Academic help-seeking is an invaluable learning strategy that has not yet received much attention in the distance education research literature. The asynchronous nature of distance education and many online courses presents an inherent roadblock to help-seeking. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of academic self-regulation,…

As online learning continues to gain widespread attention and thrive as a legitimate alternative to classroom instruction, educational institutions and online instructors face the challenge of building and sustaining student trust in online learning environments. The present study represents an attempt to address the challenge by identifying the…

Teachers use remote labs and simulations to augment or even replace hands-on science learning. We compared undergraduate students' experiences with a remote lab and a simulation to investigate beliefs about and learning from the interactions. Although learning occurred in both groups, students were more deeply engaged while performing the remote…

This reflection outlines the problems associated with the Australian Government's recurrent funding policy for non-government distance education. It demonstrates the policy's inconsistencies with stated government educational policy and with commonly held expectations of fairness in a democratic society. A comparison of the current funding of…

Procrastination, putting off until tomorrow what should have been done today, is a self-regulation failure that is widespread among students. Although plenty of research has emerged regarding academic procrastination, hardly any research endeavor regarding procrastination in distance university settings exists. This lack of research is even more…

Learners' feelings of social connectedness may be a key factor in predicting online course success. However, students attempting to perceive and process the social context in online courses often find themselves engaging in unfamiliar, technology-mediated communication channels. While there have been several empirically based strategies published…

What does it take to be an effective online educator? Can those who teach successfully face-to-face be equally effective online? This article details a descriptive qualitative research study of students' perspectives regarding qualities of exceptional online educators. Participants described interactions they had with online teachers they…

To improve student retention in distance education, Simpson suggested in 2003 that institutions analyse their own retention characteristics and "spot the leaks." In 2008 the Centre for Distance Learning at Laidlaw College, New Zealand, employed two part-time academic support coordinators in an effort to improve student retention and success. This…

The authors studied a course in which an instructor allowed individuals at a distance to participate. Although these students were not formally enrolled in the university where the class took place, the instructor gave them full access to all course materials and encouraged them to complete course assignments. The authors examined the time and…

The purpose of this project was to evaluate an online course in child development in which active learning strategies were infused. Preservice teachers taking the course were future elementary teachers seeking initial prekindergarten to sixth-grade teaching certification. Sixty-one persons were enrolled in a traditional face-to-face section of the…

Exergames (active video games that require kinesthetic movement) played in proximity to other players or against a gaming machine have been linked to positive increases in cognitive functioning. This study tested to see if remote exergame play over the Internet had an impact similar to exergames that are played in proximity. The study shows that…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that is poised for widespread application in the current, growing, on-line digital learning environment. While enjoying a track record as a defensible strategy in face-to-face learning settings, the research evidence is not clear regarding PBL in on-line environments. A review of the…

This paper discusses findings of a study investigating how students, in four online courses, engaged in inquiry-based learning with and without support from a facilitator. The investigation was conducted by analyzing discussions of the online courses using the community of inquiry model. The results of the study imply that students in online…

This study describes the development of a learning process of genetic counseling and basic genetics using an e-learning model and its application to a group of psychologists in the state of Parana in southern Brazil. The aim was to analyze the impact on the increase of knowledge in the presented subjects and the possibility of applying this…

This article introduces a set of distance education astronomy laboratory exercises for use by college students and instructors and discusses first usage results. This General Astronomy Education Source exercise set contains eight two-week projects designed to guide students through both core content and mathematical applications of general…