Introduction
Building on the capabilities of the Internet, educational institutions as well as industry at all levels have moved quickly to exploit this new technology for instructional purposes. According to some industry estimates, the number of users worldwide will pass the one billion mark by 2005 (United States Internet Council, 2000). In the United States, 97% of full-time faculty and staff at two- and four-year institutions of higher education have access to the Internet, and 40% use Web sites to post course-related information (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Virtual universities, with no prior education histories have come into being, attracting large enrollments. Two- and four-year institutions have quickly responded by placing courses and degrees online. In addition, a growing number of universities are attempting to enter the corporate-dominated distance learning market through venture startups and partnerships with technology companies including, Columbia University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Stanford University, Duke University, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business (DeBellis, 2000).

As a further testimony to the exponential growth of online education, The Online Academy, a project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), has produced 22 online modules for teacher education that were adopted by over 160 universities (Meyen, 2000). Nearly 710,000 students in 1998 were enrolled in at least one online course, and that figure is predicted to reach 2.2 million in 2002 (Meister, 2000). Colleges and universities are now encountering competition from private industry in the form of companies that not only have developed the technology to deliver e-learning, but also have the capacity and resources to produce and market content. The corporate e-learning market is expected to surpass the $23 billion mark by 2004, up from $2 billion in 1999 (IDC, 2001). Lou Gerstner, chairman and CEO of IBM, referred to email as the Internet's first killer application. John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems, said that e-learning will be Internet's next "killer application." Companies have been formed for the purpose of creating online offerings for institutions of higher education and training for industry. Examples include Blackboard, Web CT, eCollege, SmartForce, KnowledgeNet, Click2Learn and DigitalThink.

The Internet and its applications in education and industry have significantly influenced how we teach and learn. This has all occurred as a consequence of emerging technologies and the demands for online instruction by consumers. In the midst of this environment of rapid growth, a new form of pedagogy has emerged. However, much of it is not the result of research.