This paper discusses stigmergy (i.e., the effect of communication through the environment) in relation to the Internet, especially with regard to World Wide Web-based learning. The paper begins by examining ways in which stigmergy occurs on the Web and then goes on to describe its use in the construction of a continually evolving system, CoFIND…

The K-12 Gas Station is a national World Wide Web site in Taiwan that serves as the educational portal that provides teachers, parents, pupils, and public communities with rich content for all subject matters in grades K-12. The K-12 Gas Station plays a critical role in the efforts to build up a technology-based learning environment to help…

The knowledge distributed Web-based learning community (KnowDisLC) based on knowledge sharing for college students has been constructed, implemented and evaluated. The system helps students form a virtual learning community through Web-based learning, which they can use to facilitate learning and growth. Ultimately they would like to accomplish…

This publication presents a compilation of information about technologies used for distance education and web-based training for practitioners in adult, career, and vocational education. It focuses on the use of technology in the following ways: (1) as an instructional tool that expands classroom walls and enables the delivery of specialized…

Describes the Online Student Resource Centre Web site, developed at Monash University (Australia), which offers stand-alone tutorials. Outlines the process and philosophy of development of the tutorials, based on a constructivist framework, with guided and self-directed learning paths designed to accommodate a range of learning styles. (LRW)

Proposes a Web-based collaborative inquiry learning system and describes a study of undergraduates at the National Taiwan Normal University based on a model system that investigated students' learning processes. Discusses the use of concept maps to anchor and represent knowledge during the inquiry process. (Author/LRW)

Discusses instructional delivery models and their physiology in distributed learning systems. Highlights include building delivery models; types of delivery models, including distributed classroom, self-training on the Web, online training, communities of practice, and performance support systems; and actors (users) involved, including experts,…

Discusses assessment of Web-based instruction and reports results of a study that investigated whether segmentation of information and the provision of an overview of the Web system differentially facilitated learning performance, measured with recall questions and a short essay question, for individuals with different cognitive styles. (LRW)

Discussion of approaches to studying used by students in higher education focuses on a study at the Open University (United Kingdom) that administered the Course Experience Questionnaire and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory to students taking a Web-based course in computing. Discusses student perceptions of academic quality associated…

Describes the following steps that provide a framework for orienting nontraditional students to a technology-enhanced curriculum: orient students in-person; provide active encouragement for student interaction; add technical instructions incrementally; be willing to offer limited technical advice; caution students not to panic when technical…

Examined differences in communication between masters degree students at Syracuse University who used instant messaging (IM) services and those who did not in the same asynchronous distance education Web-based course. Results showed that students who used IM found it easier to communicate and felt a stronger sense of community. (Author/LRW)

Describes the development of an eight-week on-campus, Web-based online course at Indiana University Bloomington for incoming freshmen to introduce them to the university's culture. Discusses course structure, design, collaboration among instructional and technology units, course assessment, and student opinions of the course. (LRW)

Discusses the design and maintenance of computer-based teaching and learning environments and illustrates consequences of evolution and change in Web-based courses. Focuses on changes in content; format of the course; infrastructure, including hardware, systems, and software; and pedagogy, or instructional design, including knowledge modeling,…

Reports on ongoing work at five universities in northeastern England that have been evaluating and implementing online learning environments known as virtual learning environments (VLEs) or managed learning environments (MLEs). Discusses do-it-yourself versus commercial systems; transferability; Web-based versus client-server; integration with…

Noting that the least responsive fields of higher education to virtual provision seem to be the humanities, asserts that as humanists come to see that education has been overly teacher-oriented, they may become increasingly receptive to virtual teaching and learning. (EV)