The aim of this study was to apply Speech-to-Text Recognition (STR) in an effort to improve learning performance in an online synchronous cyber classroom environment. Students' perceptions and their behavioral intentions toward using STR and the effectiveness of applying STR in synchronous cyber classrooms were also investigated. After the…

In November 2008 the Sloan Consortium published "Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States." This study produced survey statistics relating to enrollments in online courses. The study confirmed what most administrators and faculty members already suspected: the growth of online higher education continues to be astounding;…

In the last decade, we have seen the emergence of virtual learning environments. Initially, these environments were a little more than document repositories that tutor used unicast to the students. Informed in part by social constructivist theories of education, later environments included capabilities for tutor-student and student-student,…

A major barrier to the uptake and integration of mobile technologies in teaching and learning is the lack of personal experience of mobile learning on the part of those involved in teaching and in the preparation of materials and methods of learner support. Our project addressed this by introducing 40 academic and support staff to the use of…

Tablet PCs provide numerous benefits over traditional electronically projected lectures that use software such as PowerPoint. Flexibility and spontaneity can be achieved by editing or creating notes in real-time. The input pen or stylus is a very useful tool, especially for courses that involve the extensive use of equations or mathematical…

This paper reports on two studies which investigated the relationship between children's texting behaviour, their knowledge of text abbreviations and their school attainment in written language skills. In Study One, 11-12-year-old children provided information on their texting behaviour. They were also asked to translate a standard English…

This article describes the ways the authors incorporated team-building activities into our online business writing courses by interrogating the ways that kinesthetic learning translates into the electronic realm. The authors review foundational theories of team building, including Cog's Ladder and Tuckman's Stages, and offer sample exercises they…

This study investigated the effects of synchronous and asynchronous CMC (computer-mediated communication)on the development of linguistic features of learners' speech in Japanese. Using learners from fourth-semester Japanese classes, the following research questions were examined: (a) Does CMC have positive effects on the development of oral…

Web conferencing tools help educators from around the world collaborate in real time. Teachers, school counselors, and administrators need only to put on their headsets, check the time zone, and log on to meet and learn from educators across the globe. In this article, the author discusses how educators can use Web conferencing at their schools.…

The ever-increasing standards of No Child Left Behind regulations and various state assessments have put more pressure on teachers and administrators to monitor the learning process. Fortunately, the advent of technology is allowing teachers to test more often to prepare students for high-stakes tests and for districts to understand results for…

There is not yet a great deal of research in formal online learning environments focusing on the seemingly "off-topic" conversations that small groups engage in as they complete learning tasks together. This study uses the theory of common ground as a framework to explore what participants are talking about when not discussing the concepts to be…

University classes in Mathematics are traditionally perceived to be uninspiring and devoid of active student-lecturer communication. Large undergraduate classes further compound the difficulty of engaging students and enabling viable student-lecturer feedback. At the Mathematics Education Centre, Loughborough University, some staff members have…

A Synchronous Distance Education (SDE) course, jointly offered by Auburn University, Tuskegee University and Auburn University at Montgomery, introduced non-science majors to the concepts of nanoscience. Lectures originated from each of the three campuses during the semester, and video conferencing equipment allowed students at all three campuses…

Many of today's colleges and universities are venturing into online education, with distance education enrollments in the United States having increased from 1.6 million students in 1998 to over 3.9 million in 2007. However, concerns over student frustrations and high attrition rates in online learning have led many educators to research and…

The advance of digital video technology in the past two decades facilitates empirical investigation of learning in real time. The focus of this paper is the combined use of real-time digital video and a networked linguistic corpus for exploring the ways in which these technologies enhance our capability to investigate the cognitive process of…