Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Individual Differences In Digital Badging: Do Learner Characteristics Matter?, Joey R. Fanfarelli, Thomas Rudy Mcdaniel

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Badge use has rapidly expanded in recent years and has benefited a variety of applications. However, a large portion of the research has applied a binary useful or not useful approach to badging. Few studies examine the characteristics of the user and the impact of those characteristics on the effectiveness of the badging system. This study takes preliminary steps toward that cause, examining the effectiveness of a badging system across two web-based university courses in relation to the individual differences of the learners. Individual differences are examined through the lens of Long-Dziuban reactive behavior types and traits. Results revealed differences …

Ua68/2 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Interdisciplinary Studies, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Interdisciplinary Studies which include:

• African American Studies
• Asian Studies
• Canadian Studies
• Film Studies
• Latin American Studies

Developing Moocs To Narrow The College Readiness Gap: Challenges And Recommendations For A Writing Course, Shoba Bandi-Rao, Christopher Devers

Publications and Research

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have demonstrated the potential to deliver quality and cost effective course materials to large numbers of students. Approximately 60% of first-year students at community colleges are underprepared for college-level coursework. One reason for low graduation rates is the lack of the overall college readiness. MOOCs offering "remedial" writing have the potential to better prepare high school graduates for college, thereby increasing their chances of completing a degree and reducing the cost of education for students, families, institutions, and taxpayers. However, MOOCs are typically more suitable for motivated and prepared students. Designing a MOOC on writing …

Talking Less But Saying More: Teaching Us History Online, Carolyn J. Lawes

History Faculty Publications

After years of teaching in person at a large public university in Virginia, I decided to move my undergraduate U.S. history courses for that school online. I did so for one reason: the online format allows me to off er a better history class.

Task Design Challenges: The Meta Task Of Building Plns For Foreign Language Acquisition, Pilar Munday, Jaya Kannan

Languages Faculty Publications

Our latest collaborative research has primarily focused on studying challenges for digital pedagogy in promoting active learning and learner autonomy. These action research projects have been anchored in foreign language contexts in higher education settings. Here is a summary of two projects from 2014-2015: 1) With the goal of enhancing teaching practices in foreign language classrooms, the research project analyzed the use of student created videos to promote active learning. Using a case study of concrete tasks integrating student created videos in strengthening Spanish Language Acquisition (SLA), we were able to a)identify key characteristics of active learning, b)present the challenges …

Perceptions Of Spiritual Formation Among Nontraditional Seminary Students, Jacob Dunlow

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Theological higher education is going through massive changes as a result of the technological changes in education. Many seminaries have gone from a strictly on campus option for students seeking a master's degree, to a variety of options available to students. Given this recent shift, research is needed to study the impact of these nontraditional means of education on the training of future pastors and church leaders.

This research was conducted with the purpose of studying students who choose to attend seminary through a nontraditional means of online, hybrid, and extension centers. Specifically, exploring the relationship between mentoring and the …

The Techno-Pedagogical Pivot: Designing And Implementing A Digital Writing Tool, Justin Olmanson, Katrina Kennett, Bill Cope

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In educational technology, the idea of innovation is usually tethered to contemporary technological inventions and emerging technologies. Yet, using long-known technologies in ways that are pedagogically or experientially new can reposition them as emerging educational technologies. In this study we explore how a subtle pivot in pedagogical thinking led to an innovative education technology. We describe the design and implementation of an online writing tool that scaffolds students in the evaluation of their own informational texts. We think about how pathways to innovation can emerge from pivots, namely a leveraging of longstanding practices in novel ways has the potential to …

Inter-University International Collaboration For An Online Course: A Case Study, John O'Connor, Claudia Igbrude, Dudley Turner

Papers, presentations and other resources

This paper is a practical account of the experience of collaboration between two international partners – one in Europe and the other in the United States. This collaboration experience is a lens through which the authors outline the origin, design and implementation of an inter-university teaching experience. The processes, strengths and difficulties are outlined and the rationale for utilising a virtual world is given, along with the participants’ perspectives of the experience. No institutional changes or formal agreements were needed.

The same course was validated and accredited by each institution and designed to address the requirements of each with the …

Student-Directed Blended Learning With Facebook Groups And Streaming Media: Media In Asia At Furman University, Tami Blumenfield

Asian Studies Publications

Furman University prizes itself on being an engaged learning, liberal arts institution with extensive faculty-student interaction. 96% of students live on campus, leading some to question whether reducing face-to-face instructional time makes any sense pedagogically. Coming from a different institution that encouraged faculty to create hybrid courses, and seeing the creativity and freedom that offered, I wanted to experiment with the format in this new institutional environment. Would it still be effective? What adaptations would be necessary, and how would students react to this different course format?

In Fall 2013, I taught a carefully designed blended learning course that met …

Microblogging As A Facilitator Of Online Community In Graduate Education, Vincent Anthony Rhodes

English Theses & Dissertations

Part-time and distance-learning students can experience a sense of isolation from their peers and the university. Concern about this isolation and resulting student attrition has increased in the midst of explosive growth in online course enrollments. One possible solution: building a stronger sense of community within the online graduate classroom using microblogging technology such as Twitter. Unfortunately, scholars across disciplines define community in different ways with some rejecting the concept altogether in favor of other theoretical constructs. And, few scholars have examined the notion of online classroom community from an English Studies perspective exploring the rhetorical exigencies that underpin this …

Best Practices For Online Theological Ministry Preparation: A Delphi Method Study, John Cartwright

Faculty Dissertations

This doctoral thesis intended to provide a clear vision of best practices in the area of online theological ministry training at the graduate level by consulting experts in the field. The research question that needed to be answered was, “What are the best practices for ministry preparation in online theological education?”

Despite tremendous growth in online learning even among theological institutions, casual observations suggest that the decision to offer online programs may not always have been rooted in deep pedagogical or theological reflection. In other words, in the quest to utilize online education as a viable option for degree preparation, …

Composing The Classroom, Constructing Hybridity: Writing Technology In(To) First-Year Composition Course Design, Christopher Friend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Online education has received excessive attention in recent decades as its characteristics and potential have undergone intense debate and scrutiny. Similar debate and scrutiny surround the content of first-year composition (FYC) courses. As we continue to define what composition studies entails, we redefine what we study in FYC. Yet discussions of blended delivery mode---using both online and on-ground teaching methods---get lost amid these debates. This dissertation addresses the dearth of research on blended online writing instruction by asserting the essential nature of connections between the content and the delivery of FYC courses. Through case studies of two experienced instructors teaching …

A Diachronic Overview Of Mobile Learning: A Shift Toward Student-Centered Pedagogies, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This chapter provides a brief historical overview of the technology contributing to mobile learning (mLearning) and the concomitant progression towards student-centred pedagogies. To begin, mLearning is defined. The theoretical, pedagogical and conceptual underpinnings of it are then explained, with a focus on the technologies and the pedagogies of each decade, from the 1970s and Kay’s futuristic vision of a mobile learning device, to today’s mobile learning technologies that have surpassed Kay’s vision.

Analyzing Students' Perceptions Of Their Examination Of Writing Competency (Ewc) Readiness In Online First-Year Composition Courses, Harry Pendleton Styles Ii

English Theses & Dissertations

Due to its flexibility and convenience, online instruction is increasingly becoming an attractive, viable option for many students. In 2008, Norfolk State University began promoting online course and program development as a means of "growing the university." Thus, academic departments have increased the number of available online courses and online degree programs. All degree-seeking students are required to pass the Examination of Writing Competency (EWC) which they are eligible to take after completing two semesters of first-year composition. This study, utilizing a survey and site (course) "observation," analyzes the perceptions of students who have completed or nearly completed two semesters …

The Use Of A Virtual Guest Speaker As A Catalyst For Deep Learning, Alcione N. Ostorga, Peter Farruggio

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Teaching undergraduate students as they prepare to become bilingual teachers is often a challenge due to their maturational development and the logistical limitations of college courses. Nevertheless, teacher educators must foster preservice teachers’ understanding of factors that impact learning and academic success. This article analyses the use of a virtual guest speaker in an asynchronous discussion as a way to promote critical analysis of policy issues which superseded the memorization of concepts taught in the course. Analysis reveals that the virtual guest speaker served as a catalyst for critical thought about the course content.

The Invisible Woman And The Silent University, Elizabeth Robinson Cole

Dissertations

Anna Eliot Ticknor (1823 – 1896) founded the first correspondence school in the United States, the Society to Encourage Studies at Home. In the fall of 1873 an educational movement was quietly initiated from her home in Boston, Massachusetts. A politically and socially sophisticated leader, she recognized the need that women felt for continuing education and understood how to offer the opportunity within the parameters afforded women of nineteenth century America. With a carefully chosen group of women and one man, Ticknor built a learning society that extended advanced educational opportunities to all women regardless of financial ability, educational background, …

Listening For The Squeaky Wheel: Designing Distance Writing Program Assessment, Virginia M. Tucker

English Faculty Publications

Distance writing programs still struggle with assessment strategies that can evaluate student writing as well as their ability to communicate about that writing with peers at a distance. This article uses Kim, Smith and Maeng's 2008 distance education program assessment scheme to evaluate a single distance writing program at Old Dominion University. The program's specific assessment needs include the ability to determine how well students are developing expert insider prose and working together as a virtual community. Kim, Smith and Maeng's assessment scheme was applied to six courses within the writing program, revealing that programmatic assessment weaknesses included providing varied …

Is One Life Enough? Delivering A Module In Second Life, John O'Connor, Claudia Igbrude

Conference Papers

The potential of online virtual environments, such as Second Life for delivering remote learning continues to be debated by academics. It would appear to offer particular opportunities to support remote learning in art & design, where there is a particular requirement for live visual interaction.

The School of Art, Design & Printing at the Technological University Dublin (DIT) received funding to develop a module for undergraduate students to test this theory. A five-credit module (under the European Credit Transfer System) received formal approval from the Institute in 2009 and was delivered as a pilot to academic staff who were interested …

Adaptation Of Art History Courses To The Online Environment: Problems And Perspectives, Anahit Ter-Stepanian

Art & Design Faculty Publications

Distance learning poses new problems for instructors and changes the traditional understanding of instructional design. The adaptation of traditional, face-to-face courses to asynchronous online format entails redefining pedagogical practices and presents new challenges for designers and instructors resulting from the lack of direct student-instructor interaction. This is particularly pertinent in art history courses, where critical thinking, group discussions, critiquing works of art as well as assessment methods heavily rely on student’s physical presence in the classroom. Faculty members are skeptical of the effectiveness of distance learning and voice their concerns. The paper questions whether it is possible to ensure students’ …

Composing Identity In Online Instructional Contexts, Kevin Eric Depew

English Faculty Publications

As writing instruction moves from the defined spatial and temporal parameters of the traditional classroom to various degrees of online interaction—from explanatory e-mails to courseware mediated distance education—instructors have had to reconceptualize how they identify themselves to their student audience. While many instructors have tried to translate their face-to-face strategies to the digital medium with disparate degrees of success, others understand the different parameters digital media offer and see new opportunities for literally composing their instructional identity. This contribution will examine the strategies instructors have used to compose their identities with computer-mediated communications and propose suggestions for negotiating this process.

Melodia: An Online Web-Based Program For Teaching Melodic And Rhythmic Dictation, Aaron Tauchen

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Truth Claims Of Online Higher Education A Social Constructionist Analysis, Thomas Wells Brignall Iii

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 77, No. 24, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Hall, Rex. Fewer Get Student Insurance
• Moore, Brian. Access Denied – Football
• Holm, Hollan. Student Government Association Dissenters Spark New Discussions
• Hoang, Mai. City Gets Unexpected Boost
• Phi Kappa Phi to Hold Open House Tomorrow
• Group for Non-Traditional Students Holds Seminar – Women in Transition
• Five Students Compete in Math Contest
• Play Closes Tonight – Caucasian Chalk Circle
• Stay Healthy Until Health Center Fixed
• Grady, Brian. Editorial Cartoon re: Health Services
• Plugging In, Looking Ahead & Moving UP – Virtual Education
• Brown, Steve. College Heights Herald Gets a Red …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 77, No. 23, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Warren, Brandy. Virtual Enrollment Explodes
• Corbin, Brett. DUIs Decrease While Drug Arrests Climb
• Hall, Rex. Western Gets Replies to Lawsuit – Collegiate Health Care
• Hall, Rex. Additional Funding Devoted to Health Center
• More Winners Joining the Hill – Soccer
• Grady, Brian. Editorial Cartoon re: Soccer
• Saber, Mary. Thank You, Boys – Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• Miller, Patricia. Let’s Be Friends – Disabled Persons
• Woodring, Judy. College Heights Herald Gets a Bottom
• Corbin, Brett. Founding Dean of Potter College of Arts & Letters Dies – Paul Hatcher
• Lord, Joseph. Laptops Could …

Al-Quran Online, Abdullawapa Faoni

Student Works (2000-2009)

Kemajuan bidang teknologi maklumat pada masa kini sangat menggalakkan di mana ia telah berkembang pesat bukan hanya membabitkan bidang Pendidikan sahaja malah turut membabitkan sektor lain. Perkembangan ini memerlukan kita melakukan beberapa perubahan bagi memenuhi kehendak masyarakat yang sentiasa mengikuti arus evolusi teknologi maklumat. Sesuatu perkara akan menjadi lebih mudah jika ianya dapat dicapai dengan hanya melayari internet. Sasaran projek membina sistem al-Quran online ini adalah untuk menyebarkan maklumat tentang kitab suci al-Quran dengan memberi focus terhadap pencaraian makna kalimah-kalimah al-Quran secara elektronik. Paparan surah adalah merangkumi surah-surah dalam juzu’ 30. Selain itu, terdapat juga ruangan forum yang meberi kemudahan …

Sistem Kiosk Ilmu Tauhid Di Laman Web (Siskit), Muhammad Aminuddin

Student Works (2000-2009)

Umat Islam menghadapi pelbagai cabaran dari semasa ke semasa, pada setiap zaman. Cabaran-cabaran itu mula datang dalam pelbagai bentuk dan melalui cara yang berlainan. Antara cabaran terbesar yang dihadapai oleh umat Islam kini adalah cabaran terhadap akidah dan tauhid mereka. Akidah adalah merupakan softport bagai umat Islam. Ia merupakan elemen terpenting dalam diri yang membentuk kekuatan dalaman diri umat Islam berkenaan perkara-perkara ghaibiah dan ketuhanan. Softport ini perlu dijaga, diasah dan memerlukan kepada canangan melalui amalan dan ilmu agama. Ia juga merupakan tempat terlemah pada umat Islam, andaikata mereka tidak mengambil berat berkenaan hal sedemikian. Ini kerana cabaran mendatangjuga adalah …

Expending The Content Of Curriculum : Implementation Of The World Wide Web Into Foreign Language Teaching, Ping Gao

Graduate Research Papers

This study investigated the factors that impact the decisions to integrate the World Wide Web into foreign language curriculum. This inquiry involved a combined approach -- including a survey and a case study. The current status of the technology application in foreign language instruction at a state university in the United States was assessed through the survey. It revealed that integrating the Web was the least immediate concern of most foreign language professors due to their limited knowledge, their inadequate training, and their ambiguous attitudes. A case study of an innovator's practice of integrating the Web in foreign language instruction …

Continuing Education At Purdue University: The First Hundred Years (1874–1974), Frank K. Burrin

Continuing Education

The History of Continuing Education at Purdue: The First Hundred Years (1874–1974) was compiled from documents and manuscripts left by Dr. Frank K. Burrin. After his retirement, Dr. Burrin set himself the task of writing a coherent, full-length history of Purdue's contributions to continuing education. Unfortunately, his project was left incomplete at his death. Fortunately, his friends and colleagues at the university were unwilling to let his dream die with him. The present monograph is the result of their concern.

The fragmentary nature of the surviving manuscript made it impossible either to reconstruct Dr. Burrin's original plan for the organization …

The Sherwood Conservatory Of Music Annual Catalog 1984-1985, The Sherwood Conservatory Of Music

Academic Catalogs

The 1984-1985 Annual Academic Catalog for Sherwood Music School, featuring information about the School, its Board of Trustees, course descriptions, information about faculty, admissions requirements, curricula, academic regulations, and tuition and fees.

The Sherwood Conservatory Of Music Annual Catalog 1983-1984, The Sherwood Conservatory Of Music

Academic Catalogs

The 1983-1984 Annual Academic Catalog for Sherwood Music School, featuring information about the School, its Board of Trustees, course descriptions, information about faculty, admissions requirements, curricula, academic regulations, and tuition and fees.