Online nursing education has been evolving at a rapid pace as it is recognized as offering the flexibility needed for practicing associate degree (ADN) and diploma prepared Registered Nurses to return to school to earn their BSN. At the same time, there is a paradigm shift in how nursing education is delivered. The focus has shifted from content…

This study investigates how students perceive and use collaborative technologies while also examining the meanings students assign to both collaboration and technology. A qualitative inductive analysis of students' assignments in a professional communication course demonstrates that students use technology to collaborate for its Accessibility,…

Online environments increasingly are becoming a part of our schools. While online education holds tremendous promise--offering viable and attractive options for advancing student skills, increasing access, and potentially lowering the cost of educational services--there is little research on the efficacy of online instruction for students with…

Social presence theory is a central concept in online learning. Hundreds of studies have investigated social presence and online learning. However, despite the continued interest in social presence and online learning, many questions remain about the nature and development of social presence. Part of this might be due to the fact that the majority…

Young writers, especially students with disabilities, have difficulty writing complete essays, and when asked to revise often make only surface-level changes. Individualized feedback may lead to gains in writing achievement, but finding class time for feedback is difficult. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the effectiveness of…

Expanding faculty buy-in to retention efforts may be improved through training and opportunities for assessment. Materials created for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty based on the scholarly literature may dispel the view held by some that student attrition is beneficial to STEM disciplines and may expand an…

This paper reports the results of a 3-year longitudinal study on the perceived utility of supplying elementary science teacher interns with four asynchronous tools to assist them in creating their first lesson plan of a constructivist nature. The research accessed qualitative and quantitative measures to sample intern reaction to the notion of a…

Three video/web conferencing technologies (Pocket Camcorder, Skype, Adobe Connect) were used in regional schools in Australia to determine whether the technologies are appropriate for the needs of the university supervisor, trainee teachers and supervising teachers with regard to practicum teaching placements. Findings revealed that Pocket…

Online forums (synchronous and asynchronous) offer exciting data opportunities to analyze how people influence one another through their interactions. However, researchers must address several analytic difficulties involving the data (missing values, nested structure [messages within topics], non-sequential messages), outcome variables (discrete…

This study explored the impact of role-playing on the quality of peer feedback and learners' perception of this strategy in a case-based learning activity with VoiceThread in an online course. The findings revealed potential positive impact of role-playing on learners' generation of constructive feedback as role-playing was associated with higher…

The purpose of this study was to investigate instructor participation in asynchronous discussions through an in-depth content analysis of instructors' postings and comments through the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework (Garrison et. al, 2001). We developed an analytical tool based on this framework in order to better understand what instructors…

As e-learning is evolving into a mainstream, widespread practice, adopted by higher education institutions worldwide, much effort is geared towards the articulation of models and strategies for implementing e-learning in formal education settings. In the field of pre-service teacher education, a rising challenge is to equip the "21st century…

Distance learning programs in higher education are evolving into the preferred model for how we educate learners in the 21st century. The traditional role of an instructor was focused on creating an effective learning environment based in a physical classroom setting. In this decade, institutions are educating and training online instructors to a…

It might be said that attitudes impact success directly in web-based teaching and timely and appropriate fulfillment of learners' expectations bear utmost significance for their success. From this perspective a properly designed web supported teaching application can provide positive contribution as well to learners' attitudes towards web…

A pilot program to provide real-time library webcasts to Regis University distance students using Adobe Connect software was initiated in fall of 2011. Previously, most interaction between librarians and online students had been accomplished by asynchronous discussion threads in the Learning Management System. Library webcasts were offered in…