bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adult Learners in Higher Education
Authors: Correia Ana Maria R. , Sarmento Anabela
Published: May 2011

The development and promotion of the strategic goal of the European Union (EU) to become a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy and society (Lisbon European Council, 2000) can only be achieved with relevant technological infrastructures together with people equipped with necessary skills and competencies (European Commission, 2002). This must be supported by a well-structured initial education, constantly updated by a continuous lifelong learning programme, so that people can face the challenges of a series of new jobs, maybe separated by spells of short-term contracts or even unemployment. This continuous education programme should be available to all citizens regardless of their age and social or economic status. In a knowledge-based society, education and training are among the highest priorities because they are central to the creation and transmission of knowledge and are a determining factor for societal innovation. It is also recognized that human resources are the main assets for every organization and country (Lisbon European Council).
Between Tradition and Innovation in ICT and Teaching
Authors: Cartelli Antonio
Published: May 2011

During the past few decades, the expanded use of PCs and the Internet introduced many changes in human activities and cooperated in the transformation process leading from the industrial society to the knowledge society.
The Birth of Virtual Libraries
Authors: Garten Edward D.
Published: May 2011

The phenomenal growth of distance learning programs in higher education worldwide has had immense implications for the provision of library services to students learning at a distance. Major trends such as telecommuting and the changing profile of traditional college students have fueled the demand for distance education. More adults, in particular, are working full time, balancing family responsibilities, and seeking to return to study at the post-secondary level on a part-time basis. Distance learning has become an attractive alternative, especially for working mothers, military servicepersons, and rural residents (Hanson, 2001). One of the most startling new forms of higher education in the last decade has been the development and proliferation of the online or virtual college or university (VCU). The VCU is used today to describe a broad range of entities and activities: corporate training centers, nonprofit and governmental education activities, multi-state and international learning collaborations, as well as the distance learning efforts of individual institutions (Epper & Garn, 2004). This proliferation of distance learning opportunities, especially in the form of the virtual or online university, has had considerable implications for the provision of library services to distance students; indeed, it has been argued that distance learning without access to electronic information resources and services is simply impossible (Faulhaber, 1996). Concurrent with the emergence of the virtual university has been the rise of the virtual library. This article defines the virtual library and situates it within the context of contemporary electronic learning.
Calling on Constructivist Theory to Support Internet-Based, Information-Rich Learning
Authors: Pritchard Alan
Published: May 2011

As a society we are turning increasingly to the Internet as a source of information concerning a very wide range of topics. There is, at the very least, an expectation that use will be made of computer technology in teaching and learning. Naturally this includes use of the Internet.
Change Creation for Online Learning and Technology
Authors: Lick Dale W. , Kaufman Roger
Published: May 2011

Online learning and technology offer tremendous opportunities for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of education. They have been integrated into most areas of education. However, such technology introductions, as Zemsky & Massy (2004) and Young (2004) relate, have done surprisingly little toward significantly enhancing the quality and productivity of our learning programs.
Community in Virtual Learning Environments
Authors: McCracken Holly
Published: May 2011

The development of dynamic learning communities is generally believed to be critical to providing engaging and multi-dimensional instructional experiences for participants in a range of educational environments (for example, as accessed through academic institutions, corporate staff development, professional organizations, and so forth). Both wide-scale anecdotal feedback and more formal research indicate that this aspect of a virtual classroom is particularly essential to student satisfaction, motivation, and retention in Web-based environments (Boettcher, 2004; Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, & Tinker, 2000; Kearsley, 2000; Palloff & Pratt, 1999, 2001; Rovai, 2002). For example, Fredericksen, Pelz, Pickett, Shea, and Swan (2001) surveyed 1,406 on-line students about their experiences in, satisfaction with, and perceptions of the Web-based classroom. Among the largest studies completed to date, it substantiated the correlation between, and importance of, student-to-student and instructor-to-student interaction to perceived learning effectiveness in virtual learning environments.
Computer Animation
Authors: Yong Su-Ting , Choo Yun-Huoy
Published: May 2011

The use of computer animation in educational software like a computer-based learning (CBL) program is becoming a common practice. Animation is used in a few industries throughout its long history. Animations are used in CBL programs for the following purposes: to present a concept; to create an interactive user interface; for simulations; for virtual learning environments, and for interactive avatars, humanoids, and agents. Despite these graphical attractions, the usage of animation in CBL programs also has some limitations. Few types of software can be used to create computer animations, and some of the design principles have to be taken into account to create an effective use of animation in a CBL program. Nevertheless, computer animation has great potential in developing CBL programs in the future.
Contribution-Oriented Pedagogy
Authors: Collis Betty , Moonen Jef
Published: May 2011

Pedagogy can be described as the art or science of teaching. The question of appropriate pedagogies for distance and computer-based learning when a human teacher may or may not be involved in the teaching process has been addressed and responded to in many ways. After a brief review of different pedagogical models, a contribution-oriented pedagogical approach in which students find, create, submit, and/or share resources using a Web-based course-support environment is identified as a model that is particularly valuable for forms of distance and computer-based learning. Examples of the model in practice, issues with managing the model, and future trends related to the model are also discussed.
Cost-Effectiveness
Authors: Fisher Saul
Published: May 2011

Online education offers strong intrinsic potential for advancing and augmenting teaching and learning through broadening and deepening access. Proponents of online education further claim extrinsic potential – that it should be less costly and just as effective as traditional education, if not more so. They consider the instruction equally or more effective relative to such factors as the depth of course content presented, student outcomes and breadth of access (Duderstadt, 2000; Allen & Seaman, 2003; Gomory, 2001).1 Are these claims accurate? How would we gauge their accuracy? What data would we collect? How would we make sense of that data?
Culture, Interaction, and Online Learning
Authors: Toland Janet , Frank Jonathan , Schenk Karen D.
Published: May 2011

Technological innovation and the development of global knowledge-based economies are presenting higher education institutions throughout the developing world with both opportunities and challenges. The development of distance education has particular relevance for remote and widely distributed locations. The scattered geography of the South Pacific has produced immense variations in culture amongst a relatively low population base. This makes the South Pacific an ideal region in which to explore the impact of cultural differences on online learning. Online learning offers the developing countries of the South Pacific the chance to open up access to even the most distantly located students. This research evaluates the effectiveness of e-mail as a mechanism for encouraging Web-based interaction among students in two distance education institutions with a culturally and geographically diverse student body.
Diffusion of Computers in Schools
Authors: Askar Petek , Kocak-Usluel Yasemin
Published: May 2011

Every system is shaped by the prevailing paradigm. As society innovates itself, it also adjusts its mechanisms to new situations. The phrase information society is one of the mechanisms suggested to adjust to new situations; it is to diffuse the innovation (Askar, 2004). On the other hand, in spite of the easily visible changes and adaptations in companies, it is hard to say this for educational organizations or schools.
Diverse Models of Distance Teaching Universities
Authors: Guri-Rosenblit Sarah
Published: May 2011

Universities offering studies through distance teaching methods vary enormously in how they were initiated, the clienteles they aim to serve, how they are funded, and the kinds of programs they offer. Distance teaching at the university level is provided currently through at least five major organizational models: single-mode distance teaching universities, dual- and mixed-mode universities, extensions, consortia-type ventures, and virtual technology-based universities.
Driving Systemic Change with E-Learning
Authors: Norris Donald M.
Published: May 2011

It is time for plain talk about the potential for information and communications technology (ICT) and online learning to enable systemic change in higher education.
E-Learning and K-12
Authors: Schrum Lynne
Published: May 2011

Distance education has been around since a reliable postal service, and has long been viewed as a way in which to offer lifelong learning to those who are geographically separated from traditional institutions, have obligations that limit their ability to attend regular courses, or prefer to learn in new ways. Interest in online or e-learning has grown enormously since 1990, and currently, almost every post-secondary institution offers courses using information technologies. More importantly, while traditional distance learning courses have been offered to the K-12 population as enrichment activities for a long time, the growth in online K-12 offerings has more than paralleled that in the post-secondary environment. Post-secondary and K-12 institutions have shared the challenge of creating a balance between the need for intense and personal interaction with the reality of limited financial and other resources, and have also shared a dependence on electronic networks and groupware (Mangan, 1999; Schrum, 1998).
Evaluating Distributed Cooperative Learning
Authors: Neale Dennis C. , Carroll John M. , Rosson Mary B.
Published: May 2011

Evaluating outcomes associated with computer-supported cooperative learning (CSCL) is difficult for a variety of reasons. One must consider user-interface usability issues, coordinated multi-user computer issues, learning efficacy in general, cooperative aspects of group learning specifically, and the larger context of the classroom(s) in which the previous issues are situated. Geographically displaced learning communities coordinating activities through computer networking technologies with individuals and subgroups, often working and learning different things at different times and places, present even greater challenges for researchers assessing outcomes on students, teachers, and educational organizations. Specifically, problems result because measurement is dispersed in time and across place, and as a result, the subsequent evaluation stages are more complicated because these activities occur across individuals and groups.
Film Narrative and Computer-Interface Design
Authors: Berg Gary A.
Published: May 2011

Some scholars have noted the link between film narrative and computer-interface design (Berg, 2003; Plowman, 1994). Similarities between early film and interactive multimedia in the establishment of narrative conventions such as intertitles and narration are clear. Burch (1981) describes the transition from early film involving a linearization of the narrative for viewers. Early film emphasized spectacle and the documentation of unrelated events. Events and individual shots were not woven into a coherent narrative until D. W. Griffith and others led to the development of montage and a cinematic narrative language. Some suggest that this same process of creating new media conventions needs to occur to increase the educational effectiveness of computer-based programs (Berg, 2003). Instructional designers working in computer environments do not have ready access to an established narrative language and consequently need to be more explicit in their structure. The user’s knowledge of film conventions allows the authors to feel confident that their narrative can be quickly and simply understood. Consequently, instructional designers need to spend time developing narrative conventions and making narrative elements clear to the learners.
Future Learning Devices
Authors: Berg Gary A.
Published: May 2011

Over the years, many around the world have thought about the design of devices (often involving computers or microprocessors) that might be most useful in educational settings (Berg, 2003). This entry briefly examines the literature related to learning devices as they have been conceived of in the past and might be developed in the future.
Informal Learning Projects and World Wide Voluntary Co-Mentoring
Authors: Bowskill Nicholas
Published: May 2011

This article seeks to explore the potential of online communities to support and develop new professional-development practices around collaborative mentoring and informal learning projects. This study seeks to address the following research hypotheses. 1. Informal learning can be utilised as a developmental approach in an online open environment. 2. Online communities can learn from involvement with informal learning projects and they can support the development of a community history and identity. 3. Online communities can be effective in supporting informal learning projects. 4. Informal learning can be a vehicle for crossing borders related to lifelong learning (namely those of time, culture, religion, geographical distance, different jobs, and careers)
Information Literacy
Authors: Magusin Elaine
Published: May 2011

Information literacy is essential in the creation of lifelong learners. As educators struggle continually to ensure that students are able to successfully navigate the plethora of information available, and be able to think critically about this information, it is logical to consider information literacy skills instruction as a method of helping meet this goal. However, in order to provide information literacy instruction it is necessary to fully understand the concept and all it entails, including how it can be implemented and what benefits it offers to students, educators, and higher education institutions as a whole.
Information-Rich Learning Contexts
Authors: Pritchard Alan
Published: May 2011

Williams (2001) points out that plagiarism in pupils’ school work is widespread and, perhaps more importantly, that it has been made significantly easier in recent years as a result of the increased use of and familiarity with new technologies. Lewis, Wray and Rospigliosi (1995) also highlight difficulties pupils have when faced with a large amounts of textual information. Pupils copying passages is not a new phenomenon, but it is quite clear that for many uninitiated young learners, copying and pasting electronically is perfectly acceptable.
Innovation in Web-Enhanced Learning
Authors: Klobas Jane E. , Renzi Stefano
Published: May 2011

While virtual universities and remote classrooms have captured the headlines, there has been a quiet revolution in university education. Around the globe, the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure needed to support Web-enhanced learning (WEL) is well established, and the Internet and the World Wide Web (the Web) are being used by teachers and students in traditional universities in ways that complement and enhance traditional classroom-based learning (Observatory of Borderless Education, 2002).
Instructional Delivery and Learning Outcomes in Distance Learning
Authors: Aworuwa Bosede , Owen Robert
Published: May 2011

Distance learning describes a wide range of instructional-learning activities, instructional delivery modalities, and learner interactions characterized by some distance between the teacher and the learner, and mediated by a variety of technological tools (Schlosser & Simonson, 2002; Tiene & Ingram, 2001). Learners can interact with instruction at any time and in any place, such as the workplace, school, a community center, or in their homes (Presby, 2004; Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2003). The tools available for the delivery and access of learning materials contribute in large measure to the kind of experiences that learners have with distance learning.
Interactivity as the Key to Online Learning
Authors: Rogers Patricia L.
Published: May 2011

What does it really take to “go online?” Fortunately, more instructors at all levels have realized it is a great deal more than simply uploading a syllabus or even digitizing endless hours of video lectures (Carnevale, 2000; Ko & Rossen, 2004).
IT to Facilitate Distance Education
Authors: Hunter M. Gordon , Carr Peter
Published: May 2011

The essence of distance education is the physical separation of teacher and learner (Sauve, 1993). In many countries, universities are increasingly employing distance education. Some institutions are incorporating distance education as a way to extend the classroom by employing delivery mechanisms that replicate the presentation of material in a manner similar to face-to-face communication. Other institutions are investigating new delivery mechanisms that support a revised perspective on education. These latter institutions are revising their processes for interacting with students and taking a more customer-centered approach to the delivery of education. There are many options available to universities when deciding how to employ technology to support delivery of distance education.
Learning Theory and Computer Environments
Authors: Berg Gary A.
Published: May 2011

This entry is a brief survey of the learning-theory field as it relates to educational technology, primarily focused on behavioral and constructivist educational theorists. According to some scholars, both have praised technology and perhaps exaggerated its promise (Berg, 2002; Duffy & Jonassen, 1994). Some point out that computers may finally provide the means by which the very labor-intensive education philosophy of Dewey may be put into practice. On the other side, behaviorists have long held a dominant position in the field of computer-based training (CBT) with the tireless repetition and utilization of clear behavioral learning objectives, key elements of these training programs. In more recent times, those interested in concept mapping, the value of learning computer programming, and simulations have all to some degree based their approaches on behaviorism or constructivism.
Multimedia Instruction
Authors: Uden Lorna
Published: May 2011

Multimedia technology is increasingly being used as a vehicle to deliver instruction. The terms “hypermedia” and “multimedia” are often used interchangeably. However, a distinction is sometimes made: Not all multimedia applications are necessarily hypermedia. A network representation of information is one of the defining characteristics of hypermedia. An instance of hypermedia consists of pieces of information connected in an arbitrary manner to form a network of references (Begoray, 1990). In this chapter, the terms will be used synonymously. There are many benefits for using multimedia for instruction.
Online Instruction as a Caring Endeavor
Authors: Gangeness Jeanine E.
Published: May 2011

Online instruction in a nursing program strikes fear into the most dedicated and compassionate nursing instructor. Concerns range from unfamiliarity with online pedagogy to the potential for decreased student connectedness. Being unfamiliar with the online format can be overcome through a series of self-training, taking courses online, and dedication to the process. Student connectedness is basic to the caring and compassionate professions, and some assume the online format will create an atmosphere of disconnectedness and isolation. To combat this disconnectedness and isolation, an attitude of caring and an atmosphere of mentoring are required in the online classroom. This article considers the basics of both the concepts of caring and online instruction.
Online Learner Expectations
Authors: Hawkins Gary W. , Baker Jason D.
Published: May 2011

The rapid growth of online courses presents new opportunities and challenges for educational institutions. Thanks to online learning, increasing numbers of students can enroll in online educational programs without the institution needing additional classrooms or dormitories and such online instruction offers many students the opportunity to take courses who might otherwise have been unable to participate. This sudden shift to online learning, however, comes without a shared experience for either the learner or instructor. In other words, while most learners and instructors have had years of formal and informal experience in the face-to-face classroom, few have had similar breadth of online educational experience. Accordingly, there would appear to be a divergent array of expectations regarding the online learning experience. Failure to understand and address these expectations will likely result in a disappointed educational experience for learners and instructors alike.
Online Mentoring
Authors: Buchanan Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

The practice of mentoring has existed as long as civilization. Mentoring as a practice was noted in Homer’s The Odyssey, and a mentor, a word from the ancient Greeks, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: a person who acts as guide and adviser to another person, especially one who is younger and less experienced. Later, more generally: a person who offers support and guidance to another; an experienced and trusted counselor or friend; a patron, a sponsor.
Online Support for Collaborative Authentic Activities
Authors: Bennett Sue
Published: May 2011

Collaborative learning has long been part of university study; for example, through group discussion, laboratory work in pairs and group projects (Jacques, 1991). In the past, these kinds of collaborative activities have been available only to full-time, on-campus students because of the difficulties in finding time and space for students to work together (Kimball, 2001). However, Internet-based communication technologies have made possible more flexible approaches to learning that offer new opportunities for students to collaborate (Bonk, Malinkowski, Angeli, & Suplee, 1998; Collis, 1996; McLoughlin, 2002; Oliver & Omari, 1999; Palloff & Pratt, 1999). Support for learning “anytime, anywhere” has changed patterns of on-campus attendance at many institutions, meaning that students come to class irregularly, infrequently or not at all.
Opportunities and Opportunity Cost in Preparing Millennium Teachers
Authors: Hartoonian Michael , Johnson Vivian
Published: May 2011

The millennium teacher is presented with two powerful conceptions. One is expressed in Pogo’s observation that “…we always seem to be confronted with insurmountable opportunity.” The other is presented best in T.S. Eliot’s poem, “Choruses To The Rock.”
Preparing Faculty for Distance Learning Teaching
Authors: Ally Mohamed
Published: May 2011

Due to the recent development of delivery and communication technology and the success of distance learning, educational organizations are starting to use distance teaching to reach students so that they can learn anytime and from anywhere (Daniel, 1997). At the same time, businesses and organizations are increasingly using distance learning technology to bring the training to employees rather than send the employees for training. As a result, faculty and trainers are required to make the transition from classroom face-to-face teaching to distance teaching. One of the drawbacks in making the transition to distance delivery is faculty and trainers may not be prepared to function in the new role which is a major challenge for administrators (Agee, Holisky & Muir, 2003). Also, distance teaching is seen as an add-on for faculty in dual mode institutions (Wolcott, 2003), and resources are not available to prepare staff to work in the distance learning setting. At the same time, the commitment to distance learning from senior officials tend not to be as strong when compared to traditional delivery especially in dual mode institutions where there are both face-to-face delivery and distance delivery, and faculty have to teach both classroom delivery and distance delivery (Betts, 1998; Hislop & Atwood, 2000). Hence, it is important that administrators support distance delivery for it to be successful. According to Betts (1998), administrators who show interest in distance learning and who have experience in distance learning will influence faculty to use distance learning methods. To make the transition to distance delivery, training of faculty is important to make sure they are prepared to perform effectively and efficiently so that they can be productive and meet the needs of learners when working in the distance learning environment. The faculty should experience the distance delivery method as a student, and the format of the training should model the distance delivery process (Moloney & Tello, 2003). This entry will describe why training of faculty is important and what type of training should be provided for distance teaching.
Quality Distance Learning Programs and Processes
Authors: Riffee William H. , Sessums Christopher
Published: May 2011

With today’s advances and capabilities in electronic communications, distance learning is a natural extension to any quality educational program that wishes to maximize its reach to qualified students. Any institution that desires to provide quality distance learning opportunities must commit to a significant investment in developing the infrastructure and leadership (Beaudoin, 2003). The University of Florida’s (UF) Division of Continuing Education (DOCE) has provided that infrastructure to implement and build a quality distance learning effort along with executive education initiatives.
Re-Enacted Affiliative Meanings and "Branding" in Open and Distance Education
Authors: Boyd Gary McI. , Zhang Dai
Published: May 2011

Entwistle (1981) found it was possible and useful to categorize students in three categories: surface learners who want to acquire and use specific knowledge and skills, deep learners who seek a deeper coherent understanding of a field, and credential seekers who want a good diploma and will do whatever may be necessary to get it. The surface learners do not need formal distance education degree studies; they can more and more readily find just-in-time just-on-topic e-learning for a modest price. So the main clientele for distance education institutions are and will continue to be both those wanting a really deep meaningful education, and those who need really respectable credentials who also lack convenient affordable access to traditional universities. More and more it is becoming incumbent upon us to cater to the credential seekers and help to socialize them into their chosen fields, if possible converting them into people proud to be deep learners. Such socialization is not possible if all one provides is a cafeteria of online courses.
A Scenario-Based Instructional Design Model
Authors: Shambaugh Neal
Published: May 2011

Instructional design models address important issues of learning, content, and context during the development of instruction. The prescriptive premise behind instructional design is that if an instructional design is followed, the learning outcomes identified in the design will occur. As one evaluates the extent to which learners achieve learning outcomes, changes in the instructional design may be warranted. Documenting these changes provides designers and users of the model with feedback on its efficiency and effectiveness. Despite these attributes, the merits of instructional design have not been achieved in some settings, and some users, including teachers and product developers, are looking elsewhere for instructional development guidance. But should they? The premise of this chapter is to propose a scenario-based ID model that addresses a major shortcoming of instructional design; namely, the gap between formative design decisions and design review. Scenarios are used to keep people designing, reflecting, redesigning.
Social Presence in Distance Learning
Authors: Newberry Brian
Published: May 2011

Online learning can be seen as a form of distance education. Though online education is relatively new, distance education is not. According to Rumble (1986), the term distance education may have first been used as early as 1892 in a catalog of the University of Wisconsin. Distance education is, according to Verduin and Clark (1991): “...any formal approach to learning in which a majority of the instruction occurs while educator and learner are at a distance from one another” (p. 8). This emphasis on distance between learner and instructor or teacher is common, for instance, Berge and Collins (1995) define distance education as “the delivery of the educational process to receivers who are not in proximity to the person or persons managing or conducting the process” (p. 14).
Soft Technology Skills and the Teacher of the 21st Century
Authors: Paulson David
Published: May 2011

For many years, we have attempted to teach teachers technology for their own personal use and to help them use technology effectively with their students. We have introduced them to computers, to operating systems, peripherals, software, the Internet, and to all of the attending elements of digital technology. These, the knowledge and effective use of digital tools, are the “hard skills.” They are “hard skills” not because they are difficult to learn, but because they are time intensive and require the ability to put all of the disparate parts of technology together. They are the skills anyone would need were they to assume the responsibility of teaching them to someone else.
Stakeholders in Web-Based Education
Authors: Aggarwal A. K.
Published: May 2011

As we move from a focus on data acquisition to a knowledge-based society, just-in-time and just-in-place education is becoming a necessity. Web-based education (WBE), an innovation of the twentieth century, provides anytime, anyplace education to anybody— irrespective of time, social status or distance. WBE extends from same-time-same-place (synchronous) to anytime-anyplace (asynchronous) environments (Aggarwal & Legon. 2003; Zhang, 2004). With advances in the Internet and the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), the traditional emphasis on classroom instruction is disappearing and the particular media used in instruction is becoming less relevant (Alavi & Leidner, 2001; Benbunan-Fich, 2002; Berghel & Sallach, 20041). Learning can be accomplished through face-to-face class meetings or using the radio, CDs, television, or the Web. Just as in face-to-face education, it is becoming feasible to develop learning skills and critical thinking through the Web (Zhang, 2004). Many researchers are suggesting a “blended” approach, where part of the class is offered online and another part of the class is face-to-face (Turoff & Aggarwal, 2004). This gives the stakeholders, the nuclei of WBE, flexibility in selecting the medium of instruction.
The Stress of Online Learning
Authors: Molinari Deana L. , Dupler Alice E. , Lungstrom Naomi
Published: May 2011

Stress is recognized today as impacting both quality and length of life (Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002). Stress was defined by Hans Seyle (1936) as the unspecified physiological response to aversive stimuli. The stress of learning is not yet understood. If stress impacts physical and emotional well-being, and lifelong learning is needed to survive in the information age, then a study of the stress of learning may impact both nursing and educational practice.
Successful Strategies in Online Courses
Authors: Cooper Linda W.
Published: May 2011

Working adults are becoming an increasingly large percentage of the college population; with their busy schedules, they are insisting on “more flexible and convenient learning options” (NBEA, 2002a). Additionally, greater numbers of students are entering college having already acquired extensive computer and Internet experience. As a result of these changes in college populations, an increasing number of post-secondary institutions are offering online instruction to meet students’ educational needs. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education recently reported that nearly 2.9 million students enrolled in college-level distance education courses in 2000-01, more than double the enrollment of 1997-98 (CNN.com, 2003). As distance learning is gaining acceptance and more students are enrolling in online courses, the need for quality online programs is also increasing.
Systems Model of Educational Processes
Authors: Beck Charles E. , Schornack Gary R.
Published: May 2011

Distance education involves a wide range of elements, including students, instructors, institutions, classroom technology, state agencies and accrediting boards. The educational process model provides a conceptual framework to integrate these diverse elements. The following discussion begins with a brief background on the systems and communication basis of the new model. Then it elaborates the model’s elements, including the inputs (resources and philosophy), purpose (intentions and audiences), methods (technological genre and educational process); integration (pedagogy); outputs (product and interpretation); and assessment (institutional and research).
Teacher Preparation in the New Millennium
Authors: Schmieder Sonja
Published: May 2011

A millennium teacher preparation program should be the foundation that: 1) provides future teachers with knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are in tune with today’s world; 2) satisfies the needs of the educational system within which they will work; 3) is in line with the capabilities and characteristics of today’s students; and 4) elevates the teaching profession.
Teaching Online Courses
Authors: Aisami Riad S.
Published: May 2011

Online courses intend to present a non-traditional learning approach that accommodates non-traditional students. Working adults can achieve success in pursuing higher education degrees without compromising their work schedule. Online courses are flexible and convenient. Online teaching allows students unlimited access to the course materials and provides them with interactive and engaging instructional activities.
Total Quality Management in Higher Education
Authors: Berg Gary A.
Published: May 2011

In considering various management approaches internationally for the delivery of computer-based learning, there is an interest in total quality management (TQM). The majority of the research on TQM focuses on its application to for-profit businesses; however, TQM also has been used in universities more broadly, especially in student services areas. Generally, current research on TQM in higher education has focused on methods, barriers to implementation, learning-outcome assessment, human factors, and case studies.
Transformative Income Generation
Authors: Robinson Evan T.
Published: May 2011

When a business introduces a new product, it does so with the intent of being successful and profitable, capitalizing on the research and development that led to the product’s development. Well, higher education is a business operating within an economy that is challenging at best, and given these challenges, it begs the question as to how institutions can become more financially stable and make themselves less susceptible to economic fluctuations.
Using Assistive Technologies in Millennium Teaching
Authors: Knicker Carol
Published: May 2011

What are assistive technologies (ATs) and how will millennium teachers use ATs to assist all learners? Assistive technologies can be defined as services or devices which allow students to meet their maximum potential. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires this provision for all students with disabilities as part of its mandate to provide learners with a free and appropriate public education (FAPE).
Virtual Networking as an Essence of the Future Learners
Authors: Rahman Hakikur
Published: May 2011

Distance education may be defined as a set of practices to plan and implement educational activities where there is a separation between teaching and learning. This separation may result from distance, time, or other barriers. Distance education offers a way to overcome this separation, chiefly through its learning materials, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide tutoring, linking learners to the system and each other, and the use of feedback and student support systems. The technologies used in distance education systems include mail, face-to-face sessions, radio, television, audio and video, compact disks, e-mail and other computer connections, and teleconferencing systems (Murphy, Paud, Anzalone, Bosch & Moulton, 2002, p. 3).
Winning an E-Learning Proposal or Grant
Authors: Kapp Karl M.
Published: May 2011

Winning an e-learning proposal or grant has become more difficult over the past few years because of the initially high expectations of e-learning and the subsequent disappointment in the financial results. Effective grant and proposal writers need to understand the business of e-learning and address apprehension and fears of the grantee to successfully win the opportunity to develop e-learning in corporate and academic settings.
Collective Learning with CoPs
Authors: Smith P.A.C.
Published: May 2011

Like it or not, CoPs are awash in assumptions, and we presume validity at our peril in organizational contexts that are increasingly complex and ambiguous. If we wish to successfully address issues via CoPs, it is critical that members continually, individually, and jointly question their suppositions, evolve fresh questions out of their ignorance, and share relevant knowledge. Although CoPs clearly have the potential to do this, in the author’s experience, little attention is paid by CoP members to the processes of either individual or collective learning that would facilitate achieving such ends. The ability to think things through and debrief experiences at non-trivial personal and contextual levels is increasingly recognized as essential to effective learning in all situations, including CoPs. Action Learning (AL) is a well-proven individual, collective, and organizational development philosophy (McGill & Brookbank, 2004) that provides a sound setting for such reflective inquiry. Its application in CoP settings seems to be largely undocumented or untried.
Communities of Practice and Critical Social Theory
Authors: Clarke Steve
Published: May 2011

In philosophical terms, a key issue of communities of practice (CoPs) can be located within one of the key philosophical debates. The need for CoPs is traceable to the inadequacy in certain contexts of the so-called scientific or problem-solving method, which treats problems as independent of the people engaged on them. Examples of this can be drawn from the management domains of information systems development, project management, planning, and many others. In information systems development, for example, the whole basis of traditional systems analysis and design requires such an approach. In essence, in undertaking problem solving, the world is viewed as though it is made up of hard, tangible objects, which exist independently of human perception and about which knowledge may be accumulated by making the objects themselves the focus of our study. A more human-centered approach would, by contrast, see the world as interpreted through human perceptions: the reason why the problem cannot be solved is precisely because it lacks the objective reality required for problem solving. In taking this perspective, it may or may not be accepted that there exists a real world “out there”, but in any event, the position adopted is that our world can be known only through the perceptions of human participants. This question of objective reality is one with which philosophers have struggled for at least 2,500 years, and an understanding of it is essential to determining the need for, and purpose of, CoPs. The next section therefore discusses some of the philosophical issues relevant to the subjective-objective debate: a search for what, in these terms, it is possible for us to know and how we might know it.
Communities of Practice and Organizational Development for Ethics and Values
Authors: Grieves Jim
Published: May 2011

Ethics is the study of moral issues and choices. In organizations, such a study inevitably involves consideration of decision-making practices and interpersonal relationships. This in turn may require the investigation of complex combinations of influences which include personality characteristics, values, and moral principles as well as organizational mechanisms and the cultural climate that rewards and reinforces ethical or unethical behavioral practices. Organizations ignore ethical issues at their peril as we know from recent examples of: • past claims of brutality, poor wages, and 15-hour days in the Asian sweatshops run by Adidas, Nike and GAP, • banks that rate their customers by the size of their accounts, • the race for commercial control by private firms, universities, and charities claiming exclusive development rights over natural processes in the human body and patents sought by organizations, overwhelmingly from rich countries, on hundreds of thousands of animal and plant genes, including those in staple crops such as rice and wheat, • a lack of people management skills and supervision which was said to be responsible for the falsification of some important quality control data of an experimental mixed plutonium and uranium fuel at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing scandal which led to cancelled orders and the resignation of its chief executive. We can all think of other examples that have hit the headlines to indicate that modern business management must recognize its responsibility to provide an ethical framework to guide action. This is the case in respect to human resources policy, health and safety policy, marketing policy, operations management, and environmental management. Ethical policymaking has become the watchword for both national and local government. Ethics is now taught in the police force in order to be proactive and combat discrimination. Concern is now expressed in all forms of decision making from genetic modification of foods and the patenting of human organs to the ethical decisions of pharmaceutical companies or the marketing dilemmas of global corporations. Despite these developments, we continue to find many examples of decision makers making bad ethical decisions and people who blow the whistle on many of those actions. On the positive side, we have seen how so called green organizations have proved that ethics and profit are not incompatible goals.
Communities of Practice and Development of Best Practices
Authors: Nicholls Miles G.
Published: May 2011

Communities of practice and the development of best practices have a particularly strong base in an industrial setting where the intellectual capital—or more correctly, the tacit knowledge—is a ‘craft’ bordering on ‘alchemy’. The concept of ‘craft’ tacit knowledge in this context relates to industrial processes where the operation is often based on a body of individuals’ experience and is not able to be determined or analysed in a scientific or repeatable manner. Some examples of industries where these processes exist include aluminium smelting and float glass manufacturing. In both of these industries, a large proportion of the production processes rely on factory floor operators utilizing ‘craft’ (tacit knowledge) in the pursuit of best practice. These types of situations see many individuals involved in the manufacturing process sharing a community interest, and seeking the determination of best practice as a challenge and a means of enhancing personal and group pride. Best practice is used here in both a general and a mathematical sense, since there are no deterministic solution algorithms that can be used for solving certain aspects of the processes described below.
Communities fo Practice as Facilitators of Knowledge Exchange
Authors: Paquette Scott
Published: May 2011

For knowledge to create value in an organization, whether tacit or explicit, it must have the ability to be shared among employees. This intentional (or in some instances unintentional) flow of knowledge can become the driver for organizational learning. When examining knowledge sharing, it is important to consider the context in which the knowledge is developed, as the community in which the individual is learning can affect any knowledge that is created. Organizational learning is impacted by individuals, groups, and the organization as a whole, and how these three levels are linked by social processes (Crossan, Lane & White, 1999). However, it is very difficult to create the right social environment to produce optimum knowledge sharing and learning. Sharing knowledge is an ‘unnatural act’, and therefore firms must strive to create the right environment and means to assist employees in overcoming knowledge flow barriers (Ruppel & Harrington, 2001). Previous research has identified communities of practice as a hub for sharing knowledge within an organization (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Ellis, 1998; Hildreth & Kimble, 1999). The ability of a community of practice to create a friendly environment for individuals with similar interests and problems to discuss a common subject matter encourages the transfer and creation of new knowledge. Practitioners with similar work experiences tend to be drawn to communities, and from this a common purpose to share knowledge and experience arises (Wenger, 1998). Blackler (1995) argues that the creation and deployment of knowledge is inseparable from activity, and different contexts manifest in the form of knowledge boundaries. A community of practice can help individuals remove this boundary through the creation of a common context that links different experiential knowledge in an environment suited for knowledge exchange.
The Concept of Communities of Practice
Authors: Coakes Elayne , Clarke Steve
Published: May 2011

This article looks at the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) in the workplace. The theories surrounding these types of communities are still very new and in the process of development. The practice and the importance of these communities for knowledge transfer is also still being explored as to best methods for establishing such communities and how to support and encourage them. Below we discuss the background and main threads of theory that are under development.