The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to share the strengths, challenges, and tensions of using Facebook in an undergraduate nursing program. The observations presented have emerged from information shared by study participants and the professional insights of the three researcher-authors who represent perspectives from nursing,…

This paper explored informal (after-school) and formal (elective course in-school) learning contexts as contributors to middle-school student attitudinal changes in a guided discovery-based and blended e-learning program in which students designed web games and used social media and information resources for a full school year. Formality of the…

It is widely acknowledged that social conditions are directly associated with health and well-being. Significantly little is known about the impact of changing social conditions, including the transition to higher education, on young people's health and well-being. This qualitative research investigated perceptions and factors that influence…

This article describes the practice of postgraduate supervision on a blended professional development programme for academics, and discusses how connectivism has been a useful lens to explore a complex form of instruction. By examining the processes by which supervisors and their students on a two-year part-time masters in Applied eLearning…

The current study explores how integrating a social networking website called Facebook with peer feedback in groups supports student learning, investigates the nature of feedback students received on their writing, and examines their attitudes towards the use of Facebook for peer feedback. The study involves 30 undergraduate students who…

This instrumental case study explored how five newly appointed superintendents identified key stakeholders and built trust and social capital with stakeholders in their districts. Stakeholder, trust, and social capital theory were the lenses that guided this study. We utilized a pragmatic research design and thematic data analysis to interpret our…

In October 2010, the University of Southern California School of Social Work entered the online education environment with the launch of the first national web-based MSW program. After an initial enrollment of 80 students, in just 3 years this state-of-the-art MSW, offered in a technology-advanced synchronous and asynchronous format, has generated…

The current study examined 1316 South Asian youth socialized in progressively Westernized contexts: "traditional" Indian homeland single-sex schools, "transitional" Indian homeland co-educational schools, and the immigrant "diaspora" in Canadian schools. Results showed youth in the three contexts were similar on…

The goal of this QUAN-qual mixed methods study was to investigate how parents from various ethnicities and socioeconomic status construct their expectations of academic achievement and the impact these expectations have on academic success for the student. Data was gathered by using The Parent Survey of Family and Community Involvement in the…

Published annually since 1985, the "Handbook" series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research…

"The NMC Horizon Report" series is the most visible outcome of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Project, an ongoing research effort established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the globe. This…

In business, educational, and other organizations, team members often connect with one another in informal groups in order to fill certain needs (Accel-Team, 2006). Such needs include the ability to connect with others who share worldviews, opinions, or beliefs. When social network analysis (SNA) or concept mapping is used to examine interpersonal…

Social support has shown itself to be an important factor in many areas in regard to mental health development and conservation. Numerous empirical findings also document its significance in various areas of research into deafness. Questionnaires are only one means of gathering information when we are trying to gain access to the social networks…

World polity theory is explicitly relational, implying a global network structure that exists outside of the nation-state. And world polity theory increasingly acknowledges power--that some states and regions are dominant in the international field. But current world polity measures of international non-governmental organizations do not…

Social networking can currently be described as a mainstream youth activity, with almost half of 8-17-year-old children, who have access to the Internet, claiming to participate. As an activity it is of particular interest to literacy educators because it is enacted through the production and consumption of text. However, a growing body of…