This study examined the sense of community in an online course for special education teachers enrolled in a master's program. The sense of community in an online environment may contribute to students' success and satisfaction (Knapczyk, Chapman, Rodes, & Chung, 2001). This article provides an example of a process for online community development…

In the information age, students must learn to navigate and evaluate an expanding network of information. Highly effective teachers model this process of information analysis and knowledge acquisition by continually learning through collaboration, professional development, and studying pedagogical techniques and best practices. Many teachers have…

The researchers conducted this study to investigate undergraduate preservice teacher candidates' perceptions regarding variables related to instructor presence in online courses. Participants included 52 undergraduate education students enrolled in 100% online technology integration courses at a doctoral research university in the southeastern…

Few online high schools report requiring online education for their teachers, and few programs exist to prepare teachers to teach online (Smith, Clark, & Blomeyer, 2005). Professional development for online teachers continues to be a concern, and evaluative research that examines the effectiveness of various types of professional development is…

As more courses in teacher education are offered online, it is imperative that we thoughtfully consider how we structure learning activities. This study turned a critical gaze on a common element of online courses--asynchronous discussion. The authors compared two models of discursive interaction--discussion boards versus blogs--to better…

This study evaluated the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) known as Second Life, integrated with Moodle and SLOODLE technologies, as an exploratory course delivery platform and for its ability to enable teachers to meet elements of NETS.T. Graduate student participants (N = 17) interacted, constructed simulated schools, and attended classes…

The purpose of this program evaluation study was to design, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating an online learning community as part of a comprehensive new-teacher induction program. The researcher, who serves as the middle school principal and new induction coordinator for the school district, used a mixed-method approach…

Video analysis of teaching is an important element of teacher education, yet the skills of classroom observation are often assumed rather than explicitly taught. To prepare a group of teacher trainees to interpret videos of their own teaching, the researchers developed a self-paced, online workshop to introduce micro-ethnographic techniques for…

This research examined the change in the perceptions of preservice teachers regarding the use of digital minigames to support middle school level social studies learning. The results of a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test for matched pairs revealed that participants' (N = 18) perceptions were positively modified by participation in a series of digital…