Educational Technology Commons^™

Blended Learning: The New Normal And Emerging Technologies, Charles Dziuban, Charles R. Graham, Patsy D. Moskal, Anders Norberg, Nicole Sicilia

Faculty Publications

This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended learning (BL) in higher education in a world where information communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly communicate with each other. In considering effectiveness, the authors contend that BL coalesces around access, success, and students’ perception of their learning environments. Success and withdrawal rates for face-to-face and online courses are compared to those for BL as they interact with minority status. Investigation of student perception about course excellence revealed the existence of robust if-then decision rules for determining how students evaluate their educational experiences. Those rules were independent of course modality, …

Exploring The Potential Of Lms Log Data As A Proxy Measure Of Student Engagement, Curtis R. Henrie, Robert Bodily, Ross Larsen, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between log data of student activity in learning management systems and self-reported student engagement survey scores. Log data has the potential to serve as a meaningful proxy for survey scores. Should this be the case, log data could be used as a minimally disruptive and scalable approach to quickly identify who needs help, evaluate design, and personalize instruction. We correlated LMS log data variables to student engagement survey scores to study the relationship between these two sources of data. Overall, log data was not a statistically significant proxy measure of students’ self-reported cognitive and emotional …

The Design, Development, And Implementation Of Student-Facing Learning Analytics Dashboards, Robert Bodily, Tarah K. Ikahihfo, Benjamin Mackley, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

We have designed, developed, and implemented a student-facing learning analytics dashboard in order to support students as they learn in online environments. There are two separate dashboards in our system: a content recommender dashboard and a skills recommender dashboard. The content recommender helps students identify gaps in their content knowledge; the skills recommender helps students improve their metacognitive strategies. We discuss the technical requirements needed to develop a real-time student dashboard as well as report our inquiry into the functionality students want in a dashboard. The dashboards were evaluated with focus groups and a perceptions survey. Students were positive in …

Online Student Use Of A Proximate Community Of Engagement In An Independent Study Program, Darin R. Oviatt, Charles R. Graham, Randall S. Davies, Jered Borup

Faculty Publications

Research has suggested that independent study students in online courses may benefit from engaging with a proximate community of engagement (PCE) and that students perceive that such engagement will help them succeed. Independent Study students were surveyed at the completion of their course to assess the level at which they actually interacted with a PCE. Survey findings were confirmed with follow-up interviews with students and their parents to triangulate survey data. Findings revealed that students in the study interacted with a PCE when completing the course. The percentage of students actually engaged with a PCE was lower than the percentages …

Comparing K-12 Online And Blended Teaching Competencies: A Literature Review, Emily Pulham, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

This article presents a synthesis of reports and research on K-12 blended teaching competencies compared with K-12 online teaching competencies. The skills needed to teach in online and blended environments are distinct from traditional teaching, but teacher education programs often do not equip preservice teachers for the new modes of instruction. Additionally, there is a dearth of research on blended teaching competencies. This review synthesizes 8 blended teaching documents and 10 online teaching documents. Seven global themes identified in both competency domains are (1) pedagogy, (2) management, (3) assessment, (4) technology, (5) instructional design, (6) dispositions, and (7) improvement. The …

Thematic Patterns In International Blended Learning Literature, Research, Practices, And Terminology, Kristian J. Spring, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

The goal of this research was to discover and compare themes of the top blended learning (BL) articles from seven different regions of the world. Top cited articles in BL from these regions show strong similarities in research processes, practice, terminology, and focus. Small differences are apparent among the regions and top articles in general, but similar patterns demonstrate that themes might promote collaboration and exchange between regions and that the most cited articles from around the world could fit well within the topical, research, and publication practices of the field. Our results suggest that although different regions must have …

Investigating Student Engagement In Blended Learning Settings Using Experience Sampling And Structural Equation Modeling, Kristine C. Manwaring, Ross Larsen, Charles R. Graham, Curtis R. Henrie, Lisa R. Halverson

Faculty Publications

We investigated activity-level student engagement in blended learning classes at the university level. We used intensive longitudinal methodology to collect activity level engagement data throughout a semester for 68 students enrolled in six blended courses across two universities. We used structural equation modeling to gain a holistic understanding of learning environments, including the influence of personal characteristics, course design, and student perceptions of the learning experience on in-the-moment cognitive and emotional engagement. To investigate longitudinal relationships between emotional and cognitive engagement, we employed cross-lagged modeling techniques. Findings showed that course design and student perception variables had a greater influence on …

Online Learner Engagement: Opportunities And Challenges With Using Data Analytics, Robert Bodily, Charles R. Graham, Michael D. Bush

Faculty Publications

This article describes the crossroads between learning analytics and learner engagement. The authors do this by describing specific challenges of using analytics to support student engagement from three distinct perspectives: pedagogical considerations, technological issues, and interface design concerns. While engaging online learners presents a major challenge to the educational community, the affordances of online learning environments and new advances in data analytics present many opportunities that can lead to improvements in our ability to fully engage students. The authors' work specifically underscores the fact that no single tool or system will be able to address all of the challenges involved. …

The Application Of Layer Theory To Design: The Control Layer, Andrew S. Gibbons Iii, Matt Langton

Faculty Publications

Validation of an architectural theory of instructional design layering is accomplished for one of the proposed layers by verifying the theory’s claim that for every layer there exists a body of design theory from outside the field of instructional design that is capable of informing design within that layer.

Institutional Drivers And Barriers To Faculty Adoption Of Blended Learning In Higher Education, Wendy W. Porter, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

Relatively little research on blended learning (BL) addresses institutional adoption, although such research would benefit institutions of higher education in strategically adopting and implementing BL. In a prior study, the authors proposed a framework for institutional BL adoption, identifying three stages: (1) awareness/exploration, (2) adoption/early implementation, and (3) mature implementation/growth. The framework also identified key strategy, structure and support issues universities may address at each stage. The current study applies that framework as well as Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory to determine the degree to which institutional strategy, structure and support decisions facilitate or impede BL adoption among higher education …

Teacher And Student Perspectives On Facilitating A Sense Of Community Through An Online High School’S “Shepherding” Program, Jeffery Drysdale, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup

Faculty Publications

Student disconnectedness remains a serious concern in K-12 online learning—especially in programs where students take most or all of their coursework online. In this research we examined a “shepherding program” designed to encourage a sense of community among teachers and students at an online charter school. Every online teacher served as a “shepherd” for 20 to 25 students and worked to establish close relationships with each student. Data was collected through 5 teacher focus groups, 5 one-on-one teacher interviews, and 10 one-on-one student interviews. A qualitative analysis using Rovai’s sense of community framework examined how the shepherding program influenced shepherd-student …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Institutional Drivers And Barriers To Blended Learning Adoption In Higher Education, Wendy W. Porter, Charles R. Graham, Robert G. Bodily, Daniel S. Sandberg

Faculty Publications

The authors previously proposed a framework for institutional BL adoption (Graham, Woodfield, & Harrison, 2012), identifying three stages: (a) awareness/exploration, (b) adoption/early implementation, and (c) mature implementation/growth. The framework also identified key strategy, structure, and support issues universities may address at each stage. In this paper, the authors applied that framework as well as Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory to determine the degree to which institutional strategy, structure, and support measures facilitate or impede BL adoption among higher education faculty. In addition, the authors explored whether higher education faculty's innovation adoption category affects which measures facilitate or impede BL …

Blended Learning Citation Patterns And Publication Networks Across Seven Worldwide Regions, Kristian J. Spring, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

The field of international blended learning (BL) is primed to benefit from stronger communication and collaboration. Collaboration is currently limited, and regions vary greatly in terms of citations. However, BL is growing worldwide and each region is an important part of the community. The goal of this research is to explore where the most impactful conversations about BL worldwide are occurring and how, if at all, are they connected to one another in terms of citations and publications. We present here the most cited BL articles from each region, the journals that publish these articles, and citation and publication patterns …

An Analysis Of The Curriculum Requirements For K-12 Online Teaching Endorsements In The U.S., Laura Mcallister, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

This study examined existing K-12 online teacher preparation programs in the United States to ascertain the degree to which teachers are prepared to function in online/blended classroom learning environments. This study used a content analysis approach. Research specifically targeted online teacher preparation programs implemented in institutions of higher education. The researcher collected data from state offices of education and institution deans through email surveys inquiring about the existence and capacity of K-12 online teaching endorsements, course descriptions, and other course documents.

Online Student Perceptions Of The Need For A Proximate Community Of Engagement At An Independent Study Program, Darin R. Oviatt, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup, Randall S. Davies

Faculty Publications

Research suggests that collaborative learning designs, which require interaction with teachers and peers, can promote engagement and learning for online courses. Many K-12 students seek supplemental online courses to meet graduation requirements and desire flexibility, which often conflicts with required interactions. This paper asserts that online independent study learners may create a proximate community of engagement (PCE) to provide the benefits of collaboration and interactions. Using the adolescent community of engagement (ACE) framework as a lens for identifying interactions, this study surveyed K-12 independent study students to assess their perception of the need for interaction with a support community while …

Cognitive And Emotional Effects Of Learning Chinese By Playing An Online Game, Shuyi Guan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

Evaluation Of Static Vs. Dynamic Visualizations For Engineering Technology Students And Implications On Spatial Visualization Ability: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Petros Katsioloudis, Daniel Dickerson, Vukica Jovanovic, Mildred Jones

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The benefit of using static versus dynamic visualizations is a controversial one. Few studies have explored the effectiveness of static visualizations to those of dynamic visualizations, and the current state of the literature remains somewhat unclear. During the last decade there has been a lengthy debate about the opportunities for using animation in learning and instruction. More specifically it has been shown that dynamic visualizations often provide no advantages over static visualizations. If they had shown advantages, it was due to the fact that more information was available in the animated than in the static version. Given this result, the …

Exploring Intensive Longitudinal Measures Of Student Engagement In Blended Learning, Curtis R. Henrie, Robert Bodily, Kristine C. Manwaring, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

In this exploratory study we used an intensive longitudinal approach to measure student engagement in a blended educational technology course, collecting both self-report and observational data. The self-report measure included a simple survey of Likert-scale and open-ended questions given repeatedly during the semester. Observational data were student activity data extracted from the learning management system. We explored how engagement varied over time, both at the course level and between students, to identify patterns and influences of student engagement in a blended course. We found that clarity of instruction and relevance of activities influenced student satisfaction more than the medium of …

Measuring Student Engagement In Technology-Mediated Learning: A Review, Curtis R. Henrie, Lisa R. Halverson, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

Using digital technology to deliver content, connect learners, and enable anytime, anywhere learning is increasing, but keeping students engaged in technology-mediated learning is challenging. Instructional practices that encourage greater engagement are essential if we are to effectively use digital instructional technologies. To determine the impact of innovative instructional practices on learning, we need useful measures of student engagement. These measures should be adaptable to the unique challenges to studying technology-mediated learning, such as when students learn at a distance or in a blended learning course. In this review, we examine existing approaches to measure engagement in technology-mediated learning. We identify …

Learning In Action: Implementing A Facilitated Learning Programme For Tourism Micro-Firms, Dr. Felicity Kelliher, Dr. Leana Reinl

Irish Business Journal

This paper presents findings from research associated with a tourism micro-firm facilitated learning programme, carried out over a four-year period. Considering traditional educational interventions have had limited impact on micro-firm activities; the researchers propose an alternative approach to meeting the learning needs of micro-firms which encompass local and self-developed knowledge and the successful completion of learning cycles. Using a behavioural lens, the researchers’ consider the experiential learning impact of facilitated learning programmes on observed micro-firm owner-managers. Adopting an action learning (AL) approach, the researchers explore the design, development, implementation and impact of this programme and contemplate the observed micro-firms’ focus …

Generative Learning Strategy Use And Self-Regulatory Prompting In Digital Text, Alan J. Reid, Gary R. Morrison

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The digital revolution is shifting print-based textbooks to digital text, and it has afforded the opportunity to incorporate meaningful learning strategies and otherwise separate metacognitive activities directly into these texts as embedded support. A sample of 89 undergraduates read a digital, expository text on the basics of photography. The treatment prompted the reader with selfregulatory questions and embedded a generative strategy, paraphrasing, and confirmed previous research on the relationships between prior knowledge and level of self-regulation on reading comprehension.

A one-way between subjects ANOVA revealed significance for the level of self-regulation on comprehension-level items and for the level of prior …

A Thematic Analysis Of The Most Highly Cited Scholarship In The First Decade Of Blended Learning Research, Lisa R. Halverson, Charles R. Graham, Kristian J. Spring, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Curtis R. Henrie

Faculty Publications

Blended learning, which combines face-to-face and online learning modalities, is a heterogeneous and steadily developing area of design and inquiry. With the expansion and maturation of blended learning research, voices enter the conversation in increasing numbers and diversity. This study continues the work begun by Halverson, Graham, Spring, and Drysdale (2012), which determined the most frequently cited books, edited book chapters, and articles on blended learning, as well as the journals in which these highly cited articles appeared. After finding where the conversations about blended learning were happening and which scholars were at the forefront of these conversations, we now …

Blended Learning In Higher Education: Institutional Adoption And Implementation, Wendy W. Porter, Charles R. Graham, Kristian A. Spring, Kyle R. Welch

Faculty Publications

Relatively little of the current research on blended learning (BL) addresses institutional adoption issues. Additional research is needed to guide institutions of higher education in strategically adopting and implementing blended learning on campus. The authors conducted a prior study in which they proposed a framework for institutional BL adoption (Graham, Woodfield, & Harrison, 2012), identifying three stages: (1) awareness/exploration, (2) adoption/early implementation, and (3) mature implementation/ growth. The framework also identified key strategy, structure, and support issues universities may address at each stage. The current study applies this adoption framework to 11 U. S. institutions participating in a Next Generation …

Examining The Impact Of Video Feedback On Instructor Social Presence In Blended Courses, Jered Borup, Richard E. West, Rebecca A. Thomas, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Nature Of Teacher Engagement At An Online High School, Jered Borup, Charles R. Graham, Jeffrey S. Drysdale

Faculty Publications

Little research has examined the critical components of successful K-12 online schools, due in part to the theoretical focus of current frameworks on higher education rather than characteristics of K-12 online learners and environments. Using K-12 online research, this paper examined teaching presence as explained by the Community of Inquiry framework and identified additional teacher roles that needed stronger emphasis. We termed the new construct teacher engagement. Teacher engagement was shown to be helpful in describing and identifying effective teacher practices at the Open High School of Utah (OHSU), a successful online charter school. Through a series of 22 interviews …

The Adolescent Community Of Engagement: A Framework For Research On Adolescent Online Learning, Jered Borup, Richard E. West, Charles R. Graham, Randall S. Davies

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the Adolescent Community of Engagement (ACE ) framework as a guide to research and design in adolescent online learning environments. Several online learning frameworks have emerged from higher education contexts, but these frameworks do not explicitly address the unique student and environmental characteristics of the adolescent online learning environment. The ACE framework consists of four main constructs that make up an adolescent online learning community. The first three (student engagement, teacher engagement, and peer engagement) build on frameworks originally established from higher education contexts. The ACE framework additionally recognizes the role of parents in their children’s learning …

An Online High School “Shepherding” Program: Teacher Roles And Experiences Mentoring Online Students, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup

Faculty Publications

Several online programs use on-site facilitators to create a stronger sense of community and reduce student dropout. However, little research addresses how programs that are fully online can provide their students with comparable support. This case study analyzed a “shepherding program” at Mountain Heights Academy, a fully online high school. We found that the shepherding program enabled fully online teachers to provide their students with many of the services typical of on-site facilitators. The roles of the shepherding program included building caring relationships, facilitating content interaction, and providing students with the communication links they needed to be successful. In addition, …

An Investigation Of Practices And Tools That Enabled Technology-Mediated Caring In An Online High School, Andrea Velasquez, Charles R. Graham, Richard E. West

Faculty Publications

The ethic of care has been an important part of the dialogue related to learning in traditional K-12 learning environments particularly because emotional relationships and caring pedagogies have been shown to be particularly important for adolescent learners. However, as online learning has become increasingly popular, there are concerns about the perceived impersonal nature of the online medium, and how this might particularly affect adolescent learners. The purpose of this study was to examine technology choices when experiencing caring interactions in the online schooling context of Mountain Heights Academy (formerly Open High School of Utah). The caring experience of two teacher …

Academic Performance, Course Completion Rates, And Student Perception Of The Quality And Frequency Of Interaction In A Virtual High School, Abigail Hawkins, Charles R. Graham, Richard R. Sudweeks, Michael K. Barbour

Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of teacher– student interaction and academic performance at an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide virtual high school. Academic performance was measured by grade awarded and course completion. There were 2269 students who responded to an 18-item survey designed to measure student perceptions on the quality and frequency of teacher–student interaction. Quality of interaction was subdivided into three constructs representing feedback, procedural, and social interaction. A confirmatory factor analysis helped to establish the fit of the statistical model for teacher–student interaction. Hierarchical logistical regression indicates that an increase in the quality and frequency of interaction …

Caring In A Technology-Mediated Online High School Context, Andrea Velasquez, Charles R. Graham, Richard Osguthorpe

Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to describe how caring is experienced in the technology-mediated context of the Open High School in Utah, an online charter high school. Two female teachers, two male students, and two female students were interviewed three times over 9 months regarding their experience of caring teacher–student interactions. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Discovered themes were then organized into three superordinate themes: engrossment, motivational displacement, and reciprocity. Results suggest not only that caring interactions are possible in the online context, but also that specific caring pedagogies can strengthen the teacher–student relationship online. Additionally, …