Interest in the instructional application of virtual worlds, such as Second Life (SL), has grown substantially. However, little information is available about effective instructional activities using virtual worlds. This case study illustrates lessons learned from a pilot integrating SL into a two-semester English course at a large southwestern US university. A building activity was implemented in the first semester, and based on qualitative and quantitative formative evaluation results and additional planning, the instructional activity for the second semester was modified. These changes substantially enhanced students' learning experiences. Eight general and five discussion/debate-specific best practices discussed for implementing SL in college-level courses include capitalising on social interactions and establishing a clear connection of activities with learning objectives. This study demonstrates the importance of combining careful instructional design with ongoing assessment when implementing emerging technologies. It also indicates that course learning goals and students' needs should be considered first and foremost when adopting new technologies for instruction.

This study attempts to identify characteristics of constructivism and their presence in face-to-face and open and distance learning (ODL) environments. In phase 1 of this study, a 6-week discussion through an electronic mailing list was carried out to explore the concept of constructivism, the process underlying constructivist learning and its facilitation. In the second phase, a questionnaire was developed and later analysed to ascertain the presence of constructivist principles in formal higher education instructional activities. The results of these studies were very similar and foregrounded the following seven components of constructivist teaching and learning: (1) arguments, discussions, debates, (2) conceptual conflicts and dilemmas, (3) sharing ideas with others, (4) materials and measures targeted toward solutions, (5) reflections and concept investigation, (6) meeting student needs, and (7) making meaning, real-life examples. Based on tutorials analysis (phase 1) and surveys (phase 2) in one university, the findings indicate that these components are not sufficiently present in any of the settings which were investigated, despite the positive intentions that instructional designers had in their planning phase.

Online learning is expanding rapidly today in many Canadian universities. Fuelled by Canada's unprecedented broadband access, online teaching is creating new challenges for faculty and new responsibilities for educational developers. Although there is adequate literature with regard to faculty thinking about course planning in general, there are few publications on how they actually plan for online teaching. The purpose of this applied research study was to develop an instructional design model adapted to the needs and resources of faculty at a dual‐mode university (offering courses both on‐campus and online). Using a case study methodology, this project documented the prototype‐building, its implementation and gradual modification in response to faculty feedback. Results indicate that faculty preferred a more traditional, discipline‐based course design model for online course planning and shunned high‐level instructional design, opting for lighter‐weight, dialog‐rich instructional design emphasizing real‐time, faculty–student interaction.