Education Commons^™

Enhancing Technology-Based Distance Education Delivery Using Collaborative Team-Teaching Methods, Susan Egbert, Sean Camp

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here.

Present pandemic-related circumstances have created unique challenges for educators and students alike. Information and communication technology (ICT) based team-teaching and collaborative course design can effectively mitigate feelings of isolation and disconnection, and enhance student engagement within a remote education context. This article presents a theory-driven framework and ‘how-to’ practical strategies for utilizing team-teaching methodology through web-based delivery platforms. Content focuses on student participation and active learning, curriculum- and technology-related issues, and challenges inherent in synchronous web-based course delivery.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, 2022 Special Issue (Vol. 5, Iss. 3)

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length 2022 Special Issue (Volume 5, Issue 3) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

Design And Development Of An Mph Program For Online Delivery, Steven R. Hawks, Julie A. Gast

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is growing in popularity and is now delivered fully online by a large number of highly respected, fully accredited universities. This paper offers an overview of program design and development strategies that promote successful online delivery of MPH programs. Design and development challenges are discussed in terms of new accreditation standards, student demand, faculty development, user needs, course content, and plan of study. The development of an online MPH program at Utah State University with a concentration in health education and promotion is used to highlight and consider various aspects of this important …

Experiences Of Instructors Using Ready-To-Teach, Fixed-Content Online Courses, Douglas J. Geilman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Online instruction is now the prevalent tool for distance learning. Understanding the adaptable role of the instructor in online distance education is pivotal in the work of comprehending its affordances and limitations. Although there are some commonalities between all forms of online teaching, experiences instructors have may vary depending upon the structure of the online course. The ready-to-teach, fixed-content format merited further study because of the degree to which it unbundles or disaggregates traditional instructor responsibilities by removing the work of determining what to teach and how to teach it. This qualitative multiple case study examined the instructional experiences of …

Engagement Across The Miles: Using Videoconferencing With Small Groups In Synchronous Distance Courses, Amy Piotrowski, Marla Robertson

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

This article presents suggestions for conducting small group work in synchronous distance courses taught using Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) systems. One challenge of teaching over an IVC system is getting students involved in class activities. The authors share how they have used a videoconferencing tool to break up IVC classes into small groups for discussion activities and get peer feedback on written work. These activities engage students in applying what they are learning and constructing knowledge through discussion with their peers.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 1, Issue 2, Usu Center For Innovative Design And Instruction

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Volume 1, Issue 2 of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence, a publication of Utah State University focused on providing a forum for instructors in higher education to share best practices and ideas related to effective teaching.

Engaging Students In A Synchronous Distance Setting: Asking Online Questions, Christopher J. Hartwell

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

One major challenge in higher education is engaging student in the learning process, and this challenge is of particular concern in synchronous broadcast classes, where students are geographically dispersed. This paper argues that the use of online questions, that students can respond to using their electronic devices, is an effective way to increase student participation and engagement in such settings. Personal experience with one particular online question platform – Poll Everywhere (www.polleverywhere.com) – is used to illustrate potential capabilities, question types. Both advantages and challenges of using online questions are discussed.

A Study Of The Pedagogical And Structural Elements Being Incorporated Into The Design Of Hybrid Courses For Higher Education, Deborah Kezerian Baird

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined a new course design for teaching adults in higher education. Increasingly referred to as the hybrid course format, it entails purposefully dividing a course into face-to-face class sessions and online class sessions in separately calendared periods. Hybrid courses are a specific iteration of a broader category of courses that utilize technology in many configurations. Research into the potential for the hybrid format to be a highly effective way of teaching adults was found to be new and fragmented.

Adult education theories, including the andragogy model, the self-directed learning model, the transformative learning model and the experiential learning …

Supporting And Encouraging Behavioral Research Among Distance Education Students, Scott Bates, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez, Michael J. Drysdale

Psychology Faculty Publications

Colleges and universities are reaching new audiences and helping students complete degrees and programs of study through distance education departments and programs. Distance education attracts working professionals, employed students, and single parents (Johnson, et al., 2003), who may otherwise not be able to engage in a traditional academic setting. These individuals can now enroll in single courses or full undergraduate and graduate programs. Distance education departments offer courses and degrees through various modes of delivery, including: independent study, online (via course management applications such as Blackboard), interactive broadcast (via satellite), and Ed-NET courses (via internet/webcam).

The Other Side Of Distance Education: Learner Interaction At Remote Sites, Beth Walden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation describes the observations of the interaction of adult learners at remote distance education sites. The researcher audited 11 complete courses at four receive sites during two academic terms. The observations were done in the Com-Net, audio-graphic system provided by Utah State University. The courses were provided for university credit to adults around the state.

The research was designed to answer three research questions:

1. What interactions do learners at a distance exhibit in their educational setting?

2. What observable events appear to prompt the beginning and ending of the learners' interactions?

3. What observable outcomes result from the …

Relationships Between Motivational Orientations And Participants' Perceptions Of An Electronic Distance Education Learning Environment, Charles Wynn Wilkes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' motivational orientations and their perceptions of an electronic distance education (EDE) environment. Subjects were 156 participants (81 women, 75 men; 83 undergraduates, 73 graduate students) enrolled in Utah State University's electronic distance education system, Com-Net.

A comparison group was also utilized, that consisted of 85 participants (64 females, 21 males; 34 undergraduates, 51 graduates) from rural Utah enrolled in Utah State University extension programs. These students were from seven classes which were taught by the traditional method with an instructor physically present.

Correlation coefficients were computed to test …