Two studies addressed students' motivation and participation in an online discussion board which was part of a traditional lecture-based course. The discussion board represented an external communication resource to extend the learning activities beyond the classroom. Self-Determination Theory was used as the theoretical framework to investigate: (a) how students' participation in online discussion related to their intrinsic motivation and attitude toward the class; b) how students' intrinsic motivation changed over time; and c) what factors students noted as responsible for the changes in their motivation level. A total of 123 undergraduate students participated in online discussion as a normal part of their instructional technology class. The results showed that students' participation was related to their intrinsic motivation, but not to their computer/internet skills. Over time, students' intrinsic motivation for participating in online discussion dropped steadily. Student-reported reasons for the motivation changes are discussed.

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Literature on future orientation and motivation was examined for gender differences. Research revealed gender differences from five theoretical orientations: achievement motivation, future time orientation, possible selves, expectancy-value, and social-cognitive. Some of those differences seemed best explained in terms of generational differences in gender role expectations. Gender differences were found in extension and density of future goals. Men had further extension but fewer goals than women. Evidence suggested that women's future expectations have become more similar to men's in the career realm, although women also have maintained their focus on interpersonal goals. An implication is that schools are a potentially powerful sociocultural context that can encourage students to envision futures that are not constrained by gender, race/ethnicity, or other stereotypes.KEY WORDS: achievement motivation; gender; future time orientation; motivation and sociocultural contexts.Although much of the theory and research on motivation is concerned with short-term striving (Raynor, 1970) and proximal goals (Manderlink and Harackiewicz, 1984), there is a rich history of motivation research that examines the role of people's orientation toward the future (e.g., Gjesme, 1981a;Husman and Lens, 1999;Lens et al., 2001;Raynor, 1970). This research has provided evidence that future-oriented motivation is related to performance in the present (e.g., Gjesme, 1981a;Raynor, 1970), task engagement and persistence (Lens et al., 2001), and intrinsic motivation (Manderlink and Harackiewicz, 1984). In other words, evidence suggests 1 Department of Educational Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. 2 Correspondence should be addressed to Barbara A. Greene, University of Oklahoma, 820 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, Oklahoma 73019-2041; e-mail: barbara@ou.edu. 92Greene and DeBacker that future orientation can be a powerful motivator of current behavior. There is also evidence, however, that future orientation can be detrimental to motivation when people are highly anxious about a future event and more motivated to avoid failure than to experience success (Gjesme, 1983a(Gjesme, , 1996. Indeed, there are a number of ways in which the relationship between future orientation and motivation can vary as a function of individual characteristics (Gjesme, 1996).In light of the evidence for potential benefits to intrinsic motivation and achievement from future-oriented motivation and of the evidence for individual differences, we examined gender differences in future orientation and how those differences might be linked to motivation to learn. We suspected that the same socialization forces that are believed to be responsible for sex role prescriptions and commonly observed gender differences may operate to produce gender differences in both the content of future goals and in the extent to which individuals are oriented toward the future. As Wigfield and Eccles (2002) noted, although there is evidence that sex differences in achievement ha...

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