The parade of new technologies is relentless. Are newer learning paradigms, such as sociocultural perspectives, reflected in the design and delivery of e-learning experiences? Studying the triad of stakeholders involved in a workplace e-learning experience---learners, adult educators, and software developers---I explored how technology, workplace context, and assumptions about learning influence collective meaning making. The setting for this qualitative case study was a multi-national organization using a sophisticated web-based technology. Multiple data collection methods helped construct a multifaceted understanding of teaching and learning in the virtual synchronous classroom (VSC). The findings point to the gap between contemporary learning research and the use of e-learning technologies, highlighting that the human and contextual dimensions ultimately define the nature of the learning. Through communities of practice, sociocultural perspectives allow us to envision how the VSC could shape more dynamic learning that extends beyond the walls of a classroom---physical or virtual.

Cette recherche theorique a pour objet la construction d'une matrice de prise de decision qui pourrait servir d'outil d'elaboration de didacticiel. Cette matrice de prise de decision sera formulee a partir d'une analyse des differents parametres d'elaboration de plateau de formation et de la selection d'un modele portant sur l'appropriation du savoir. Plusieurs auteurs d'etudes empiriques et theoriques sont repertories afin de determiner les parametres d'elaborations qui nous ont semble necessaires a la construction de la matrice de prise de decision. Le modele de l'orientation epistemique de Rancourt (1990) a ete utilise comme base fondamentale d'un modele decrivant les modes (noetique (intuitif), empirique et rationnel) d'appropriation du savoir de l'apprenant. Les descripteurs de conviction afferents au modele de l'appropriation du savoir sont definis afin de circonscrire le vocabulaire utilise a travers les recommandations des strategies d'elaboration de didacticiel. Enfin, la matrice de prise de decision est elaboree en trois tableaux comportant les parametres d'elaboration et des recommandations sous-jacentes relatives aux modes d'appropriation du savoir. Cette matrice servira en tant qu'outil de travail ou comme un ensemble de criteres-guides pour quiconque elabore un plateau de formation sous forme de didacticiel et base sur les modes d'appropriation du savoir.

The academic environment has been witnessing the rise of a new form of teaching and transferring knowledge; that is telelearning via the Internet. A certain number of problem areas are still facing telelearning practitioners, which should be worked an and resolved soon, if most of the expectations of a universal effective and successful telelearning environment are to be realized. Some of these issues include Internet security, copyrights of digital material, and accreditation of on-line degrees and programs. This thesis includes four parts. Part I includes a description of a variety of synchronous and asynchronous Internet tools, as well as their advantages and drawbacks. In part II, some case studies of Internet-based telelearning applications are described, in addition to a discussion of the results of two investigations about the current implementations of the Internet tools within a telelearning setting. Part III provides an analysis of the different economics of telelearning which comprises costs related to both: the students and the institution. Finally, in part IV a number of Internet issues relating to telelearning were examined. These include: security and policy issues such as copyright of on-line material, accreditation of on-line degrees and virtual institutions, on-line academic fraud, and evaluation of the Web's material.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.