Education Commons^™

It's Not That Tough: Students Speak About Their Online Learning Experiences, Michael Barbour, Angelene Mclaren, Lin Zhang

Education Faculty Publications

K-12 online learning is growing in Canada and elsewhere in the world. However, the vast majority of literature is focused on practitioners and not on systematic inquiry. Even the limited published research has largely excluded the perspectives of students engaged in virtual schooling. This study examines secondary student perceptions of components of virtual schooling that were beneficial and challenging. Students largely enjoyed their virtual school courses and found the synchronous classes, the technology, and the ability to control their own learning as positive aspects of their experience. Students also found the lack of a sense of community, working during their …

Sense Of Community In Graduate Online Education: Contribution Of Learner To Learner Interaction, Jo Lita Shackelford, Margaret G. Maxwell

Communication Sciences & Disorders Faculty Publications

Distance learning technologies offer a multitude of ways to build interaction into online courses to support learning. Based on social constructivism theory, this study explored which types of interaction are most predictive of students’ sense of community in online graduate courses at a regional comprehensive university. Surveys were used to measure sense of community and the frequency and importance of nine learner–learner interactions.

Interactions that were most predictive of sense of community were introductions, collaborative group projects, sharing personal experiences, entire class discussions, and exchanging resources. The interaction that offered the highest payoff to instructors was exchanging resources. The article …

Understanding The Role Of Social, Teaching And Cognitive Presence In Hybrid Courses: Student Perspectives On Learning And Pedagogical Implications, Janelle De Carrico Voegele

Dissertations and Theses

The use of hybrid learning (a blend of face-to-face and distance learning) is rapidly increasing in higher education. However, educational leaders have raised concerns about the proliferation of hybrid programming as an efficiency measure without appropriate attention to learning. This study examined the relationship between social, teaching and cognitive presence, pedagogical design, and students' perspectives on hybrid learning effectiveness. Data from thirty-nine undergraduate courses representing 1,886 students were analyzed to identify indicators of best hybrid practice. Aspects of social and teaching presence significantly influenced students' perceptions of learning, including facilitation of student interactions, assignment feedback and guidance, effective use of …

Student Interaction With Online Course Content: Build It And They Might Come, Meg C. Murray, Jorge Pérez, Debra B. Geist, Alison Hedrick

Faculty and Research Publications

Online learning continues to expand at educational institutions around the globe. Educators must better understand how interaction with online course content impacts student engagement and learning. Advances in technology amplify the imperative to gain further insights into how delivery of course materials can enhance and support the learning process. This study investigates student patterns of access to instructional resources provided in an asynchronous online digital literacy course offered at a regional university in the United States. Frequency counts and access rates collected from a learning management system were used to assess patterns of student retrieval of course materials in four …

Using Join.Me To Help Library Patrons, Ann Johnston

Faculty Scholarship – Library Science

Article describes the process used by an Informatics Librarian to test out and implement join.me, a screen sharing service. Join.me is fairly intuitive and has been invaluable in helping patrons resolve their password and login issues. It has also been useful in demonstrating searching strategies and helping patrons with problems downloading pdfs.