This qualitative study is an exploratory, retrospective content analysis (Schwandt, 2007) of 81 debrief statements collected over 3 years and written by graduate students in an educational technology graduate program's educational leadership course taught 100% online. Researchers analyzed students' debrief statements of lessons learned and task…

Recent studies of online learning environments reveal the importance of interaction within the virtual environment. Abrami, Bernard, Bures, Borokhovski, and Tamim (2011) identify and study 3 types of student interactions: student-content, student-teacher, and student-student. This article builds on this classification of interactions as it…

This study explores 465 postsecondary students' experiences in online classes through the lens of connectivism. Downes' 4 properties of connectivism (diversity, autonomy, interactivity, and openness) were used as the study design. An exploratory factor analysis was performed. This study found a 4-factor solution. Subjects indicated that autonomy…

The problem under investigation for this study was to identify a method for determining a student's potential for success in an online communication course using the Readiness for Education At a Distance Indicator (READI) assessment instrument as a predictor. The READI tool focuses on six areas that students should score well on in order to be…

The long-term effect and influence of educational experiences on K-12 learners necessitates empirical research of innovations and discoveries in the field prior to their implementation in the classroom. Online distance education is such an innovation because demand and enthusiasm for its implementations continues to grow. However, more rigorous…

Researchers investigated perceived satisfaction of undergraduate students with high-enrollment online course sections at a research-intensive university. A modified survey instrument was administered to all undergraduate students enrolled in 2 online statistics courses in which interaction was not a central element of course design. Students were…

More than one in four students now take at least one course online. The most common factors cited as affecting distance education decisions are meeting student demand for flexible schedules (68%), providing access for students who would not have access (67%), and making more courses available (46%) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008).…

This article discusses effective leadership in educational environments and in particular focuses on the current situation at the University of South Africa (UNISA). The end of Apartheid in South Africa has brought many opportunities but also some challenges especially in education. Three conditions that contribute to ensuring strong distance…

The Pathways to Prosperity initiative was launched in 2012 as the result of several years of research conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Harvard Graduate School of Education's (2011) report challenged the United States' education model, pointing to some of the merits of the European education paradigm, which has adopted a…

Professor Ricardo Torres Kompen is a leading proponent for, and researcher in, personal learning environments (PLEs). During his interview, Torres Kompen clarified his research on PLEs, particularly the digital toolbox within PLEs. He elaborated on experiences with implementing PLE initiatives, personal insights on using social media and Web 2.0…

There is a dramatic shift in the tools that are used in today's technology-based distance education. While distance education is not new, there are new types of socially rich, mobile technologies that empower learners to be more in control of what they learn, when they learn it, and how they learn it. Students are taking more responsibility for…

The changes precipitated by today's computer-based technologies are perhaps no more keenly felt than in the field of education, where technological innovation signals fundamental transformations in the manner in which educational programs will be delivered to 21st century students. Online learning is providing higher education institutions with an…

The primary purpose of the current study was to examine barriers to the use of distance education and explore related factors in small and low-income rural schools. Data were collected via a telephone survey with administrators or other qualified personnel. The sample involved 417 randomly selected small and low-income rural school districts…

Individual and social benefits accrue when high school graduation rates increase. One approach to increasing graduation rates is to design learning environments that serve students with disabilities through the 5Cs known to increase school completion: connect, climate, control, curriculum, and caring community. Virtual school programs align with…

The three-dimensional (3D) virtual world is one of the current innovations that has been discussed extensively as the potential medium for online distance education. Despite the heated discussion on the possible applications of 3D virtual worlds for distance education, empirical studies were hard to locate, and little has been written about how…