Journal Announcement for IJDET 7(1)

The contents of the latest issue of:

International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET) Official Publication of the Information Resources Management Association Volume 7, Issue 1, January-March 2009 Published: Quarterly in Print and Electronically ISSN: 1539-3100 EISSN: 1539-3119 Published by IGI Publishing, Hershey-New York, USA www.igi-global.com/ijdet

Editors-in-Chief: Qun Jin, Waseda University, Japan

PAPER ONE:

The Effects of Communicative Genres on Intra-Group Conflict in Virtual Student Teams

Jung-Lung Hsu, National Central University, Taiwan Huey-Wen Chou, National Central University, Taiwan

With increasing convenience and prevalence, the distant communication application has become a promising way for individuals who are eager to cooperate and interact virtually. This article explored the question of whether the collaborative interaction of the virtual teams has any effect on the conflict and network structure of virtual groups. A total of 150 participants were invited and randomly assigned to thirty groups with each group of five subjects. To function like real virtual groups, they were asked to communicate with their members through e-mail. Through genre analysis and social network analysis, nine communicative genres most frequently used in the collaborative groups were identified.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below. http://www.igi-global.com/articles/details.asp?id=33110

PAPER TWO:

A Computer-Assisted Approach for Conducting Information Technology Applied Instructions

Hui-Chun Chu, National University of Tainan, Taiwan Gwo-Jen Hwang, National University of Tainan, Taiwan Pei-Jin Tsai, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan Tzu-Chi Yang, National Chi-Nan University, Taiwan

In this paper, a model for conducting information technology applied instructions is proposed. The growing popularity of computer and network technologies has attracted researchers to investigate the strategies and the effects of information technology applied instructions. Previous research has not only demonstrated the benefits of applying information technologies to the learning process, but has also revealed the difficulty of applying them effectively. One of the major difficulties is due to the lack of an easy-to-follow procedure for inexperienced teachers to design course content with proper use of suitable information technologies. The novel approach can assist teachers in designing information technology applied course content based on the features of subject materials and the learning status of the students. An experiment on a Chemistry course in a junior high school was conducted to evaluate the performance of our novel approach.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below. http://www.igi-global.com/articles/details.asp?id=33111

PAPER THREE:

An Understanding Information Management System for a Real-Time Interactive Distance Education Environment

Aiguo He, The University of Aizu, Japan

A real-time interactive distance lecture is a joint work that should be accomplished by the effort of the lecturer and his students in remote sites. It is important for the lecturer to get understanding information from the students which cannot be efficiently collected by only using video/audio channels between the lecturer and the students. This article proposes RIDEE-UIM (Understanding Information Management system for Real-time Interactive Distance Education Environment) for collecting understanding information from each participant to the lecturer during real time distance education activities. The usefulness of RIDEE-UIM has been confirmed by experiments. This article describes the basic idea, implementation and experiments of RIDEE-UIM.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below. http://www.igi-global.com/articles/details.asp?id=33112

PAPER FOUR:

A Framework for Collaborative Learning in Dynamic Group Environments

Kamen Kanev, Shizuoka University, Japan Shigeo Kimura, Kanazawa University, Japan Thomas Orr, University of Aizu, Japan

In this article, the authors propose a framework for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) employing dynamic groups, where at different stages students work independently, interact with each other in pairs, and conduct joint work in larger groups with varying numbers of participants. A Dynamic Group Environment for Collaborative Learning (DGE/CL) supports students in making informed and intelligent choices about how, when, and with whom to collaborate. This is a face-to-face collaborative environment, where all students are in the same room, can move freely around and interact with each other while using digitally enhanced printed materials with direct point-and-click functionality. Flexible and efficient support for dynamic group management is ensured through the adopted Cluster Pattern Interface (CLUSPI) technology, which, while preserving the original touch-and-feel of printed educational materials, supports additional affordances and allows employment of new, non-traditional paper-based interactions.

To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below. http://www.igi-global.com/articles/details.asp?id=33113

For full copies of the above articles, check for this issue of the International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET) in your institution's library. This journal is also included in the IGI Global aggregated "InfoSci-Journals" database: www.infosci-journals.com. If your library is not currently subscribed to IJDET, recommend IJDET subscription http://www.igi-global.com/journals/details.asp?ID=498&mode=recommend to your library or "InfoSci-Journals" to your librarian.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Mission of IJDET:

The International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET) publishes original research articles of distance education four issues per year. IJDET is a primary forum for researchers and practitioners to disseminate practical solutions to the automation of open and distance learning. The journal is targeted to academic researchers and engineers who work with distance learning programs and software systems, as well as general participants of distance education.

Coverage of IJDET:

Discussions of computational methods, algorithms, implemented prototype systems, and applications of open and distance learning are the focuses of this publication. Practical experiences and surveys of using distance learning systems are also welcome. Distance education technologies published in IJDET will be divided into three categories, Communication Technologies, Intelligent Technologies, and Educational Technologies:

New network infrastructures

Real-time protocols

Broadband and wireless communication tools

Quality-of Services issues

Multimedia streaming technology

Distributed systems Mobile systems

Multimedia synchronization controls

Intelligent tutoring

Individualized distance learning

Neural network or statistical approaches to behavior analysis

Automatic FAQ reply methods

Copyright protection and authentification mechanisms

Practical and new learning models

Automatic assessment methods

Effective and efficient authoring systems

Interested authors should consult the journal's manuscript submission guidelines at www.igi-global.com/ijdet

All inquiries and submissions should be sent to: Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Qun Jin, jin@waseda.jp