Ten Ways to Improve the Business of Online Education  

Online teachers must follow sound educational practices as they design courses for learners who have different personality types and learning styles. Educators also must develop policies suitable for adult learners. As online education becomes an increasingly competitive business, educators must develop marketable, high-quality programs that meet students’ expectations and set and maintain high academic standards.

Porter, Lynnette R. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Education>Online

The Virtual Working Environment: A Challenge for Both Educators and Students  

With the increasing use of technological resources such as the Internet and World-wide Web, the concept of the 'virtual campus' where there is little or no face-to-face contact between colleagues is becoming commonplace. Students will be more attractive to potential employers if they are ready for this environment prior to graduation. To prepare students for this challenge, educators must work to ensure technical communication programs remain current with the technology field. Knowledgeable educators and up-to-date programs will produce graduates that are adequately prepared to enter the professional workforce.

Williams, Beth A. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Workplace>Online

Theories, Techniques and Issues in Online Learning

This site describes what online learning is and identifies its major uses; identifies the four major types of online learning; provides an overview of the technology needed to make online learning happen; lists the project issues--that is, management and learning issues--that need to be addressed when developing materials for online learning.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio. Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Three Worlds of Online Education: Evaluation of Commercial Courses  

Courses delivered over the World Wide Web, are an important element in today’s training programs. You can evaluate them by analyzing their content, handling of audience, interactivity, and cost.

Murphy, Avon J. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Online>Assessment

To Logo or Not to Logo?

As the new disability legislation becomes law in the UK, Academic websites will be coming under close scrutiny from Disability Rights Organisations. Long established tools that have been used to test websites could, if used in the wrong way, be more of a liability than a benefit. The use of websites as medium for academia is now well established, with a plethora of materials being distributed over Intranets and Extranets. Furthermore, the pervasive Virtual Learning Environment is lending itself to opportunities for interactivity hitherto only possible in face-to-face teaching. But, as more and more material is distributed in this way there is a need for guidelines to ensure access for all.

Phipps, Lawrie, Neil Witt and Anne McDermott. TechDis (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Education>Online

Training for E-Business: Turning Your Education Offerings On!  

These days, the buzzwords of our industry revolve around E-commerce and E-business. At the same time, we have also seen major shifts in the required focus of our training offerings – from Tool/Task-Based to Business Process/Role-Based. Finally, we can no longer demand that the students come to us for what they need. They are demanding that we take it to them. But how do you turn your training organization on a dime to respond to the changing needs? This paper discusses how you can transition from standup/ manual-based instruction to a WBT/online documentation method of training.

McLean, Donna. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Training the Brain: Building an Online Course  

This case study is based on the process that one team of technical communicators used to create an online science course—for a company that had not previously offered online courses. The team developed, created, and implemented the course, Language and the Brain, in just two and a half months.

Win, Thet Shein, Laura Arendal, Wen Chao. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Usability of Online Education in a Diverse Community  

This study explored the usability of an online tutorial in a diverse community of users at a major Midwestern university. The analysis of data revealed a significant difference between American and international users in such usability components as learnability, memorability, and number errors; however, no difference was found in the users' satisfaction rate. The difference in usability may suggest that the online product's effectiveness is largely dependent on background of the audience; therefore, online education may require additional adjustments to fit the needs of a diverse community.

Rybas, Sergey. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Online>Usability

Using the Web to Enhance and Transform Education

With the aid of the Internet and web technology, today's classrooms and learning environments are undergoing a major transformation. There is a massive effort to utilize the Internet as an effective communications and storage medium for education, research, and corporate training.

Hulme, Michael and Michael Locasto. ACM Crossroads. Articles>Education>Online

Using Virtual Peer Review through the Online Writing Center

Virtual Peer Review is an exercise in which students review the written work of other students in online or Internet-based settings. Just like peer review--an activity in which readers make suggestions for improvement on another person's writing--virtual peer review supports revision in the writing process. The difference is that this review process is conducted using online technologies.

University of Minnesota (2004). Articles>Education>Editing>Online

Videoconference-Based Courses in Technical Communication: Pros, Cons, and Considerations  

Interactive compressed video (ICV), also called videoconferencing, is increasingly popular for distance education. While ICV shares many features with satellite technology, its two-way audio and video make it more interactive and versatile, at a lower cost. The interactivity can help meet the instructor’s concern about appropriate methods for teaching writing. The lower costs, and the versatiliy to send as well as receive courses, can help meet the administrator’s concerns about maximizing the return on investment.

Farrell, Kathleen L. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Education>Online>Videoconferencing

The Virtual Classroom  

The Virtual Classroom is not just a fancy new term for distance learning. Although distance learning is an important aspect, the Virtual Classroom involves a broad range of issues and ideas, and uses emerging Web and Internet technologies to fairly easily bypass the many long-existing barriers to a truly ideal learning environment. It takes the best of each technology or learning method, and integrates these into a whole. In other words, instead of choosing among classroom, self-study, or other deliveries, you take what is best from each. The goal is to change the instructor’s role from being a teacher to someone who manages the students’ learning experience. The result is better, faster, cheaper, and more effective learning experiences, from which the student and teacher both benefit.

Prekeges, James G. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Education>Online

Virtual Classroom Project Report

The aim of the Virtual Classroom project is to create an environment that will help stimulate purposeful communication between English language learners across the globe.

Hudson, Roger. Usability.com.au (1998). Articles>Education>Online>International

The Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana's Computer Literacy/Distance Learning Project

In Ghana, the use of electronic networks and information technology is in its infancy. Computers have yet to penetrate many sensitive sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Coupled with this is the fact that many Ghanaians lack computer skills in all areas, from basic knowledge and use to advance knowledge and computer management. Added to the aforementioned problems is the lack of educational and training facilities to help train people acquire basic computer skills. These problems often force user organizations to hire experts from overseas, some of whom may lack knowledge about the culture of the country in which they operate.

Darkwa, Osei. SIGCHI Bulletin (1996). Articles>Education>Online

WAC Meets TAC: WebCT Bulletin Boards as a Writing to Learn Technique  

Fall of 2000 seemed like the right time to introduce more technology into my undergraduate course Applied Child Development. Several forces came together to lead me to this decision. NCATE had encouraged teacher preparation courses to make more use of technology. The friendly folks at Information Technology Services were offering summer workshops on introducing WebCT into classes. The Computer Advisory Board (CAB) or the Technology Across the Curriculum (TAC) group—I’ve forgotten which, and I’m not sure I know the difference—was offering bribes, I mean honoraria, to people to make such innovations. And I was recovering from the experience of trying to teach the quietest group of students I’d ever encountered in one classroom, a group I had come to affectionately refer to as 'mime school.'

Miller, Robert S. WAC Journal, The (2002). Articles>Education>Writing Across the Curriculum>Online

Review: Web-Based Instructional Learning  

You may not find all the answers to your evolving questions, but the authors throughout the book do a good job of analyzing relevant research questions, defining the current state of Web-based education, and suggesting areas for continuing research. The book comes as close as you'll find to 'everything you always wanted to know about Web-based instruction,' with its in-depth coverage of today's Web education issues and research.

Porter, Lynnette R. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Education>Online

Web-Based Teaching: A New Educational Paradigm  

Clark assesses the effects of virtual classrooms on teachers of distance-learning courses.

Clark, Lawrence J. Intercom (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Web-Based Training: An Overview of Training Tools for the Technical Writing Industry      

This article provides technical training managers with an overview of the range of Web-based training solutions available to their organizations.  The solutions range from individual drill and practice opportunities to live collaborative group learning.  This article defines four broad categories and characterizes each.  The most popular type, Web/computer based (W/CBT), is analyzed and four levels of W/CBT programs are presented.  Included are tables summarizing considerations for selecting a development approach.

Driscoll, Margaret and John E. Reid, Jr. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Online

The Web, the Millennium, and the Digital Evolution of Distance Education      

This paper discusses Industrial and Digital Age educational paradigms, needs, and expectations of adult and traditional learners for Internet-based education; knowledge management and its impact on technical communication; the Universal Campus Network and the nature of Web-based education in the near future; elements for success for Web-based distance education in technical communication; and future directions in electronic communication.

Leonard, David C. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

The Webinar: The New Face-to-Face?

E-learning, the ability to access a training session via the Internet, is available to anyone with a phone line and a PC. E-learning provides participants with the opportunity to receive information about a particular topic in his or her related field. The instructor may be a business associate, university professor, or other expert.

Pockrandt, Leah K. Techniques (2003). Articles>Education>Online

What Can We Learn about Web-based Training from Other Fields?  

Instructors can optimize web-based training by adapting educational techniques from older instructional media. In addition, research findings on educational television and computer-based training can further strengthen web-based technical communication instruction.

Krull, Robert. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Education>Online

What Executives Must Know about E-Learning

So you’ve heard about this e-learning thing. Can it work in your organization? Before you make an assessment, consider these issues.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio (2002). Articles>Management>Education>Online

Why People Can't Use eLearning

Unusable interfaces will cost eLearning companies billions of dollars in lost revenues because many people won’t be able to use their products. The US eLearning market has a projected value of $11.5 billion by 2003 while the European market is expected to be worth $4 billion by 2004. However, poor usability will contribute to disappointing results for many eLearning companies, for the following reasons.

Quinn, Anthony. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Education>Online>Usability

Why Teach Digital Writing?  

This webtext 'talks' in all the ways we are asked to talk about teaching digital writing: in the hallways to colleagues, in policy documents to administrators, in classroom exercises to graduate and undergraduate students, and to colleagues at conferences, in journal articles, and other scholarly genres.

Kairos (2005). Articles>Education>Writing>Online

Why Teach Digital Writing?

Computers are not 'just tools' for writing. Networked computers create a new kind of writing space that changes the writing process and the basic rhetorical dynamic between writers and readers. Computer technologies have changed the processes, products, and contexts for writing in dramatic ways—and writing instruction needs to change to suit how writing is produced in digital spaces.

Cushman, Ellen, Danielle DeVoss, Jeffrey T. Grabill, Bill Hart-Davidson and Jim Porter. WIDE Research Center (2005). Articles>Education>Writing>Online