As most any high school or college English teacher can verify, it is the rare group of students that approaches the study of Shakespeare with anything other than a mixture of anxiety over the difficulty of making sense of the plays' language and annoyance that, once again, they will be forced to engage in an activity they find both unjustifiably…

Since the Internet was introduced in the field of Educational Technology, it has predominantly been seen as an instructional tool. A number of educational technologists point out that the Internet can be a powerful instructional tool that encourages learners to be involved in problem-solving by using a great deal of information and to enlarge and…

The intent of this study is to explore how WAP (wireless application protocol) technology mediates online discussions. The focus of this research is on the implications of WAP technology for online discussions, and the types of discussion topics that are most suitable for WAP-based discussions and the finding of the combination of WAP- and…

In the information age, Educational Technologists exist in complex, codependent organizations where the information age is demanding changes to our theory and praxis (Reigeluth, 2001). In this paper, the author argues that advanced leadership theory and practice can be used to characterize and design educational technology R&D, along with praxis,…

Students taking hybrid or online classes are often unprepared for the kinds of skills that are needed to be successful in this environment. This report provides an overview of one approach, an interactive CD-ROM (SPARK), that faculty can use to assist students in narrowing the gap between needed online learning skills and their current technical…

With the advances of computer and network technologies, student enrollment in distance education has increased rapidly since the 1990s. In 2003, it is estimated that about 40,000 to 50,000 K-12 students are enrolled in online courses nationwide (Golden, Wicks, & Williams, 2004). With the ever-increasing number of K-12 students who attend online…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of different types of visual illustrations on learner's learning interest, motivation and achievement, especially in multimedia learning. The participants were drawn from two classes of an "Introduction to Educational Technology" course and randomly assigned to one of the three treatments:…

This study focuses on the effects of map display and modality on learning geographical maps in a computer-based environment. Participants were randomly assigned to four versions of a computer program created by crossing two levels of map display (hypertext vs. rollover) with two levels of modality (audio vs. audio and text). Results showed that…

Utilization of technology in secondary schools is varied and depends on the training and interest of the individual instructors. Even though technology has advanced way beyond its utilitarian roots of being viewed solely by educators as a useful machine for teachers to key exams and worksheets on, there are still many secondary educators who still…

How did we build a site that has grown to more than 6,000 Web pages and 50 million hits per year--with a few part-time people, with no budget for the first five years, and a minimal budget the next five? We will describe an efficient and effective design process fundamental to our strategy that is essentially a method of disciplined inquiry. Our…

Online teaching and learning is making a significant impact on the fabric of higher education. In particular, online MBA programs have seen a rapid rise in student enrollments in recent years while the student enrollments in traditional in-residence MBA programs are in decline (Hayward, 2004; Lorenzo, 2004). This appears to be due, in part, to the…

The Internet was not invented for education at beginning (Pett Grabinger, 1995), but it has influenced educational systems considerably, especially by providing another way for distance learning. This powerful communication function is superior to any other educational media. Students can conduct their own self-directed learning without…

For millennia, emotional states have been viewed as avoidable impediments to rational thinking (Ellis & Newton, 2000). Several reasons have been pointed out. The lack of consensus of the definition on emotion that tend to conflict with each other was suggested as a main reason (Price, 1998). Also the difficulty of research methodology such as…

Interest in online education has grown rapidly over the past and will continue to grow. An increasing number of universities are offering online learning (OL) opportunities. Teacher professional development is part of this trend as well. Numerous recent studies of online teacher professional development environments have been published. Most…

This study examined how differences in communication style affect how likely particular types of messages (e.g. arguments, evidence, critiques, explanations) were able to elicit critical responses during four online debates. Event sequence analysis was used to compare the response probabilities for each type of message across messages that used…