MOO stands for "Multi-user domain, Object-Oriented." Early multi-user domains, or "MUDs," began as net-based dungeons-and-dragons type games, but MOOs have evolved from these origins to become some of cyberspace's most fascinating and engaging online communities. MOOs are social environments in a text-based virtual reality…

Constructivist teaching has become a dominant theme in educational literature in response to the positivist model of education that is prevalent in schools. In order for K-12 education to become more constructivist, there must be a qualitative change in teaching practice from didactic to self-directed student learning. The use of online technology…

This paper presents a model of collaborative graduate distance education that has been facilitated by the Center for Continuing Education and Summer Programs at the University of Montana and designed to provide graduate training for professionally isolated classroom teachers and administrators. Thirty practicing elementary, middle, and secondary…

The challenges and opportunities presented by fiscal constraint, new technologies and an information "explosion" require that universities and their libraries develop a system by which scholars and students can access information when it is needed. This discussion paper in English and French, is the first of a series of papers intended…

The University of Wisconsin-Madison began to offer computer conferencing as a service to the campus for the fall 1995 semester. The university's End User Computing Group developed a set of policies to address such questions as: who is eligible to use the service; the Division of Information Technology's responsibilities; customer responsibilities;…

This paper discusses a model of integrated instruction and assessment called SMART (Special Multimedia Arenas for Refining Thinking). SMART involves interactive use of the Internet and multimedia software. The Internet serves three important functions: it acts as a formative assessment tool by providing individualized feedback to students, creates…

This paper discusses the use of World Wide Web-based conferencing in the Collaborative Teacher Education Program (CTEP) at Indiana University. The CTEP, a program offering distance education coursework to in-service teachers in rural communities throughout southern Indiana, is described, and some of the obstacles and limitations involved in…

This report focuses on distance learning projects conducted by the Centers for Professional Development of Teachers (CPDTs) in Texas, examining projects that closely interface with CPDTs, emphasizing the trends and issues that have emerged, and noting the effect these projects have had on education in general. The report begins by describing the…

This paper presents a study of factors influencing students' perceived learning in a World Wide Web-based course environment. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in the process of data collection and analysis. Results indicated that percent of grade weight on discussion and instructor's specification of requirements of students'…

This paper describes the use of distance learning capabilities to augment and amplify the learning opportunities for part-time graduate students at George Mason University. The students in the biochemistry course described meet periodically on campus for brief interactions with the instructor and peer classmates. Between these synchronous…

This paper reports challenges of and suggestions for conducting online courses, focusing on the following areas: (1) instructional format, including transferring classroom activities to online activities without affecting students' concentration, motivation, thought, mastery, and comprehension; (2) methods of instruction, including developing an…

This article presents the case study of a cooperative Web-learning environment--SOCRATES--to foster barrier-free learning on the Web. While the growth of the Internet was exponential in the last years, still many communities don't benefit from Web-learning technology due to improper tools and constricted communication processes. These problems…

This case study of current practice describes a virtual cross-cultural collaboration in the development of an undergraduate teacher preparation course in educational technology. In an effort to increase the cross-cultural and technological awareness necessary for 21st-century teachers, the authors collaborated on the design and development of an…

Virtual tutoring and student support systems may be pivotal in developing opportunities of equality and of outcome for students who study at a distance. Cookson (2002) mentions that it is important to assist students to have access to study programs. Cookson (2002) elaborates upon this and states, "If access is to be equitable, once they are…

University professors increasingly are expected to infuse computer technology in teaching. Many universities are aggressively promoting the delivery of entire courses and programs using computers and the Internet as vehicles for instruction. There is also a movement to align university teaching with the national standards for K-12 teaching.…