What happens to a Foundations of Diversity and Equity in Schools course when the main mode of instruction changes? The shifting of the class from face-to-face to virtual asynchronous instruction due to COVID-19 led to a transformation of the activity of the course. To replace the use of various discussion techniques, the author redesigned the…

Online and hybrid courses offer many benefits for ESL teacher education, but can be hampered by 'transactional distance', a lack of interpersonal closeness which can cause misunderstanding and disengagement. This article describes a pedagogical project in which in-service teachers studying in a distance-learning MA TESL programme in Sri Lanka…

While a fair amount is known about effective instructional practices for students who are English learners, less is known about how these practices might look different in a distance learning context compared to the classroom. This brief, produced by WestEd as part of a collection of Crisis Response Resources, is designed to help educators make…

Since mid-March, millions of schoolchildren have been stuck at home due to school closures brought on by the rapid spread of COVID-19. School districts' initial responses were captured by the first wave of the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) COVID-19 Education Response Longitudinal Survey (C-ERLS), a nationally representative survey of…

When school buildings first closed in mid-March, few education leaders knew how long such closures would last. Now, that picture is becoming increasingly clear. Nearly all state governments have issued orders or recommendations requiring school buildings to remain closed for the duration of the 2019-20 academic year due to the threat of COVID-19.…

How is semantic memory influenced by individual differences under conditions of distraction? This question was addressed by observing how participants recalled visual target words-drawn from a single category-while ignoring spoken distractor words that were members of either the same or a different (single) category. Working memory capacity (WMC)…

Based on the advantages of collaborative writing and the advanced development of mobile technology, this study investigated the communication process and attitudes of a group of college students toward collaborative writing using a "Google Docs" app on an English writing course. Online collaborative writing assignments were assigned by…

The most preferred tools of technology today are internet and smart phones. Nowadays, these two tools offer numerous services and facilities to humanity in many areas. Accessing technology at any time, having a pleasant time, interacting without the limitations of face to face communication are some of them. That is why; individuals have become…

An online discussion forum has the potential to facilitate collaborative learning that improves students' critical thinking. To explain the collaborative online learning experience, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model has been proposed by a group of researchers. The model captures an in-depth and meaningful collaborative online learning process…

There is increasing interest in low-cost, scalable approaches that support parent engagement in their children's learning at home. This study examined the impact of one such approach on pre-kindergarteners' literacy development during an academic year in a suburban public school setting that prioritized enrollment for children living in poverty.…

With advances in telecommunication technologies, many institutions are deploying various online learning platforms for curriculum designers to create opportunities for international contact and intercultural exchange for their students with less physical and time constraints. Thus, students' learning contents can be enriched with the integration…

There is increasing interest in low-cost, scalable approaches that support parent engagement in their children's learning at home. This study examined the impact of one such approach on pre-kindergarteners' literacy development during an academic year in a suburban public school setting that prioritized enrollment for children living in poverty.…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' experiences using Facebook as a learning management system during a course. The study participants were 18 junior education faculty students attending a compulsory distance education undergraduate course delivered by the Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department at a university in…

We completed a qualitative study focusing on our students' use of Discussion Roles in our general and entry level online classes and presented the information at a Brown Bag presentation for University of Phoenix instructors and staff in October 2016. The following contains the results of the study including: (1) ways to use Discussion Roles in…

This article presents a case study of student-initiated use of Facebook Groups in doing a team project for an online journalism course. Drawing upon the concept of affinity space and a theoretical taxonomy of asynchronous online discussion, the present study triangulates classroom observation, semi-structured student interviews, and microanalysis…