Qualitative and quantitative research designs are more similar than different. The qualitative/quantitative divide has been extensively debated in social science and educational research. However, health researchers are still bound by traditional distinctions between qualitative and quantitative research. This paper argues that although these distinctions were valid at the turn of the twentieth century, they no-longer hold true. With advances in both qualitative and quantitative methods, and the need to explore increasingly complex situations it is time to concentrate on how best to answer the research question rather than focusing on the research design being used.

Development of the PRO-SDLS: A Measure of Self-Direction in Learning Based on the Personal Responsibility Orientation Model. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument to measure self-directedness in learning among college students based on an operationalization of the personal responsibility orientation (PRO) model of self-direction in learning. The resultant 25-item Personal Responsibility Orientation to Self-Direction in Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS) was found to be a highly reliable instrument in the selected sample of graduate and undergraduate education students. Confirmatory factor analysis established that a four latent variable model fit the data. Scores from the PRO-SDLS were significantly related to criterion variables thought to demonstrate self-direction and to a known instrument of self-direction while accounting for additional variance. Recommendations for further research in the ongoing process of scale validation and implications for practice are provided

Creating and implementing successful online learning environments: a practitioner perspective. This paper is about how we attempted to overcome barriers to the use of Computer Mediated Conferencing (CMC) for effective learning in Open University Business School (OUBS) courses and the implications for successful implementation. We begin with a brief overview of potential barriers and the ways in which we attempted to overcome them. We then expand on this in the remainder of the paper. This practitioner perspective is based on an action research study in the OUBS, involving 300 part time management tutors using CMC based on FirstClassTM software as part of their multi-media distance learning courses (Salmon & Giles 1999). The results reported in this paper are intended to be a guide to help practitioners to make the most of the pedagogic opportunities provided by CMC.

Immediate Feedback and Opportunity to Revise Answers to Open-Ended Questions. Two experiments examine the psychometric effects of providing immediate feedback on the correctness of answers to open-ended questions, and allowing participants to revise their answers following feedback. Participants answering verbal and math questions are able to correct many of their initial incorrect answers, resulting in higher revised scores. In addition, the reliability of these scores is significantly higher than the reliability of scores based on no feedback. Finally, anxiety is significantly lower following a test section with feedback and revision.

Experiential Education. Making the most out of learning outside of the classroom.

Models, like myths and metaphors, help us to make sense of our world. Whether derived from whim or from serious research, a model offers its user a means of comprehending an otherwise incomprehensible problem. An instructional design model gives structure and meaning to an I.D. problem, enabling the would-be designer to negotiate her design task with a semblance of conscious understanding. Models help us to visualize the problem, to break it down into discrete, manageable units. The value of a specific model is determined within the context of use. Like any other instrument, a model assumes a specific intention of its user. A model should be judged by how it mediates the designer's intention, how well it can share a work load, and how effectively it shifts focus away from itself toward the object of the design activity. University at Colorado, Denver.

Sir Ken Robinson lecture. This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's

Tacoma Community College has created an online course development process. The process is designed to support faculty by providing a clear timeline for course development, a discussion of what kind of training faculty will need to develop and teach online courses, the kind of support faculty will need, and online course development rubrics for quality assurance and peer review.

Merlot is a free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world to share their ...

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity. What is MIT OpenCourseWare? MIT OpenCourseWare is a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. * OCW is not an MIT education. * OCW does not grant degrees or certificates. * OCW does not provide access to MIT faculty. * Materials may not reflect entire content of the course.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a biologist who originally studied molluscs (publishing twenty scientific papers on them by the time he was 21) but moved into the study of the development of children's understanding, through observing them and talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set.

Moodle is a Learning Management Systems (LMS) that is based off of (and utilizes) a constructivist learning perspective.