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Learning communities can emerge spontaneously when people find common learning goals and pursue projects and tasks together in pursuit of those goals. Bounded learning communities (BLCs) are groups that form within a structured teaching or training...

We report our experience co-teaching an action research (AR) required as part of an e-learning master’s degree. Adopting a practice-centered stance we focus on the course activities of participants, with particular attention to the careful crafting...

This paper describes how Open Source philosophy – a movement that has developed in opposition to the proprietary software industry – has influenced our educational practice in the pursuit of scholarly freedom and authentic learning activities for...

WebQuests have become a popular form of guided inquiry using Web resources. The goal of WebQuests is to help students think and reason at higher levels, and use information to solve problems. In this paper we propose modifications to the WebQuest...

An interdisciplinary faculty design team is creating high-quality, engaging, and sustainable online professional development (PD) opportunities for in-service teachers who mentor teacher candidates in an urban district-university partnership. The...

Web-based environments offer rich learning opportunities and improve educational outcomes. The University of the West Indies, by investing in WebCT, has committed itself to using online technologies to support learning. The Faculty of Medical...

This study investigates the effect of asynchronous, on-line interaction on student conceptual understanding of light and color. Two versions (N and Y) of an on-line independent-study module on light and were randomly assigned to students (n=43)...

AECT has recently (yet again!) redefined our field, reverting back to the use of the term "educational technology." We believe this recent change is problematic for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the weak rationale offered for the...

This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate how instructional designers use evaluation in everyday design practice. While past research has examined how designers spend their time, how they generally make decisions, and expert...

This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate instructional designers' views and uses of conceptual tools in design work (e.g., learning theories and design theories). While past research has examined how instructional designers...

The contributions to this issue share a focus on design of e-learning environments. Instructional designers stand at very early stages of knowledge in this area, but with great potential for growth and progress. This commentary offers an activity...

Despite enormous growth of the Internet and its proliferation of tools, resources, and on-line communities, the connection between local learning environments and virtual learning environments remains tenuous. This paper examines this relationship,...

Dynamic Learning Communities (DLCs) offer an alternative approach to the traditional Instructional Design (ID) format for learning. This paper outlines the concept of a dynamic learning community as an alternative to teacher-controlled or pre...

Technology adoption concerns are increasingly important to understanding constructivist learning environments and learning communities. As instruction begins to move toward more open, participatory models, "end users"--both teachers and learners-...

Discussion of adoption models for learning technologies focuses on how the use of models tends to channel and constrain thinking. Topics include the importance of practice over theory; needs assessment; committees or consultants; developing a...

The Web is a medium in which learners can construct meaning through self-directed inquiry or collaboration. Key principles for effective use of the Web for learning include the following: provide access to rich sources of information, encourage...

Outlines current trends in education and considers their impact on the future of education, particularly distance education. Highlights include the pressure to use technology; standardized competencies; outcomes and assessments; teacher's role;...