This article addresses the historical context, current development, and future challenges of distance education in Indonesia. Conditions related to the geography, demography, socio-economic and cultural situations, as well as the availability of technology have encouraged the use of distance education as a valid choice in providing access to…

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of cooperative learning on cognitive outcomes in a public health graduate level Web-based distance education course. Specifically, the authors use a randomized control trial to determine the impact of two teaching pedagogies on learning effectiveness in three areas of the cognitive domain: (1)…

This article describes how a K-12 school in South Florida adopted a course management system with e-portfolio capabilities. E-portfolios are available tools, though more costly, in higher-end course management systems and are gaining recognition in the K-12 market. However, according to a recent survey administered by the technology team at the…

Responses of alumni enrolled in a distance and an on-campus program at a traditional land-grant university to a survey evaluating their academic experiences were compared. Results demonstrated that both groups of alumni were very satisfied with their education. Both groups responded similarly to questions about the university's contribution to…

The National Center for Educational Statistics reported that during the 1997-1998 academic year, 58% of all postsecondary institutions offered Web-based courses. Moreover, 82% reported plans to increase their Web-based offerings over the following 3 years. In response to the growing interest in providing online instruction, various online course…

This article describes how online discussion groups and visual collaboration can be used in combination to build and support a virtual community of learners. Data derived from several online discussion groups are presented, and the support needs of learners are highlighted as a key factor of success. (Contains 1 figure.)

Online discussion is a common tool to create learner-learner interaction. Whole class discussions can result in potentially hundreds of postings with students spending more time creating the illusion of participation as opposed to critical reflection and deeper learning. The purpose of this study was to determine quality of online discussion based…

This article presents findings of a study conducted to determine instructors' perceptions of optimal class sizes for online courses with different levels of interaction. Implications for research and practice are also presented. A Web-based survey method was employed. Online courses studied were those taught sometime in the last 5 years by a…

Research suggests that the solitary learner's learning preferences might be a mismatch with collaborative instructional settings. A question is therefore posed: "In online learning environments that require collaboration, how do solitary learners experience their own learning?" It is important to answer this question to understand and develop…

Program evaluation is an important component of successful distance education programs. In this article, a distance master's Instructional Design and Technology Program is evaluated for overall quality. Interviews and a Web-based survey were the major instruments employed. Data was collected from three groups associated with the program:…

The rapid growth in online courses continues to spark faculty concern about the quality of instruction related to the lack of interaction, social process, and social presence thought to promote socialization of students into a profession. Courses designed to promote a sense of community in online courses may address these concerns. The purpose of…

This study examined member behaviors, distribution of performed behaviors, and development-shaping forces in order to identify group development patterns of virtual learning teams. Participants of this study were 7 newly formed virtual learning teams working on a final group project in a 12-week online graduate-level course. Examining the group…

This study compared the effects student learning styles with Web-based learning (WBL) and traditional instructor-based learning (ILB) on student knowledge and satisfaction. Learning methods (Web-based and instructor-based) and learning styles (Diverger, Converger, Assimilator, and Accommodator) were the independent variables. Student knowledge and…

Previous studies regarding online learning have focused on learner perspectives, such as student learning outcomes, their perception of or satisfaction with online learning, and so forth. Only a few studies have addressed the faculty perspective, which is one of major factors in the success of online learning. The few studies that claim that…

This article describes an exploratory study of two Web-based learning environments designed to teach helping skills to human service students. Participants used either an interactive pedagogical agent environment or read a helper-client script. Environments were compared and learning gains were assessed in each of the environments, along with user…