Describes the development of online courses at Penn State's World Campus, a virtual university that employs information technology to deliver academic programs to adult learners worldwide. Discusses the team development process, including instructional designers and faculty; communication; evaluation; and faculty opinions. (LRW)

Discussions of distance education courses develop according to needs/interests of conference participants, course requirements, and nature of the instructor's online facilitation. Findings of this research suggest other factors. Analysis of threads and their growth patterns reveals a bias in favor of elongated note structures, explained by a…

Describes some of the many conceptions of learning that have guided the field of instructional design in two main periods: one focusing on learning from an objectivist perspective, which lasted most of the 20th century, and one focusing on learning from cognitive and social constructivist perspectives, which has dominated the past decade. (AEF)

This study uses a computer log is to evaluate now online content is consumed and to identify individual differences among students in terms of content usage and the amount of content presented in Web-supported course sites. Findings show the amount of content accessed is very high, but large differences exist among students. (Author/AEF)

This guide by Margaret Driscoll is for those involved in creation or support of an e-learning program. It covers technical and pedagogical aspects associated with the development and maintenance of web-based training (WBT). The accompanying CD-ROM contains templates, design documents, worksheets, and direct web links to additional information and…

The LearningByDoing eClassroom[C] is a highly structured synchronous application for teaching and doing research on medium to large sized groups over the Internet and is an open system for content delivery. Forty students, four facilitators, and a principle instructor can successfully co-create an environment which processes interactions similar…

Discussion of online learning and standards for web-based and computer-based courseware focuses on learning objects, defined here as small, stand-alone units of instruction that can be tagged with descriptors and stored for reuse in various instructional contexts. Presents principles of learning object design and guidelines for assuring that…

Places three interrelated trends in online learning (reusable learning objects, blended learning, and instructional design) within the context of schools. Highlights include the need for collaboration and cooperation among schools; learning management systems; acquainting teachers with instructional design principles; redefining the roles of…

Examines instructional design theories and elaborates principles about when learning is promoted, i.e., when learners are engaged in solving real-world problems, when existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge, and when new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner, applied by the learner, and integrated into the learner's…

Reports the results of an investigation into factors associated with variations in students' ability to achieve conceptual learning gains in a physics course that employs interactive-engagement methods. Explores the correlation between students' normalized learning gains and their initial level of physics concept knowledge, pre-instruction…

Presents important information for conducting authentic scientific field work. Interprets one teacher's field experience in the Pacific Northwest. Points out the need for teacher training in authentic field work and makes suggestions for starting a field ecology project. (KHR)

Investigates a graduate-level online course in which groups of four students were used to lead online discussions. The teams were examined for their ability to bring instructional design, discourse facilitation, and direct instruction to the discussion. Results indicate that the peer teams fulfilled each of the three roles and valued the…

Discussion of distance education focuses on a study that investigated how learning strategies and motivation influence performance in Web-based and lecture settings of a business information systems course. Considers deep, surface, and undirected learning strategies and suggests implications for course design and instruction that should take…

The effectiveness of a demonstration-data interpretation exercise was evaluated with first year medical students (N=124) at the University of Malaya. Results suggested that the exercise achieved more effective short-term learning than conventional laboratory exercises, but a need was found for materials to help students link theory to practical…

Reviews selected strategies employed in educational and training psychology that might be incorporated into library and information management software. Based on this review, a number of potentially useful features are identified, and an exploratory study of a sampling of library and information management software is conducted based on these…