Education Center

Online Education Online education is learning or teaching that takes place via a computer network system, which could be a local bulletin board system (BBS) or the global internet and world wide web. The network could also be a local area network (LAN) or an intranet within a particular organization. Online interaction is called "computer mediated communication" (CMC) which term covers applications beyond instruction (e.g., decision-making in work teams). The most common function used in online education is electronic mail (email). Most networks also provide conferencing capabilities called "chats" or on a delayed basis asynchronous. For many "groupware" programs, there are more elaborate systems called MUD/MOOs . Online education also involves access to databases in the form of text files or multimedia web pages and exchange of information (e.g., assignments, course materials) via file transfers. The purpose of this guide to focus on the instructional aspects of online interaction. There are many books that discuss these aspects (see Bibliography). To read about the latest research on this subject, see the International Journal of Educational Telecommunications (published by AACE ), THE Journal , or Educational Technology magazine. The publications of the ACM and the IEEE that provide good background on the computing technologies involved. Online instruction takes place in the context of distance education, i.e., settings in which students and teachers are located in different places and all or most interaction takes place via the network. For more information on distance education, see the resources section of the Online Chronicle of Distance Education & Communication or my textbook on the topic.