According to the annual industry report in "Training" magazine, money spent on employee training dropped approximately six percent--the first time that training expenditures have dropped since the mid 1990's. At the same time, web-based training increased from 48% of all computer-based training to 61% in just one year (2002-2003). The most "bang…

Retention of novice teachers is a problem for school districts. Teacher induction programs are beneficial in increasing retention, but these programs take time, a commodity in short supply among novice teachers. Computer-based support has been suggested as an alternative resource. This paper reports the findings of a survey among novice teachers…

Simonson, Schlosser and Hanson (1999) argue that a new theory called "equivalency theory" is needed to account for the unique features of the "teleconferencing" (synchronous) model of DE that is prevalent in many North American universities. Based on a comprehensive meta-analysis of the comparative literature of DE (Bernard, Abrami, Lou, Wozney,…

This paper focuses on the research competencies of students in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) programs. First, we describe how research is being taught to students enrolled in several leading IDT programs. Next, we present findings from a survey administered to determine what knowledge and skills are being taught to IDT graduate…

In 1998, a state university received grant funding to convert their Special Education Blindness and Visual Impairment graduate degree program to an online format. At that time, commercial web course management systems were not accessible to blind and visually impaired users. As a result, grant designers developed a custom, accessible platform,…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the instructional effects of various animation strategies. Three treatment groups involved include static graphic, animation used as an attention-gaining strategy, and animation used as an attention-gaining and elaboration strategy. Participants were 115 college student volunteers. Two-way…

The use of electronic portfolios for authentic student assessment is growing rapidly (Batson, 2002). Creating portfolios electronically offers a number of benefits not available using traditional paper-based portfolios. Advantages include the portability from one application or institution to another, wider accessibility of the portfolio, and the…

This study examined the changes in the level of intercultural competence of high school students that had participated in a transnational project where technology was utilized to exchange information, ideas, and create a final web-based product. Participants of the study included 162 tenth grade students from three different high schools located…

The choice of what to include in educational software is an issue with which instructional designers are regularly concerned. Multimedia capacity, standard on today's desktop computers, gives designers the opportunity to provide learners a more exciting learning experience than simply looking, clicking, and then looking some more. One feature that…

Analyzing data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this report examines how computer use produced generic benefit to all children and differential benefits to minority and poor children. Specifically, we examined computer use at home vis-a-vis computer use at school in relation to the academic performance of disadvantaged…

The advent of Video-On-Demand (VOD) brought promises of rich video libraries, robust interactive lessons, and powerful tools for the curriculum developer. VOD has brought the excitement of a new media form, but with this excitement comes the confusion that accompanies any new field. This paper will discuss the nature of Video-on-Demand, and…

Open source online learning environments have emerged and developed over the past 10 years. In this paper we will analyze the underlying philosophy and features of MOODLE based on the theoretical framework developed by Hannafin and Land (2000). Psychological, pedagogical, technological, cultural, and pragmatic foundations comprise the framework…

This paper aims to identify and to understand the role of the logical, the affective and the ethical dimensions of knowledge in the online interactions of post-secondary teachers and students. By understanding how these dimensions are interwoven, I intend to demonstrate that the instructor?s course design and teaching strategies must take them…

Professional education is increasingly facing accessibility challenges with the emergence of webbased learning. This paper summarizes related U.S. legislation, standards, guidelines, and validation tools to make web-based learning accessible for all potential learners. We also present lessons learned during the implementation of web accessibility…

As the song goes, "Don't know much about His -to-ry, don't know much about Tech-no-lo-gy!" But what we do know is that music technology now plays a crucial role in most schools. Fully integrating this technology requires much greater awareness. From Mozart to Madonna, technology has forever changed the field of music. Although accessing music…