Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Online Learners: A Study Of Their Advising Attitudes, Experiences, And Learning, Stephen Philip Jenkins

Dissertations and Theses

Academic advising for online learners has been identified in prior research as an important student service. However, little research exists to assist advisers in knowing how best to serve this growing group. The purpose of this study is to close that research gap by determining if and how online and on-campus learners differ in how they rate the importance of various functions of academic advising as well as determining if their frequency of access to academic advising and source of advising information differed. Additionally, the research examines if the types and levels of learning for online learners varied by frequency …

Influencing A Swift Trust For Elevating Communications Of A Virtual Learning Community, Edward Fitch, Edward S. Fitch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The reduced range of online communication means that less information is available for the parties in a communication to acquire an accurate meaning of words, phrases, or concepts in an exchange process. In online communication, encoded emotional information is often subtle and difficult to interpret with any degree of accuracy; this interpretation is even more difficult in academic discussions that are lacking in emotion. The resulting misunderstandings contribute to a degree of uncertainty and confusion with some students, and to full-blown conflict with others. Uncertainty is problematic because it can inhibit or altogether collapse a conventional trust perception. The most …

Enrichri Home-Schooling Families Can Now Enroll Children In Rwu School Of Continuing Studies, Edward Fitzpatrick

Featured News Story

Children in the ENRICHri home-schooling community will have the opportunity to take classes at the Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies for the first time this fall, supplementing their home-school curriculum and allowing them to complete college courses before finishing high school.

School Shouldn’T End When The Bell Rings: An Exploratory Homeschooling Study, Mackenzie Dukelow

MA Research Paper

Homeschooling has experienced significant growth over the last several decades, yet little to no research has explored the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system. Being the first to explore this relationship, the current study collected and examined data from 3 semi-structured interviews and 15 online homeschooling blogs in order to understand the growth of homeschooling in Ontario and the relationship between homeschooling and the public education system. The results of this study reveal the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system varies significantly over time and locale, the challenges within each system and the difficulty of transitioning …

Rwu Professor Wins $15,000 Grant To Improve Teaching To English Learners In R.I., Edward Fitzpatrick

Featured News Story

Kelly Donnell's team receives grant from Department of Education and Office of Innovation for program aimed at improving preparation for teachers of students who are learning English.

Making Online Group-Work Work: Scripts, Group Awareness And Facilitation, Peter Reimann

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Even though group work for learning is a well-established and extensively researched pedagogy, teachers find it still challenging to engage students in productive collaborative learning that extends over time (e.g. weeks – in the context of project-based learning) and is computer-mediated in addition to being classroom-based. I introduce three practices that have been shown to foster collaborative knowledge production and learning: first, group scripts; second, knowledge building and knowledge awareness; and third, group facilitation. I discuss how teachers can integrate these into their teaching practices to address three challenges to productive group learning: unequal participation, lack of awareness, and stratified …

Transforming Learning With Information And Communication Technologies: Insights From Three Decades Of Research, Romina Jamieson-Proctor

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Since computers first appeared in classrooms, educators have sought to integrate information communication technologies (ICT) into teaching and learning. In Australia, as elsewhere, ICT are widely regarded as critical facilitators of student learning. The ability to use ICT effectively is specified in Australia’s national curriculum as a required general capability. However, despite the educational environment being replete with ICT related programs, our understanding of how students use ICT for learning is still limited. This paper presents insights from the past 30 years of research, which suggest that even though the current ‘climate’ in Australian schools is favourable, teacher confidence and …

Action To Awareness: Surfacing Dysconscious Racism Through Focused Professional Development, Dorry Altman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing critical race theory (Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995) and King’s (1991) theory of dysconscious racism, this dissertation aims to explore the beliefs and actions of teachers operating within an inherently racist society. Teachers struggle with many disadvantages from inadequate funding to lacking support structures. Yet these teachers continue to work hard to support their students. One external disadvantage these teachers may face and not even be aware of is dysconscious racism. Through a qualitative pilot study of journals and discussions of two middle school English Language Arts teachers, this research intends to explore how intentional classroom changes to encourage and …

The Effects Of Motivation, Technology And Satisfaction On Student Achievement In Face-To-Face And Online College Algebra Classes, Hanan Jamal Amro, Marie-Anne Mundy, Lori Kupczynski

TxDLA Journal of Digital Learning

Demand for online learning has increased in recent years due to the convenience of class delivery. However, some students appear to have difficulties with online education resulting in lack of completion. The study utilized a quantitative approach with archival data and survey design. The factors of demographics, motivation, technology, and satisfaction were compared for face-to-face and online students. MANCOVA tests were performed to analyze the data while controlling age and gender to uncover significant differences between the two groups. The sample and population for this study were predominantly Hispanic students.

Motivation and Technology were non-significant, but satisfaction was proven to …

Developing A Distance Learning Closed Captioning Solution On Your Campus, John Raible, Jordan Cameron

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Let's Take A Look Inside Discussion Boards, Annie Hoekman

SIDLIT Conference

This research examined the nature of the patterns of communication of discussion board users who were enrolled in undergraduate online courses. For purpose of analysis, this study used Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework (1992). Data were collected from discussion board posts of eight undergraduate online courses. An examination of these data was further informed by Garrison, Anderson, & Archer (1999) Community of Inquiry model. Using Garrison et al.’s ideas, the researcher described the nature of the interactions between students and faculty with respect to social, cognitive, and teaching presence in online discussion boards. The findings of this research …

Cool Newsletter, Fall 2018, Coastal Office Of Online Learning

Coastal Office of Online Learning/Digital Learning Publications

No abstract provided.

August/September 2018, Marci Grant

The CETL Correspondent

All SWOSU students have access to Upswing SWOSU’s 24/7 online Academic Help, Tutoring, Paper Reviews (Askup), and Writing lab assistance.

By adding information to course syllabi, regarding all available tutoring opportunities available to students, faculty would be helping students succeed in their courses.

Upswing supplements departmental tutoring hours by being available 24/7.

Examining The Meaning Of Course Evaluation, Tyesha Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teaching evaluations significantly influence faculty members’ annual evaluations and progress toward tenure and promotion within academic programs in higher education. Those with consistently strong, positive, teaching evaluations have been deemed effective instructors and often validated with increases in salary, teaching awards, and promotion and tenure. This is especially the case when strong course evaluations are received in addition to documented scholarship and research activities and positively evaluated professional service. However, questions are being raised about the meaningfulness of students' ratings of course instruction. Do these measures effectively assess competence as instructors or do they measure other unknown processes in the …

The Effects Of Formative And Summative Assessment On Student's Connectedness, Satisfaction, Learning And Academic Performance Within An Online Healthcare Course, Thomas J. Wing

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The quantitative study presented here evaluates the effects of formative and summative assessment on student’s connectedness, satisfaction, learning and academic performance within a university three-credit 400 level online healthcare course. Literature exploring the role that formative assessment plays within an online environment is currently lacking. Additionally, understanding how assessment practices can help support the goals of online healthcare education is vitally important given the rise in popularity of this delivery format.

This study investigated student outcomes in the form of connectedness, satisfaction, learning and academic performance. Four cohorts of students were included in this study. Two cohorts were provided with …

Synchronous Online Peer Tutoring Via Video Conferencing Technology: An Exploratory Case Study, Christopher David Smith

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to analyze the lived experiences of peer tutors who provide synchronous online tutoring services, at a large, accredited, public, four-year university located in the Middle Atlantic Region of the United States. An exploratory qualitative case study approach was used to conduct this study. The case chosen for this study consisted of a single holistic case that was both descriptive and intrinsic. Participants of the study consisted of students who were hired by the chosen university to serve as peer tutors as well as students that utilize the online peer tutoring service. Data collection and …

Employing Text Messaging As An Instructional Tool: Effects On Academic Achievement And Sense Of Connectedness, Mary Sell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quasi-experimental, non-equivalent groups study investigated the effects of instructional text messages on the academic achievement and sense of connectedness of high school students enrolled in economics classes in north Georgia. Previous research on text messaging has shown that it (a) is the preferred method used by adolescents for communication, (b) increases student motivation to learn, (c) allows for ubiquitous learning, and (d) was found to be useful and acceptable by students. The Test of Economic Literacy, Fourth Edition was used to measure academic achievement, and the Classroom Community Scale was used to measure sense of connectedness. Results of the …

Digital Game-Based Learning And The Mathematics Achievement Of Gifted Students, Lynette Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group study was to determine the presence of a statistically significant difference in the mathematics achievement of gifted learners when utilizing digital game-based learning (DGBL) for supplemental mathematics instruction when compared to gifted learners not utilizing DGBL. This study compared the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) of 105 sixth-grade gifted participants from two public middle schools as measured by the Renaissance Learning STAR Math Test. The participants took a pretest, completed 540 minutes of supplemental mathematics instruction over a nine-week period, and took a posttest. Participants were randomly selected for the treatment group who …

A Multiple Case Study Examining Instructional Coaching And Reflective Practices Through Video-Based Feedback Systems, Dennis Dotterer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to examine the use of video-based instructional feedback models for three primary participants in a rural southern district. This qualitative study built upon the constructivist foundations of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory and Kegan’s constructive developmental theory, specifically connections to “ways of knowing” as it explored how the use of technology in teacher observations enhance adult learning and practice through enhanced reflection. This qualitative multi-case study sought to explain educators use video-based feedback to enhance teacher efficacy within the processes of instructional supervision. The focal participant of this study was one content-based classroom …

A Case Study Exploring Effective Leadership In Technology Integration In Three Southeastern U.S. Elementary Schools, Lauren Woodward

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the characteristics of effective leadership in technology integration for school leaders and staff members in three southeastern, U.S. elementary schools. The theoretical framework that guided this study was based on Spillane’s (2005) distributed leadership model and Kouzes and Posner’s (2012) model of transformational leadership. These theories provided an understanding of leadership practices and characteristics that fostered an environment, which successfully supported the process of technology integration. The rationale for the study was that there is a gap in the literature that addresses effective leadership and practices for technology integration. …