Colleges and universities in the United States often have rather homogenous environments in which cultural gaps exist between minority students and the institution. Campuses may unwittingly create a conflict between students' ethnic and cultural values and the dominant values of academe. After all, the American university models precepts from…

Computers on wheels, or COWs, combine the wireless technology of today with the audio/visual carts of yesteryear for an entirely new spin on mobility. Increasingly used by districts with laptop computing initiatives, COWs are among the hottest high-tech sellers in schools today, according to market research firm Quality Education Data. In this…

Intelligent learning systems (ILSs) have evolved in the last few years basically because of influences received from multi-agent architectures (MAs). Conflict resolution among agents has been a very important problem for multi-agent systems, with specific features in the case of ILSs. The literature shows that ILSs with cognitive or pedagogical…

Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, and social networking sites have impacted the Information Literacy (IL) curriculum at The American University in Cairo, where librarians teach LALT 101, a required, semester-long IL course. During fall 2005 and spring 2006, librarians used a Web 2.0 photo sharing tool, Flickr (www.flickr.com), to teach…

This report highlights distance delivery courses in Nebraska for the academic years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. All six community colleges, the three state colleges, and the University of Nebraska campuses offer courses at distance; more than 40 degrees, endorsements and certificates are now offered completely by distance technology. The total number…

Computer video games have become highly interesting to educators and researchers since their sophistication has improved considerably over the last decade. Studies indicate simple video games touting educational benefits are common in classrooms. However, a need for identifying truly useful games for educational purposes exists. This article…

In this article, Kavita Rao describes a distance learning course offered to K-8 teachers in Micronesia that focused on the use of synchronous technologies to address cultural learning preferences for face-to-face and real-time communication. Rao presents a case study of the course that was conducted on the islands of Pohnpei and Ebeye.…

During the spring of 2004, the College of Staten Island (CSI) undertook an exciting project to connect our campus in New York City with three international partners in China, Turkey and South Africa using internet based videoconferencing. Based on a model developed by East Carolina University and funded by the State Department, the plan was to…

This research intends to explore students' aspect and impact on forming virtual learning communities within online courses. A formal online course that is on the process of building virtual community is closely examined to discover students' perceptions of learning community approach, their online performances, and how these perceptions and…

Discusses the need for continuous education and describes changes in distance education that will be needed to ensure successful continuous education. Highlights include the virtual classroom, multimedia distance learning environments, distributed learning environments, synchronous and asynchronous interactive learning, and a sidebar that examines…

Focuses on five unresolved challenges of digital education in higher education: faculty workload, continued dominance of traditional pedagogy, the state of assessment, flaws in the accreditation process, and the state of educational research in the area. (EV)

Reviews research and case studies of Internet-based degree programs to gain a better understanding of the impact of information technology on student equity and overall standards of quality. Offers recommendations suggesting that governmental strategies related to online education should be limited in scope and promote two goals: equal opportunity…

Outlines key issues, principles, and planning and development issues for instructional design in virtual learning environments. Addresses new teaching strategies and support for teacher competence with information and communications technology. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Discusses a virtual faculty as an alternative to extending learning opportunities for students in regional universities or universities where specializations of interest may not be offered. Describes an Australian project that explored the viability of establishing a virtual faculty using videoconferencing, and discusses the importance of…

Suggests that most instructors, administrators, and software developers assume that online interaction collaboration among students must follow the same format as traditional interaction in face-to-face classrooms. Describes examples of virtual classrooms that use the Web to create new kinds of possibilities for collaboration and learning. (LRW)