We appropriate Rogoff's ("Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context," 1991; in: Wertsch et al. (eds.) "Sociocultural studies of mind," 1993) notion of guided participation to demonstrate, through abbreviated case studies, our strategy for integrating mobile technology-based learning experiences in higher education. Guided…

Proper mathematical skills are important for every science course and mathematics-intensive chemistry courses rely on a sound mathematical pre-knowledge. In the first-year quantum chemistry course at this university, it was noticed that many students lack basic mathematical knowledge. To tackle the mathematics problem, a remedial mathematics…

Creating effective electronic tools for language learning frequently requires large data sets containing extensive examples of actual human language use. Collections of authentic language in spoken and written forms provide developers the means to enrich their applications with real world examples. As the Internet continues to expand…

To better understand their perceptions of optimal tools and strategies for success, this research analyzed the experiences of learners and instructors in an online distance education environment. A qualitative constant comparative analysis methodology supported by an appropriate conceptual framework guided the study. Data were collected over…

In order to meet the growing demand for quality online education, Park University has adopted a model that provides a common framework for all of its online courses. Evelyn Knowles and Kathleen Kalata discuss the circumstances leading to the current system and describe the university's implementation of a course development process that ensures…

The coherence principle states that all non-essential information in multimedia messages should be eliminated to minimise demands on cognitive resources. This assertion has been empirically verified in controlled laboratory studies with learners who have little prior knowledge and limited interest in the domain of instruction. It has not been…

This paper discusses research into the facilitation of academic writing for first year dance students using images, emails and the forum of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Taking place over several weeks in the early part of the academic year and within a core module entitled Personal and Professional Development in the single honours Dance…

Online electronic education is now being widely accepted as a major viable component of higher education. This is fuelled by the emergence of worldwide information and computer communications technologies. However, online education is not being adopted in science and engineering subjects as widely as in other fields because of the …

The increase in the adoption of Internet-related technologies for online learning has been accompanied by a parallel, but separate, demand for greater accountability in higher education. Measures of student engagement offer valuable indicators of educational quality, yet have been limited to use in on-campus settings. The authors used key…

The emergence of new technologies has made it increasingly easy for distributed collaboration in both educational and noneducational settings. Although the effectiveness in traditional settings of the dynamics of small group work has been widely researched, there is limited research that offers evidence on how teams can work effectively in a…

The processes used when developing a survey instrument for research studies are equally as important when developing a survey for evaluation purposes. This paper presents the steps involved in the development and validation of a survey instrument that can be used to evaluate online training modules or instructional aids in both workplace and…

Metacognition is arguably an important conceptualisation within the area of lifelong e-learning, with many theorists and practitioners claiming that it enhances the learning process. However, the lifelong, cyclical and flexible aspects of "before", "during" and "after" metacognitions within lifelong e-learning (inclusive of whether an "input"…

Systems and services for recruiting, advising, and support of online students have seldom been at the top of the list when planning online and distance learning programs. That is now changing: Forces pushing advising and support services into the foreground include recognition of the student learner as "customer" and the increasing…

Constant and continued upgrade of skills and qualifications is imperative in a knowledge society (Davies, 1998; David and Foray, 2003), however identifying and using effective (maximise retention/recall) and efficient (minimise time to learn) learning practices is often a challenge. Spacing Effect is a robust phenomenon that suggests that the…

Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) was used as a foundation to redesign a computer programming class for mechanical engineers, in which content was delivered with hybrid/distance technology. The effort confirmed the utility of CLT in course design. And it demonstrates that hybrid/distance learning is not merely a tool of convenience, but one, which, when…