In the higher education sector, a new era has begun with the advent of ubiquitous learning environments. Ubiquitous learning tools allow improving context-aware as well as learning experiences by offering seamless availability regardless of location all the time. They also help in establishing effortless interaction between authentic and digital…

Podcasting facilitates the timely delivery of digital audio content such as MP3 files to a user's desktop, as it becomes available. The authors believe it holds tremendous potential as a low-cost, low-barrier tool for mobile ubiquitous learning, given the large uptake of portable music players. This paper explores some of the possibilities for…

Traditionally campus-based courses rely on student evaluations to provide instructors with feedback about their teaching effectiveness. However, current student evaluations of teaching instruments do not adequately assess many of the essential constructivist-based teaching practices recommended for quality online learning experiences. One of the…

Scaffolding has proven an especially interesting and promising area for postsecondary teaching and learning practices. Particular interest has emerged in scaffolding student learning in technology-enhanced environments--especially those designed to promote critical thinking. This study examined participant perceptions and use of scaffolding in an…

This article highlights instructional communication and distance education research with an emphasis on the social dynamics of the online learning experience and their impact on the learning experience. Literature related to the twin concepts of immediacy and group cohesiveness--central constructs related to building an effective classroom social…

The purpose of this study was to advance understanding of how to facilitate higher levels of learning when using asynchronous text-based Internet communication technology. The framework used to guide this study is based on the community of inquiry model developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000). Crucial methodological constructs congruent…

Web-based teaching and learning cannot be easily characterized. In Web-based teaching and learning, technology features are combined in a theoretically unlimited number of ways to support a multitude of requirements and preferences. We need to better understand different approaches, activities, goals and perspectives, and approaches likely to…

A theoretical description of hypertext is presented, and three applications of hypertext are discussed: electronic studying allows linkage of electronic note cards for writing and interrelating concepts; literary exploration allows construction and interpretation of stories with provided literary elements; in qualitative research, hypertext helps…