Education Commons^™

Inter-University International Collaboration For An Online Course: A Case Study, John O'Connor, Claudia Igbrude, Dudley Turner

Conference papers

This paper is a practical account of the experience of collaboration between two international partners – one in Europe and the other in the United States. This collaboration experience is a lens through which the authors outline the origin, design and implementation of an inter-university teaching experience. The processes, strengths and difficulties are outlined and the rationale for utilising a virtual world is given, along with the participants’ perspectives of the experience. No institutional changes or formal agreements were needed.

The same course was validated and accredited by each institution and designed to address the requirements of each with the …

Going The Distance: Best Practices In Designing And Sharing Reusable Learning Objects, Philip Russell

Conference Papers

This paper presents an overview of the suite of online interactive tutorials that have been developed at the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin); with a particular emphasis on best practices for pedagogy and instructional design in terms of creating eLearning tools. The author also details how these learning objects have been made available for reuse on a national and international basis as open educational resources via online repositories.

Media Usage Survey: Overall Comparison Of Faculty And Students, Gerd Gidion, Michael Grosch, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Ken Meadows Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Recent developments in the use of technologies in education have provided unique opportunities for teaching and learning. This paper describes the results of a survey conducted at Western University (Canada) in 2013, regarding the use of media by students and instructors. The results of this study support the assumption that the media usage of students and instructors include a mixture of traditional and new media. The main traditional media continue to be important, and some new media have emerged as seemingly on equal footing or even more important than the traditional forms of media. Some new media that have recently …

Media Usage In Post-Secondary Education And Implications For Teaching And Learning, Gerd Gidion, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Ken Mead Dr., Michael Grosch Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

The Web 2.0 has permeated academic life. The use of online information services in post-secondary education has led to dramatic changes in faculty teaching methods as well as in the learning and study behavior of students. At the same time, traditional information media, such as textbooks and printed handouts, still form the basic pillars of teaching and learning. This paper reports the results of a survey about media usage in teaching and learning conducted with Western University students and instructors, highlighting trends in the usage of new and traditional media in higher education by instructors and students. In addition, the …

Redesigning Instruction To Create Systematic Change: A Designer’S Perspective, Debra D. Runshe

Teaching and Learning Technologies Presentations

Instruction Matters Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) is not only a successful course redesign program but it also fosters institutional change through collaboration between faculty and support units campus-wide. Faculty participate in a structured faculty development program and are further supported in their redesign process by a team of staff members from multiple units across campus, including the Libraries, the Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE), Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), and Purdue Distance Education (PEC).

The Reeal Model: A Framework For Faculty Training In Online Discussion Facilitation, Laurie Bedford

Center for Faculty Excellence Publications

Discussion forums are a primary tool for interactions in the online classroom. Discussions are a critical part of the learning process for students, and instructor facilitation should reflect this importance. Effective instructor discussion facilitation encourages students, provides evidence and analysis and links the discussion to subsequent discourse. However, instructors receive little guidance in strategies to meet these expectations. To fill this gap, the REEAL Model is presented to support faculty in developing appropriate discussion responses. In addition, a transcript analysis technique is described which can be used as part of a faculty development program to ensure faculty have appropriate skills …

Can The Use Of Online Learning And Reflective Journals Improve Students’ Performance And Engage Them In Independent Learning For A Practically Taught “Timber Jointing Module, Jennifer Byrne

Articles

The Technological University Dublin is one of the largest multi-level higher education providers in Ireland. The Institute’s traditional mission has always been focused on teaching and learning in the field of advanced technical vocational education and training (TVET), and one of its agendas is to foster and encourage changes in teaching practice and methodology in order to enhance the student learning experience.

This research concerned the performance levels of first year students of the Timber Product Technology (TPT) programme. I wanted to investigate whether the use of independent online learning and reflective journals would encourage these students to continue their …

Review Of Virtual Schooling And Student Learning, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

A new report compares the performance of Florida Virtual School (FLVS) students with students in traditional brick-and-mortar schools and concludes the FLVS students perform about the same or somewhat better on state tests and at a lower cost. The report claims to be the first empirical study of K-12 student performance in virtual education. This is not correct, and the report in fact confirms the findings and repeats the methodological flaws and limitations of previous research. The report’s findings fail to account for the potential bias of student selectivity in the FLVS sample, the potential impact of regression effects, differential …

“If You Build It, They Will Use: Creating And Sharing Open Educational Resources To Advance Information Literacy”, Philip Russell

Conference Papers

Since 2010, the library at the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin) in South County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, has been developing a suite of interactive online information literacy tutorials covering research, referencing, plagiarism and core academic skills. These open educational resources (OERs) provide users with a vibrant, challenging learning environment and facilitate flexible, 24/7, independent learning. The learning objects are accessible via multiple delivery platforms and are available for reuse under Creative Commons licence via national and international teaching and learning repositories.

This paper outlines the development of these OERs and how the creation of these learning tools has …

Report On The Survey Of Governance And Adaptation To Innovative Modes Of Higher Education Provision (Gaihe), Andrew Gibson, Ellen Hazelkorn, Barry Colfer

Reports

Higher education around the world is undergoing significant change. Globalisation and competition from new modes of provision have sparked a strong debate about how to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education. These developments challenge the “traditional” model of university education and its future. How does the management of European universities adapt to these innovations? What are the new modes of education provision across Europe? What is the role of university governance and government policy in establishing and regulating innovative modes of education provision? What are the motivations, barriers and drivers for innovative education provision?

The definition of innovation …

How Much Is Too Much? Avoiding The Course And Half Syndrome, Katie Sabourin

Educational Technology Publications

Understanding how much content and how many activities to put into the design of an online or hybrid course can be difficult. How do faculty know if there is too much or too little and how it compares to what is going on in other courses in their department? At St. John Fisher College, we use a time on task analysis to lay out the overall design of the course from the perspective of how much time students will need to spend to complete all course activities. This presentation will provide the justification for this model of training, examples of …

Is There Anybody Out There? Faculty And Student Perceptions Of Distance Learning, Cheria Jackson, Jessica Stoler, Charles Jacob Phd, Gregory Roth Phd

Explorer Café

No abstract provided.

Engaging Students In Online Courses, Pearl Jacobs

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Online education is gradually being incorporated into college and university programs. It is proving to be an effective educational tool for our rapidly changing global marketplace. The fact that online courses operate differently than on ground courses cannot be ignored. Thus, they require teaching techniques and assessment techniques specifically geared for this educational experience. Group projects are quite familiar to students taking courses in the classroom. They are less familiar and perhaps feared by students taking courses online. The fact that participants in online courses do not physically interact with each other leads some to believe that this approach is …

Tutorials: Resource Instruction For Distance Learners, Pam Greenlee

Faculty Scholarship – Library Science

Academic librarians, devoted to providing resources and services for learners, find both opportunity and challenge in the continuing growth of online programs in higher education. The technology tools available for online courses are also available to librarians seeking to support those courses with research and information literacy skills instruction. Researchers have delineated factors necessary for achieving defined learning outcomes with online tutorials. These factors include assignment relevance, faculty collaboration, and student interaction. A fourth issue emerges as equally critical; there must be a single iteration of the tutorial, posted in an unique online location, and subject to dynamic revision. There …

The Spiritual Therapeutic Preferences Of Online Learners And On-Campus Learners At A Christian College, Debra Masterson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to see if there was a difference in the spiritual therapeutic preferences of students at a Christian college who stay on-campus or students who take classes online. This study also investigated for differences in preferences between males and females as well as graduate students compared to undergraduate students. This study tested to see if there was a relationship between stress and spiritual therapeutic preferences among on-campus students and online students. Relative spiritual therapeutic preferences were assessed by the Nurse Spiritual Therapeutic Scale, and relative levels of stress were assessed by the Perceived Stress …

The Relationship Between Online College Students' Learning Style And Response To Literature, Katie Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Students entering the "Composition and Literature" classroom find themselves presented with a number of challenges as they learn to analyze literature beyond reader comprehension. The online learner experiences even more obstacles while approaching an often-difficult curriculum without the guidance of a residential instructor. For this reason, the online learner must adapt and develop autonomy in learning. Reader Response literary critics place great emphasis on the reader while determining meaning in a text, and Louise Rosenblatt explored the connection between the reader and the text in her Transactional Theory. To assist online learners in their endeavor, this study aimed to determine …

Strategies For Developing A Sustainable Learning Society: An Analysis Of Lifelong Learning In Thailand, John A. Henschke Edd

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

Today's world may be characterized as the dawn of the new millennium of the learning society, where knowledge is considered as a country's most valued asset and primary source of power. In the increasingly intense competition among international communities, Thailand has been respected for advancing the concept of transforming communities, cities and regions into learning societies engaged in a sustainable development strategy which promotes the continual learning of individuals - the smallest unit of society. The learning society approach aims to balance economic, social, natural and environment aspects and resources of society; and is transforming the Thai people into knowledge …

Online Professional Development: Criteria For Selection By Teachers And Evaluation By Administrators, Joshua C. Elliott

Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current qualitative case study was to explore which criteria administrators in a mid-sized public school district in Connecticut use when evaluating whether an online professional development program meets the needs of both the district and the teachers. The study also explored which criteria teachers use when they are selecting an online professional development program. The first research question was, what criteria do school administrators use in evaluating online professional development programs as effective professional development for teachers? The second research question was, what criteria do teachers use in selecting online professional development programs? Data were collected …

Software Agents In Large Scale Open E-Learning: A Critical Component For The Future Of Massive Online Courses (Moocs), Roxana Bassi, Thanasis Daradoumis, Fatos Xhafa, Santi Caballé, Ardiana Sula

Jandrisevits Faculty Publications

MOOCs or massive open online courses are a recent trend in online education. They combine online resources with social tools and have unique challenges due to the large number of simultaneous participants. This paper analyzes some of the challenges in the areas of MOOC design, delivery and assessment. Then the authors present an approach using software agents to overcome some of the challenges that have been identified, as well as optimize efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure the pedagogical effectiveness and educational quality of large scale online learning courses. This paper is a first step towards research in the usage of …

An Investigation Of The Soar Study Strategy For Learning From Multiple Online Resources, Tareq Daher

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation investigated the effects of the SOAR study strategy for learning from multiple online resources. SOAR includes the components of Selection, Organization, Association, and Regulation. In past research, the effects of SOAR training were investigated with one online resource and with students studying provided or partially provided materials following training. This dissertation examines the effects of SOAR when learning from multiple online resources and when students create their own study materials following training and thus addresses this research gap. One hundred thirty-four (134) college students were assigned randomly to the control or experimental groups. All students participated in online …

University Administrators' Perception Of Online And Blended Doctorate Degrees, Ashley Tharpe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of university administrators regarding prospective faculty candidates with online or blended doctoral degrees from accredited institutions located in Central Virginia. Administrators were interviewed to gauge their perceptions and completed a survey adapted from DePriest (2009) who adapted it from Levernier (2005). Data were collected through questionnaires, documents, and individual interviews. Data were analyzed using Creswell's (2007) data analysis spiral. Analyses were conducted using transcription, thematic coding, textural and structural descriptions, and a description of the essence of the experiences. The results indicated that administrators had a positive perception of …

What Do You Mean You Never Got Any Feedback?, Irma S. Jones, Dianna Blankenship

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Students are continuously using their cell phones, iPads and text or video messaging services to obtain instant feedback on virtually every aspect of their lives. This mindset of gaining an immediate response to questions asked translates into the classroom environment as well. Although online learning and virtual classes offer students freedom from traditional classroom constraints, the need for constructive and immediate feedback on assignments continues to be a main focus for online students. Over a period of one year, this study focused on learning the perceptions of students to detailed instructor feedback on online assignments, how they wanted to receive …

Student-Directed Blended Learning With Facebook Groups And Streaming Media: Media In Asia At Furman University, Tami Blumenfield

Asian Studies Publications

Furman University prizes itself on being an engaged learning, liberal arts institution with extensive faculty-student interaction. 96% of students live on campus, leading some to question whether reducing face-to-face instructional time makes any sense pedagogically. Coming from a different institution that encouraged faculty to create hybrid courses, and seeing the creativity and freedom that offered, I wanted to experiment with the format in this new institutional environment. Would it still be effective? What adaptations would be necessary, and how would students react to this different course format?

In Fall 2013, I taught a carefully designed blended learning course that met …

Faculty Attitudes About Distance Education, Esther Smidt, Brian Mcdyre, Jennifer Bunk, Rui Li, Tanya Gatenby

Languages & Cultures Faculty Publications

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in distance learning in higher education. Given this, it is extremely important to understand faculty attitudes about distance education, not only because they can vary widely, but also because it is the faculty, through their design and implementation of online courses, that will shape the future of distance education. The purpose of the present study is to uncover faculty attitudes about distance education in a specific context, namely that of a mid-sized mid-Atlantic state university. Data sources consist of posts from two of six discussion boards written by 21 faculty participants …

A Case Study Investigating The Impact Of A Blended International Partnership On Perceptions Of Learning And Global Mindedness In A North Carolina High School, Jennifer Ricks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the ever-increasing popularity of international partnerships that blend study abroad and virtual learning, very little data exists to understand their impact on student attitudes and achievement. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the impact of a blended international school partnership on perceptions of learning and global mindedness in a North Carolina high school. Data was collected, in two phases, from stakeholder interviews, observations, an online Global Mindedness Scale survey, the NC School Report Card, and teacher lesson plans. Global mindedness was found to have increased as participants gained a multifaceted understanding of, and appreciation for, …

A Case Study Of The Characteristics Of A Lead Administrator Of A Full-Time Faith-Based Virtual School, Todd English

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this instrumental case study is to investigate the leadership characteristics of the lead administrator at East Online Academy (EOA). At this stage in the research, characteristics will be generally defined as the daily actions that affect the success or failure of leading the organization. The term "lead administrator" will refer to any individual who is the overall leader of the organization. The lead administrator for this study will be the director of the online school. The rationale for the study is a void in the literature addressing the characteristics of an administrator in the daily operation of …

An Investigation Of The Variables That Predict Teacher E-Learning Acceptance, Juliette Attis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Because of advancements in information communication technologies (ICT), education has evolved in terms of how the students are taught and how students learn. Education can take place in a traditional setting and/or a virtual learning environment (VLE). Consequently, the purpose of this quantitative predictive study was to examine variables that best predict the e-learning acceptance of public school K-12 e-learning teachers. Using a hierarchical regression analysis to analyze 112 teacher survey responses, results demonstrated that the model consisting of the predictor variables (i.e., demographics and experience variables, computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, technological complexity, perceived convenience, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease …

The Use Of On-Line Computer Adaptive Testing To Raise Standardized Test Scores, Edward L. King, Kathleen Ronca, Nieves Aguilera

Bronx EdTech Showcase 2014

Nursing school graduates are under pressure to pass the RN-NCLEX Exam on the first attempt since New York State monitors the results and uses them to evaluate the school’s nursing programs. Since the RN-NCLEX Exam is a standardized test, we sought a method to make our students better test takers. The use of on-line computer adaptive testing has raised our student’s standardized test scores at the end of the nursing course.

Natural Gas Safety For First Responders, Aimee Levy

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Natural gas leaks and explosions are growing problems across the country. Recommended Practice (RP) 1162, a federal regulation, requires pipeline operators to implement public awareness programs. One key stakeholder audience includes first responders and fire departments.

This training was developed for a Utility Company, who is a regional pipeline operator, to teach first responders response protocols of different types of natural gas incidents. The module not only helps the Utility Company meet its RP 1162 outreach requirements but also fills educational gaps of firefighters.

To design this training, a team of subject matter experts was assembled to develop the content …

Slow Edtech: Pedagogical Principles, Collaborative Explorations, And Persistent Challenges, Peter Taylor, Felicia Sullivan, Jeremy Szteiter

Working Papers in Critical, Creative and Reflective Practice

This article describes two “Slow EdTech” initiatives, using this label to denote a focus on learning and the development of capacities for learning along with a mindful approach to the uptake of new digital tools that become available. One initiative, dating from 2001, is a set of guidelines about specific situations and specific ways in which specific educational technologies are of significant pedagogical benefit. The other, dating from 2013, is online Collaborative Explorations (CEs) for moderate-sized open online collaborative learning. The tools and processes used in CEs for inquiry, dialogue, reflection, and collaboration are designed to be readily learned by …