Education Commons^™

State Of The Nation: K-12 Online Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

This is the 5th edition of the State of the Nation: K–12 Online Learning in Canada report. The purpose of this annual investigation is to describe the policies and regulations that govern K–12 distance education in each of the thirteen Canadian provinces and territories. The study is also designed to survey the level of K–12 distance education activity across the country.

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 …

Academic Development Perspectives Of Blended Learning, Roisin Donnelly, Claire Macavinney

Books/Book Chapters

Technological advances in every aspect of today’s higher education environment create a forum for academic developers to re-examine existing delivery methods for professional development. Within the context of this case study, the term ‘academic developer’ is taken to encompass the role of learning technologist. In order to be responsive and accommodate the changes, traditional instruction methods are being extended to encompass the range of Web 2.0 tools available. Debate is ongoing in the area of blended learning as to the ultimate effectiveness of technology integration. Through exploration of the experiences of two academic developers involved in the design and delivery …

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 …

Training Teachers For A Virtual School System: A Call To Action, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Online learning at the K-12 level is growing exponentially. Students learning in supplemental virtual schools and full-time cyber schools, using a variety of delivery models that include and sometimes combine independent, asynchronous, and synchronous instruction, in almost every state in the US. In some instances the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by teachers in this technology-mediated environment is consistent with what they learned about face-to-face teaching in their teacher education programs, while in many instances, the two are quite different. Presently the lack of empirical research into effective K-12 online teaching limits teacher education programs. However, teacher education programs still …

The Farnet Journey: Perceptions Of Māori Students Engaged In Secondary Online Learning, Carolyn Bennett, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

This case study investigated the perceptions of Māori students in the Virtual Learning Network of what constituted effective strategies for engaging them in online learning. In the FarNet cluster, about 63 students from the four secondary and five area schools access the VLN, and approximately 80 percent of those students are of Māori descent. Data collection included online surveys, semi-structured interviews, and observation of online classrooms. The data suggested there was a variety of delivery models experienced by students, most supported by the learning management system. Students identified a range of Web 2.0 strategies currently used by their e-teachers, and …

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 …