Distance education course designers working alone often do not have the luxury of fully developing their instruction before releasing their courses to students. The Individual Iterative Instructional Design (I3D) model is useful for educators who both develop and present their distance learning instructional units in areas ranging from higher…

Managing the design and production of online courses is challenging. Insufficient instructional design and inefficient management often lead to issues such as poor course quality and course delivery delays. In an effort to facilitate, streamline, and improve the overall design and production of online courses, this article discusses how we…

Using collaborative critical reflection as an index, this study examines the asynchronous and face-to-face discourse of 28 suburban Chicago elementary teachers developing problem based learning (PBL) curriculum. Statistical analysis of the corpus produced by the 2 mediums shows that the asynchronous online network emerges as the medium of choice…

This study was designed to measure instructional design competencies as a result of participation in a 9-month Web-based training program called "Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design." The researchers used a self-assessment pre- and posttest to determine participant initial and final competence in 12 areas: adult learning,…

One of the most significant events that heralded the Department of Defense's commitment to distance education was the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, which held its kickoff meeting in Washington, DC in 1997. This meeting provided the army and other military services the endorsement that had been lacking relative to implementing…

The articles in this special issue illustrate research in the fields of instructional design and distance education that share the common goal of using the findings to improve practice. Through case studies, the authors contribute ideas, examples, and research data related to the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and continuous…

Describes an evaluation of Web-based instruction at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (Texas) that showed that the design team had been distracted from many first principles of instructional design by the creative chaos on the Web and discusses how self-reflection and role definitions allowed the team to overcome these disappointments and…

Describes the process of design and development of two Web-based training templates (i.e., a newspaper metaphor and a theater metaphor) to prompt rapid development of active learning environments. Findings suggest that design elements to support limitations of short-term memory are important considerations in template design. (MES)

This discussion of blended learning environments covers: (1) background; (2) why the term "blended" is used, and what can be blended; (3) goals of blended learning environments, including pedagogical richness, access to knowledge, social interaction, personal agency, cost effectiveness, and ease of revision; and (4) characteristics of five case…

Describes a blended introductory instructional design course at Brigham Young University (Utah) that was evaluated, revised, and re-evaluated. The case is an example of how a faculty member teaching a blended course must constantly determine the balance between face-to-face and online components. (Author/MES)

Examines the development of a class at Brigham Young University (Utah) that blends distance and face-to-face students in a synchronous class. This case study focuses on how this blended learning environment was experienced by the distance and face-to-face students, as well as by the instructor. (MES)

Describes an undergraduate religion course at Brigham Young University (Utah) in which seven learners pursuing an online baccalaureate degree were invited to join 49 on-campus students. This case study presents an evaluation of the course based on interviews with distant learners, on-campus students, and instructors. (MES)

Describes a large-enrollment accounting course at Brigham Young University (Utah). This case focuses on the possibility of using blended approaches to reduce faculty time, re-focus student time, and raise the possibility of using blended learning as a way to admit more students to an academic program. (MES)

Analyzes the blended learning environment in an introductory first-year writing course at Brigham Young University (Utah). The success of this course is compared with the tradition version of the course. The paper describes the process and outcomes associated with teaching and learning within a blended learning environment. (MES)

Presents a critique of the five case studies of blended learning environments in this issue. Comments are organized around the following four frameworks: (1) the J-curve of implementation; (2) the theory of Engaged Collaborative Discourse; (3) adaptation to individual differences; and (4) Validity-Centered Design. (MES)