Educational Technology Commons^™

The Influence Of Asynchronous Video Communication On Learner Social Presence: A Narrative Analysis Of Four Cases, Jered Borup, Richard E. West, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

Online courses are increasingly using asynchronous video communication. However, little is known about how asynchronous video communication influences students’ communication patterns. This study presents four narratives of students with varying characteristics who engaged in asynchronous video communication. The extrovert valued the efficiency of making video comments but saw little value in viewing the video comments of her peers. Somewhat inversely, the English language learner valued the video comments of her peers but lacked the ability to fully participate herself. The introverted student valued the flexibility and richness of asynchronous video but spent an inordinate amount of time recording her videos. …

The Role Of Heads Of Departments In Enhancing The Quality Of Education In Secondary Schools In Tanzania, Perpetua J. Urio

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Heads of department are perceived as instructional leaders. This paper is based on a study that aimed to find out how heads of departments in Tanzanian secondary schools deal with their tasks in enhancing the quality of education, and the support accorded to them by the school administrative system in the performance of their duties. The study was conducted in Arusha and Coast regions, comprising a sample of 72 respondents from eight secondary schools. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and documentary review. Data collected were subjected to content analysis and numerical data were summarized into tables. Findings revealed that, …

Teacher Resource Centres: A Strategy For Secondary School Teachers’ Professional Development In Tanzania, Gadi Moses Koda

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The overall education level in Tanzanians has increased in terms of schooling and even in fundamental literacy. While enrolment in secondary schools has been increasing rapidly, Form IV examinations results since 2010 have been discouraging, showing that there is a problem in the education system (NECTA, 2010). To address the situation, this article presents the needs for alternative strategies for secondary school teachers’ professional development in Tanzania. It focuses on the Teacher Resource Centre (TRC) approach as a strategy for secondary school teachers’ professional development in Tanzania. The paper also discusses equipment, materials, accessibility and management as well as teachers’ …

Identifying And Preventing Cyberbullying Among Adolescents, Matthew Michael Keller

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This project examines the ways adolescent children use the internet to pick on peers; look at ways this so-called “cyberbullying” mirrors traditional schoolyard bullying; and postulate ways to stop the violence. After reports of cyberbullying began appearing in the mainstream media from around the United States, it became imperative to find more detailed and scientific information about this phenomenon. Information from the Cyberbullying Research Center (2004) showed that more than 20 percent of children had been harassed online in 2010. With this type of growth, it is important to identify what makes a person become a cyberbully and more importantly, …

Analyzing Online Asynchronous Discussions With A Visual Data Analytic Tool (Snapp), John Mccormick, Heather Tillberg-Webb

Staff Scholarship

In the “age of globalization,” construction of effective learning environments takes into account the development of a community of inquiry and incorporates visual tools for quick evaluation of the vibrancy of the learning environment. Discussion forums are an essential tool for co-construction of knowledge in a community of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991) and for supporting a Community of Inquiry model (Garrison et al, 2003). For the purposes this session, effective online discussions are communications that build community and take place in forums designed for threaded, text-based interaction that help learners:

• Attain course learning outcomes

• Understand course content through collaborative …

Cirt Newsletter--November 2012, Center For Instruction & Research Technology (Cirt)

CIRT News

This issue contains:

Faculty Spotlight: Creating an Oral History of Jacksonville's Hispanic Community

Maintaining Instructional Presence in Online Courses

Upcoming Events

Digital Thinking: Qualtrics

Best Practices Online: Improving Student Learning with Assessment

Blackboard News: Maintenance Window and Future Upgrades

CIRT Online Scheduling for Instructional Design Consultations and Scantron Grading

App Review: Flipboard

News from ITS: Cyberawareness and IT Reorg

New in CIRT: Kindle Fire, iPad Class Set and Department Promotions

Improving Stem Education In Research: Preliminary Report On The Development Of A Computer-Assisted Student-Mentor Research Community, David A. Rios, Artem Chebotko, Christine Reilly, Ralph Carlson, Emmett Tomai, Amy A. Weimer, Nicholas Weimer, Thomas Pearson, Francis Andoh-Baidoo, Robert Winkle, David Ammons, Joanne Rampersad-Ammons

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Research education in STEM disciplines currently suffers from 1) The inability to feasibly collect highly detailed data on both the student’s and mentor’s activities; 2) The lack of tools to assist students and mentors in organizing and managing their research activities and environments; and 3) The inability to correlate a student’s assessment results with their actual research activities. Together these three problems act to impede both the improvement and educational quality of student research experiences. We propose a computer-assisted student-mentor research community as a solution to these problems. Within this community setting, students and their mentors are provided tools to …

Cirt Newsletter--September 2012, Center For Instruction & Research Technology (Cirt)

CIRT News

This issue contains:

Faculty Spotlight: Using Video Walk-Throughs to Illustrate Problem-Solving Processes

New in CIRT

Upcoming Events

Digital Thinking: CIRT's New Video Setup

Best Practices Online: Managing Media Files in Blackboard

Blackboard News: Bb World 2012, Mobile Testing, and DEV Course Deletes

New Survey Tool Coming to Campus: Qualtrics

App Review: UNF Mobile

News from ITS: Technology Assistance Center in the Carpenter Library

Simulating Real Lives: Promoting Global Empathy And Interest In Learning Through Simulation Games, Christine Bachen, Pedro F. Hernández-Ramos, Chad Raphael

Communication

In response to an increasingly interdependent world, educators are demonstrating a growing interest in educating for global citizenship. Many definitions of the “good global citizen” value empathy as an especially important disposition for understanding others across national borders and cultural divides. Yet it may be difficult for people to achieve empathy with others who are perceived as psychologically and geographically distant. Can computerized simulation games help foster global empathy and interest in global civic learning? This quasiexperimental classroom study of 301 Northern California high school students in three schools examined the effects of playing REAL LIVES, a simulation game that …

Applying The Fifth Outcome: Techno-Planking The Composition Classroom, Jacob William Craig

Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, the Council of Writing Program Administrators (C-WPA) passed an amendment to their Outcomes Statement, a fifth section that expresses a new expectation, students' ability to compose in digital environments. To create teaching practices that meet the expectations of the amendment, I have adopted a framework designed for teaching writing in the twenty-first century classroom, spaces that are characterized by an abundance of writing tools, shifting notions of contexts, nuanced learning goals, and interdisciplinary content, creating unique problems for student writers and writing instructors. The C3T framework, a model comprised of rhetorical concepts designed by Johnson-Eilola and Selber to …

The Effects Of An Online Sleep Hygiene Intervention On Students' Sleep Quality, Giuliana Farias

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Students in college or in their first year of medical school undergo increased educational and social pressure. To cope, students may sacrifice sleep to meet demands. Poor sleep affects learning, performance, and health. Studies have been successful at improving sleep quality through the use of in-person recruitment or cognitive-behavioral therapy delivered over the internet (Trockel, Manber, Chang, Thurston, & Tailor, 2011). The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether an online sleep hygiene intervention could improve sleep quality. One hundred thirty-eight students from one undergraduate institution in Southeast Virginia completed this study. Students were divided into groups; one …

Using Decision-Making Techniques In Support Of Simulation Training Transfer Selections, Jane Taylor Bachman

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A general methodological approach for determining the selection of military training simulations with respect to military training requirements has not been developed. This thesis undertakes a literature review, which indicated that there was a need for a multi-criteria decision making model to assist acquisition and/or training planners in making training selection decisions. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Model was selected from a multi-criteria decision-making model candidate list for evaluation of its efficacy in selecting military training simulations based upon the military training requirements. Four separate trainee populations, Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta, were evaluated. Results from the Alpha study case …

Teaching Online Seminar: A Focused Approach To Designing And Delivering Courses For Distance Learning--Summer A, Center For Instruction & Research Technology (Cirt)

Teaching Online (TOL) Cohorts

A teaching seminar on designing and delivering courses for distance learning in Summer term A

Teaching Online Seminar: A Focused Approach To Designing And Delivering Courses For Distance Learning--Summer B, Center For Instruction & Research Technology (Cirt)

Teaching Online (TOL) Cohorts

A seminar on designing and delivering courses for distance learning in Summer term B 2012

Serious Game Design Principles: The Impact Of Game Design On Learning Outcomes, Michael W. Martin

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the research question "How do video game design principles affect learning outcomes in serious games?" This research first develops a theoretical foundation concerning the meaning of the terms "game" and "serious game". This conceptual clarification is broken down into analytic propositions, which state that games have participants, rules, goals and challenges, and synthetic propositions, which state that the games should be intrinsically compelling, provide meaningful choices, and be self encapsulated. Based on these synthetic propositions, three hypotheses were developed. The hypotheses are that games with an enhanced aesthetic presentation, more meaningful choices, or provide player competition will …

Overcoming Barriers: How Community College Faculty Successfully Overcome Barriers To Participation In Distance Education, Matthew Meyer

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

To determine the primary barriers encountered by community college faculty in participating in distance education, community college faculty and administrators from community colleges in North Carolina and Virginia were surveyed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Two separate online surveys were provided to faculty and distance education administrators (including chief academic officers) that included demographic questions and barrier assessment questions for both groups. Follow-up interviews were conducted among faculty and administrators at colleges that self-reported having successful or poorly performing distance education programs. To further frame the attributes of faculty participators and non-participators in distance education, the diffusion of innovations …

Assessing Technological Literacy Of Middle School Students, Lawrence E. Whitman, Mandy C. Phelps, Karen V. Reynolds, Barbara S. Chaparro

Publications

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a rigorous and relevant pre-engineering curriculum implemented in middle schools and high schools throughout the United States. PLTW has a hands-on approach using activities and project-based learning. The College of Engineering at Wichita State University has partnered with three local school districts to implement the PLTW program to increase interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This study begins to assess the impact of the PLTW program on student perceptions and attitudes toward engineering and technology as part of an ongoing three-year assessment. A pre- and post-assessment were administered to middle school students …

How Ipads Can Be Used In The Math Classroom To Improve Student Learning, Katie Ann Garrity Smieja

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This study explores how iPads can be used to enhance student learning in the math classroom. The author reviews current literature to determine how iPads are being used to facilitate communication, formative assessment, and promising practices in math education such as discovery learning and use of spreadsheets, graphing calculators, and manipulatives. Additionally, challenges and drawbacks to using iPads in the classroom are examined. Research supports the use of iPads to provide students access to digital content including online discussion boards and practice activities with instant feedback. iPads can also be used as student response systems to engage students in instruction …

Excel's Effects On Self-Efficacy And Leadership Skills In Academically Talents Students From Rural Areas, Tara Jobeth Gentry

Student Theses and Dissertations

Attaining a positive self-efficacy can improve students' academic success in the classroom (McKenzie, 1999; Odello, Hill, & Gomez, 2007). Therefore, finding a program that will increase the self-efficacy in all participants is important. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of one such program (ExCEL) on self-efficacy in academically talented students from rural areas. Participants were 14 students who were juniors in high school and who had been chosen to participate in the Ralph Joseph Youth Leadership Program. Data were collected by (a) quantitative methods with the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) by a pre and post questionnaire …

The Power And Utility Of Reflective Learning Portfolios In Honors, Christopher R. Corley, John Zubizarreta

History Department Publications

The explosive growth of learning portfolios in higher education as a compelling tool for enhanced student learning, assessment, and career preparation is a sign of the increasing significance of reflective practice and mindful, systematic documentation in promoting deep, meaningful, transformative learning experiences. The advent of sophisticated electronic technologies has augmented the power of portfolios and created a virtual industry dedicated to platforms and strategies associated with electronic portfolios and the diverse purposes they can serve in curricular, programmatic, and institutional assessment efforts. The intellectual and practical relevance of such innovations in the honors context is clear. Honors programs and colleges …