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Within many educational institutions across the world, the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate courses is facilitated by online learning technologies. The development and transformation of traditional academic courses for online learning delivery provides a number of opportunities for both the academic institution and prospective students. However, there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed if online learning is to contribute to the educational experience. Over the past four years, two online Masters Degree programmes, namely 'Management of eBusiness' and 'IT with Web Technology', have been developed and delivered at the University of Paisley in Scotland. Much of the content of these two programmes have also been delivered using more traditional, face-to-face methods, thus enabling the authors to compare both modes of learning and delivery over a number of years. The authors identified a number of factors related to enhancing student performance among online learners. These factors are both educational and social in nature and include experienced learners studying strategically, selfsufficient learners, flexibility of access to learning materials, learner control over the pace of study and assessments aimed at developing greater learner reflection. This paper explores these factors, highlighting a number of lessons learnt, as well as putting forward some recommendations that will be of interest to readers who are themselves involved in the development and delivery of online learning programmes.

For some time now, computer games have played an important role in both children and adults' leisure activities. While there has been much written on the negative aspects of computer games, it has also been recognised that they have potential advantages and benefits. There is no doubt that computer games are highly engaging and incorporate features that are extremely compelling. It is these highly engaging features of computer games that have attracted the interests of educationalists. The use of games-based learning has been growing for many years now; however, within software engineering, there is still a dearth of empirical evidence to support this approach. In this paper, we examine the literature on the use of computer games to teach software engineering concepts and describe a computer game we have been developing to teach these concepts.

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The contributions of this research center on two major areas: delineation of a new model of distance education in which the authors identify three generations of eLearning; and examination of how eLearning and games-based eLearning technologies can be used to enrich the Information Systems (IS) learning experiences of students with different learning styles. Before considering these contributions, some background material on eLearning is useful. eLearning has profoundly changed many aspects of society and, inevitably, it is having a significant impact on Higher Education, where it has now evolved from a marginal form of education to a commonly accepted alternative to traditional face-to-face education. The term can cover different delivery models ranging from courses that are delivered fully online (no face-to-face meetings) to courses that provide some face-to-face interaction and some online provision (sometimes called blended learning). Within this continuum interactive technologies can play a significant role in engaging the learner and providing a rich learning experience. The authors highlight some key educational merits of eLearning and games-based eLearning and highlight a number of examples where games-based eLearning has been applied elsewhere in the areas of management and administration, and business.• developing and applying transferable analytical and problem-solving skills;• developing self confidence and increased motivation, and• allowing students time to reflect upon their practice and develop metacognitive strategies capable of adapting to new and evolving situations.The final section of paper identifies areas of further direction such as developing a less sophisticated virtual games environment that is easier to adapt and is less resource intensive and thus better able to meet the needs and financial constraints found in higher education.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the theoretical link between blogs and organisational learning. It aims to provide a set of practical guidelines on how to overcome the challenges of implementing an organisational blog.Design/methodology/approachA literature review will be used to examine blogs and their association towards organisational learning and an illustration of how one company reacted to using blogs will be provided.FindingsIt was discovered that implementing blogs within organisations can present challenges that might be overcome through properly informing and educating staff about their organisational benefits. A set of guidelines is presented as an implementation checklist for companies considering using internal blogs.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper does not examine the adoption of blog use within multiple organisations but reflects on the challenges of running blogs in one specific organisation. The problems identified might not apply to all types of organisations. Further research will be required to determine this.Practical implicationsThe paper provides a set of guidelines that allows organisations to assess whether blogging is right for them and suggests steps to take that can stimulate an organisational blogging culture.Originality/valueThe paper offers practical advice and guidelines that help management to overcome difficulties associated with the introducing of organisational blogs internally. The paper provides a novel academic perspective in which organisational blogs might not be as straightforward to implement as argued in the literature.