Education Commons^™

Using Wordpress As A Content Management System, Yvonne Ballester

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

Wordpress is well-known as a blogging system, but many people may not be aware that it is viable as a content management system (CMS) for building and maintaining a website. Before deciding on a large-scale CMS like Joomla or Drupal, one should consider if a simpler platform like Wordpress will meet your needs. The process of evaluation, preparation and transition to Wordpress as a CMS will be presented.

Choosing An E-Portfolio Tool, Benito A. Berardo, Nellie Modaress

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenters weigh the strengths and weaknesses of multiple e-portfolio applications to assist educators in choosing the proper system for their institution. E-Portfolios discussed include Chalk and Wire, FolioTek, Epsilen, Passport, and Sharepoint.

Wiki: A Tool For Active And Collaborative Learning, Huiming Lu, Lina Metlevskiene

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

In this session the presenter will discuss: What a Wiki is? Why wikis have gained popularity in education? How can a wiki be used as a web authoring tool for students to achieve active and collaborative learning in an online/hybrid learning setting. We'll also introduce programs for creating wikis, show the process of creating a wiki, and share some tips about how to use this tool effectively to achieve your course's learning objectives. Some wiki sites created by students for class work will be demonstrated.

From Camera Shy To Camera Fabulous, Charlene Widener, Nancy Barnes

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

Have you ever watched yourself on video and cringed because you just did not seem as commanding as you are in person? Have you ever felt like you were losing your students in your ITV (interactive television) classroom because they were not engaged? If you have found yourself in either of these situations, then this session is for you. This interactive workshop will focus on putting your best face forward in recording situations and offer tips and tricks for the ITV classroom. The presenter will help you understand how to develop a commanding presence using ITV delivery, web based video …

Into The Great Wide Open..., Nick Greenup

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

Nick will discuss the Open Source philosophy, the tools, and realistic ways for your projects to become more open and successful.

Tegrity: Successes And Failures Of A Pilot Program Introducing Lecture Capture To Campus, Chad Sloan, Corey Ray

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

This presentation will detail the implementation and evaluation of Tegrity Campus 2.0 on the campus of Wichita State University. Presenters will discuss what did and did not work, including considerations for adoption, deploying hardware, training, and how lessons learned can be applied to other campuses evaluating new products or software.

Delivering High Stakes Assessments In A Computerized Testing Center, Philip Wilhauk, Tim Doughty, Ron Knight, Tony Paolo

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

In August 2005, the University of Kansas Medical Center launched its new 135 seat Computerized Testing Center (CTC). Since that time, the facility has successfully hosted over 30,000 individual high-stakes test sessions using LXR. This presentation will discuss the challenges involved in planning and managing such a facility including pilot testing, security, reliability, scalability, scheduling and support. It will also address the impact the CTC has had on paper/pencil testing.

The Open Education Resource Phenomenon: Free Educational Resources For All, Gloria Creed-Dikeogu

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The staggering cost of textbooks and educational resources has become a constant student concern. Student organizations are asking that college instructors consider new ways of making course textbooks and resources more accessible and affordable to them in future class-settings. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Worldwide Open Education Communities (OER) are being created on the Internet, so everyone can gain access to reputable, free online subject resources never made available before. These OER communities provide access to open textbooks, online courses, online journals and software through open licensing, thereby making these resources freely available to anyone to use, re-mix, …

Types Of Digital Visuals In E-Learning, Shalin Hai-Jew

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

This session explores the various types of digital visuals used in e-learning, with examples covering one-dimensional to four-dimensional imagery. Examples will demonstrate how the addition of live data, time elements, image overlays, digital-enabled effects, and interactivity add value to electronic learning. Samples from live courses and sites will be shown. There will be a discussion of how the various types of images can be developed.

Strategies For Modular Builds In E-Learning, Shalin Hai-Jew

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

Building in a modular way enables curriculum to be versioned for online short-courses and training. It also offers flexible e-learning for full-length university courses. This session will present strategies for designing and building curriculum in a modular way. The session will include examples from live courses that are currently offered. Participants may bring curriculum ideas and existing syllabi to discuss how a modular approach may work.

Constructed Response Answers In A Multiple-Choice Universe, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

A scheme is introduced which allows computer readable multiple choice forms used in traditional examinations to be employed for constructed response items.

Toward Creating Computer-Based Math Learning Favoring High-School Females, Yanghee Kim

Yanghee Kim

Research indicates that teenage females prefer to work and perform better at the learning environment that supports frequent interactions and allows them to build relationships with others. This paper will introduce a computer-based algebra-learning environment MathGirls equipped with pedagogical agents (digital life-like characters) that simulate real-world social interactions and relations. The goal of MathGirls is to help young women of high-school age build positive attitudes toward and self-efficacy in math learning through this simulated social context. To investigate the efficacy of MathGirls, a classroom experiment was conducted with 83 high-school females. The experiment examined the effects of agent attributes (female …

Differentiated Lesson Plans: Mid-Project Status Report, Roberta Wiener

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

Mid-Project Status Report

Professional Development: Winter-Spring Activity Report, Pace University

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

A report on continuing technology training for teachers teaching in elementary schools; teachers are introduced in the use of educational technologies in the classroom.

Online Collaborative Learning In A Project-Based Learning Environment In Taiwan: A Case Study On Undergraduate Students’ Perspectives, Ke Zhang, Shiang Wuu Peng, Jui-Long Hung

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This case study investigated undergraduate students’ first experience in online collaborative learning in a project-based learning (PBL) environment in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews of 48 students, instructor’s field notes, researchers' online observations, students’ online discourse and group artifacts. The findings revealed interesting phenomena as results of cultural influences as well as educational system impacts. Students experienced first handed various learning benefits of PBL in the intensive six-week period, yet voiced serious concerns about the changed role of the instructor, as well as strong reservations on peer collaboration as a result of the competitive tradition in education. Obviously, online …

Extending Teacher Professional Development Through An Online Learning Community: A Case Study, Wei Liu, Ronald L. Carr, Johannes Strobel

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning (INSPIRE) at Purdue University in the U.S. was established in 2006 to integrate engineering and engineering thinking into the Pre-Kindergarten-12th grade education. The institute provides elementary teachers with pioneering professional development in engineering education through a week-long face-to-face Summer Academy and an online professional development program. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of the P-6 engineering education teacher professional development, and meanwhile, present a set of design principles to extend teacher professional development through an online learning community.

Efficacy Of Interaction Among College Students In A Web-Based Environment, Ching-Wen Chang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

In order to investigate the efficacy of interaction among college students in a Web-based learning environment, three interactive tools (discussion board, e-mail, and online chat) were evaluated regarding the level of interaction and tool preference among a diverse group of college students in terms of age, gender, and online learning experience. A survey instrument was developed and used to assess and encourage interactive qualities in distance courses. A four-factor split-plot ANOVA was applied to analyze the data. The survey’s questions were repeated across each of the three tools in order to determine interaction efficacy levels in a Web-based environment. Discussion …

The Development Of A Sms-Based Teaching And Learning System, Simon So

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The short message service (SMS) technology is one of the most stable mobile technologies around. Most of our tertiary students carry mobile phones with SMS facilities and can be used for teaching and learning. There are many projects of using SMS technologies in education as outlined in the literature review, but many publications do not provide the possible underlying technologies to implement such the teaching and learning systems. In this paper, the development of a SMS-based teaching and learning system is presented. The underlying technology of using GSM modems to build the SMS-based teaching and learning system is revealed. The …

Integrating Second Life Into An Efl Program: Students’ Perspectives, Charles Xiaoxue Wang, Hongbo Song, Fangli Xia, Qiaoqiao Yan

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Second Life (SL) is a three dimension virtual world imagined and created by its users. To explore various facets of language learning within SL, faculty members of an American university and a Chinese university took an evaluation research approach to search for appropriate ways to integrate SL into an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) program. This paper reports a part of the research efforts with a focus on the Chinese students’ perspectives of an EFL Program in SL. Specifically included in this paper are (a) the Chinese students’ perceived technology readiness to use SL for EFL learning, (b) their …

Exploring Dynamics Between Instructional Designers And Higher Education Faculty: An Ethnographic Case Study, Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan, Kelvin Thompson

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study concentrated on individual and team traits of an instructional design team in the presence of a robust relationship between the team members and faculty at a southeast state university in U.S.A. Three exploratory themes emerged from the interpersonal dynamics observed in this qualitative inquiry: (1) expertise, (2) work motivation, and (3) team culture. Preliminary results first suggested that professionalism with a mix of task mental models, assertiveness, and proactivity be implanted in the instructional designers. Then, instructional designers’ growth and survival needs allow for active learning and continuous reflection on curriculum development and instruction delivery in the e-Learning …

Effectiveness Of Professional Development In Teaching Mathematics And Technology Applications, Taralynn Hartsell, Sherry Herron, Houbin Fang, Avinash Rathod

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study investigated whether a four-week professional development workshop for math teachers helped improve their ability to integrate technology into instruction and teach math concepts. Instruments for data collection included four different types of surveys that asked questions concerning their technology skills and confidence in teaching various math topics. Results of the study revealed that the professional development workshop did improve their technology skills in using graphing calculators and different software programs, as well as increasing their overall confidence in teaching different math topics such as fractions, percentages, real numbers, etc.

A New Model Of Productive Online Discussion And Its Implications For Research And Instruction, Fei Gao, Charles Xiaoxue Wang, Yanling Sun

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

We develop a new model of productive online discussion based on a brief review of research literature on online discussion. As compared to previous discussion models, the new model provides a more systematic and comprehensive framework to understand how learning occurs through online discussion. Based on the new model, we propose several directions for research on improving the quality of online discussion and learning.

Considerations Of Distance Education Integration: A Qualitative Study, Jennifer L. Styron, Shuyan Wang, Ronald A. Styron Jr.

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

As higher education institutions determine whether or not to initiate or expand distance education offerings, there are many considerations and levels of decision making that need to be measured. This study investigated the role of key administrators at the departmental chair and dean levels in expanding distance education offerings. Findings of this study included faculty and student considerations, resources and external support, and integration costs of distance education offerings as major considerations within distance education decision making. Furthermore, the need for realistic timelines, planning for the associated costs of distance education offerings, and current tenure and promotion policies are discussed. …

“The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” An African Centered Historical Study Of The Selfethnic Liberatory Education Nature And Goals Of The Poetry Of Langston Hughes: The Impact On Adult Education, Sarah E. Howard

Dissertations

The purposes of this historical study were to 1) document the Selfethnic Liberatory adult education nature and goals of the poetry of Langston Hughes (from 1921 to 1933); and 2) to document the impact this poetry had on members of the African Diaspora. In addition, the goal of this research was to expand the historical knowledge base of the adult education field, so that it is more inclusive of the contributions of African Americans.

This study addressed the problem that the historical and philosophical literature of the field does not to any significant degree include the intellectual and adult education …

Information Media News, Vol. 38, No. 2, St. Cloud State University

Information Media Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Building Collaborative Reference And Instructional Services For Distance Education Students, Angela P. Whitehurst, Carolyn N. Willis

The Southeastern Librarian

To meet the needs of rigorous educational programs, academic libraries must make a commitment to serve growing distance education (DE) populations. Students who participate in distance education are typically older, nontraditional students with unique characteristics who need special services provided by their university library in order to obtain an education equal to their on-campus counterparts. Creating a successful reference and instructional service for distance education students not only takes planning, collaboration, and assessment, but also requires knowing your audience, constantly experimenting with new technologies, expecting the unexpected, and being ready to problem-solve at a moment’s notice. In this article, the …

Instructional Architect Teacher Professional Development Handouts, Mimi Recker, Andrew Walker, M. Brooke Robertshaw, Linda Sellers, Heather M. Leary

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Research

Three handouts for the teacher professional development workshops on the Instructional Architect (IA). Starting spring 2009 the face-to-face workshop was changed to be three different days of learning about how to use the IA, inquiry based and problem based learning, evaluation of IA projects with a rubric, and creating IA projects.

From Silent Film To Youtube™ : Tracing The Historical Roots Of Motion Picture Technologies In Education, Chareen Snelson, Ross A. Perkins

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article traces the historical roots of YouTube™ and online video to examine it within the context of educational motion picture history. The current state of online video is discussed first followed by a thematic analysis of the history of educational motion pictures from silent film to YouTube. The historical literature reveals recurring themes and issues, which include: (1) the intrinsic advantages of motion picture technologies, (2) differing opinions about the benefits of film and video, and (3) access and equipment issues. Previous historical accounts fall short of addressing how these themes connect to online video. The potential future of …

Employee Development Using Webct Vista, Jennifer Link Jones

Georgia Library Quarterly

The article reports on the technology upgrade at Georgia State University Library in Atlanta, Goergia. It offers a look at renovations of its facilities and exterior. More than 350 computers were installed in its new Information Commons and Learning Commons. The library officials jointly worked with the school's Information Systems & Technology department and established two computer technical support desk within the library. It is noted that its library employees need to further their knowledge and undergo training about various issues in library science. It also explores various library technology issues, which include public services technology competencies, construction of learning …

Expert Versus Novice Tutors: Impacts On Student Outcomes In Problem-Based Learning, Heather Leary, Andrew Walker, Melynda Harrison Fitt, Brett E. Shelton

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The tutor is an essential part of problem based learning (PBL). However, tutor characteristics and role are inconsistent. Meta-analysis was used to investigate both the role and training of PBL tutors as moderators of student learning. Weighted effect sizes were calculated on student outcomes with a modest favorable overall effect size for PBL; a vote count shows favorable results as well. Results indicate a mixture of peers and instructors do best when compared to peers and instructors alone. Tutor training appears to make a difference by itself, but when considered with tutor background, tutor training does not appear to moderate …