In the 21st century, easy access to visually rich, immersive, student-centered, virtual applications could augment or replace text-based learning. However, the new developments are offset by the lack of insight into pedagogies needed to guide educators through a visual learning environment. The purpose of this directed content analysis was to provide an awareness about opportunities for learning cognitive and creative thinking skills in virtual applications. Analysis showed opportunities to develop one or more skills in 34 selected virtual educational apps. Educators in many subjects could apply insights from the conclusions and recommendations for using virtual applications within established curricula.

A consortially developed continuing education series for rural nurses was implemented using videoconferencing technology. This article provides an overview of distance education technologies, the history and goals of the demonstration project at Edinboro University, and the coordination activities and instructional issues faced by the faculty. Participants became acquainted with distance education technology as they developed a process for program development, delivery, evaluation, and for awarding continuing education credits. The project was well received by instructors and students and testified to previous findings in the literature that distance education is a viable delivery system in terms of a teaching tool, learner satisfaction, and cost effectiveness.

Thirteen percent of American Indians/Alaskan Natives have achieved a bachelors' degree or higher compared to 28% of the overall United States population. Improving Native American educational attainment is critical as a pathway to economic prosperity and social equality. The problem is that educational leaders do not know what American Indians/Alaskan Natives consider a successful educational experience as aligned with their cultural identity. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to examine the post-secondary experiences of American Indians/Alaskan Natives through their online stories via social media. Results showed the American Indians/Alaskan Natives' culture dominated their educational experience, and they were unlikely to widen their social identity. Moving from a mono-cultural view to one that includes a Eurocentric college culture could be contributory and fruitful. Online education might allow these Native American students to remain in their culture and still experience the Eurocentric college culture.

For virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) to become effective learning modalities, they must be considered in the context of experiential or constructivist learning which could disrupt traditional instructional and educational practices given their interactive quality. How might educators assess these applications and their implementation to determine their learning potential for online instruction? By applying the studio thinking framework (STF) and the presence pedagogy (P2) model, unique insights may be gained in terms of virtual reality's value to the learning process. Current research shows many similarities between the skills taught in studio art classes and opportunities to learn the same skills in virtual educational applications, while the P2 model has demonstrated its effectiveness in applying pedagogical strategies to collaborative VR environments. Tactics to prepare, apply, assess, and evaluate (PAAE) this technology in educational programs for teachers and school leaders provide a guide for implementation.