This paper explores the contribution of virtual tools to student learning within full-time management programmes. More specifically, the paper focuses on asynchronous communication tools, considering the scope they offer for group-based collaborative learning outside the classroom. We report on the effectiveness of this approach for an economics…

Dialogue is arguably one of the most important components of any learning process. However, as student numbers increase and more emphasis is given to electronic delivery of courses, opportunities for effective dialogue may be missed. The technology to support e-learning dialogue is readily available, but design of the dialogue structures and…

Overwhelming evidence shows that family involvement--both in school and at home--has a positive impact on student achievement. Researchers have found that parental involvement tends to drop off when students enter middle school. Research also shows that does not have to be the case. In this article, the author discusses the school-family-community…

The interaction of agency and context in workplace learning is explored through a micro-analysis of the implementation of networked learning communities in schools in England. Interviews with local activists show evidence of co-participation between individuals' responses and their workplace roles and experience as they take up the opportunity to…

This article is an extended description of a hypothetical school in which student, teacher, media, and administrative activities are all linked together through the use of Web 2.0 technologies, from classroom wikis to text messaging. Through this description, the author conveys an image of how the multimedia tools of Web 2.0 may eventually change…

Four hundred and ninety-two undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university completed a 35 item questionnaire designed to assess self-disclosure behaviors on the Internet. Findings revealed that males and females have different perceptions about their self-disclosure behaviors on the Internet. In addition, findings showed that college…

The explosion of technology available to schools--and specifically, the ways in which students can misuse technology--has caught many educators off guard. School leaders are now being asked to protect students against potential harmful material they may encounter in cyberspace. The issue of cyberbullying--using technology to harass, intimidate,…

The paper reports a study that investigated the construction of a common identity in an online Italian forum of psychologists based on asynchronous CMC. Discourse analysis was carried out on 20 discussions, and three Interpretative Repertoires were identified: (i) Professional Boundaries, (ii) disempowered psychology and (iii) psychology and…

Electronic field tripping is a relatively new form of large-scale distance education that attempts to provide contextually rich learning materials embedded within a coherent educational content base. Using Dewey's (1943) framework for the natural learning impulses of children, we describe the potential pedagogical benefits afforded by electronic…

The Standardized Letter of Recommendation (SLR) is a Web-based admission tool designed to replace traditional, narrative letters of recommendation with a more systematic and equitable source of information about applicants to institutions of higher education. The SLR includes a rating scale and open-ended response space that prompt evaluators to…

Online fanfiction communities provide adolescent English-language learners (ELLs) with a forum for engaging in an array of sophisticated literacy practices. This article draws on constructs from literacy studies and second-language acquisition as conceptual bases for exploring the writing, reviewing, and social practices in an online fanfiction…

Two studies addressed students' motivation and participation in an online discussion board which was part of a traditional lecture-based course. The discussion board represented an external communication resource to extend the learning activities beyond the classroom. Self-Determination Theory was used as the theoretical framework to investigate:…

Constructivism is the philosophy that has been cited most frequently in the past 20 years in education. It has been argued that a constructivist philosophy offers a means of education that would result in knowledge generation and creation; therefore, it is superior to other views. Making the shift toward a constructivist philosophy, however,…

Given many researchers' concern with multicultural approaches to art education and the fact that an increasing number of arts and arts-related courses are taught online, the authors explore theoretical considerations for researching multicultural arts courses delivered entirely over the Internet. Specifically, they maintain that such researchers…

Transactional distance theory predicts an inverse relationship between dialogue and structure in an educational transaction. It is a powerful theory, but it is inherently fuzzy in formulation and may have exceptions. This article reinterprets the theory as one of transactional control, where the central issue is one of choices and who makes them.…