The purpose of this study was to determine if learning communities have an inherent motivational effect on learners and, if so, whether higher motivation impacts attitudinal change. As learning communities and groups become more established in distance education settings, it is important to understand the impact these groups have on the motivation…

Discusses organic architecture and suggests that learning environments should be designed and constructed using an organic approach, so that learning is not viewed as a distinct human activity but incorporated into everyday performance. Highlights include an organic knowledge-building model; information objects; scaffolding; discourse action…

Discusses online technologies and distance education and suggests that combining distributed learning and a technology-first approach for instructional design could produce a new framework that would begin with the nature of the technology as its central assumption. Describes the present framework of the virtual classroom and considers the nature…

Describes the development of learning communities within the context of asynchronous distance education, based on a study of 12 graduate students in a course that used Internet-based conferencing software. Preliminary results of empirical data, interviews, and student journals indicate a relationship between learning achievement and strength of…