Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Analyzing And Comparing Online Learning Experiences Through Micro-Level Analytics, Sanghoon Park

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Learning analytics collects and uses observations of interactions, which allow course instructors to search for the underlying patterns of a student’ learning progress and to accordingly optimize the student’ learning progress at a micro-level. Understanding the online learning experience through the learning analytics approach is essential to inform future pedagogical decisions in online learning design. This paper attempts to define the concept of an online learning experience in three dimensions. In addition, the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) is suggested as a supplement to Web log analysis (WLA) to collect data on cognitive involvement and learning emotion as well as to …

A Systematic Overview Of Learning Analytics In Higher Education, Lin Zhong

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Learning analytics has been an emerging trend in education especially in higher education. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of learning analytics in higher education through an overview of current research topics of learning analytics in higher education, significant results of previous studies, and implications in future research. Results show that research topics of learning analytics in higher education fall into five categories: learning, teaching, administration, technology development, and digital citizenship. More studies are required in learning prediction and data variety.

Digital Justice: An Exploratory Study Of Digital Activism Actions On Twitter, Damien Sánchez

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This paper employs learning analytics to determine the relationships between digital activism action categories. Organizing that took place on Twitter in response to the shooting death of Tony Robinson, an African American teenager, was guided by the digital activism typology developed by Penney and Dadas (2014). The results yielded a positive correlation between seeking connections with activists and providing face-to-face updates from protests, which suggests people who seek connections with activists are likely to participate in live protests. Forwarding Information and Facilitating Online Actions were found to be negatively correlated with all other study variables. These findings lead to the …

Building A Community Of Practice For English-As-A-Foreign Language Tutors During Private Tutoring, Doaa S. Mahrous

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The creation of a community of practice of tutors--a shared practice among a group of people who share the same domain--enables second-language learners to facilitate their acquisition of English by embracing new learning strategies while they learn the target language. The community of tutors’ perspective allows for the incorporation of the individual’s particular second-language-acquisition needs and goals. This presentation presents a proposed study that took place at the Yasuda Center at California State University, San Bernardino in the summer of 2015. Students in the English Language Program housed in the College of Extended Learning were asked to participate in tutoring …

Introduction (Online Learning December 2015 Special Issue), Anissa Lokey-Vega, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

While at an admittedly slower rate than the growth in enrollments, research in K-12 online learning has been picking up pace in the past decade and a foundation in best practice is now being laid.

A special K-12 issue of Online Learning is an ideal avenue for an academic dialogue. The focus of this special issue of Online Learning is to present rigorous research specific to the context of K-12 education including systematic inquiry into promising practices, various schooling models, measures of quality, and parent and teacher experience. All authors have provided explanations of K-12-specific terminology to support readers new …

Interview With Joe Freidhoff: A Bird's Eye View Of K-12 Online Learning, Leslie Pourreau

Faculty Articles

This article showcases an interview conducted with Dr. Joe Freidhoff, Executive Director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, specifically for this special issue of the OLC Online Learning Journal. The perspectives provided by Dr. Freidhoff on the ever-changing field of K-12 online learning served two purposes: to introduce long-time profession-based journal readership to the field of K-12 online learning and to provide K-12 online learning scholars with perspective and direction for meeting the current and future needs of K-12 stakeholders.

A Phenomenological Study Of The Impact On Collaboration As Perceived By Educators While Using Software To Manage Individualized Education Programs, Vaughn Hammond

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to gain a deeper, richer understanding of how educators’ use of software to manage individualized education programs (IEPs) impact collaboration in the IEP process. Research questions included: (a) What are the challenges identified by educators when using software to manage IEPs? (b) What are the benefits identified by educators when using software to manage IEPs? (c) What are educators’ perceptions on the impact using software to manage IEPs has on the collaboration among the IEP team? (d) What are educators’ perceptions of the use of software on increasing collaboration skills? Educators from …

Virtual Inclusion, Nicole Adams

Inclusion Across the Lifespan Conference

Virtual education offers a continuum of special education services, that includes inclusion. Come to find out how inclusion is delivered in virtual schools and learn about of the techniques and tools they use that can be applied in a brick and mortar inclusion setting!

Problems With Internet And Library Usage For Secondary School Children, Tom Nolan, Mark Humphrys

The ITB Journal

This research consisted of investigating seven hypotheses using the following components: 1. Observation of forty-three secondary school children using the Internet and the library to complete five tasks. 2. An interview was held with all the participants in the study that was audio taped and subsequently transcribed. 3. An on-line form was constructed so that the students could nominate their favourite educational web sites for each class subject. The participants were given five tasks and had to find the answers using two of the most common forms of information retrieval found in Irish schools, the Internet and the school library. …

Experiences Gained From The Deployment Of An E-Learning "Java Arrays" Prototype For Novice Java Programmers In The Institute Of Technology Tallaght, 2002/2003, Eamonn Hyland, Dean Fennell

The ITB Journal

This paper describes recent experiences gained from the deployment of an E-learning "Java Arrays" prototype for novice first year students within the Computing department at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght. It attempts to determine what contributions, if any, the E-Learning prototype made to novice students learning to declare, create, initialise and manipulate one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays within the Java Programming language. Tentative conclusions from this process are presented and a charter for progressing this research further is outlined.

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

What I Taught My Stem Instructor About Teaching: What A Deaf Student Hears That Others Cannot, Annemarie Ross, Randy K. Yerrick

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Overall, science teaching at the university level has remained in a relatively static state. There is much research and debate among university faculty regarding the most effective methods of teaching science. But it remains largely rhetoric. The traditional lecture model in STEM higher education is limping along in its march toward inclusion and equity. The NGSS and Common Core reform efforts do little to help university science teachers to change their orientation from largely lecture-driven practice with laboratory supplements. While it is impossible to address all diverse student groups, the need for accommodations tend to be overlooked. As a Deaf …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report 2014, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Eveline Gebhardt, John Ainley

ICT - Digital Literacy

Literacy in information and communication technology (ICT) is critical to students as they progress through schooling and enter a world in which information technology will be ubiquitous. Work, health care, family finances, learning and social interaction will all depend on competence in ICT. To assess progress in this crucial part of student learning, ACARA conducts a National Assessment Program (NAP) aimed at measuring ICT literacy. Every three years since 2005, a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students from across Australia have been tested to determine their ICT knowledge, understanding and skills and their ability to use ICT creatively, …

Faculty Experiences From Teaching And Learning Online, Kelly Heckaman, Aaron R. Deris, Cathie Koss

Special Education Department Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Professional Development On Online Adjunct Faculty Job Satisfaction In A Community College Setting, Marie Ferguson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative causal comparative research study, guided by Herzberg’s (1964) Two Factor Theory of Motivation, and conducted with 106 online adjunct faculty members teaching at a community college in a Southeastern state, examined the effects of four types of professional development (PD) training for online instruction (i.e., fully online, fully face-to-face, blended [online and face-to-face], and none) on online adjunct faculty members’ levels of motivation and hygiene job satisfaction. Data were analyzed using two one-way MANCOVAs. The first one-way MANCOVA addressed the first research question, which inquired if there were significant differences across online instruction PD training groups on the …

Inform, Expand, And Focus: Using The Concept Of Pre-Research In Information Literacy Instruction, Natalie Bishop, Laurie Baumgardner

Dover Library Faculty Professional Development Activities

Pre-Research is an early stage research strategy that allows students the opportunity to inform, expand, and focus their knowledge about a chosen topic. We utilize Credo Reference as a way to ease students into the research process, introducing them to keyword development, concept mapping, and source evaluation.

A Needs Analysis For Social Media At A Southern Postsecondary Campus, Sheri Burnett

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education At Morehead State University by Sheri Burnett on October 26, 2015.

Enhancing Nonfiction Reading Comprehension Through Online Book Discussions, Angela Falter Thomas

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Abstract

The introduction of Common Core State Standards has many middle grade school teachers concerned with implementing standards while retaining student reading engagement and motivation strategies. This study analyzes the effectiveness of providing social networking strategies in online book discussion groups on enhancing middle grade student reading engagement and motivation. Additionally, this study reaffirmed that offering students choice of texts fostered more autonomous learning habits. Finally as a result of facilitating these online book discussions, graduate students were able to learn and develop more effective strategies and skills for engaging and motivating middle grade student reading. It is hoped that …

A Student-Centered Guest Lecturing: A Constructivism Approach To Promote Student Engagement, Lei Li, Rong Guo

Faculty Articles

Student engagement has become a big challenge in higher education, especially when distance learning is getting more and more popular. Guest lecturing is a popular method to bring relevance to the classroom and engage in students. Ground on the theory of constructivism, this paper introduces a student-centered guest lecturing that allows students to work in team and participate in each step of process, such as preparation, interviewing, and reflection. Our pilot study showed that the proposed approach can effectively engage in students. The research methodology and plan are presented and the implications of the study are discussed.

A Comparative Analysis Of Student Achievement & Retention In Traditional And Online First Semester Anatomy & Physiology Courses, Geralyn Marie Caplan

Dissertations

There is a bias that online lab science courses are inferior to their campus counterparts. Even so there is an increasing demand for online courses by the student body. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether anatomy and physiology I could be taught online without affecting academic rigor through a comparison of the successful completion of student learning outcomes, as well as to learn more about the students who take A&P. The study sought to identify the causes or relationships that exist between online and face-to-face presentation of A&PI. It also considered retention related to the independent …