Discusses changing traditional higher education courses to a Web-based environment, focusing on faculty workload, and describes the development of online courses at Ohio University by a cohort of faculty from the College of Education and College of Music. Highlights include technical problems; instructional design; and psychological concerns of…

Defines interactivity and considers how to analyze the extent to which an interactive learning environment has been created. Topics include four components necessary to create interactive distance learning: the learner, the learning environment, the teacher, and the technology; and the value added profile. (LRW)

For the thirtieth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

For the thirtieth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Defines return on investment (ROI); describes the individual articles included in this special section of the journal which focuses on the process of ROI in organizations. Together, this collection of articles displays a wide variety of views about the necessity for ROI and the quality and quantity of its use. (AEF)

Presents issues concerning return on investment (ROI) and its use in education and training. Discussion includes building a feasible ROI process; criteria for an effective ROI process; a practical model for ROI, which includes preliminary evaluation, data collection, isolating program effects, converting data to monetary values, tabulating program…

Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSSs) are replacing traditional training in many settings. This article describes a package to determine the return on investment (ROI) of an EPSS used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, applicable as well as to the calculation of ROI for other EPSSs. (Author/AEF)

Highlights of this article include revisiting competency expectations for IT practitioners; revisiting technology-selection criteria; using ROI to support interactive technology selection decisions; technology-oriented inputs to ROI determinations; and business cases of ROI in action. (AEF)

Reports a study of how decision makers in 10 different business and educational contexts valued educational technology. Considers how practitioners and scholars can use this information to improve future evaluation efforts. Two tables show interviewees' institutions and job roles and bases that interviewees used in making educational technology…

Presents various ways of understanding knowledge and intellectual capital and the assets they produce. Considers implications of assessing the return on educational technologies as organizational knowledge assets. Presents a case study to illustrate how an educational technology application might help capture the benefits of knowledge capital.…

Elaborates on the nature of the new paradigm of instructional theories (May-June 1996 issue) by summarizing 21 theories that are described in "Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory." Divides theories into seven broad categories: understanding, problem-based learning, community of learners, high-order…

Looks at some key elements of teachers' knowledge and skill bases and considers how these might be supported in Web-based instruction. Describes the "micro-genres" that constitute the instructional events of the online class. Introduces a software package to demonstrate how these interactions may be facilitated in practice. (Author/AEF)

Provides a synthesis of the research findings on gender differences in the field of computers. Examines several popular theories of why the differences exist and what to do about them. (AEF)

Examines the merits of situated learning, constructivism, and feminist pedagogy as educational reforms. In each case, the theoretical construct is described, justified (in terms of why it improves learning experiences), and defended based on research in the field. The constraints on systemic change and the problem of seeing its implementation to…

Based on a five-year ethnographic study of the activity of an online, international academic community of practice supported by ListServer technology, this article covers selective findings pertaining to patterns of communication deemed crucial to community building. Implications of learning and collegial support are discussed. (Author/AEF)