Education Commons^™

Developing Online Sense Of Community: Graduate Students' Experiences And Perceptions, Jesus Trespalacios, Lida J. Uribe-Florez

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Building a sense of community (SoC) is an important process in the success of distance education and students’ retention. However, developing a community in online learning environments is not an easy task. The purpose of this research study is to explore perceptions of graduate students on SoC and learning after using different collaborative activities with diverse forms of interaction (text, audio, and video) in an online educational research course. Quantitative data from two surveys and qualitative data from individual interviews were collected. Findings indicate that multimodal and scaffolding interactive activities help to support connectedness and learning, and therefore foster online …

Chopped Id: Students Engaged In Gamification To Enhance Advanced Instructional Design Techniques, John Baaki, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Food Network's television show Chopped pits chefs against each other, in a three-round battle, to create their best appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Facing master chef judges, the chef participants present their dishes with one chef chopped (eliminated) after each round. The last chef standing is crowned the Chopped Champion. A faculty member in an instructional design and technology program, created Chopped ID, an innovative adaptation and gamification of the Food Network's Chopped for application in a distance learning environment. Participating as competitors and judges, graduate students, firsthand, experienced gamification as an advanced instructional design technique. In the end, Chopped …

Building Creative Confidence During Covid-19: Adapting Design Thinking For Online Learning, Lisha Bornilla, Marianne Kayle Amurao

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

In this paper, we describe our experience in designing and delivering a course on Creativity and Innovation Management with a heavy emphasis on Design Thinking using Kolb’s Learning Cycle theory as a framework. The main challenge involved being able to preserve targeted outcomes based on Creative Confidence despite the constraints imposed by lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The metadisciplinary approach to re-implementing the course with technology through principles involving Puentedura’s SAMR model has yielded positive results based on creative confidence as the primary desired outcome.

Learning Together In Public And In Private: Exploring Learner Interactions And Engagement In A Blended-Platform Mooc Environment, Arianna Montero-Colbert, Natalie Delia Deckard, Bonnie Stewart, Sundi Richard, Alexa Nanan

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

With the growing popularity of connectivist MOOCs, the aim of facilitators has increasingly shifted from helping students meet completion-oriented goals to encouraging meaningful engagement among participants. In this paper, we study the relationship between platform of engagement and learner participation, controlling for relevant demographic factors of participants including gender, age, and level of education attained. Our study employs four distinct measures of participatory engagement: autonomous learning, knowledge reproduction, information networking, and scholarly engagement. We find that on the public platform of Twitter, participants were more likely to exhibit meaningful engagement patterns across all measures studied than they were on the …

Constructivists Online: Reimagining Progressive Practice

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

The Organizational Structures Of Instructional Design Teams In Higher Education: A Multiple Case Study, Jason Drysdale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how organizational structures influence leadership over online learning initiatives for dedicated instructional designers in higher education. A qualitative research method was used for within-case analyses for 3 individual universities and a comparative case analysis of all 3 studied institutions. Purposive sampling was used to identify each university that participated and operated within 1 of 3 organizational structure profiles. Data were collected through document analysis and semistructured interviews with participants in 3 key roles at each institution: dedicated instructional designer, online faculty member, and online learning administrator. The organizational structure that most positively influenced the ability for dedicated …

Visions Of Quality Assurance In Online Mba Programs, Kerry Rice, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Ross Perkins

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online MBA programs have undergone significant growth in recent years. However, quality assurance measures have not kept pace with this growth. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize aspects of quality assurance specific to Association to Advance College Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited online MBA programs. The Delphi methodology was used to facilitate a group conversation among administrators, faculty members, and instructional designers around the topic of quality assurance for online Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs over the next 3-5 years. This paper reports the results of this study and how the results will help to direct …

How To Create A Stunning Video Orientation By Hand, Rachel S. Evans

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

This article describes the multi-faceted approach UGA Law Library took with their fall 2018 first year student orientation. It describes the process of the creating a virtual tour experience, pairing it with a hybrid face-to-face event, and assessing the impact of all aspects of the orientation. The creation of the video itself involved a multi-media approach using a combination of visual arts and technology to animate a product that has a longer expiration than traditional video or in-person library orientations offer.

A Mixed Methods Study Of The Implementation Of Collaborative Technology Tools For Enhancing Collaboration And Student Engagement In Online Learning: Faculty Experiences And Student Perspectives, Ayshah Abdullah Alahmari

Theses and Dissertations

The appropriate implementation of collaborative technology tools in online courses leads to a culture of social learning where technology empowers students to take central roles in their learning. Yet, critical questions still exist about how faculty design, develop, implement collaborative eLearning activities using technology tools that support collaboration and student engagement in online courses, and what perspectives students have toward their experiences while participating in these activities. The purpose of the study is to explore the experiences of faculty members implementing collaborative technology tools in online courses to support collaboration and student engagement, in addition, to obtain the perspectives of …

Making Online Group-Work Work: Scripts, Group Awareness And Facilitation, Peter Reimann

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Even though group work for learning is a well-established and extensively researched pedagogy, teachers find it still challenging to engage students in productive collaborative learning that extends over time (e.g. weeks – in the context of project-based learning) and is computer-mediated in addition to being classroom-based. I introduce three practices that have been shown to foster collaborative knowledge production and learning: first, group scripts; second, knowledge building and knowledge awareness; and third, group facilitation. I discuss how teachers can integrate these into their teaching practices to address three challenges to productive group learning: unequal participation, lack of awareness, and stratified …

Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (Moocs): Tales From The Front Line, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Chareen Snelson, Ross Perkins

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Very little research has been conducted about what it is like to teach a MOOC. Given this, a mixed methods study, involving a survey of 186 MOOC instructors and 15 follow-up interviews, was conducted to explore the motivation, experiences, and perceptions of instructors who have taught massive open online courses. Findings indicate that instructors were motivated to teach MOOCs for three main reasons: (1) interest and passion, (2) publicity and marketing, or (3) benefits and incentives. Most instructors had little online teaching experience prior to teaching their first MOOC, but were satisfied with the experience. The majority believed their own …

Online Course Design And Development Among College And University Instructors: An Analysis Using Grounded Theory, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, a grounded theory approach was used to investigate the process college and university instructors undergo to design and develop online courses. Fourteen instructors who created online courses for four-year colleges and universities were interviewed about their experience designing and developing online courses. Results showed that participants begin the process with objectives and/or with existing course outlines, typically taken from online and face-to-face courses. Next, the instructors structure the course and chunk content. The instructors interviewed rarely use formal instructional design principles, but their design tasks show a striking similarity to those formalized in the ADDIE model. Student …

Adult College Students' Perceptions About Learning Mathematics Via Developmental Mathematical Xmoocs, Pelagia Alesafis Kilgore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Debates over the promising change Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) might offer to traditional online learning now produce significant attention and discourse among the media and higher education. Ample articles discuss the potential benefits of MOOCs from the perspectives of faculty and administration. However, little is known about students’ perceptions of MOOCs. Given the lack of relevant literature and the reality that MOOCs are created to benefit students, it is important to elicit current college students’ perceptions of MOOCs since it is well documented learning mathematics online has its problems (Ashby, Sadera, & McNary, 2011; Frame, 2012; Ho et al., …

The Iterative Development And Use Of An Online Problem-Based Learning Module For Preservice And Inservice Teachers, Peter Rillero, Laurie Camposeco

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Teachers’ problem-based learning knowledge, abilities, and attitudes are important factors in successful K–12 PBL implementations. This article describes the development and use of a free, online module entitled Design a Problem-Based Learning Experience. The module production, aligned with theories of andragogy, was a partnership between the recipients of a grant using PBL to enhance English language learner education and the Sanford Inspire Program. A multistage evaluation design was used in the iterative process of module creation. Starting with an initial white paper, the module’s conceptualization, development, pilot testing, and refinement are described, along with the current use statistics. The URL …

Online Educational Outcomes Could Exceed Those Of The Traditional Classroom, Elliot King

The Emerging Learning Design Journal

An axiom of online education is that teachers should not mechanically translate existing courses into an online format. If so, how should new or ongoing courses be reshaped for the online environment and why? The answers come both from the opportunities offered by the structure of online education and from a body of research from cognitive psychology and cognitive science that provides insight into the way people actually learn. Freed from the time and space constraints inherent in face-to-face higher education settings as well as the deeply ingrained expectations of both teachers and students, online education provides a more flexible …

Online Doctoral Students And The Importance Of Social Network Connections, Monica Herndon-Stallings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

University personnel offering online doctoral degrees struggle to address high attrition of students in the dissertation phase; these students can feel isolated, disconnected, and unmotivated. The purpose of this study was to explore ways online doctoral students in the dissertation phase used social networking sites (SNS) to overcome isolation and to increase persistence. The conceptual framework was situated in communities of practice (CoP) and the theory on self-determination. Research questions explored participants' experiences with using SNS to remain connected and persistent. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 7 online doctoral students, who met the criteria of being in the …

An Inquiry Into Creating And Supporting Engagement In Online Courses, Robin Hummel, Genevieve Lowry, Troy Pinkney, Laura Zadoff

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

In this chapter, authors offer what they have discovered about creating and facilitating structures that support active engagement that promote social construction of knowledge in online interactions.

Factors Affecting Employee Persistence In An Online Management Development Certificate Program, Todd D. Chester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An important approach to prepare new managers for increased responsibility is participation in online management development programs; however, there is a lack of information about the factors that affect employee completion of these programs. This study addressed how chief executive officers (CEOs) can implement these programs to rapidly develop new managers who are qualified to serve in the leadership roles left behind by many retirees. This qualitative descriptive case study explored employees' perceptions about persistence in an online management development certificate program at a U.S. nonprofit organization. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Rovai's composite persistence model provided the conceptual framework for …

Using Learning Analytics To Improve Instructional Support Design For Online Learning, Lin Zhong

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Learning analytics has been demonstrated as a great tool to evaluate quality of instructional design. This study examined how instructors can utilize learning analytics to improve online learning support design. 128 students from a southern university in United States participated in this study. All learning data related to learners and online learning environment was collected and analyzed. Results showed that learning analytics results were very helpful for instructors to improve online instructional support timing, adjust learning module design, and enhance learning materials accessibility.

The Design And Implementation Outcome Of An Online Undergraduate Thermodynamics Class, Dazhi Yang, Krishna Pakala

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online learning is not common for most undergraduate core engineering courses. However, the growing need for online engineering courses necessitates the design and delivery of online courses that can allow for the flexibility and convenience the distance learning experiences can offer. Thermodynamics is among the most difficult engineering subjects to teach, especially online, where instructors are unable to demonstrate the overwhelming number of equations and applications as they would in face-to-face lectures. This paper describes the design and development of an online, undergraduate thermodynamics class. It reports the implementation outcome of student final course grade and the students’ learning experience …

An Elearning Partnership: Applying The Quality Matters Rubric To Online Library Instructional Materials, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Group-Based Context Personalization On Learning Outcomes And Motivation, Jessica J. Resig

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The rise of online course enrollments in higher education has highlighted the need to establish and validate effective online instructional strategies focused on improving learning outcomes and affective responses towards instruction. One such strategy, group-based context personalization, frames instructional materials within contexts relevant to shared interests among groups of students. This study sought to investigate the effects of group-based context personalization on learning outcomes and motivation towards the instruction when materials were contextualized based on a learner’s academic major.

This study employed a true experimental design to explore the effects of group-based context personalization on learning outcomes and motivation for …

Student Demographic And Academic Characteristics That Predict Community College Student Success In Online Courses, Jennifer L. Davidson

Theses and Dissertations

Online student success is a concern for higher education institutions especially community colleges with open enrollment admission. This study analyzed online student success using online GPA (dependent variable) and both demographic and academic characteristics of online students (independent variables) to determine which characteristics significantly correlated to and predicted student success in online courses. The sample included an unduplicated count of 4,046 online students enrolled in at least one online course during fall 2015 and spring 2016 at a public, Midwestern community college. Six research questions and twelve hypotheses were used to determine which independent variables led online students to a …

Crowdsourcing Cognitive Presence: A Quantitative Content Analysis Of A K12 Educator Mooc Discussion Forum, Kathryn Dawson Shields

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offer participants opportunities to engage with content and discussion forums similar to other online courses. Pedagogical components of MOOCs and the nature of learning are worth of examining due to issues involving scale, interaction and the role of the instructor (Ross, Sinclair, Know, Bayne & McLeod, 2014). The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework provides a basis for measuring cognitive presence in online discussion forums. As voluntary point of entry to a community of learners, it is important to consider the nature of participant contributions in terms of cognitive presence. This study focused on an educator …

Site Joint Sig Symposia: A Collaboration Between The K-12 Online Learning Sig And Distance Learning Sig: How Higher Education And K-12 Online Learning Research Can Impact Each Other, Rick Ferdig, Leanna Archambault, Kerry Rice, Margaret Niess, Trisha Litz, Amy Garrett-Dikkers, Aimee Whiteside, Michael Barbour, David Marcovitz, Antoinette Davis

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Facilitated by Rick Ferdig of Kent State University and editor of JTATE, this Symposia brings together the work of the K-12 Online Learning SIG and the Distance Learning SIG communities and focuses on presentations from scholars in the field whose work has implications for both higher education and K-12 online learning. This Symposia will have nine panelists who will each present their work and then talk specifically about how their work can inform both K-12 and HE. Included in the list of Higher Education-focused panelists are Trisha Litz of Regis University, Maggie Niess of Oregon State University, Antoinette Davis of …

Educating Incarcerated Youth In Illinois: A Blended Learning Model, John Sonnenberg

Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to better understand the reasons behind the apparent continued success of a blended learning educational model in place since 2012 in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ). Using a mixed methods approach, data were gathered and analyzed from a variety of records, reports, and other documentation that included: diplomas awarded, courses taken, course completion, enrollment trends, student mobility rates, GED testing information, and special education student enrollment and performance. Data were also gathered through classroom observations and individual and group interviews with the IDJJ district superintendent, principals, and teachers at six different …

The Impact Of An Online, Mastery, And Project-Based Developmental Math Curriculum On Student Achievement And Attitude, Steven Ray Zollinger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to anxiety, low confidence, and inadequate content knowledge, many college students struggle to complete their developmental math coursework. As colleges redesign their programs to address these issues, careful research is imperative to determine the factors that best meet the needs of these struggling students. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of one college's redesigned program (integrating online, mastery, and project-based learning) compared with the traditional program. Using Weiner's attribution theory of achievement motivation and emotion as a guide, this mixed methods case study used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design in conjunction with a qualitative …

Exploring Small Group Analysis Of Instructional Design Cases In Online Learning Environments, Jesus Trespalacios

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The case-based approach is a constructivist instructional strategy that helps students apply their emerging knowledge by studying design problems in authentic real-world situations. One important instructional strategy in case-based instruction is to analyze cases in small groups before discussing them with the whole class. This study investigates the use of small-group structure to analyze case studies in online learning environments, as well as students’ perceptions of the use of VoiceThread presentations to improve their learning of instructional design. The results show that a small group strategy has great potential to help students analyze case studies and consequently enhance learning. The …

Impact Of Online Orientation For First-Time Online Students On Retention, Academic Success, And Persistence, Lynda Marshall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A challenge faced by higher education is whether online orientation that is offered before the start of class can impact academic performance for online students. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine if there are significant differences in retention, academic success, and persistence between first time online students who have participated in an online orientation and those who did not participate and if there was a significant difference in retention, academic success, and persistence by gender of first-time online students. The sample for this study was extracted from archived data originating from 433 first-time online undergraduate students …

Virtual Learning Environments' Impact On Adult Learners' Motivation In The Workplace, Clarence Eugene Bashshar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Virtual learning environments have become prevalent in the workplace to improve talent development. However, because there are so many different types of design options, not all learners are finding success in the virtual learning environment. This mismatch can negatively impact employees' motivation and learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore how design features of a virtual learning environment impacted adult learners' motivation in the workplace. Constructivist and self-determination theories were used as theoretical frameworks. The research question in this study explored how social and external contextual factors influence an adult learner's motivation to learn in a virtual …