Instructional Media Design Commons^™

Visions Of Quality Assurance In Online Mba Programs, Kerry Rice, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Ross Perkins

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online MBA programs have undergone significant growth in recent years. However, quality assurance measures have not kept pace with this growth. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize aspects of quality assurance specific to Association to Advance College Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited online MBA programs. The Delphi methodology was used to facilitate a group conversation among administrators, faculty members, and instructional designers around the topic of quality assurance for online Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs over the next 3-5 years. This paper reports the results of this study and how the results will help to direct …

Developing Computational Thinking With Educational Technologies For Young Learners, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu, Sally Baldwin

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article aims to provide an overview of the opportunities for developing computational thinking in young learners. It includes a review of empirical studies on the educational technologies used to develop computational thinking in young learners, and analyses and descriptions of a selection of commercially available technologies for developing computational thinking in young learners. The challenges and implications of using these technologies are also discussed.

Knowledge-Sharing And Potential Virtual Communities Of Practice In The U.S. Coast Guard’S Afloat Community: A Qualitative Pilot Study, Lisa Rodman, Jesús Trespalacios

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Virtual communities of Practice (VCoP) offer a flexible option for professional development that may be employed by geographically dispersed communities. Due to unique and dynamic operational demands and a reduced training budget, the United States Coast Guard’s (USCG) afloat community has limited opportunity for formal professional development, but alternative learning options have yet to be formally researched. This qualitative pilot study employed purposeful sampling to conduct 6 one-on-one interviews of afloat members with varying degrees of afloat experience and total time in service. The interviews were used to elucidate the knowledge-sharing culture of the afloat community, including the degree to …

Examining Student Learning And Perceptions In Social Annotation-Based Translation Activities, Na Zhao, Fei Gao, Dazhi Yang

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Limited research has been conducted on how to incorporate computer-supported collaborative learning into translation instruction despite the potential benefits. A study was conducted with a group of college English majors in China to examine the effects of using a social annotation tool to encourage student interaction during translation activities. The results showed that students made greater improvement when they completed the translation assignments with the support of a social annotation tool than when they completed the assignments in the traditional way. In addition, students had a positive attitude toward the use of the social annotation tool.

E-Portfolios, Course Design, And Student Learning: A Case Study Of A Faculty Learning Community, Devshikha Bose, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this case study was to investigate faculty perceptions of participating in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) and how the FLC contributed toward their pedagogical use of e-portfolios. The researchers were also interested in faculty perceptions of the potential impact of e-portfolios on student learning. An online survey and focus group were used to collect data for this study. Results suggest that the FLC, as a professional development experience, enabled faculty at different levels of e-portfolio adoption, to learn from their peers, become more confident instructors, reflect on course design, and plan for changes in the instructional use …

Evidence‐Based Survey Design: The Use Of Ascending Or Descending Order Of Likert‐Type Response Options, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Megan Kennedy, Ingrid Campbell

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Survey designers should be aware of response order effects associated with left-side selection bias, acquiescence bias, and satisficing. A sufficient amount of research has shown that descending-ordered response scales generate more positive responses from respondents than ascending-ordered scales. A simple solution to the inflated data obtained from descendingordered scales is to present response scales in ascending order. Otherwise, descending-ordered scales should be used with strategies for reducing response order effects.

Improving Caregivers’ Confidence With The Powerful Tools For Caregivers Program, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Jordy Lepiane, Jennifer A. Shamsy, Melissa Radloff

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Powerful Tools for Caregivers (PTC) program is designed to help caregivers develop skills to improve their self-efficacy in caregiving. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the PTC program in Boise, Idaho, the program’s pre-survey (n = 277), end-of-program survey (n = 131), and 6-month follow-up post-survey data (n = 100) collected between 2011 and 2017 were analyzed in this study. The end-of-program survey data indicated that caregivers viewed the quality of the program to be excellent and that all of them felt more confident as a caregiver. Factor analysis and reliability testing on the pre-survey data confirmed that seven questions …

Despite Predictions Of Their Demise, College Textbooks Aren’T Going Away, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

While textbooks have been said to be on their way, they are still a mainstay in higher education.

Specifying Human Performance Solutions Through Well‐Formed Business Requirements, Peter C. Honebein

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Are you looking for a way to communicate the results of gap and cause analyses to your clients and stakeholders clearly, simply, and quickly? Writing business requirements is a method for documenting key human performance accomplishments. Through well‐formed business requirements, human performance practitioners are more able to discover creative and effective training and non‐training solutions across the six boxes of the behavior engineering model.

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 …

Work In Progress: Integrating Computational Thinking In Stem Education Through A Project-Based Learning Approach, Dazhi Yang, Steve R. Swanson, Bhaskar C. S. Chittoori, Youngkyun Baek

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This work in progress describes the design of a project-based, STEM +C (Computing) curriculum for 4^th to 6^th grade students in an afterschool setting, which is part of a large NSF-funded STEM+C project. The paper reports the preliminary outcome of the implementation of the first two STEM+C projects that focuses on student attitudes toward STEM and the computational thinking revealed during students’ scientific inquiry and problem solving processes.

Public Comment Sentiment On Educational Videos: Understanding The Effects Of Presenter Gender, Video Format, Threading, And Moderation On Youtube Ted Talk Comments, George Veletsianos, Royce Kimmons, Ross Larsen, Tonia A. Dousay, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scholars, educators, and students are increasingly encouraged to participate in online spaces. While the current literature highlights the potential positive outcomes of such participation, little research exists on the sentiment that these individuals may face online and on the factors that may lead some people to face different types of sentiment than others. To investigate these issues, we examined the strength of positive and negative sentiment expressed in response to TEDx and TED-Ed talks posted on YouTube (n = 655), the effect of several variables on comment and reply sentiment (n = 774,939), and the projected effects that …

What Leads To Player's Enjoyment And Achievement In A Mobile Learning Game?, Achraf Touati, Youngkyun Baek

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigated students’ perceptions of competence and enjoyment of a mobile game within the context of mobile game-based learning. The proposed model showed that perceived competence and game attitude were the main predictors of enjoyment, while no direct relationship was found between perceived competence and achievement. The model simultaneously considered other factors such as prior game experience and intensity of use, and final analysis revealed that these two variables were directly related. Another important finding was the strong impact of prior game experience on perceived competence. Results are interpreted with reference to implications for possible means of improving learning …

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 …

Educational And Environmental Support For Novice E‐Learning Developers, Lisa A. Giacumo, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Ingrid A. Campbell, Angela Bilkey, Erin Gibson

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The e‐learning marketplace is evolving. Many organizations use rapid e‐learning development tools today, and instructional designers often need to upgrade their marketable skill‐sets as applied to e‐learning. We gathered survey and interview data from academic and corporate samples of instructional designers and e‐learning developers to investigate which features of rapid e‐learning development tools they value and why. Results suggest that formal education and organizational support are needed to help them become competent and marketable e‐learning practitioners.

Evidence‐Based Survey Design: The Use Of Continuous Rating Scales In Surveys, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Ieva Swanson, Katherine Roberts, Andrea Hankinson

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

When practitioners and researchers develop structured surveys, they may use Likert-type discrete rating scales or continuous rating scales. When administering surveys via the web, it is important to assess the value of using continuous rating scales such as VASs or sliders. Our close examination of the literature on the effectiveness of the two types of rating scales showed benefits and drawbacks. Many studies recommended against using sliders due to functional difficulties causing low response rates.

Evidence‐Based Survey Design: The Use Of Negatively Worded Items In Surveys, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Julie R. Barkin, Jennifer A. Shamsy

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

A close examination of the literature on including positively and negatively worded items in structured survey questionnaires revealed that contrary to the traditional wisdom, it is better not to use a mix of positively and negatively worded items as doing so can create threats to validity and reliability of the survey instrument. If mixing, it is recommended to use strategies derived from research to improve the quality of data and the instrument validity and reliability.

Online Course Design In Higher Education: A Review Of National And Statewide Evaluation Instruments, Sally Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research identifies six online course evaluation instruments used nationally or in statewide systems. We examined the characteristics (i.e., number of standards and criteria) and coded the criteria that guide the design of online courses. We discussed the focus of the instruments and their unique features.

Creating Accessible Video For The Online Classroom, Krista Greear, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Videos are being integrated more and more into the online classroom. However, they can create barriers for learners with hearing problems. If a student asks for an ADA accommodation for a video, you will be scrambling at the last minute to create a text supplement. That's why it's good practice to create a text supplement at the same time that you create a video.

The Effect Of Shared Leadership On Team Processes And Performance, Soo Jeoung Han, Yunsoo Lee, Michael Beyerlein, Judith Kolb

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose - This study examined the effect of shared leadership on student project team processes and outcomes. We focused on shared leadership and its association with team processes (coordination, goal commitment, and knowledge sharing) and team performance.

Design/methodology/approach - To examine the shared leadership, team processes, and performance model, we conducted two separate surveys of 158 graduate and undergraduate students working in project teams at a large southwestern university.

Findings - Results showed that shared leadership positively affected coordination activities, goal commitment, and knowledge sharing, which in turn, positively affect team performance, even though shared leadership had no direct effect …

A Multilevel Model Of Collaboration And Creativity, Michael Beyerlein, Soo Jeoung Han, Ambika Prasad

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The progress of science requires the growth of understanding in both directions, downward from the whole to the parts and upward from the parts to the whole.

—FREEMAN DYSON, 1996, p.2

Creativity does not occur in a vacuum. An enabling environment must exist. Whether creativity is at the breakthrough level or a cluster of micro-level events, it requires environments with special facets—especially collaboration that enables knowledge sharing and idea synthesis.

Online Educators’ Recommendations For Teaching Online: Crowdsourcing In Action, Joanna C. Dunlap, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the years, online educators have learned a great deal about what works and doesn’t work when designing and facilitating online courses. During the past few years, we have used crowdsourcing to invite experienced online educators to share their recommendations for teaching online. In this article, we describe our use of crowdsourcing to curate a robust list of online-teaching recommendations, present the recommendations experienced online educators have shared with us, share the themes resulting from our analysis, describe how the themes align with the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model, and discuss how adhering to the crowdsourced recommendations may enhance the …

Looking For A Needle In A Haystack: Call And Advanced Language Proficiency, Jack Burston, Kelly Arispe

World Languages Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of this meta-analysis is to evaluate how instructional technology has impacted advanced second language (AL2) development. Although numerous meta-analyses have been conducted within the CALL literature over the past two decades, they primarily focus upon learning outcomes and related effect sizes. None focus on advanced learning per se. Where AL2 is even mentioned, which is only rarely, little or no attention is paid to critical research parameters within the studies that are analyzed. Most notably, in summarizing learning outcomes, the linguistic competence of learners claimed to be at advanced level is simply taken at face value. So, …

Live Synchronous Web Meetings In Asynchronous Online Courses: Reconceptualizing Virtual Office Hours, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Joanna C. Dunlap, Chareen Snelson

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Most online courses rely solely on asynchronous text-based online communication. This type of communication can foster anytime, anywhere reflection, critical thinking, and deep learning. However, it can also frustrate participants because of the lack of spontaneity and visual cues and the time it takes for conversations to develop and feedback to be shared, as well as the self-directedness and discipline it requires of participants to regularly check in and monitor discussions over time. Synchronous forms of communication can address some of these constraints. However, online educators often avoid using synchronous forms of communication in their courses, because of its own …

The Design And Implementation Outcome Of An Online Undergraduate Thermodynamics Class, Dazhi Yang, Krishna Pakala

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online learning is not common for most undergraduate core engineering courses. However, the growing need for online engineering courses necessitates the design and delivery of online courses that can allow for the flexibility and convenience the distance learning experiences can offer. Thermodynamics is among the most difficult engineering subjects to teach, especially online, where instructors are unable to demonstrate the overwhelming number of equations and applications as they would in face-to-face lectures. This paper describes the design and development of an online, undergraduate thermodynamics class. It reports the implementation outcome of student final course grade and the students’ learning experience …

Evidence-Based Survey Design: The Use Of A Midpoint On The Likert Scale, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Katherine Roberts, Ieva Swanson, Andrea Hankinson

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Likert-type scales are often used in survey instruments, and practitioners and researchers need to clearly understand the appropriate use of a midpoint in these scales. The authors of this article explore research studies from various disciplines to indicate that there are circumstances when a midpoint should be included and others where it should not. They provide tables, summarizing the benefits and problems in each case as well as evidence-based strategies to employ.

Following A Ten-Step Procedure To Evaluate The Administrative Services Qualification Card Program, Julie R. Barkin, Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chyung, Megan Lemke

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, the authors describe a ten-step procedure for conducting program evaluation in the HPI context, followed by a case study illustrating the procedure taken and outcomes produced. A team of graduate students at Boise State University completed an evaluation study of an Administrative Services Qualification Card program in a not-for-profit organization by following the ten-step evaluation procedure. The end result was a set of evidence-based recommendations focused on improving the quality of the program.

In Search Of A Better Understanding Of Social Presence: An Investigation Into How Researchers Define Social Presence, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Chareen Snelson

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research on social presence and online learning continues to grow. But to date, researchers continue to define and conceptualize social presence very differently. For instance, at a basic level, some conceptualize social presence as one of three presences within a Community of Inquiry, while others do not. Given this problem, we analyzed how researchers in highly cited social presence research defined social presence in an effort to better understand how they are defining social presence and how this might be changing over time. In this article, we report the results of our inquiry and conclude with implications for future research …

Social Presence, Identity, And Online Learning Research: Research Development And Needs, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Vanessa P. Dennen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scholars across many disciplines have grappled with questions of what it means for a person to be and interact online. Who are we when we go online? How do others know we are there and how do they perceive us? Within the context of online learning, scholarly questions tend to reflect more specific concerns focused on how well people can learn in a setting limited to mediated interactions lacking various communication cues. For example, how can a teacher and students come to know each other if they cannot see each other? How can they effectively understand and communicate with each …

Building An Effective Online Thermodynamics Course For Undergraduate Engineering Students, Dazhi Yang, Krishna Pakala

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online learning does not appear to be the common option when approaching some core engineering courses. However, the growing need for online engineering courses necessitates the development of online courses that can allow for the flexibility and convenience these distance learning experiences can offer, which also can help broaden the participation in engineering education. Thermodynamics is among the most difficult engineering subjects to teach, ¹ , ² especially online, where instructors are unable to demonstrate the overwhelming number of equations and applications as they would in face-to-face lectures. ³ , ⁴. This paper describes the design and development of …