Reports a qualitative examination of five institutions of higher education whose African American, white, and Latina women graduates achieved a measurable degree of postbaccalaureate success. Identifies eight women-friendly characteristics, including having high academic expectations, having a clear sense of mission and history, providing positive…

Explored the perspectives of graduate students (n=18) toward their learning in a course in higher and continuing education which used three collaborative groups in a problem-based instructional approach. Identified a core theme, ownership of knowledge, and three embedded subthemes: (1) group dynamics, (2) tutor feedback, and (3) metacognitive…

Provides an overview of barriers to distance education, based on a recent literature review and survey of several thousand people involved in distance education, instructional technology, and training. The ten strongest barriers to distance education, 11 least important barriers to implementation, and five of the top barriers related directly to…

Provides an introduction to this special issue on distance education and e-learning. Several questions related to these topics are presented, and the articles contained in the issue are summarized. (MES)

Examines theoretical and conceptual issues around promoting the growth of virtual learning communities and considers issues around using communication technologies in formal and informal learning environments. Highlights include: the theoretical context of community; categories for examining virtual learning communities; emphases of virtual…

Examines major trends for changes related to e-learning in several sectors (i.e., corporate training, postsecondary education, K-12 education, and non-traditional K-12 settings) and describes how these trends are affecting the development and dissemination of instructional design theory and methodology. (MES)

Examines how the use of server-based courseware development solutions affects the instructional design process when creating online distance education. Highlights include pedagogical, visual interface (e.g., visual metaphor and navigation layout), interaction, and instructional design implications of online courseware. (Contains 54 references.)…

Describes the adaptation of "Instructional Design and Development" from a residential course to a World Wide Web-based course offered in the distance Masters' degree program in Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University. A description of the Web-based course, findings regarding the adaptation process, and implications for adapting a…

Provides one perspective on the design elements incorporated into the Pennsylvania State University World Campus Educational Technology Integration Certification courses and a brief overview of the authors' experiences facilitating these courses, including their opinions about theoretical and practical implications of different instructional…

South Dakota State leaders decided a few years ago to make a commitment to educational technology and distance education. The result is a blend of public and private support for educational change focused on increased use of instructional technology and distance education. The May/June 2001 issue of "Tech Trends" presents ideas from South Dakota…

A person-centered instructional design model was developed for virtual, Web-based environments, based on the work of Carl Rogers. This model attempts to address several issues raised in the literature. A person-centered instructional model is described and contrasted with instructionalist and constructivist approaches. Theoretical and practical…

This purpose of this study was to assist an instructor in facilitating an online course while the class was being offered, and to provide timely interventions for improving the course during the semester. Instructional interventions were suggested and an overall evaluation was conducted. The approach, findings, and recommendations have…

Reviews the use of MTutor, a virtual learning environment, in assisting final year engineering project students to adopt industry best practices for design in their projects and to improve their problem-solving skills. MTutor is designed to support problem-solving skill development in learners through Web-based virtual tutorials, which are…

Presents results of a systematic effort to collect student feedback on a Web-based distance education course offered by a major university. Findings show some students experienced what Hara and Kling (2000) call distance education student "distress" and, while they found the course to be a satisfactory educational experience overall, students were…

This study was designed to identify the factors that influence students to print online course information, to ascertain whether these printing activities are related to a reduction in various barriers, and to determine if these activities influence students' satisfaction with learning. Implications for the design and development of Web-based…