In this work, Web 2.0 technologies in higher education are evaluated using students' perceptions, satisfaction, performance and behaviour. The study evaluates the Web 2.0 tools as stand-alone entities as well in terms of their cross-operability and integration (confluence) to synergistic contributions towards the enhancement of student…

"Ensemble" is an interdisciplinary research and development project exploring the potential role of emerging Semantic Web technologies in case-based learning across learning environments in higher education. Empirical findings have challenged the claim that cases "bring reality into the classroom" and that this, in turn, might provide the basis…

The present study investigated the role of pedagogical, technical, and institutional profile factors in an institution of higher education's decision to select an open-source learning management system (LMS). Drawing on the results of previous research that measured patterns of deployment of open-source software (OSS) in US higher education and…

With the growing demand for e-learning along with striving for excellence associated with globalization, there are worldwide calls for enhancing and assuring quality in e-learning, specifically in the context of the developing countries. Such calls for quality enhancement, accountability, added value, value for money, self-evaluation, and role…

Between 2008 and 2010, Lund University took part in three international benchmarking projects, "E-xcellence+," the "eLearning Benchmarking Exercise 2009," and the "First Dual-Mode Distance Learning Benchmarking Club." A comparison of these models revealed a rather high level of correspondence. From this finding and from desktop studies of the…

The quality of e-learning can be defined in many different ways, reflecting different stakeholders and the complexity of the systems and processes used in higher education. These different conceptions of quality can be mutually contradictory and, while politically significant, may also be beyond the direct control or influence of institutional…

This paper outlines the findings of a review that examined the literature around current practice in one-to-one online tuition in schools and higher education. It summarizes the purposes, contexts, scope, and methods of 17 core studies identified through a systematic literature search. It then uses a conceptual framework focusing on pedagogical…

This study investigated the impact of collaborative and individualized student response system-based instruction on learner motivation, metacognition, and concept transfer in a large-enrolment undergraduate science course. Participants in the collaborative group responded to conceptual questions, discussed their responses in small groups, and…

This paper presents the results of an interview-based study of the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) among dyslexic students. Interviews were carried out with 12 informants who had been formally diagnosed as dyslexic. The informants were either enrolled in a university or college programme, or had graduated less than a year before the…

This paper describes a literature review, institutional audit and analysis of practice in the area of digital literacy provision, based on research across the UK Higher Education sector. It concludes that institutions need to place greater value on "literacies of the digital", and better prepare their students and their own organizational…

This paper reports a case study for developing lecture teaching in higher education by connecting simultaneously the benefits of face-to-face teaching and social software for capturing and sharing students' lecture notes. The study was conducted with 12 university students taking a degree course on pre-primary education. Data were collected on (1)…

This paper uses the literature of educational technology as the site of analysis in order to map the field of educational technology. Having considered Kuhn and Bourdieu's theories, the paper frames the analysis of the field in Bernsteinian terms as a horizontal knowledge structure in a vertical knowledge discourse. Using the concepts of…

This paper explores the relationship between practitioners' pedagogical purposes, values and practices in designing for inquiry-based learning in higher education, and the affordances of the Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) as a tool for creating learning designs in this context. Using a qualitative research methodology, variation was…

This paper presents some of the findings from a recent project that conducted a virtual ethnographic study of three formal courses in higher education that use "Web 2.0" or social technologies for learning and teaching. It describes the pedagogies adopted within these courses, and goes on to explore some key themes emerging from the research and…

The WebQuest as an instructional tool has recently been widely adopted in K-16 education. However, its underlying principles and functionality are not well understood, which has resulted in an inconsistency in practice. This study identifies the underlying constructs of WebQuests as perceived by teachers and variables affecting their perceptions…