Teaching in an Online Learning Context
Over the last ten years or so Terry Anderson has contributed a great deal to our understanding of the mechanics of online learning. He has always, in my view, fostered the transfer of traditional teaching to the online environment, drawing this out (especially in his work with Walter Archer) as a process of creating 'presence' online. More...

Copyright Issues in Online Courses: A Moment in Time
This is a disappointing paper that, while attempting to represent copyright in a Canadian perspective, draws a great deal on international sources, including U.S. court rulings. Strictly party line, the paper does not (other than a caricature in the first sentence) consider the possibility that other views exist. More...

The Development of Online Courses
None of this paper will be a surprise to anyone with experience in the field, but the author provides a good overview of the resources that need to be in place before an institution should think about designing online courses, a review of the staffing (or skill set) requirements, and some discussion on organization. More...

Media Characteristics and Online Learning Technology
I am going to recommend this paper even though I disagree with it, with the caveat that readers watch for dated references and descriptions (the assertion, for example, that a computer monitor is one third the size of sheet of paper, while true for a paper published in 1997, is no longer true today, and particularly ironic given that I was reading the entire page on which this was printed on a single monitor screen). More...

Value Chain Analysis: A Strategic Approach to Online Learning
This chapter draws a great deal from Paul Stacey's earlier work in value chains and e-learning, drawing out some of the business and marketing perspective and forming a solid picture of the industry. More...

Toward a Theory of Online Learning
Drawing from contemporary and authoritative sources, Anderson looks at four major theoretical perspectives: learner (or learning) centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, community centered learning. More...

Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning
A necessary introduction to Theory and Practice of Online Learning, the bulk of this paper (after a nod to the benefits of online learning) is devoted to two major theories of learning underlining contemporary practice: cognitivist theories, and constructivist theories. More...

Theory and Practice of Online Learning
Just released and already getting wide play is this open access volume of essays released by Athabsca University. Theorists looking for cutting edge research will be disappointed, but that is neither the intent nor the outcome of this volume. More...

CSS Your Way to Learner Control
Good article that explains why Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) should be used to allow learners to control the appearance of web pages. Even better, it provides an example of how it works. I wish they had included something of importance to me, scalable text (I am playing with this on the Edu_RSS Listings page). More...

"Off-shoring" Manifesto/Rant: Sixteen Hard Truths
I disagree with only one of these points offered by Tom Peters (point number 14), and as for the rest, find myself somewhat bemused to be in concord with a business writer (who are usually far behind the trends - witness Forbes discovering RSS just this week). More...