This paper considers four aspects of online communities. Design, mechanisms, architecture, and the constructed knowledge. We hypothesize that different designs of communities drive different mechanisms, which give rise to different architectures, which in turn result in different levels of collaborative knowledge construction. To test this chain…

This study was designed primarily to investigate the impact of anonymous peer feedback on student meaningful learning in higher education. Forty-seven students from three undergraduate classes from a central US university participated in this study. Students were asked to build a web-based project. In the experimental group, technology-mediated…

The purpose of this case study was to analyze the characteristics of an online learning community from the perspectives of 18 adult learners all of whom completed an online master?s degree program in instructional design and technology. This program was taught at a distance using the Blackboard.com e-learning system. Several program…

A suburban high school district in Arizona was recently named as a provider of Technology Assisted Project Based Instruction (TAPBI). The district?s challenge was to create 20 effective, online high school courses in approximately nine months. Successful deployment depended in large measure on the ability of the teachers of those courses to…

During the spring semester 2003, faculty members in the Colleges of Education and Arts & Sciences were asked to submit their fall 2002 semester syllabi that reflect the integration of technology into the courses they teach as a result of attending 12-15 weeks faculty development/training workshops. Furthermore, a survey was designed to extract…

As the internet-based learning (IBL) market becomes increasingly global, understanding differing educational values and cultural expectations could provide an important competitive edge for providers (universities, publishing houses, and corporate training entities). How each of person determines "good" or "quality" instruction is to a large…

Across the various programs of study, portfolios serve many functions and purposes. Electronic portfolios have been used as a culminating product for students in our Master of Library Science and Master of Education in Instructional Technology at East Carolina University. Two conclusions were drawn from this study - (1) authentic assessment using…

This presentation will focus on the use of a custom developed Innovation Component Configuration Map (ICCM) to measure technology integration practices of faculty in Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education (SCDEs). This study investigated the relationship between the level of technology integration fidelity (high, moderate or low) by SCDE…

A report on the efforts made to describe the range of human-computer interaction skills necessary to complete a program of study in Instructional Design Technology. Educators responsible for instructional media production courses have not yet articulated which among the wide range of possible interactions students must master for instructional…

Several empirical studies are discussed which indicate that adapting the level of support, the difficulty of the learning task, or support as well as difficulty has beneficial effects on learning and transfer test performance. Three conclusions can be drawn from the presented studies. First, both the level of available support and the difficulty…

As part of a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant, the authors are working on the design, development, and evaluation of an online support environment for novice teachers and teacher support specialists/mentors that will continue to expand technology integration support throughout the critical student teaching and teacher…

Based on the emotions and responsibilities, this paper proposes a model that identifies three levels of motivation (3LOM) in instruction. It states that motivation can be addressed at three different levels: inclusion, entertainment and edification. It looks at motivation from the angle of social interaction. The focus of the model is to describe…

Four instructional principles for alleviating cognitive overload in online learning are suggested: 1) Guide learners to prepare and maintain an effective workstation for accessing online materials, 2) Employ advance organizers for effective online navigation, 3) Arrange instructional materials for easy online manipulation, and 4) Organize…

The inclusion of interactive television (iTV) programs for learning is an emerging genre in education. Literature has concluded that any aspect of learning requires some form of interaction or feedback to be most effective. As television (TV) evolves from being a passive to an active medium, it has the potential to engage learners and reach a mass…

The requirements of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has presented challenges for schools and districts across the United States such as a new need to focus on test scores and student achievement. While all states, districts, and schools face challenges that require them to adjust the structure and delivery of instruction in their schools,…