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Full-Text Articles in Education
Facebooking In Distance Education: Constructing Virtual Communities Of Practice, Virginia M. Tucker
Facebooking In Distance Education: Constructing Virtual Communities Of Practice, Virginia M. Tucker
English Faculty Publications
The growth of distance education warrants a closer look at how virtual communities of practice form in asynchronous online classrooms. Prior studies have sought to identify a process to virtual community formation, which may vary depending upon the media used for collaboration. This microstudy examines how one student group in a distance writing course used the popular social media site Facebook to construct community and whether the stages of virtual community development were observed in this setting. Findings suggest that revisions might be made to our current understanding of the process of building virtual community within small groups. “Othering” and …
Listening For The Squeaky Wheel: Designing Distance Writing Program Assessment, Virginia M. Tucker
Listening For The Squeaky Wheel: Designing Distance Writing Program Assessment, Virginia M. Tucker
English Faculty Publications
Distance writing programs still struggle with assessment strategies that can evaluate student writing as well as their ability to communicate about that writing with peers at a distance. This article uses Kim, Smith and Maeng's 2008 distance education program assessment scheme to evaluate a single distance writing program at Old Dominion University. The program's specific assessment needs include the ability to determine how well students are developing expert insider prose and working together as a virtual community. Kim, Smith and Maeng's assessment scheme was applied to six courses within the writing program, revealing that programmatic assessment weaknesses included providing varied …
Comparison Of Restricted And Traditional Discussion Boards On Student Critical Thinking, Jennifer R. Morrison, Ginger S. Watson, Gary R. Morrison
Comparison Of Restricted And Traditional Discussion Boards On Student Critical Thinking, Jennifer R. Morrison, Ginger S. Watson, Gary R. Morrison
STEMPS Faculty Publications
Interaction is a critical component of distance education and involves the transfer of information between the learner and content, learner and learner, or learner and instructor (Moore, 1989). Current distance education literature has examined the role of interaction, specifically learner-learner interaction, in learning and discussion design to enhance achievement. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of restricted and traditional discussion boards on critical thinking and learning in a graduate-level online distance education course. Findings indicated improved critical thinking in the quality and preparation strategies of initial discussion board postings when participants' views of peer responses to …