MacDonald, Colla J.

The chapter, "Online mental training using WebExcellence" was written by the listed authors including Laura G. Farres (Douglas College Faculty). The idea of providing mental training1 (MT) and sport psychology services online is becoming more prevalent as technology continues to shape education and the Web becomes more popular. In September 2000, an Internet search for “mental training” using the Google search engine identified 11,700 sites (Stodel & Farres, 2000a). An identical search in March 2004 revealed approximately 74,700 sites, representing an increase of almost 650%. Although a dynamic and fully interactive online MT environment does not yet appear to have been realised, it surely will not be long before this happens. In this chapter we highlight the importance of thoughtful design when developing such training and present a framework to guide the development of online MT.

The chapter, "Designing online mental training using WebExcellence" was written by the listed authors including Laura G. Farres (Douglas College Faculty). The idea of providing mental training1 (MT) and sport psychology services online is becoming more prevalent as technology continues to shape education and the Web becomes more popular. In September 2000, a search for “mental training” using Google identified 11,700 sites (Stodel & Farres, 2000a). An identical search in February 2006 revealed approximately 1,330,000 sites, representing an increase of over one hundredfold and by April, 2007, this number had ballooned to 80,800,000. Although a dynamic and fully interactive online MT environment does not yet appear to have been realized, it seems likely in the future. In this chapter we highlight the importance of thoughtful design when developing such training and present a framework to guide the development of online MT.

The chapter, "The future of university and organizational learning" was written by the listed authors including Laura G. Farres (Douglas College Faculty). In this chapter, the authors examine some of the issues surrounding the use of technology and how it may impact the future of university teaching and organizational training. They conclude that educators need to become proactive in the development and use of technology in the teaching process. To this end, and in an effort to address the concerns of learners and educators in the climate of online learning, we developed a framework - the Demand Driven Learning Model (DDLM) (MacDonald, Stodel, Farres, Breithaupt, & Gabriel, 2001). This framework is a timely response to rapid technological advances that may affect education and provides both support and guidance for educators in an effort to ensure the most serious challenges of e-learning are anticipated and met in practice. The development of a successful and comprehensive model provides a foundation for the design of future online courses and programs and will ultimately set the quality standard for e-learning.

The chapter, "Activity theory and context: An understanding of the development of constructivist instructional design models" was written by the listed authors including Laura G. Farres (Douglas College Faculty). Constructivist instructional design (ID) models have emerged with more frequency within e-learning. These models offer guiding principles congruent with constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. Although constructivist ID models share common principles, each model also offers a unique approach to e-learning based on its context of development. Consequently, certain models will also be more authentic and meaningful for a particular situation depending on their compatibility to that particular context. If that context can be understood, then direction can be given as to the best application for the model. This chapter introduces activity theory (AT) as a lens from which to understand the context of constructivist ID model development in e-learning. It argues that AT provides a suitable frame-work for naturalistic inquiry within complex settings and establishes a language from which a better comparison of context can occur.

This paper reviews recent philosophical debate surrounding the future role and activities of universities in a technological society. In this text, an argument is put forward for academics to take a proactive role in the development and use of technology in the teaching process. For a large segment of the population (working adults) traditional universities have designed, or will need to design, new learning models in order to meet consumer demands. This paper presents the demand-driven learning model (DDLM) as one response to this need. The DDLM was developed as a collaborative effort between academics and experts from private and public industries. A significant contribution of the DDLM is that it provides an explicit statement of a high-quality standard of Web-based learning (WBL); this is defined as Superior Structure. The DDLM is founded in customer demands for quality content, delivery, and service that lead to desired learner outcomes. Prior to presenting this model, a critical review of the pertinent literature in the field of WBL will be presented.

Given the benefits of creative dance in children's development, its absence, or near absence, in the elementary school curriculum is a cause for concern. The purpose of this inquiry was to identify student teachers' attitudes towards teaching creative dance and to investigate whether participation in creative dance workshops could change their attitudes. One hundred and twenty-four student teachers completed pre- and post-workshop surveys designed to examine attitudes towards creative dance. Ten of these student teachers also participated in a focus group interview. Findings indicated that prior to participating in the workshops, student teachers did not feel comfortable teaching creative dance due to physical concems, a lack of practical ideas for integrating creative dance into their teaching, and an inadequate understanding of what creative dance is. To alleviate this discomfort they stated that they needed resources, practical ideas, and exposure to creative dance. Consequently, the workshops were designed to meet these needs. Following the workshops, student teachers reported thattheyfeltmore confidentand comfortable teaching creative dance and that they intended to integrate creative dance into their teaching practices. They attributed these changes to having a greater understanding of creative dance, gaining a higher level of comfort as a result of the workshops, recognizing the physical and therapeutic benefits ofcreative dance, and realizing howeasy it is to integrate creative dance into the curriculum. The study showed that teacher educators can change student teachers' attitudes towards teaching creative dance by identifying student concems regarding creative dance, and then designing workshops addressing these concems. Moreover, the findings support the notion that giving creative dance a greater role in teacher education would enable future teachers to feel more confident teaching it and result in more children being exposed to school programs emphasizing creativity, problem solving, and aesthetic expression.

The purpose of the current study was to describe how eight female national athletes of one team sport experienced the activity of a six-week centralized training camp. Specifically, the following research questions guided the study: (a) what was the process of the experience for each of these athletes and what strategies do they use to progress through the centralized camp; (b) how did the athletes experience the various contexts of their lives during the centralized camp and what strategies did they use to progress through them; and (c) how did athletes come to understand and take into account their experience? What did athletes learn from the experience? This inquiry was guided by a social constructivist perspective informed by feminist theory in sport. The eight participants were interviewed using an in-depth phenomenological approach ... The findings are discussed in terms of the research questions. With respect to process of the experience and the strategies employed to progress through the camp, social and organizational factors played a fundamental role in the experience of the participants. Moreover, the coping strategies selected by the participants' were related to their cognitive appraisal of the person-environment relationship. With respect to the various contexts of their lives and the strategies employed, the participants approached the centralized training camp by taking steps to minimize the distractions from their outside world before attending the camp. Further, during the camp, participants had limited contact with individuals outside the camp environment, followed routines and activities, and sought social support from teammates to maintain and achieve their desired focus while in camp. Finally, with respect to the meaning of the experience and the lessons arising, the participants highlighted numerous issues of both a positive and negative nature. The camp meant opportunities for personal growth; mastery experiences; feelings of anger, disappointment, and failure; and questions of continued involvement in the sport. In addition, participants stressed the meaning of the centralized training camp experience with respect to the opportunities to interact and share experiences with others and develop positive friendships and memories.

This report describes the development and testing of an online survey to assess Web-based learning (WBL) educational programs. This study extends theoretical work on the Demand Driven Learning Model (DDLM), and provides a test of validity for WBL programs in a variety of applied settings. Three research questions were addressed in this study: Is the DDLM survey valid and reliable? Is the DDLM structure supported in this case of real data? How do the WBL programs compare based on the DDLM? A description of the initial development and analysis of the measure is provided, followed by a description of three participating WBL programs. The process used to develop the model is offered as one example of a collaborative research environment used to construct an appropriate measurement system.