Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Making Scientific And Technical Materials Pervasively Accessible, Jason J.G. White

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In this paper, the question is explored of what policies, standards and practices are desirable to ensure that hardware, software and publications in the sciences and associated disciplines are created from the outset to be accessible to people with disabilities. Insight into this question can be obtained by considering the unique accessibility challenges that these materials pose, including complexities of notation, language, and graphical representation.

Having analyzed what sets this problem apart from broader issues of accessibility, the advantages and limitations of current international standards are reviewed, and contemporary developments in standards and policies are considered from a strategic perspective. …

The Perceptions Of Teachers Of Students With Visual Impairments On Students With Visual Impairments And Graphing: How To Teach, Ashley N. Nashleanas Ph.D.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Many gaps exist in what is known around teaching students with visual impairments (SVI) about how to use graphs (Rosenblum et al., 2018; Rosenblum & Herzberg, 2015; Zebehazy & Wilton, 2014a;2014b;2014c). When teachers first experience a student with a visual impairment, some of the questions that come to mind are: How can I be sure this student understands what I am saying about these graphs I show on the board? Will this student be able to keep up? The study herein, based on findings from Author (2018), serves as a guide for teachers to consider in the case that SVI …

The Playground: An Online Summer Camp For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children, Emma Monson, Krista Schumacher, Annmarie Thomas

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The PLAYground summer camp was developed by the Playful Learning Lab (PLL) at the University of St. Thomas, an undergraduate research group with a focus on learning through play. Through a partnership with a local school serving deaf and hard of hearing students, the PLAYground was designed to provide content to the deaf and hard of hearing community. Over the course of 8 weeks, 84 students were provided with materials that correspond with activities on the website. Each activity is accompanied with a lesson plan and video, both of which are available in English, American Sign Language, Spanish, and Arabic. …

Learning Model Based On Democratic Life, Şeyma Şahin, Abdurrahman Kılıç

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Our research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the democracy and human rights course taught with a “Learning Model Based on Democratic Life.” The study was conducted with an action research design. The research study group, determined using purposeful sampling, consisted of 10 students taking a Democracy and Human Rights course at a state university in Turkey. Data were collected using “Process Evaluation Forms” and “Student Letters.” Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. We concluded that the students thought the Learning Model Based on Democratic Life supported their participation, was efficient and interesting, contributed to the …

Hbcu Administrators And The Covid-19: Dealing With The Pandemic Under The Pressure Of Funding And Self-Care, Jerry Crawford

Journal of Research Initiatives

Historically Black Colleges and University presidents and chancellors have been facing challenges similar to administrators at other institutions of higher learning. These demands center on accreditation, federal and state funding, and enrollment. COVID-19 has heightened each of these essential functions that administrators have as priorities.

There has been a lot of research on the roles and responsibilities of HBCU administrators and how there has been a seemingly revolving door at these institutions, and how many have found them to be more autocratic than inclusive in governance. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has added to the pressure and expectations administrators must …

User Education Through Webinars Of Madras Library Association: An Evaluation, Prabakar Stanleay Dr, Sivasamy Krishnasamy Dr., Janarthanan Pichai Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The aim and objectives of the article is to identify the gender who inculcate more knowledge by means of participating in the webinars organized by the Madras Library Association. Further, to identify the availability of the relationship between “Awareness about the Webinars” and the “Frequency of the participation in the Webinars” and as well as to assess the impact of "Participation in the Webinars" over "Usefulness towards career building". Questionnaires are sent to the participants of the Webinars organized by Madras Library Association through Google Form. The duration of the webinars are the pandemic period of COVID-19. 144 delegates responded …

Developing An E-Learning Theory For Interaction And Collaboration Using Grounded Theory: A Methodological Approach, Rachael Njeri Kibuku Dr., Daniel O. Ochieng Prof, Agnes N. Wausi Prof

The Qualitative Report

Grounded Theory (GT) is becoming an increasingly prevalent research methodology in many fields. Although researchers use it in qualitative and quantitative studies, it is more popular with qualitative studies, as evidenced by the citations from previous research. This paper aims to document and present how we used GT in our qualitative research to construct an e-learning theory for interaction and collaboration. It also includes the justification of GT. We adopted and adapted the constructivist GT (CGT). Therefore, this paper discusses the CGT methodology, its philosophical, ontological and epistemological perspectives. It also includes the research design that captures how we sampled …

Catching Lightning In A Bottle: Surveying Plagiarism Futures, Zachary Dixon, Kelly Whealan George, Tyler Carr

Publications

The digitization of higher education is evolving academic misconduct, posing both new challenges to and opportunities for academic integrity and its research. The digital evidence inherent to online-based academic misconduct produces new avenues of replicable, aggregate, and data-driven (RAD) research not previously available. In a digital mutation of the misuse of unoriginal material, students are increasingly leveraging online learning platforms like CourseHero.com to exchange completed coursework. This study leverages a novel dataset recorded by the upload of academic materials on CourseHero.com to measure how at-risk sample courses are to potential academic misconduct. This study’s survey of exchanged coursework reveals that …

The Hidden Costs Of Connectivity: Nature And Effects Of Scholars’ Online Harassment, Chandell Gosse, George Veletsianos, Jaigris Hodson, Shandell Houlden, Tonia A. Dousay, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Nathan Hall

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

A growing body of research reveals that some scholars face online harassment and that such harassment leads to a wide variety of adverse impacts. Drawing on data collected from an online survey of 182 scholars, we report on the factors and triggers involved in scholars’ experiences of online harassment; the environments where said experiences take place, and; the consequences it has for personal and professional relationships. We find that online harassment is heavily entwined with the work, identity, and in some cases, the requirements of being a scholar. The online harassment scholars experience is often compounded by other factors, such …

Pandemic Schooling: Lessons In Equity, Advocacy, And Racial Justice, Donna Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It was my fourth year of teaching at a Brooklyn elementary school when the COVID-19 pandemic forced school buildings, and the entire city, to enter a world of lockdown and quarantine. New York City was an early epicenter of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and the virus quickly revealed severe racial and socioeconomic disparities across the city. A disproportionate number of cases, serious illnesses, and death has been experienced by low-income Black and Latinx communities. At the same time, 2020 also ushered in a national racial reckoning following the May murder of George Floyd.

In this thesis, I will provide a …

An Evaluation Of Virtual School's Preparation Of Second Grade Students For Third Grade Reading Proficiency, Lisa Richardson

Dissertations

Third-grade reading proficiency is an indicator of future student success in middle school and ninth grade, on-time graduation rates, and career success; however, 44% of third-grade students in one state were not meeting this goal. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which virtual school in second grade prepared students for third- grade reading achievement. I used a mixed methodology to compare extant data from a state database on third-grade state achievement tests in the area of English Language Arts. Sixty-one second and third-grade teachers completed surveys, and three teachers participated in follow-up interviews. The data …

A Systematic Review For Identifying Instructional Design Strategies And Principles In Extended Massive Open Online Courses (Xmoocs), Jingrui Jiang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Extended massive open online courses (xMOOCs), which follow traditional university learning models, have become a popular platform for structured learning over the past few years. Despite this popularity, xMOOCs are generally poorly designed, which has caused dramatic drop-out rates; therefore, they require extensive revision using instructional design strategies and principles. Hence, the purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of empirical studies that present best practices in the instructional design of xMOOCs and inductively identify effective instructional principles with the aim of improving the effectiveness of xMOOC instruction. We used the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Study …

Options And Experiences For Online Chemistry Laboratory Instruction, Emily Faulconer, Matt Morgan

Publications

While online course offerings have been on the rise for many years, there was a rapid transition to online courses due to campus closures and social distancing protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This has caused significant disruption in traditional chemistry laboratory activities. In this chapter, features of various distance laboratory approaches options are presented, including wet chemistry and dry laboratory options. Because the existing research comparing effectiveness of these strategies is scarce, no attempt is made to argue the effectiveness of one modality over the other, but rather advantages and disadvantages of each method are presented and discussed. The …

Moving To A Virtual Literacy Practicum: Challenges And Solutions, Joyce C. Fine Ed. D.

Literacy Practice and Research

When the university took the unprecedented move to virtual teaching at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, my challenge, as a teacher educator, was to plan a virtual literacy practicum for master candidates. All aspects of curriculum design were considered, from establishing relationships with schools, parents, and students, considering technology platforms, appropriate technology applications, to considering everyone’s emotional state. In this article, I share the many challenging aspects and the solutions that lead to successful experiences for all participants.

Library Engagements: Looking Beyond Covid-19, Gautam Gogoi, Bhaigyashree Boro, Shaithingla R. Shimray

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The role of the Library and Information professionals has been integral in promoting knowledge cultures throughout the centuries. Libraries have undergone a sea change and have been keeping pace with the networked and digital world. Libraries are the gateways to the information resources that engage the readers in different ways and capacities. A crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic shut the doors of the physical libraries but the opportunities and the doors for the digital libraries were opened like never before in history. LIS professionals all around the world have taken up the challenge of providing the information services to the …

The Right To Repair: (Re)Building A Better Future, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this research project was to take a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary approach to research and examine the Right to Repair movement’s progress, current repair practices, impediments, and imperatives, and the various large-scale implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) stemming from diminished consumer freedom as a result of increased corporate greed and lack of governmental regulations with regards to repair and the environment. This poster exhibits the highlights of my general research project on the Right to Repair movement over the course of this four month internship, and aims to disseminate information about the movement to the wider public in an …

Teach Pilot Study: Implementation Of An E-Learning Course In Physical Activity And Sedentary Behaviour For Pre- And In-Service Early Childhood Educators (Eces), Faith E.A Heidary, Brianne A. Bruijns, Patricia Tucker

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Early childhood educators (ECEs) are highly influential in promoting healthy movement behaviours (e.g. physical activity [PA] and sedentary behaviour [SB]) in early childhood. It is essential that ECEs gain knowledge and confidence in their ability to incorporate appropriate amounts of high-quality movement experiences for children in their care. However, ECEs do not currently receive related education in their current pre-service programs or professional development in practice.

The Training EArly CHildhood educators in physical activity (TEACH) study intends to improve ECEs’ knowledge, confidence, and intentions regarding promoting healthy movement behaviours by providing comprehensive training in PA, SB, outdoor and risky play …

Academic Libraries Support E-Learning And Lifelong Learning: A Case Study, Sivankalai S

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

E-learning has proven to be the best method for corporations, primarily when MNCs conduct training programmes for their workforce worldwide. In e-learning, a teacher no longer directs students; instead, a step-by-step guide has replaced the teacher. The idea of web 2.0, life-long learning, open education, and social constructivism is often linked with this term. Librarians can benefit from e-learning as well as students and researchers. Staff training through additional online programmes assists employees in learning the latest ideas, handling new challenges, and meeting reader demands. E-learning is becoming more and more popular each year at universities across Canada. E-learning is …

Engaging Efl Learners Online, Yolanda Ramos

English Language Institute

Online classrooms offer a variety of resources, but they also present some challenges such as students feeling bored and disengaged from learning activities. This research poster seeks to state that we as facilitators can help our students get more engaged in the online classroom by applying four practical tips and three tech tools .

Eservice-Learning During Covid-19: How Community-Engaged Learning Courses At The University Of San Francisco Responded To The Pandemic, Erin I. Hassett

Master's Projects and Capstones

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities and colleges had to quickly transition their courses from in-person to online. This switch to online learning heavily impacted community-engaged learning (CEL) courses because it meant that internships with community partners had to become remote as well as the coursework. The University of San Francisco (USF) requires their undergraduate students to take at least one CEL course during their four years there as a way to connect them to the school’s Jesuit Catholic values, so pivoting these courses to a remote setting and keeping them available to students throughout the pandemic was imperative. This paper …