Quality has become a matter of major importance for higher education institutions generally, but particularly so for institutions involved in open and distance learning (ODL) (Higher Education Council, 1997; Twigg, 2000; Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommucations, 2003). Quality assurance for distance higher education is one of the main concerns among institutions and stakeholders tod...

Distance education coursesmust copewith the difficulties imposed by delivering a class at a distance. Asmost courses only emphasize the cognitive aspects of the class and neglect the course’s effect on the students, this gives no help for reaching the affective domain teaching goals. Especially for younger students, in distance education, when younger students are out of the sight of teachers, ...

In the context of this dissertation, issues related to design and development of educational environments that support collaborative learning and contribute to the active engagement of learners in knowledge building are studied. Specifically, the dissertation is placed in the context of supporting the learning process by utilizing the Internet and especially the Environments which support Elect...

1 Maxine S. Cohen, Nova Southeastern University, School of Computer and Information Sciences, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, [email protected] 2 Timothy J. Ellis, Nova Southeastern University, School of Computer and Information Sciences, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, [email protected] Abstract  There are numerous challenges inherent in teaching technology classes. These challenges are further exacerbated...

This paper presents a synchronous telecommuting learning environment named ECHO based on the need to satisfy many pedagogical aspects when dealing with a distance education course hybrid mode delivery system. ECHO, a distributed computer application, is a Collaborative Teleworking Environment that allows for real time transactional and interpersonal communication services via Internet. Numerous...

Information technology tools associated with various educational activities often rely on different models of the needed information, support different cooperative styles, and are based on different media and technologies. The architecture of an open software platform which supports educational activities is presented in this paper. The architecture, which is based on a unifying data model, off...

Distance-learning programs often encounter problems with student motivation and performance. In the Virtual Studies of Computer Science (ViSCoS) program, these problems stem partly from lack of learning community. Furthermore, distance learning is not always locationand time-agnostic. ViSCoS Mobile is an m-learning extension to ViSCoS that frees students to study anywhere and anytime. We presen...

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the implications of the cognitive-style dimension of field independence/dependence for adult learners in distance learning environments. Chinien and Boutin (1992–93) suggest a student’s repertoire of cognitive skills can serve to facilitate or debilitate a student’s performance in a learning task. Cognitive skills also determine if a student performs co...

This paper describes the design of a synchronous World Wide Web-based distance education environment developed at the Telematics Laboratory of Computer Engineer and Informatics Department (CEID) and Computer Technology Institute (Greece); the environment uses telematics services to conduct lessons over computer networks, simulating a traditional classroom environment with the live presence of a...

This research investigated student outcomes in a web-based distance learning environment characterized by asynchronous electronic communications between student and teacher. We employed two dominant theories}the theory of planned behavior and innovation diffusion theory}to study student reactions to web-based distance education. We hypothesized that student perceptions of the technology are pos...