The purpose of this study was to analyze a five-week graduate-level education course taught entirely at a distance via the Internet using the Blackboard.comSM e-learning system, with emphasis on exploring the dynamics of sense of classroom community. Subjects were 20 adult learners, evenly divided between males and females, who were administered the sense of classroom community index at the beginning and end of the course in order to measure classroom community. Findings indicated that on-line learners took advantage of the “learn anytime” characteristics of the Internet by accessing the course seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Sense of classroom community grew significantly during the course. Females manifested a stronger sense of community than their male counterparts both at the start and end of the course. Additionally, female students exhibited a mostly connected communication pattern while the communication pattern of males was mostly independent.

Students write 4 statements; 3 of the statements are truths about themselves or some aspect of their lives, and 1 of the statements is a lie. Students read their list out loud in class and the rest of the class try to guess the lie. This activity ALWAYS works and is a great way for you to get a glimpse of your students as individuals. The process works both ways, i.e., you should also participate in the activity.

This can be used in two different ways. In my classes, I have students list 10 books they would take with them if they were marooned on a desert island. Students share their lists with each other. (I sometimes use this as one of the first posts to my online class blog instead of in the classroom.) As a group activity, I ask students to gather in groups of 4 or 5 and come up with a list of 5 items they would take with them if they were marooned (the group as a whole can only bring 5 items). Groups read their lists out loud and justify their choices.

In rural America, only 60 percent of households use broadband Internet service, according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Commerce. That is 10 percent less than urban households. Over all, 28 percent of Americans do not use the Internet at all.

It took her three days to try to arrange a meeting with the governor 150 miles away in Montgomery because such inquiries cannot be made over the phone and she had to drive 45 minutes to her daughter’s house to use e-mail.

While IT expenditures is expected to increase worldwide this year, forecasts are being revised downward. The Eurozone crisis and flooding in Thailand, a major hard-drive manufacturing hub, have put a damper on original projections for global information technology spending in 2012.

Hard drive supply is expected to be reduced by at least 25 percent during the next six to nine months, Gordon said. The anticipated shortage prompted the IT research and advisory company to decrease its shipment forecast for PCs.

On many campuses, budget cuts are forcing painful retrenchments, even as the era of BYO devices threatens to overwhelm support staff with help tickets. The resulting squeeze is prompting schools nationwide to turn to self-service as a way to relieve the pressure.

University IT departments are facing ever-growing demands for support. Bring-your-own-device policies, distance ed students in multiple time zones, evening and weekend classes, and students pulling all-nighters all keep IT staff on their toes and increasingly require 24/7 support.

Telling those students that the IT help desk is only available certain times during the week, and more limited hours on the weekend, for exampl

ho are enrolled in the graduate program and also working full-time jobs. Accustomed to 24/7 access to the school's learning management system, library systems, and other processes, an increasing number of students were asking for an around-the-clock help desk.

That meant stretching the help desk hou

while less than a third (28.3 percent) rep

ed wired/Ethernet upgrades as a priority for the coming year.

"The shift from wired networks to a more mobile-centric network architecture is a focused initiative across higher education today,"

Lecture = 5% Reading = 10% Audiovisual = 20% Demonstration = 30% Discussion Group = 50% Practice by doing = 75% Teach others / immediate use of learning = 90% It should also be recognized that a person's prior knowledg

Instead of having the students relying on someone else's information and accepting it as truth, the students should be exposed to data, primary sources, and the ability to interact with other students so that they can learn from the incorporation of their experiences.

tting should include classroom applications of constructivism within a few key concepts. The first is discovering and maintaining an individual's intellectual identity. This forces students to support their own theories, in essence taking responsibility for their words and respecting those of others. The next component is having the teacher ask open-ended questions and leaving time to allow the students to think and analyze a response, based on their experiences and personal inquiry.

Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction rather than passively receiving information. Learners are the makers of meaning and knowledge. Constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking and creates motivated and independent learners.

belief that knowledge isn't a thing that can be simply given by the teacher at the front of the room to students in their desks

ction from the transmission curriculum to a transactional curriculum. In a traditional curriculum, a teacher transmits information to students who passively listen and acquire facts. In a transactional curriculum, students are actively involved in their learning to reach new understandings.

Availability of and Access to Computers and the Internet

Among the greatest barriers to the use of technology in instruction reported was lack of time.

The study found that just 22 percent of teachers regularly use technology in the classroom.

For example, 75 percent of teachers say they regularly use technology in their classrooms. However, only 40 percent of students report that technology is used in their classrooms. You have to wonder if “regular tech use” is defined differently by kids and adults.

53 percent of middle and high school students feel that the restrictions on using cell phones are the biggest obstacle to using technology at school.

Worse, while 75 percent of teachers feel they understand how students want to use technology as a learning tool, only 49 percent of their students agree.