Online and Distance Education Commons^™

The Effects Of Interactive Videoconferencing On Elementary Literacy : Collaborative Learning Environment, Heather A. Klenke

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the effectiveness of videoconferencing on elementary students' literacy learning process. Over thirty peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last ten years are critically analyzed and evaluated. The findings suggest that videoconferencing can embrace elementary students' literacy learning by motivating them to learn, engaging them in diverse activities for collaboration, and enhancing their communication skills development and academic achievement, if appropriate and meaningful learning and teaching strategies are adopted. This review also identifies benefits of using videoconferencing for teacher professional development.

Using Mobile Learning To Support Students’ Understanding In Geometry: A Design-Based Research Curriculum Study, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Mobile learning offers new affordances to teaching and learning, such as learning that is contextualized, personalized, and unrestricted by temporal and spatial constraints (Crompton, 2013a). In this study, the affordances of mobile learning were utilized as students learned about angles. Using a design-based research methodology a local instruction theory was developed on how students can learn about angle concepts through mobile learning activities. The local instruction theory is comprised of two components: (a) an exemplary mobile learning curriculum for 4th grade students to study angle concepts, and (b) additions to the scholarly theories in how students learning about angle using …

Educators’ Self-Identified Mobile Learning Training Needs: A Qualitative Study Involving Educators From 12 Diverse North American States, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Mobile learning (mlearning) is changing the pedagogical landscape of traditional teaching. The myriad of constantly evolving mobile devices are providing new affordances which are attracting the attention of educators around the globe. Many educators may be excited at these new affordances to learning, others are more apprehensive of this technological intrusion on traditional practices. In this paper, the researchers share the results of a self-report survey that provides evidence of what educators reported they would like to receive training on for mlearning initiatives. These data suggest current trends in mlearning and the technological abilities of educators implementing mlearning in their …

Illuminating Change: Technology, Feedback, And Revision In Writing, Sarah Hunt-Barron, Jaime Colwell

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Using the method of a formative experiment, this investigation examines how the use of peer revision and collaboration in an online environment, specifically a social network, could be implemented in a middle school classroom to increase revision over multiple drafts and improve the quality of student expository writing. Thirty-six students in two sections of a seventh-grade English language arts class participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected prior to, during, and after the intervention to establish baseline data, as well as determine progress toward the pedagogical goal. Analyses reveal improvement in the amount of student revision and …

Enhancing Critical Thinking In Clinical Laboratory Students: A Multimodal Model, Denise Marie Juroske Short

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to improve critical thinking skills in clinical laboratory technologists through the development, implementation, and assessment of a multimodal model targeting critical thinking skills. Clinical laboratory technologists influence patient care through the testing of laboratory samples. Employers of these entry level professionals identified a need for improved critical thinking skills. This quasi-experimental study aimed to design a multimodal critical thinking model, implement the model into the clinical laboratory educational curriculum, and assesses this skill set for students in a pre-test / post-test format. The model was delivered and assessed for 47 clinical laboratory students at …

Efficacy Of Hybrid Coursework On Retention Rate In Online Higher Education, Kevin Struble

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Recent developments and technological advances in online education have provided the adult learner with new opportunities to obtain a college education. However, online coursework offers new challenges particularly for online student retention, as these rates are lower than traditional students on a college or university campus. The following research outlines a quantitative study for the perceived effect of social learning for adult online learners through hybrid coursework on undergraduate retention rates through two research questions using a causal-comparative design for research question one and a correlational design for research question two. This study examined retention theory in regards to social …

Student Motivations For Studying Online: A Qualitative Study, Melanie K. Henry, Julie Ann Pooley, Maryam Omari

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The availability of online courses has continued to grow over recent years with more students now turning to online offerings. The flexibility offered through online learning is attractive to prospective students with some of the benefits including reduced costs, and the potential to increase and diversify the student body. Online courses provide the advantage of reaching those who may be ‘too busy’ for traditional study, and offer flexibility through anywhere, anytime access. While these benefits may attract prospective learners to the online environment there remains little empirical evidence for the reasons students actually make the decision to study online over …

Analysis Of Student Perceptions Of The Psychosocial Learning Environment In Online And Face-To-Face Career And Technical Education Courses, Diane L. Carver

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Career and technical education (CTE) courses offered online are becoming more common in secondary schools. Recognizing the adaptability of CTE courses and designing curricula to offer online learners the same experience as face-to-face learners is challenging for education professionals and requires analyses of both environments. A lack of empirical studies makes it important to conduct research on online learning environments from the perspectives of high school students.

This study analyzes student perceptions of the psychosocial learning environment in online and face-to-face career and technical education courses. The research explores and compares how high school students perceive their learning environment and …

The Effectiveness Of Using Digital Movies As A Form Of Reflection, Taralynn Hartsell

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Digital videos can be effective authentic assessment tools to help students reflect on their learning acquisition. Using digital video reflections to synthesize learning of abstract concepts and theories such as instructional design can be a method to evaluate how students perceive, understand, and arrive to certain conclusions. This paper describes the process of creating digital videos as part of a reflection assignment that graduate students in an instructional design course had to complete. Benefits and limitations of using this form of assessment are addressed, including some recommendations. The purpose is to help readers understand how digital videos can aid students …

A Case Study Of Applying Blended Learning In An Accelerated Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Education Program, Ying Wang Shen, Thomas H. Reynolds, Curtis J. Bonk, Thomas A. Brush

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Blended learning has potential to improve teacher education in terms of accessibility and quality. This paper reports findings from a case study with mixed methods data collection analysis to examine the application of blended learning in accelerated post-baccalaureate teacher education at the program level. One hundred and sixty-seven recent graduates from a chosen teacher education program participated in the study by completing an online survey. Eight of the survey participants and six faculty members were interviewed. Findings from this study support the viability and benefits of applying blended learning in teacher education at the program level. On the other hand, …

Evaluating Online Social Presence: An Overview Of Social Presence Assessment, Guoqiang Cui

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

As an important variable in online learning environment, the construct of social presence has been widely studied by researchers in order to investigate students’ online communication behavior and their related performance. This study will provide an overview of the assessment of social presence throughout its historical development. In this review, both primary subjective and objectives measures of social presence will be introduced, followed by criticisms towards current social presence measures, and offer recommendations for future development of social presence measurement tools.

The Nature Of Distributed Research: Narratives Of Shifting Experience, Jingjing Zhang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Distributed work over geographical distance is not new, but this century has witnessed a rapid extension of this kind of work (Juan, Daradoumis, Roca, Grasman, & Faulin, 2012). In academia, it seems that the use of many technologies has inevitably led to an increasing trend of distributed research. In an attempt to explore this phenomenon, a qualitative study involving 24 senior researchers was conducted, and their lived and told stories illustrated that they worked together privately and publicly, informally and formally, with a high degree of reciprocity and with written records of their discourse. All forms of research activities, mediated …

Entering The 3rd Generation Of E-Learning: Characteristics And Strategies, Weiyuan Zhang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

With the rapid development of e-Learning practices in education, the principles and methods of e-Learning have gradually evolved and matured. The purpose of this paper is to identify developmental stages of e-Learning and propose some strategies in establishing a new generation of e-Learning. First, the paper describes the three generations of e-Learning development. Second, the establishment of a 3rd generation e-Learning platform is analyzed. Third, course development in 3rd generation e-Learning is discussed. Using emerging new and user-friendly software, teachers and trainers could design and develop interactive e-Learning resources by themselves. Finally, the importance of staff development in e-Learning knowledge …

The Influence Of The Scripted Task On Learning Outcomes In Collaborative Learning, Liang Yu, Rong-Huai Huang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Scripting task is one of the key issues on the study of collaborative learning thatprimarily focuses on the influence of scripted task on learners’ knowledge building. It is known that the outcomes of collaborative learning entail learners’ knowledge building as well as their acquirement of collaborative skills. The paper, through a quasi-experiment, examines the effects of individual characteristics (gender and learning style), group characteristics (task type and group production), and their interaction effect on learners’ knowledge acquisition and acquirement of collaborative skills. The result shows that (a) the group with the scripted task and the group with scripted task and …

Working Together: The Public Records Webinar Series, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Key Takeways:

* Faculty and instructional designers working together can create more effective online courses that leverage technology efficiently to reach the target audience.

* The instructional support team was part of the initial conversations planning the webinar series at the UNC School of Government, which led to the formulation of a webinar theme that reflected the content as opposed to imposing a design theme afterwards.

* Advanced planning and coordination among faculty and staff, and the thematic marketing plan provided at the outset, enabled the production of a uniform package of information in a high-quality format.

Digital Fluency : Skills Necessary For Learning In The Digital Age, Gerald K. White

Digital learning research

This article examines the skills that will be required for the 21st century that will need to be embedded in educational curricula in order achieve them. It begins by considering how communicating between people has changed and current educational responses. A view of 21st century skills follows with an argument for some core subjects that will be necessary. Learning and teaching are then discussed leading to a view about what is needed in order to develop digital fluency in education, for now and the future.

Forging Meaningful Social Connections In A Virtual World, Lisa J. Cook

Career Services Publications

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Students' Perceptions Of Their Examination Of Writing Competency (Ewc) Readiness In Online First-Year Composition Courses, Harry Pendleton Styles Ii

English Theses & Dissertations

Due to its flexibility and convenience, online instruction is increasingly becoming an attractive, viable option for many students. In 2008, Norfolk State University began promoting online course and program development as a means of "growing the university." Thus, academic departments have increased the number of available online courses and online degree programs. All degree-seeking students are required to pass the Examination of Writing Competency (EWC) which they are eligible to take after completing two semesters of first-year composition. This study, utilizing a survey and site (course) "observation," analyzes the perceptions of students who have completed or nearly completed two semesters …

Networking Young Citizens : Learning To Be Citizens In And With The Social Web, Suzanne Mellor, Terri Seddon

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

Many claims are made, both in the popular press and the professional education literature, about the significance of the social web in enabling civic participation. However empirical evidence supporting these claims is sparse and contested rather than strongly-indicative. The Monash University pilot research project, Networking Young Citizens, relates to the discussion about the ways in which the social web might support the civic participation, especially of young people, by examining the ways in which Web 2.0 was integrated into teaching and learning in the school, and any other processes of civic socialisation that were consciously adopted in three schools.

This …

Relating Training To Job Satisfaction: A Survey Of Online Faculty Members, Brian Hoekstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

As the online education market continues to mature, institutions of higher education will respond to student demand by employing quality faculty members. Faculty members need unique training to successfully teach online. While the effect of training on job satisfaction has been investigated in the realm of business, it has not been tested extensively in the realm of online higher education. A convenience sample of 497 Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC) faculty members was invited to participate, and 148 responded. A quantitative study utilizing regression analysis investigated the relationship between the training methodology of online course module completion and job …