Education Commons^™

Student Preferences About Student-Teacher Communication And Student Perceptions Of Teacher Presence In An Online Middle School, Kyle M. Doty

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative survey study was to determine how middle school students in fully online language arts courses perceived their teachers to be present and what methods of communication with the teacher middle school students desired. The purposive sample was composed of 100 sixth and seventh grade language arts students from a large virtual school in the southeastern United States. Student responses were overwhelmingly skewed, and results from the survey indicated a statistically significant finding. Students in online middle school find their teachers to be present and desire to be communicated with using text messages first and …

Engaging Students In The Virtual Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Teacher Leaders Creating Connections Through Virtual Learning Communities, Michaine Suzanne Ashley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The core problem that drove this study was high attrition rates and low student academic growth in virtual students when compared to their brick and mortar peers. To investigate this issue, the study focused on one issue related to the core problem: student engagement. The purpose of the study was to determine what pedagogical practices and instructional strategies were utilized by teachers in their virtual learning communities (VCLs) in order to engage students in the virtual classroom. This explanatory-sequential, mixed methods, single case study was conducted through the collection of archival data and through a teacher questionnaire and follow up …

K-12 Community Of Inquiry: A Case Study Of K-12 Online Social Studies Teacher Practice In A Virtual School, Kyle Sanders

Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology Dissertations

Teaching practices, rationales, and roles of experienced online social studies teachers at one fully online high school in the southeastern United States were examined using the descriptive case study method. Three male teachers and one female social studies teacher, all with three or more years of experience in the online classroom, were studied using interviews, observations, and document analysis. The resultant data was then coded according to open and theoretical coding methods. Results demonstrated the teaching practices, rationales, and roles of experienced online social studies teachers. Results led to an adaptation of the Community of Inquiry framework to the K-12 …

Do Virtual Schools Meet Students' And Families' Expectations? An Investigation Of A Fully-Online High School In Arkansas, Christopher L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

High school has evolved significantly over the last several decades. What was once a choice between public school and private school is now a decision that includes homeschools, magnet schools, charter schools, and virtual schools, to name a few. This was a mixed-methods case study that investigated students’ and families’ satisfaction with their decision to attend high school virtually. The study examined a fully online virtual high school in the state of Arkansas to answer the following research questions: 1. What factors best predict students’ interest in enrolling in a fully online virtual school in Arkansas? 2. Is there a …

K–12 Online Learning And School Choice: Growth And Expansion In The Absence Of Evidence, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

The use of online learning at the K-12 level has seen exponential growth for much of the past two decades. Based on the limited research to date some students can experience success in the supplemental K-12 online learning environment, but other types of K-12 online learning are largely failing adequately to serve students. While proponents will argue that all types of K-12 online learning are forms of school choice, it is primarily cyber charter schools and course choice policies that are reflective of the policies and regulations proponents of online learning promote—as cyber charter schools and course choice policies are …

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 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

Education Faculty Publications

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 internals. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of 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 …

Any Time, Any Place, Any Pace-Really? Examining Mobile Learning In A Virtual School Environment, Michael K. Barbour, Tamme Quinn Grzebyk, John Eye

Education Faculty Publications

Over the past decade, the number of K-12 students engaged in online learning has increased from between 40,000 and 50,000 to more than two million. Students have also gained increased access to mobile devices throughout recent years, and educators have actively looked for ways to capitalize on this trend.

A case study of students enrolled in an Advanced Placement European History course, offered by a statewide, supplemental virtual school in the Midwest. The students were studied over the course of four weeks, using Mobl21, an app that works on mobile devices, and offers an emulated version that runs on a …

Academic Performance, Course Completion Rates, And Student Perception Of The Quality And Frequency Of Interaction In A Virtual High School, Abigail Hawkins, Charles R. Graham, Richard R. Sudweeks, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of teacher–student interaction and academic performance at an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide virtual high school. Academic performance was measured by grade awarded and course completion. There were 2269 students who responded to an 18-item survey designed to measure student perceptions on the quality and frequency of teacher–student interaction. Quality of interaction was subdivided into three constructs representing feedback, procedural, and social interaction. A confirmatory factor analysis helped to establish the fit of the statistical model for teacher–student interaction. Hierarchical logistical regression indicates that an increase in the quality and frequency of interaction resulted …

Odyssey Of The Mind: Social Networking In Cyberschool, Michael Barbour, Cory Plough

Education Faculty Publications

K-12 online learning and cyber charter schools have grown at a tremendous rate over the past decade. At the same time, these online programs have struggled to provide the social spaces where students can interact that K-12 schools are traditionally able to provide. Social networking presents a unique opportunity to provide these kinds of social interactions in an online environment. In this article, we trace the development and use of social networking at one cyber charter school to extend the space for online instruction and provide opportunities for social interaction that online schools are often unable to provide.