Metacognition is a required cognitive ability to achieve deep and meaningful learning that must be viewed from both an individual and social perspective. Recently, the transition from the earliest individualistic models to an acknowledgement of metacognition as socially situated and socially constructed has precipitated the study of metacognition…

The unique technological functions of a weblog have earned it a growing reputation as a pedagogical tool for educators across fields of study. While using the blog as a communicative and pedagogical platform in two different graduate classes in Korea, this study explored the premise of a weblog as a place for networked individuality. The classes…

It is not uncommon that researchers face difficulties when performing meaningful cross-study comparisons for research. Research associated with the distance learning realm can be even more difficult to use as there are different environments with a variety of characteristics. We implemented a mixed-method analysis of research articles to find out…

The process of learning involves interaction with the learning environment through our five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste). Until recently, distance education focused only on the first two of those senses, sight and sound. Internet-based learning environments are predominantly visual with auditory components. With the advent of…

This study explored the extent to which students' thoughts, feelings, and actions are associated with the nature of an online course and how that course relates to them personally. Following completion of an online course in aviation physiology, service academy undergraduates (N = 481) completed a survey that assessed several motivational,…

Wikis have the potential to change learning environments from traditional knowledge transmission models to knowledge transformative ones where students generate, share, and reshape knowledge. In this three-part study, graduate students created wikibooks across institutional settings. One of these projects extended to universities in China, Taiwan,…

This study answered questions about which faculty come to use technology in their teaching and used a novel statistical analysis to develop a model that captures the primary factors influencing faculty technology use. It used a sample of 16,914 faculty within the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty to explore explanations for faculty…

Interaction is an essential ingredient in any learning process. However, every interaction does not lead to increased learning. When interaction has a direct influence on learners' intellectual growth, we can say the interaction is meaningful. The precise meaning of meaningful interaction is strongly related to the learning theories underlying the…

This study provides an example of one institution's efforts to design coursework that meets the simultaneous challenges of supporting the aims of increasing access to online courses and simultaneously better preparing teachers to work in diverse classrooms. Based on online pre- and post-surveys and monthly open-ended writing prompts administered…

This project draws on a large body of seminal research showing that the approaches students take to learning, and the subsequent quality of their learning, is closely related to their perceptions of their learning experience. Recent research has demonstrated these findings also hold for non-standard modes of delivery such as distance education…

Predictors of persistence previously found useful in distinguishing successful from unsuccessful distance learners were assembled in a 60-item survey. The survey was completed by 259 learners enrolled in associate's, bachelor's, or master's level distance learning courses in accounting, business administration, information services, criminal…

Electronic mail (e-mail) is an extremely important medium for Internet-based education. Due to its unique characteristics, there is reason to be concerned that students do not put appropriate care into writing messages that are sent via e-mail. This has significant implications for the effectiveness of online learning environments. This paper…

To respond to learning needs, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) must provide instructional support. The particular focus of this paper is on designing collaboration in a 3-D virtual game environment intended to make learning more effective by promoting student opportunities for interaction. The empirical experiment eScape, which…

The present case study consists of the content analysis of anonymous student responses to open-ended evaluation of teaching questions submitted by 202 students for fully online and on-campus versions of the same graduate courses taught by the same professors over four academic years. Online courses received both more praise and more negative…

Given the extraordinary interest and growth in eLearning as a learning tool and as an industry, it is not surprising there is lively debate on quality. A research-based and tested eLearning model was used to design and evaluate an online M.Ed. course in order to study factors that influence the quality of an eLearning event. Several data…