Imagine a world where people can change the color of their skin or the circumference of their waist, where gravity is just an option. A place where your surroundings are limited only by your creativity. A place where the University of Alabama doesn't have a football team - yet. Some UA students next spring will begin attending class on a virtual campus being built on Second Life, a Web-based

What are the qualities that help instructors succeed when teaching online? That was the focus of a lively discussion at the 14th annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning. Presenter Bill Phillips of the University of Central Florida discussed findings from his research on the topic. Not surprisingly, he said, successful online instructors share many of the same characteristics

Jordyn Clark recently went to school barefoot, wearing shamrock boxer shorts and a T-shirt. Sitting at the kitchen table in her Lynnwood home, Jordyn logged onto her algebra class and began solving equations through the Edmonds School District's new online program. She is among a growing number of students across the country attending virtual classes. Jordyn and her twin sister, Samantha, both 15

Researchers who study online education tend to believe that the staggering growth in enrollments seen over the past several years can’t continue apace forever. According to a study released Wednesday, they’ll have to wait at least another year for the predicted flattening. In fall 2007, the study reports, some 3.94 million students enrolled in at least one online course, an increase of 12.9

As the use of technology becomes more prominent at Laurier, The Cord looks at whether it is an asset or a problem for learning in a university environment. In a world of ever-increasing scientific advancements, it can no longer be denied that we are a generation embracing technology.... And of course there are online learning tools such as distance education. Sandy Hughes, director of teaching

There's no question that the "net generation" of kids today spends a lot of time speeding down the information super highway or launching into cyberspace; and with the emergence of cutting-edge technology, schools have been forced to keep pace in an evolving "technosphere" as they confront global education demands. Nowadays, schools utilize technological tools including personal computers, SMART

Students pay bills, shop and even watch a political debate online from home, and now technology is allowing students to pursue classes and careers through hybrid courses. A hybrid course is a blend of face-to-face instruction with online learning, spending only one day in class and the other day on Internet-based learning outside of school. The day used for Internet usage means there is not an

South Carolina ranked 17th in a nationwide survey of online learning policies and practices, according to a study by the Center for Digital Education. States were ranked to reflect the vision, policies, programs and strategies used for online learning to meet the academic needs of students. The survey found that 15 states, including South Carolina, offer state-led online learning programs.

To study at your own time and pace, to be able to continue working while getting that long-sought university degree or diploma, to upgrade your skills from the comfort of your own home – who would not be attracted by such possibilities? These are the benefits of online, or distance education, a phenomenon that is fast catching on in Sri Lanka as well, with a number of universities, professional

The complete survey report, “Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008” is available here. Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008 represents the sixth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. This year’s study, like those for the previous five years, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) released the results of the second phase of the research study in partnership with Boise State University, Going Virtual! Unique Needs and Challenges of K-12 Online Teachers. This year's report identifies the experience, skills and unique backgrounds of K-12 online teachers and takes into account both 1) the context of the program or

A top official of the world's oldest publisher, the Cambridge University Press, said on Friday that digital online learning is the future trend for education. "All countries in the world are looking at ways to provide education online and in a digital format. This is the trend of education in the future, " said Christopher Boughton, Asia Pacific Managing Director of the Cambridge University

The opportunities of cyberinfrastructure have been both heralded and hyped. The express purpose of cyberinfrastructure is to enable e-scholarship: new forms of scholarship that are more information-intensive, data-intensive, distributed, collaborative, and multidisciplinary.1 But what does that mean for scholars, for academic libraries, and for campus information technology? What

Scholarly practices across an astoundingly wide range of disciplines have become profoundly and irrevocably changed by the application of advanced information technology. This collection of new and emergent scholarly practices was first widely recognized in the science and engineering disciplines. In the late 1990s, the term e-science (or occasionally, particularly in Asia, cyber-science) began

On June 24, 2008, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Task Force on Cyberlearning published its report Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge. The following is an excerpt from the Executive Summary, written by Katherine Lawrence. The full report is available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08204/nsf08204.pdf. Imagine a high school student in

Information technology has been an important part of higher education since the development of the lantern slide in the mid-1800s. However, occasions in which the academy has been transformed by technology are rare. Viewed in a historical perspective, these occasions can be considered as a series of three epochs: the online public-access catalog epoch; the personal computer, Internet, and web

Ustream is an interactive web streaming platform that lets users broadcast their own channels on the Ustream network or on a third-party website such as MySpace or Facebook. Ustream offers a platform for users to host events, promote their own shows, or set up interactive conversations with participants across the globe. Ustream’s broadcasting model offers an attractive new way for Internet

The face of education is changing so fast, it's hard to keep up.... One thing, however, has not changed: When it comes to education, you get out of it what you put into it. Any alternative requires effort on the part of the student. But there's definitely no more room for excuses. If you've got a need, there's an option. Night owls, introverts, discipline problems, health issues, college bound,

This paper reports on an investigation into student conceptions of “blended learning”, (hybrid in US) in the light of their experience of a Higher Education Masters level module at a British university. The small scale study used a rigorous qualitative method to discover in the students’ words a range of conceptions relating to this learning experience. The students’ conceptions were related to

Web 2.0 has emerged into a large, growing, and developing world of content and platforms. Gaming has rapidly expanded into a global industry. In contrast course management systems have developed along very different lines. We examine ways for the CMS to connect with these two worlds, outlining areas for possible development: increased hyperlinking, internal platforms and instances, and