Education Commons^™

Schism Or Communion? A Discussion Of The Morality Of Online Learning Through A Christian/Catholic Lens, Michael K. Barbour, J. P. Siko, M. Beadle, G. Bitgood

While massive open online courses (MOOCs) garnered plenty of attention at the beginning of the decade, initial findings about their value have been disappointing. In particular, only a narrow range of participants appear to be successful in completing and passing these unmonitored courses: white, educated, affluent males. One prominent Catholic scholar, Jonathan Malesic, went as far as saying that the very nature of MOOCs does not align with Catholic teachings of learning through social interaction, adapting to the needs of the learner, and teaching (i.e., successfully) the masses. Further, by extension, he applied these criticisms to online learning in general. …

Still Forgotten Teachers In K-12 Online Learning: Examining The Perceptions Of Teachers Who Develop K-12 Online Courses, Michael K. Barbour, David Adelstein, Jonathan Morrison

Like many K-12 online learning programs, the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) began by utilizing vendor content to populate its online courses. In its fourth year, the IVHS began a concerted effort to design more of its own online course content internally. The aim of this chapter was to examine the support needed and application of tools used by IVHS course developers. The data consisted of a two-part, web-based survey and telephone interviews that were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive analysis. The results showed these developers had a strong desire to use interactive elements in their course as well …

The Assessment Of Online Degree Programs: Lessons From Recent Alumni, Yoram Neumann, Edith F. Neumann, Shelia Lewis

Touro University Worldwide Publications and Research

The main focus of this study was the assessment performed by recent alumni as an important component of online degree program outcomes assessment. A model of components of the online learning environment was developed and tested to predictive various levels of educational outcomes of online degree programs separately for bachelor and master degree programs' alumni. The educational outcomes include direct educational outcomes and attributed educational outcomes. The model was then validated in predicting summative outcomes assessment. The model played an important role in understanding degree program's online educational outcomes and its predictive validity across all outcomes and degree levels is …

Quality Of Faculty Feedback And Its Effects On Learning And Educational Effectiveness Of Online Master Degree Programs, Yoram Neumann, Edith F. Neumann, Shelia Lewis

Touro University Worldwide Publications and Research

This study assessed the unique contribution of quality of faculty feedback in the first course of online master degree programs, by itself, on a wide range of student educational effectiveness indicators: retention, degree completion, performance in the integrative capstone course, overall program GPA, and overall program time-to-degree while statistically controlling for the effects of student academic performance in the same first course. This assessment was conducted in the context of the Robust Learning Model with Spiral Curriculum. Using logistic regression and multiple regression models, the results of this study confirmed that not only the quality of faculty feedback was crucial …

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, Michael K. Barbour

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 …

Working Conditions For K-12 Distance & Online Learning Teachers In Canada, Michael K. Barbour

“Teacher unions in Canada have had concerns about developments in online learning, but have generally been supportive if they have felt conditions were appropriate,” according to the Director of Research and Technology at the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF). This sentiment has been echoed by the researchers involved in the annual State of the Nation: K- 12 E-Learning in Canada. These researchers have also underscored the fact that teacher unions have also been active in conducting research to investigate how teaching in the distance education and online learning environment is different than teaching in the classroom, and what impact that …

Improving The K-12 Online Course Design Review Process: Experts Weigh In On Inacol National Standards For Quality Online Courses, David Adelstein, Michael K. Barbour

Within the K-12 online learning environment there are a variety of standards that designers can utilize when creating online courses. To date, the only research-based standards available are proprietary in manner. As such, many jurisdictions have begun adopting online course design standards from the leading advocacy organization, which that have yet to be validated from a research perspective. This article reports on the second phase of a three-stage study designed to examine the validity and reliability of the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses. Phase two utilizes two groups of expert reviewers to examine and provide feedback with goal …

The Robust Learning Model With A Spiral Curriculum: Implications For The Educational Effectiveness Of Online Master Degree Programs, Yoram Neumann, Edith F. Neumann, Shelia Lewis

Touro University Worldwide Publications and Research

This study integrated the Spiral Curriculum approach into the Robust Learning Model as part of a continuous improvement process that was designed to improve educational effectiveness and then assessed the differences between the initial and integrated models as well as the predictability of the first course in the integrated learning model on a wide range of educational effectiveness indicators for online master degree programs.

Meaningful improvement in educational effectiveness was validated by the study. The importance of the first course's predictors in predicting and explaining the various degree program educational effectiveness indicators was also very instrumental.

The theoretical and practical …

Experimenting With Digital Badges In An Online Graduate Education Course, Laurie Bobley, Ruth A. Best

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

Introduction

In 2011, U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan endorsed digital badges as growing phenomena in the K-12 and higher education reform movement (Grant, 2014a; Tally, 2012; United States Department of Education, 2011). As an innovative technology, digital badges can be used to recognize accomplishments and achievements and may have a solid place in education because of the immediate feedback for graded and non-graded skills and competencies (Foster, 2014). As a disruptive technology, digital badges may emerge as motivational tools for 21st century learners because of inherent elements that are reminiscent of social media and gamification; two growing trends in …

Social Media In Secondary School Settings, Michael K. Barbour

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC Graduate School of Education

From Conclusion:

The rise of social media gives schools another opportunity to use a real world connection with their students. The benefits are plentiful, allowing for collaboration and communication opportunities both in and out of the classroom. Depending on the social media tool selected, students can share videos, writing, and photos while allowing others to comment and interact. While the socialization aspects are powerful, educators should strongly consider the online safety of young teens before venturing into social media. If not supervised properly, social media can open students up to cyberbullying and leaving a negative digital footprint, both of which …

Students-Enthusiasts In Online Classes: Their Contribution To The Educational Process, Anna Toom

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

In this work, the phenomenon of student enthusiasm was explored in a population of 47 students of Touro Graduate School of Education who took the author's online psychology course. The purpose of the study was to find how students-enthusiasts differ from classmates in their communication style(s) reflected in group discussions on the Discussion Board (DB). The research methodology included graphical and statistical analysis of students’ discussions. It was found that, although the enthusiasts constituted a small part (6%) of the investigated population, their contribution to the virtual learning environment was the greatest – they were catalyzers of the educational process. …

A Study Of Students’ Orientation In The Virtual Classroom, Anna Toom

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

One of the most important features determining successful adjustment and learning in the virtual classroom (VCR) is an individual’s ability to quickly, independently, and flexibly orient oneself in the new learning environment. It means grasping the idea of information-technological resources as well as the course organization with its academic, administrative, technical, and communicational requirements. In our pilot study, we investigated this ability of twenty five students enrolled in the author’s online psychology class in 2015. The research methodology included an analysis of the students’ preparation for their study and an evaluation of correlations of these data with students' previous online …

Issues Of Online Distance Education: Learning Motivation Of Current And Prospective School Teachers, Anna Toom

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

In this work, LM in three categories of students – motivated, unmotivated and overmotivated – was explored. Fifty graduate students, which were current and prospective school teachers and took the author’s online psychology courses in 2012-2013, participated in the study. The research methodology included developing the rules of coding students’ course work, designing the 100-scale of LM for representing their individual as well as collective data, and collecting info about students’ academic achievement in this course. According to the results, students’ LM has two co-existing components – pragmatic (grade-oriented) and cognitive (knowledge-oriented). Three mentioned categories of students differ in quantity …

Issues Of Today's Online Education: Psychological Portrait Of The Problem Student, Anna Toom

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

The online problem student is one who fails to benefit from the modern learning environment based on the information technologies. The purpose of this work was to find out whether psychological characteristics helpful for identifying problem students in a traditional classroom are the same in a new learning environment. The study was conducted with 123 graduate students, who took Dr. Toom’s online psychology courses within three consecutive semesters of 2013. The research methodology included an analysis of the students’ coursework and academic performance within the semester and mathematical analysis of the collected data. According to the results, four psychological characteristics …