussions is important to achieving the learning objectives of the designed…

To prepare 21st Century school leaders, educational leadership professors need to learn and teach the utilization of increasingly sophisticated technologies in their courses. The co-authors, a professor and an educational specialist degree candidate, describe how the use of advanced technologies--such as Wikis, Google Docs, Wimba Classroom, and…

Debates in forums such as "Educational Technology" and the National Academies of Science (National Research Council, 2011) emphasize the promise (and indeed recent successes) of digital game-based learning programs, but also the need for research-driven approaches that carefully delineate learning goals. This article introduces one such…

Corporate influence is a defining characteristic of mass media in the U.S. A typical introductory textbook devotes a number of chapters to the economic structure of the mass media including advertising, public relations, and corporate ownership, then also includes chapter sections on the economics of the various media (television, radio,…

Teacher stress is a significant issue facing the teaching profession. The current paper explores individual stress management as a viable option to address stress in this profession. Specifically, Canadian teacher education programs are examined to identify the prevalence of pre-service teacher education courses focused on individual stress…

In a recent meta-analysis of distance and online learning, Bernard et al. (2009) quantitatively verified the importance of three types of interaction: among students, between the instructor and students, and between students and course content. In this paper we explore these findings further, discuss methodological issues in research and suggest…

There is a growing interest in the use of simulations and games in Dutch higher education. This development is based on the perception that students belong to the "gamer generation" or "net generation": a generation that has grown up with computer games and other technology affecting their preferred learning styles, social…

Today's automotive college students will shape the future of the automobile industry. The success of college-level automotive programs has long been dependent on the students' ability to participate in hands-on classroom based interactions. In this article, distance learning and how it can be used to teach automotive management skills, as well as…

This paper details the culmination of a large, multi-year study on the effects of an interactive computer laboratory component in a large liberal arts math course at a state university. After several semesters of piloting these laboratory activities in the course, one of two sections, taught by the same senior instructor, was randomly selected to…

Remote experimentation laboratories (REL) are systems based on real equipment that allow students to carry out a laboratory practice through the Internet on the computer. In engineering, there have been numerous initiatives to implement REL over recent years, given the fundamental role of laboratory activities. However, in the past efforts have…

Assessing the credibility of evidence in complex, socio-scientific problems is of paramount importance. However, there is little discussion in the science education literature on this topic and on how students can be supported in developing such skills. In this article, we describe an instructional design framework, which we call the Credibility…

This is a design study meant to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating three rather different theoretical perspectives for future efforts in multimedia instructional design. A multimedia instructional grammar program contextualized within the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) was developed and evaluated. The program design was…