Emerging research has revealed the impact of electronic media usage on student outcomes, such as satisfaction and reported learning efficacy. However, little is known of its impact on measurable knowledge acquisition. Results from this study showed that participation on discussion topics through Blackboard, an electronic discussion forum,…

Are colleges and universities doing enough to take advantage of Web 2.0 and social networking tools in their recruitment and retention efforts? "Not even close," says Sam Richard, a 23-year-old junior in the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University in Phoenix. Richard is one of six students in ASU's Student Ambassadors for…

The purpose of this study was to investigate learning in communities of inquiry (CoI) as the terms are defined in Garrison, Anderson, and Archer's (2000) framework. We identified 252 reports from 2000-2008 that referenced the framework, and we reviewed them using Ogawan and Malen's (1991) strategy for synthesizing multi-vocal bodies of literature.…

This paper describes and reflects on the development of the Schome Park Programme (SPP), which was established with the specific aim of extending our thinking about schome, which aims to be the optimal educational system for the 21st century. In an earlier stage of the Schome Initiative, it became clear that people find it almost impossible to…

Using the theories of critical reflection and community of practice, the aim of this paper was to explore the use of blogs as a reflective platform in the training processes of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers, who were learning to teach English for future employment in Taiwan. They made use of blogs as a platform to critically…

Higher education institutions deliver web-based learning with varied success. The success rate of distributed online courses remains low. Factors such as ineffective course facilitation and insufficient communication contribute to the unfulfilled promises of web-based learning. Students consequently feel unmotivated. Instructor control and in the…

This paper reports on the initial findings from a project which offers a complementary perspective to much of the research on e-learning and student learning in a digital age. Rather than foregrounding technological applications and their associated affordances, its focus is on texts and practices and textual engagements in digital environments.…

This article describes the evolution of the development of a framework for e-learning to reconsider e-learning in relation to the cooperative work framework, identifying critical weaknesses in the fundamental nature of e-learning and its consequent propensity for failure. (Contains 4 figures and 2 notes.)

The following autoethnography reflects a neophyte instructor's obsession with teaching an online graduate course. The experience forces her to move ethnographically forward and backward with students in a novel, and sometimes, more intimate fashion. She struggles to balance a serving of technology with a dollop of human interaction, but finds…

Little research has investigated young people's use of school computers outside lessons, a deficiency that prompted the writing of this paper. The ICT-related behaviour of pupils within the Resource Centre of an English high school is scrutinized, with data collected through observation and online questionnaire. The computers, which were…

Although the Boyer Commission (1998) lamented the lack of research opportunities for all undergraduates at research-extensive universities, it did not provide a feasible solution consistent with the mandate for faculty to maintain sustainable physiology research programs. The costs associated with one-on-one mentoring, and the lack of a sufficient…

This study investigated the role of native language in the context of online versus face-to-face learning environments. Findings from a mixed-methods analysis revealed that native language was a factor in distinguishing among the learning opportunities in these two classes. Data for the online course were 10 archived asynchronous discussions on…

The rapid growth of technology has made online tools available for education. The ability to discern the characteristics of these tools and to use them appropriately for educational purposes has become increasingly critical. Weblogs and discussion forums are among those up-and-coming tools that have great potential in supporting learning. They…

Information and communication technologies hold much promise for use in education in developing countries. This study reports on an evaluation conducted on the introduction of computers in the delivery of the mathematics curriculum in one of the provinces of South Africa. Although the request was for an outcome evaluation very early in the…

Universities should embrace democratic values. Using electronic portfolios, competency-based assessment can enact them. Rather than preset standards, competencies become boundary objects connecting individual student experience to community conversation about what it means to be educated. This article examines this approach in practice at New…