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Full-Text Articles in Education
Accessible Online Learning: A Preliminary Investigation Of Educational Technologists’ And Faculty Members’ Knowledge And Skills, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Amy Lomellini
Accessible Online Learning: A Preliminary Investigation Of Educational Technologists’ And Faculty Members’ Knowledge And Skills, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Amy Lomellini
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Colleges and Universities have a more diverse student body than ever before—this includes a growing number of students with disabilities. Many of these students are attracted to the flexibility and anonymity of learning online. However, research suggests that students with disabilities often face barriers learning online. Given this, we set out to investigate how faculty and educational technologists are prepared to design accessible online courses and instructional materials. We surveyed 95 educational technologists, directors, and disability access personnel in this exploratory study. In the following paper, we report the results of our inquiry into these professionals’ perspectives on faculty and …
Lessons Learned From Creating Videos For Online Video-Based Instructional Modules In Mathematics Teacher Education, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Laurie O. Cavey
Lessons Learned From Creating Videos For Online Video-Based Instructional Modules In Mathematics Teacher Education, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Laurie O. Cavey
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Video can be a powerful tool, with a long history of use in teacher education. Despite the increased popularity of using video in teacher education over the years, questions remain about effective ways to create and use video in online video-based instructional modules. Given this, in this paper we describe some lessons learned creating videos for online video-based instructional modules for secondary mathematics teacher candidates, as a part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) IUSE program (Award No. 1726543) funded project. We specifically focus on how we recorded interviews with middle and high school students, and iteratively developed the online …
Guidelines For Designing Online Courses For Mobile Devices, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching
Guidelines For Designing Online Courses For Mobile Devices, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
College students frequently use mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) to access online courses yet online course designers often do not design courses with mobile learning in mind. This research identified seven national and statewide online course design evaluation instruments and examined the criteria that guide course designers designing online courses for learning with mobile devices. Currently, minimal guidance on course design for mobile learning is offered in most of the national and statewide online course design instruments. Research-supported design tips that promote device compatibility, content readability, format optimization, and mobile-friendly navigation are suggested in this paper to guide future …
Developing Online Sense Of Community: Graduate Students' Experiences And Perceptions, Jesus Trespalacios, Lida J. Uribe-Florez
Developing Online Sense Of Community: Graduate Students' Experiences And Perceptions, Jesus Trespalacios, Lida J. Uribe-Florez
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Building a sense of community (SoC) is an important process in the success of distance education and students’ retention. However, developing a community in online learning environments is not an easy task. The purpose of this research study is to explore perceptions of graduate students on SoC and learning after using different collaborative activities with diverse forms of interaction (text, audio, and video) in an online educational research course. Quantitative data from two surveys and qualitative data from individual interviews were collected. Findings indicate that multimodal and scaffolding interactive activities help to support connectedness and learning, and therefore foster online …
An Online Course Design Checklist: Development And Users’ Perceptions, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching
An Online Course Design Checklist: Development And Users’ Perceptions, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
This study examines users’ perceptions of an online course design checklist. We created the Online Course Design Checklist (OCDC) to help highlight very basic criteria that may improve the quality of online courses. The OCDC highlights criteria that should not be ignored during online course development. It is based on components of established instructional design principles and existing online course design evaluation instruments. To understand course designers’ perception of the OCDC, we surveyed nineteen current and prospective online instructors on their use of it. Participants found the OCDC facilitated online course design by providing criteria to consider before, during, and …
Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (Moocs): Tales From The Front Line, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Chareen Snelson, Ross Perkins
Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (Moocs): Tales From The Front Line, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Chareen Snelson, Ross Perkins
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Very little research has been conducted about what it is like to teach a MOOC. Given this, a mixed methods study, involving a survey of 186 MOOC instructors and 15 follow-up interviews, was conducted to explore the motivation, experiences, and perceptions of instructors who have taught massive open online courses. Findings indicate that instructors were motivated to teach MOOCs for three main reasons: (1) interest and passion, (2) publicity and marketing, or (3) benefits and incentives. Most instructors had little online teaching experience prior to teaching their first MOOC, but were satisfied with the experience. The majority believed their own …
Online Course Design And Development Among College And University Instructors: An Analysis Using Grounded Theory, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching, Norm Friesen
Online Course Design And Development Among College And University Instructors: An Analysis Using Grounded Theory, Sally J. Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching, Norm Friesen
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
In this study, a grounded theory approach was used to investigate the process college and university instructors undergo to design and develop online courses. Fourteen instructors who created online courses for four-year colleges and universities were interviewed about their experience designing and developing online courses. Results showed that participants begin the process with objectives and/or with existing course outlines, typically taken from online and face-to-face courses. Next, the instructors structure the course and chunk content. The instructors interviewed rarely use formal instructional design principles, but their design tasks show a striking similarity to those formalized in the ADDIE model. Student …
Exploring Small Group Analysis Of Instructional Design Cases In Online Learning Environments, Jesus Trespalacios
Exploring Small Group Analysis Of Instructional Design Cases In Online Learning Environments, Jesus Trespalacios
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
The case-based approach is a constructivist instructional strategy that helps students apply their emerging knowledge by studying design problems in authentic real-world situations. One important instructional strategy in case-based instruction is to analyze cases in small groups before discussing them with the whole class. This study investigates the use of small-group structure to analyze case studies in online learning environments, as well as students’ perceptions of the use of VoiceThread presentations to improve their learning of instructional design. The results show that a small group strategy has great potential to help students analyze case studies and consequently enhance learning. The …
Using Voicethread To Facilitate Asynchronous Communication: A Design Case, Jesús Trespalacios
Using Voicethread To Facilitate Asynchronous Communication: A Design Case, Jesús Trespalacios
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Online courses have traditionally used text as the only medium to communicate. However, new technologies make it easier than ever before to integrate audio and video communication into online courses. The purpose of this design case study is twofold. Firstly, we sought to describe the different instructional activities designed for an Instructional Design online graduate course. Secondly, this study undertook to explain the integration of VoiceThread (a Web 2.0 tool with multimedia capabilities) to facilitate students’ interactions and the revisions made on some activities that used this tool. Data collected from two surveys administered at the end of the course …
In Search Of Quality: Using Quality Matters To Analyze The Quality Of Massive, Open, Online Courses (Moocs), Patrick R. Lowenthal, Charles B. Hodges
In Search Of Quality: Using Quality Matters To Analyze The Quality Of Massive, Open, Online Courses (Moocs), Patrick R. Lowenthal, Charles B. Hodges
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
The concept of the massive, open, online course (MOOC) is not new, but high-profile initiatives have moved MOOCs into the forefront of higher education news over the past few years. Members of institutions of higher education have mixed feelings about MOOCs, ranging from those who want to offer college credit for the successful completion of MOOCs to those who fear MOOCs are the end of the university as we know it. We set forth to investigate the quality of MOOCs by using the Quality Matters quality control framework. In this article, we present the results of our inquiry, with a …
Online Graduate Students’ Preferences Of Discussion Modality: Does Gender Matter?, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu
Online Graduate Students’ Preferences Of Discussion Modality: Does Gender Matter?, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Audio/video discussion has been used increasingly in online courses due to its affordances in enhancing online communication. However, whether learners of different characteristics can benefit from this discussion modality has not been investigated extensively. This study examined whether gender plays a role in learners’ preferences and perceptions of audio/video discussion as compared to text discussion. The survey data of thirty-six participants’ perceptions were collected and studied after they participated in an audio/video discussion activity. The findings show that females preferred audio/video discussion more than males did, and more females reported that audio/video discussion strengthened their connection with peers. The top …
Micro-Level Design For Multimedia-Enhanced Online Courses, Chareen Snelson, Patt Elison-Bowers
Micro-Level Design For Multimedia-Enhanced Online Courses, Chareen Snelson, Patt Elison-Bowers
Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Micro-level instructional design refers to the practice of designing and producing small units of instruction. At the microlevel processes such as shifting focus to small-scale design, applying learning theory, managing the technology, and evaluating the micro-design are implemented. The shift in focus to small-scale design centers attention on design of the multimedia products implemented in the online classroom. Theories of multimedia learning are selected and applied to the micro-level design to maximize the potential for effective instructional communication and learning. Managing the technology involves accounting for issues of compression, file size, and appropriate format for Web-based delivery. Evaluation, supported by …