Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Promoting Student’S Online Engagement With Communication Tools, Shuyan Wang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This case study investigated students’ engagement and learning experiences in online courses through Blackboard CE6 (Course Management System). The meaning that students gave to their learning experiences and the problems they encountered were also investigated in order to understand how students learn in a technology-enriched learning environment. Data were col­lected through open-ended survey questions, participant observations, and document analyses from three online instructional technology graduate courses where students used threaded dis­cussion, live classroom, chat room, and email for online communication and interaction. Find­ings indicated that students’ engagement was promoted by using various communication tools although student preferred discussion board and …

Helping Teachers Develop Positive Dispositions About Technology-Based Learning: What A Brief Global Learning Project Revealed, Carol A. Smith, Heather Schugar, Cynthia A. Moyer

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Research indicates that teachers’ dispositions significantly influence their integration of computer technology into classroom instruction. This article reports findings from a mixed-methods study that examined shifts in teachers’ dispositions about learning that occurs through information and communication technologies (ICT’s). Graduate students and remote professionals engaged in a one-semester learning project that included synchronous and asynchronous com­puter-mediated discussions of course content. The study sought to determine whether or not this exposure to ICT-based learning might be accompanied by a positive or negative affective shift, and to identify the salient features of such a shift. Quantitative analysis of responses on question­naires administered …

Teaching In An Efl Program In Second Life: Student Teachers’ Perspectives And Implications, Charles Xiaoxue Wang, Mary L. Lefaiver, Christy Hunt, Qi Wang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Educational researchers have paid considerable attention to the use of multi-user vir­tual environments (MUVEs) to support learning across curricula. Among those MUVEs, Second Life (SL) is one of the most popular. This paper reports on a study of student teachers’ experience of teaching English in an experimental EFL (English as a Foreign Language) program in Second Life (SL) with students in China. This study was a collaborative effort of faculty members and graduate students of both a state university in the USA and a provincial university in China. The study took a case study approach to reveal student teachers’ perceptions …

Educational Computer Games And Spanish Content Learning, Timothy Dedeaux, Taralynn Hartsell

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine differences in engagement, satisfaction, and Spanish language content learning among participants playing one of two dif­ferent educational computer games. Additionally, this study served as preliminary research for future research projects to detect and correct problems at the pilot stage. Participants were briefly introduced to the Spanish content material prior to using the computer games and completed pre-tests, post-tests, and satisfaction/engagement surveys as a way to obtain learning results. The small sample size acquired for the study did not yield any statistically significant difference, but the research did permit examination of the …

Action To Acquisition—Boost Students’ English Learning Motivation With Filmmaking Project, Cheng-Ting Chen, Kuo-Chen Li

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

In Taiwan, English is more a major subject matter for student to “study” in school rather than a language for people to use in real life situations. Under the situation, students tend to have lower learning motivation when come to English classes, especially in higher academic settings, like universities. In order to boost students’ learning motivation as well as to encourage their productivity and creativity at the same time, a preliminary action research was conducted by two researchers collaboratively whereas one researcher is the instructor simultaneously. The major focus of the action research is concerning the application of “filmmaking” as …

Integrating Cell Phones Into A Chinese High School Efl Classroom: Students’ Attitudes, Technological Readiness, And Perceived Learning, Feihong Wang, Xin Chen, Weini Fang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Although explorations on cell phone-based learning (C-learning) in the field of teach­ing English as a foreign language (EFL) has been gaining increasing attention in the last 10 years, the explorations are constrained mainly to distance language teaching. Researchers have pointed out that mobile devices are most effective when combined with group activities, tradi­tional educational activities, and other information and communication technologies (Librero, Ramos, Ranga, Trinona, & Lambert, 2007; Stead, 2005). The purpose of this study was to in­vestigate the integration of a C-learning activity into a traditional EFL classroom by looking at students’ attitudes, technological readiness, perceived learning, and perceived …

Learning Styles: The Key To Learning, Lisa Egan

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This Master's thesis contains components and documentation of the reasoning for the creation of a community website entitled, Learning Styles: The Key to Learning in which learners of all ages can explore the topic of learning styles in order to gain personal insights into their unique styles of learning. The website is designed to help individuals including children, adults, and educational professionals to embrace their personal styles, understand the learning styles of others and gain knowledge leading to the creation of optimal learning environments for themselves and their community members. The author suggests that the understanding of learning styles leads …

Determination Of Selected Course Management Systems Advantages And Challenges: A Case Study, Dolruedee Suppacheewa

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Dolruedee Suppacheewa on May 12, 2011

Everything You Wanted To Know About Teaching And Learning With Technology But Were Afraid To Ask: An Online Facilitators' Inquiry-Based Investigation Group, Sarah Brennan, Sandy Figueroa, Sherese Mitchell

Touchstone

No abstract provided.

Faculty Compensation For Developing And Delivering Online Courses, Jeffrey Allen Burleson

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The intent of this dissertation was to determine the most common compensation practices higher education institutions provided faculty for developing and delivering online courses. Many higher education institutions provided compensation as motivational tools to elicit faculty participation in new online learning initiatives; however, limited research was available on equitable compensation for these services. The population consisted of 263 small, medium, and large baccalaureate and masters level private and state-funded not-for-profit United States higher education institutions. This population was selected using the maximum number of institutions identified by the Carnegie Classification system that met these criteria.

Data for this study were …

2011 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Utilizing A Web-Based Career Development Workshop To Address Career Decision-Making Difficulty Among Community College Distance Learners, Johanna Michele Brown

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Career decision making difficulty, as it relates to undecided college students and career indecision, has been a concern for counselors and academic advisors for decades (Gordon, 2006; Mau, 2004). Individuals struggling with career indecision often seek assistance via career counseling, self-help tools, and/or computer-assisted career guidance systems (Gati, Gadassi, & Shemesh, 2005). The past decade has brought a large increase in the development of a number of web-based career guidance systems (CGS) (Bobek, Robbins, Gore, Harris-Bowlsbey, Lapan, Dahir, & Jepsen, 2005). Despite the rapid growth in the type and use of computer-assisted CGS, little empirical research has been conducted on …

Bookgrowl: Podcasting Back To The Campus, Frederic W. Murray

Faculty Articles & Research

No abstract provided.

Managing Childhood Asthma In The School Environment, Amanda Hawkins, Leslie Painter, Sally Richter

Perspectives In Learning

It is often taken for granted that schools are instrumental in the spread of illness from child to child as well as from child to teacher. In addition to the nagging colds, stomach viruses and other temporary maladies, the school environment may actually contribute to some lifelong medical conditions. Many children face an unhealthy school environment on a daily basis, year after year, which may contribute to a condition called asthma. Asthma causes the airways of the lungs to swell and constrict and can often flare up without warning. Asthma is one of the top childhood disorders and is also …

Resolving The Conflict: Brain-Based Learning, Best Practices, And No Child Left Behind, Cindy Bowen

Perspectives In Learning

Research shows brain-based learning is achieved best when the students are in an active, low-stress state (Jensen, 2008), and people have unique learning styles that facilitate the assimilation of new knowledge (Gardner, 1983). However, current testing practices hinder the creation of an optimal learning environment, because teachers feel they have to build test-taking skills and spend valuable educational time teaching in ways they believe are not best practices. Changes in the brain can be seen with highly sophisticated imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, and positron emission tomography (PET) (Drevets & Raichle, 1998). This imaging technology …

Teaching And Helping College Students With Personal Problems During Tough Economic Times, Marcia Rossi

Perspectives In Learning

The student population today may be facing increased need for support services, due to a wide variety of potential personal problems. Reasons for this include the increased number of students in college who have learning disabilities or other disabilities, the economic downturn of 2008 driving older students to pursue college degrees, and the number of veterans in school who are returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Faculty members and academic advisors may be approached by students who are experiencing personal problems, and may not know how to offer help. Suggestions for helping and teaching such students are offered; these …

Winning The War Against Childhood Obesity: The Role Of Teachers And Schools In Early Childhood Education, Paula Walker

Perspectives In Learning

American children are at the epicenter of a global childhood obesity epidemic. Due to increased adiposity, school-aged children are being routinely diagnosed with adult illnesses like Type II diabetes, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol levels. The keys to combating these epidemiological trends are prevention and early intervention. Since the majority of American children are enrolled in school, school-based interventions offer enormous potential in teaching lifelong health habits and curbing the incidence of childhood obesity, especially when these habits are taught proactively as a component of early childhood education. Adiposity rebound is the critical period of increasing body mass index (BMI), that …

Table Of Contents

Perspectives In Learning

Table of Contents

Learning About Teaching: Redesigning Teacher Preparation, Barbara Buckner

Perspectives In Learning

Our country has not yet tackled the question, how do we best prepare teachers. Maybe because the question should be; how do we best support our candidates to learn about teaching in order for them to develop into highly qualified and effective teachers? The answer seems to lie in strategic partnerships between universities and school districts, the quality and length of clinical experiences, and state policies for teacher preparation. Reformers call for a shift towards more clinically based programs that integrate academic content and professional knowledge and skills. Some models that show promise are those that have tried to emulate …

About This Issue

Perspectives In Learning

About this Issue