Recently, attempts have been made to use Weblog and other personal webpublishing technologies to support individual and social reflection in higher education. Due to Weblog's highly individual and reflective nature, students' experiences and perceptions of the technology and practice is of primary importance in furthering its educational use. In…

The purpose of this exploratory experimental study was to examine how online cognitive facilitation that promotes cognitive presence, while keeping facilitator's social presence constant, affects student learning and satisfaction in an online community of inquiry. In this context, we explored the following questions: (1) Does online high cognitive…

This study provides an in-depth description of adult learners' perceptions and experiences using laptop computers in higher education institutions. The study also examines the influence on human beings' cognitive activity by using laptops. The results are organized into seven themes and four classifications: usage, benefits, limitations, and…

This research intends to explore students' aspect and impact on forming virtual learning communities within online courses. A formal online course that is on the process of building virtual community is closely examined to discover students' perceptions of learning community approach, their online performances, and how these perceptions and…

This study articulates the construct of social presence and develops a social presence questionnaire for examining online collaborative learning with tests for reliability and validity. Questionnaire items were developed by revising the social presence questionnaire developed by Picciano in 2002 as well as eviewing research in the literature of…

Problem solving is of critical importance in many disciplines. In medicine, the clinician's ability to arrive at the correct diagnosis often means the difference between life and death. Despite its importance and a significant amount of research regarding how to improve problem solving, few unambiguous answers have emerged for promoting problem…

Online learning has become a new paradigm in education, but very few research-based studies have addressed the multicultural aspects of online learning. Using interviews and observations, this study examines the perceptions of Asian students while taking synchronous online courses in the United States. The specific questions explored in this study…

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…

Few universities are currently offering an online course with collaborative learning component in Instructional Design. This study shared information on an on-going evaluation of online Instructional Design courses from 94 graduate students who have taken this course, hoping to find out the most effective way to deliver similar courses. This…

Human working memory can be defined as a component system responsible for the temporary storage and manipulation of information related to higher level cognitive behaviors, such as understanding and reasoning (Baddeley, 1992; Becker & Morris, 1999). Working memory, while able to manage a complex array of cognitive activities, presents with an…

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…

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…

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…