Reports on a study that examined which of the available simulators could be used by the U.S. Army Armor School (Fort Knox, Kentucky) for instructional purposes and determined actual usage of large-scale simulation networking (SIMNET) by examining usage logs maintained by SIMNET operators. The appendices list Armor School courses and simulators.…

Responds to a reaction (issue 50 number 1 p5) to the author's original paper, "Toward a Post-Modern Agenda in Instructional Technology" (2000). Contributes to the dialogue about culture and learning in instructional technology (IT). Reviews opportunities. Suggests philosophical implications for IT, derived from the author's own research on…

Discusses Maria Montessori's five pedagogical guidelines for her Cosmic Education concept: starting with the larger context; treating planet Earth as a cosmic organism; stressing similarities among seemingly different groups of people, organisms, or objects; showing chains of interdependence among all things; and examining behavior from a cosmic…

Reviews literature relating to educational courseware evaluation and the need for context-bound evaluations. Highlights include the promise of educational technology; implications for online learning; technological developments, including use of the Internet in education; comparing modes of delivery; examples of context-bound evaluations; and the…

Discusses second generation (G2), asynchronous online education. G2 courses provide instruction and require student interactivity in the form of asynchronous e-mail. Reviews benefits and limitations of G2 courses, what hardware and software are necessary, guidelines for teaching G2 courses, and guidelines for developing students to help them…

Explores ways to translate the techniques for facilitating and monitoring student learning for classroombased delivery into an Internetbased environment for classes offered via the World Wide Web. Discusses available instructional tools on the Internet including email; developing learning outcomes; and results of a pilot project. (Author/LRW)

Describes how the core principles of learning science lead to associated best practices in instructional design and how to translate those into practical applications in Web-based online courses. Topics include knowledge construction; student motivation; higher order learning; learning styles; experiential learning; cooperative and collaborative…

Presents a two-phase instructional design model that focuses on optimizing step size in whole-task approaches to learning complex, mainly non-recurrent, cognitive skills. Step size in a multiple-step whole-task approach-needed for the process worksheets-is determined on the basis of estimated part-task complexity. A developmental study of the…

Explores effectiveness of a distance education program for physicians, and what progressive administrators can do to remove the traditional obstacles to such a program. Discusses effects of global change and technology on the economy; University of Tennessee's Physician Executive MBA Program using a mixed-mode of delivery; and methodology,…

Discusses learning style theories and shows how being aware of learning styles can benefit both teachers and students. A case study at the University of Louisiana indicated a prevalence of auditory learners. Despite this finding, educators must be prepared to accommodate all learning styles. The research concludes with a summary of teaching…

Discusses use of the Internet in higher education. Topics include online teaching and the World Wide Web; online distance learning; instructional design; Internet course development; converting traditional courses to online courses; evaluation of online programs; and advantages of Internet support of traditional courses. (Contains 55 references.)…

Discusses essential elements of effective distance education using the World Wide Web, foremost of which is good instructional design. (PKP)

Beginning teachers face a myriad of challenges as they enter schools, including a growing emphasis on standards and accountability, an increasingly diverse student population, and lack of support or mentoring. Current attrition rates for beginning teachers are high and continue to grow. This situation is more pronounced in low-income urban schools…

Empirical studies and theory suggest that educational dialogue can be used to support learners in the development of reasoning, critical thinking and argumentation. This paper presents an educational design for synchronous online peer discussion that guides student dialogue in ways that lead to improved argumentation and collaborative knowledge…

Learning support studies involving simulation-based scientific discovery learning have tended to adopt an ad hoc strategies-oriented approach in which the support strategies are typically pre-specified according to learners' difficulties in particular activities. This article proposes a more integrated approach, a triple scheme for learning…