This paper reports research in progress. It presents information in the literature on converting traditional courses into Web-based format. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part makes and introduction to Distance Education (DE) and Web-Based Instruction (WBI), which combines features from both face-to-face classroom instruction and…

Students of today, who have grown up with and become accustomed to the visual stimulation of television, computers, and video games, expect technology to be used effectively as part of their learning experience. As a result, faculty are continuously challenged to hold the attention of these learners from the high-tech generation. Through the…

This ERIC Digest outlines the methods employed and the results obtained from the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in U.S. history. NAEP surveys collect information about students' knowledge of core subjects of the school curriculum. This particular survey was administered to a national sample of students in grades 4, 8, and…

When a school community is making a major investment in technology, the major challenge is to ensure that the technologies are used to support innovative practices that are responsive to the community's changing needs and opportunities for teaching and learning. How can implementation of technology be integrally embedded in and supportive of…

With technology changing rapidly, instruction on its use must change rapidly as well. Instructional designers are thus increasingly dependent on the use of rapid application development (RAD) procedures for producing timely instruction related to technology use. In recent years, the use of self-paced instruction in the educational environment has…

Traditional views in instructional technology are often based upon the application of scientific knowledge. An alternative paradigm, post-modernism questions whether science alone offers the best approach to teaching and learning. Post-modernism offers alternative perspectives on the theory and practice of instructional technology; however, its…

The purpose of this guide is to present the essential technical considerations for implementing the North Carolina Instructional Technology Plan (NCITP). It addresses three main areas fundamental to the development and execution of long-range technology plans: collaboration, connectivity, and hardware/software configurations. The first section…

This book outlines an approach to putting course content on the Web. It explains how to make current course materials Web-ready and describes Web-enabled teaching tools that educators may not currently use but that they might wish to incorporate into the teaching approach. The book explains how to combine these materials and tools to create a…

This paper reports on the design strategies and technical solutions that the authors have adopted to increase interaction in a World Wide Web-Based Instruction (WBI) system aimed at supporting new didactic approaches to the subjects of urban planning and architecture through the activation of online modules at the university level. Specifically,…

At the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston (Texas), the faculty and administrators made a conscious effort to take a broad, extensive approach to designing and implementing a fully online masters program. This approach was entered in a comprehensive needs assessment model and sought input from…

The "Satellite Town Meeting" is the U.S. Department of Education's monthly television program about improvements in teaching and learning that are happening in schools and communities across the nation. On each 60-minute show, the Secretary of Education invites national experts as well as local educators and community leaders to share…

The fall 2001 issue of New Directions for Community Colleges discusses the changes in policy and practice of vocational education at community colleges. The 10 chapters included in this volume are: (1) "Opportunities and Challenges for the New Vocationalism" by Debra D. Bragg; (2) "The Role of Leadership in Successful Vocational Initiatives" by…

A typical Web-based training development team consists of a project manager, an instructional designer, a subject-matter expert, a graphic artist, and a Web programmer. The typical scenario involves team members working together in the same setting during the entire design and development process. What happens when the team is distributed, that is…

Recent studies have emphasized the significant implications of multimedia for the learning process. Even those researchers who take a less enthusiastic stand do not hesitate to assent that when blended with suitable pedagogical techniques and a proper design, the combined use of multiple media for the viewing and study of educational material can…

The mission of the NetPro European project is to develop project-based learning through the Internet. The NetPro project is creating tools and services to facilitate communication and collaboration between distant students, and to manage access and control of project deliverables. NetPro project teams form cross-institutional learning communities.…