EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship

ckeller — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:21:21 -0600

Social network sites (SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic and industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach. This special theme section of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication brings together scholarship on these emergent phenomena. In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles in this special section and conclude with considerations for future research.

Exploring Burnout among University Online Instructors: An Initial Investigation

ckeller — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:43:10 -0500

Burnout has been identified as a significant issue among those in instructional positions. The purpose of the present research was to identify and describe the status of burnout among higher education online instructors. The population for this study included responses of 76 online instructors employed by baccalaureate granting institutions within the United States. A demographic survey and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) were used to collect data from respondents. Data analysis
revealed online instructors possessed an average score on the emotional exhaustion subscale, high degree of depersonalization, and low degree of personal accomplishment

Hypermedia and Discovery Based Learning: What Value?

drupal — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:39:53 -0600

"In 1992, the author published a paper entitled 'Hypermedia and discovery based learning: A historical perspective'. It traced the swings in the history of educational thinking between, on the one hand, support for conventional curriculum based learning and, on the other, the non-linear approach expressed by many educational commentators over the centuries. According to the author, hyperlink technology would finally allow learning truly to mesh with the free association characteristics of the human mind. Once the technology had matured, it would be a teaching resource that would transform passive learners into active thinkers. Thirteen years on, the author takes a critical look at those optimistic conclusions. Are students better equipped to learn than previously? Are they able to think reflectively to a greater degree than their counterparts of a decade or two ago? This present paper addresses such questions, the result being that the guarded optimism of 1992 has turned to a deep pessimism."

Personal Webpublishing as a reflective conversational tool for self-organized learning

drupal — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 12:05:53 -0500

This paper suggests that personal Webpublishing technologies and practices can be conceptualized as a reflective conversational learning tool for self-organized learning. Beyond the examination of the theoretical basis for such a claim, initial ideas for specific learning environment designs on the basis of a "conversational framework" are presented.

Video Games and the Future of Learning

drupal — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 14:41:39 -0500

Will video games change the way we learn? We argue here for a particular view of games—and of learning—as activities that are most powerful when they are personally meaningful, experiential, social, and epistemological all at the same time. From thisperspective, we describe an approach to the design of learning environments that builds on the educational properties of games, but deeply grounds them within a theory of learning appropriate for an age marked by the power of new technologies. We argue that to understand the future of learning, we have to look beyond schools to the emerging arena of video games. We suggest that video games matter because they present players with simulated worlds: worlds which, if well constructed, are not just about facts or isolated skills, but embody particular social practices. Video games thus make it possible for players to participate in valued communities of practice and as a result develop the ways of thinking that organize those practices. Most educational games to date have been produced in the absence of any coherent theory of learning or underlying body of research. We argue here for such a theory—and for research that addresses the important questions about this relatively new medium that such a theory implies. Video games and the future of learning

Video Games and Health

drupal — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 13:00:59 -0500

Although playing video games is one of the most popular leisure activities in the world, research into its effects on players, both positive and negative, is often trivialised. Some of this research deserves to be taken seriously, not least because video game playing has implications for health.

Supporting Different Learning Styles in an Online Learning Environment: Does it Really Matter in the Long Run?

drupal — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 11:58:36 -0500

It is imperative that researchers examine attrition from a longitudinal perspective. This paper describes such an effort. This study was conducted at a large, private, metropolitan university in southeastern Florida.

Inside Purdue's Envision Center

drupal — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 17:03:42 -0500

"Purdue University's remarkable center breaks away from the classroom experience and brings true multi-sensory discovery and learning to students."