This article examines peer-to-peer learning--in virtual schools--among the most vulnerable of students. As a description of a comprehensive case study focused on three different students with disabilities, their parents, their teachers, and their school administrators, this article examines the effects of three kinds of variables on the prevalence…

Virtual charter schools have emerged over the last decade as an increasingly popular alternative to traditional public schooling. Unlike their face-to-face counterparts, virtual charter schools educate students through blended or entirely online curricula. They present a host of new policy issues that should be scrutinized in order to ensure that…

The purpose of this research was to identify best practices in online mentoring used in an online doctoral program to mentor doctoral students through their dissertation. During semi-structured interviews, students (n=9) reflected on the challenges faced communicating with their mentors, and the online technologies, online mentoring strategies,…

This qualitative, design-based research study resulted in a proposal for a comprehensive set of best instructional practices immersed in a learning trajectory, outlining the tools, processes and the content development for online asynchronous, text-based learning in graduate level professional development courses. The outcome provides a rich…

This study aimed to investigate the existence of cognitive presence as one of the elements of the Community of Inquiry framework in virtual centers for undergraduate students of science and technology. To achieve the purpose of this study, first a questionnaire was uniquely developed on the basis of the suggestions made in the literature reviewing…

This paper discusses a current project to develop open educational resources (OER) for legislative counsel in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. The project is the latest step in a 20-year old distance education program for those professionals. The paper explores best practices for investment in freely available OER for use by professionals…

The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to share the strengths, challenges, and tensions of using Facebook in an undergraduate nursing program. The observations presented have emerged from information shared by study participants and the professional insights of the three researcher-authors who represent perspectives from nursing,…

The number of candidates seeking and completing online courses and programs in teacher education continues to increase in order to meet the licensing flexibility demands of adults pursuing teacher certification. Using the theoretical constructs of learner-centered instruction and zones of proximal development, this paper provides an overview of…

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…

Social media allows for a wealth of social interactions. More recently, there is a growing use of social media for the purposes of health education. Using an adaptation of the Networked student model by Drexler (2010) as a conceptual model, this article conducts a literature review focusing on the use of social media for health education purposes.…

This article proposes a model of presence in e-learning that is based on Garrison & Anderson's (2003) community of inquiry (COI) model. While the proposed model is similar to the COI model, there are some significant differences. It addresses the notion of presence from a different angle, and characterizes and specifies it differently. The article…

One of the major influences on university education in Ontario is the growing use of Internet technologies. These new technologies have led faculty and learning experts at universities to talk about online and technology-enhanced learning with a fervour not often found on most campuses. Among other things, these discussions have challenged…

This paper discusses students' experiences with the use of identification codes in a graduate course delivered asynchronously via the Internet. While teaching an introductory masters level graduate course in distance learning, the authors discovered that the learning management system, Moodle, was programmed to display identification codes rather…

In an attempt to foster student integration in virtual education programs, several higher education institutions have launched systematic large-scale hand-outs of personal computers, inspired by the "One Laptop per Child" distribution model. However, the level of impact of these initiatives on academic performance is not yet well understood. This…