This chapter investigates students' reported patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will inform our understanding of the students' language learning process on an online discussion forum and consequently will help us maximise the educational potential of computer-mediated…

With the increasing importance and rapid growth of online courses, diversification of the student population, and the growing concern over retention rates, exploration of learner online participation and possible relationships with motivation and achievement behaviour is becoming increasingly relevant in higher education. Previous studies (Gerber,…

Contemporary discussions of education in blended-learning environments increasingly emphasize the social nature of learning which emphasizes interactions among students, or among students and instructors. These interactions can occur asynchronously using a text based discussion forum. A text-based discussion forum, however, may not work well for…

This qualitative research project was conducted to investigate the self-regulation strategies of learners in an asynchronous college-level math course. Seven students participated in the study, which was conducted at a large state university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Transcripts of face-to-face interviews, electronic journal…

This exploratory analysis examined the nature of asynchronous, text-based communication in peer-directed educational discussions. The nature of communication changed over time and women exhibited greater tendency for epistolary communication than men. Initial posts, which were expository in nature, focused on disseminating information whereas…

As institutional and market pressures move more faculty into the online teaching space, renewed discussions are occurring about how to best teach online, and what features of online courses are best to employ. A distance learning staple, the online discussion, or asynchronous discussion forum (ADF) is an easy strategy for faculty to employ in an…

To examine the potential uses of and barriers to text-messaging in secondary schools, three classes (66 students) of high school students used their personal mobile phones to receive out of school, course-related text-messages from teachers. Forty-six students (70%) agreed to receive text-messages. Findings indicate that participants found…

In the spring of 2009 I embarked on a teaching experiment in which I joined an online SUNY-Plattsburgh class taking my Anthropology of Human Rights course with a conventional class at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, where I was a visiting professor teaching the same course. My motivations were several, but prominent among them was to test the…

In this mixed-methods study, we investigated how doctoral students used asynchronous online discussions that were added to a face-to-face research methods course. We focused specifically on what sociocognitive tools the students used and what they thought about the value of the online discussions for their learning. Our data included three online…

Tighter budgets and lower enrollment are changing traditional higher education. The popularity of the World Wide Web (WWW) coupled with faster access to information provides an opportunity for Colleges and Universities to offer online programs. In most cases, traditional universities are not well prepared for the transition to online format and…

This study aims to compare the academics' perceptions about face to face and distance education, beside finding out the contributions of distance education to them, difficulties they experience in synchronous and asynchronous distance education environments and suggestions for possible solutions of the existing problems. The sample consists of 52…

We present a case study to evaluate the use of a Wimba Voice Board to support asynchronous audio discussion. We discuss the learning strategy and pedagogic rationale when a Voice Board was implemented within an MA module for language learners, enabling students to create learning objects and facilitating peer-to-peer learning. Previously students…

This paper has a dual aim: to situate functionalities among the complex of factors that help shape online interactions and to explore the heterogeneity of audio conferencing and its implications. Following a critical discursive synthesis of the treatment of variables in the literature, attention focuses on the distinctive and diverse…

Technology has become an essential component of the teaching-learning process, and online learning, in particular, has captivated the interest of many educational institutions throughout the world. Web-based learning has provided both students and teachers with new and unique ways of communicating with each other. As a result, many studies have…

Despite a large increase in the number of students enrolled in online courses, published research on student experiences in these environments is minimal. This article reports the narrative analysis of a series of interviews conducted with a female student at a brick-and-mortar school enrolled in a single virtual school course. Her narratives…