Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Rwu School Of Continuing Studies Changes Name To University College, Edward Fitzpatrick

Featured News Story

Roger Williams University today changed the name of its School of Continuing Studies to University College and unveiled a revamped website: https://www.rwu.edu/uc.

Rwu’S School Of Continuing Studies Launching Four Career Pathways Programs On Oct. 1, Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

Featured News Story

The Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies is launching four Career Pathways programs on Oct. 1 at RWU’s Providence campus.

Enrichri Home-Schooling Families Can Now Enroll Children In Rwu School Of Continuing Studies, Edward Fitzpatrick

Featured News Story

Children in the ENRICHri home-schooling community will have the opportunity to take classes at the Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies for the first time this fall, supplementing their home-school curriculum and allowing them to complete college courses before finishing high school.

The Effects Of Motivation, Technology And Satisfaction On Student Achievement In Face-To-Face And Online College Algebra Classes, Hanan Jamal Amro, Marie-Anne Mundy, Lori Kupczynski

TxDLA Journal of Digital Learning

Demand for online learning has increased in recent years due to the convenience of class delivery. However, some students appear to have difficulties with online education resulting in lack of completion. The study utilized a quantitative approach with archival data and survey design. The factors of demographics, motivation, technology, and satisfaction were compared for face-to-face and online students. MANCOVA tests were performed to analyze the data while controlling age and gender to uncover significant differences between the two groups. The sample and population for this study were predominantly Hispanic students.

Motivation and Technology were non-significant, but satisfaction was proven to …

Let's Take A Look Inside Discussion Boards, Annie Hoekman

SIDLIT Conference

This research examined the nature of the patterns of communication of discussion board users who were enrolled in undergraduate online courses. For purpose of analysis, this study used Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework (1992). Data were collected from discussion board posts of eight undergraduate online courses. An examination of these data was further informed by Garrison, Anderson, & Archer (1999) Community of Inquiry model. Using Garrison et al.’s ideas, the researcher described the nature of the interactions between students and faculty with respect to social, cognitive, and teaching presence in online discussion boards. The findings of this research …

Cool Newsletter, Fall 2018, Coastal Office Of Online Learning

Coastal Office of Online Learning/Digital Learning Publications

No abstract provided.

August/September 2018, Marci Grant

The CETL Correspondent

All SWOSU students have access to Upswing SWOSU’s 24/7 online Academic Help, Tutoring, Paper Reviews (Askup), and Writing lab assistance.

By adding information to course syllabi, regarding all available tutoring opportunities available to students, faculty would be helping students succeed in their courses.

Upswing supplements departmental tutoring hours by being available 24/7.

Understanding Disinterest: How Online Undergraduate Students Perceive And Respond To Disengaged Faculty Members, Blake Clifford

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretative, qualitative study was to discover reasons students participating in asynchronous online undergraduate courses perceive faculty as disinterested, the significance of this perception, and how students respond to disinterested faculty. Online education continues to evolve and change how students learn and how online undergraduate students perceive and respond to faculty members. With these changes, understanding which elements influence and impact the success of online undergraduate students becomes more complex. The distinctive social context of virtual learning environments often contributes to online students characterizing faculty as disengaged. Online students often have limited opportunities to interact directly with …

Examining The Meaning Of Course Evaluation, Tyesha Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teaching evaluations significantly influence faculty members’ annual evaluations and progress toward tenure and promotion within academic programs in higher education. Those with consistently strong, positive, teaching evaluations have been deemed effective instructors and often validated with increases in salary, teaching awards, and promotion and tenure. This is especially the case when strong course evaluations are received in addition to documented scholarship and research activities and positively evaluated professional service. However, questions are being raised about the meaningfulness of students' ratings of course instruction. Do these measures effectively assess competence as instructors or do they measure other unknown processes in the …

A Digital Immigrant Venture Into Teaching Online: An Autoethnographic Account Of A Classroom Teacher Transformed, Karin A. Lewis

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents an autoethnographic account of a classroom teacher’s experience transitioning to teaching online within the shifting culture of academe in the 21^st Century. After decades as a classroom teacher, the author engages in autoethnography to reflexively analyze her challenging transition to teaching online. The author examines her perspectives, beliefs, thought process, learning, and development. Findings regarding her new way of teaching, thinking, and living as an online instructor may provide insights for others in academe.

One Team’S Journey With Irubrics, Danan Myers, Amy Peterson, Angela Matthews, Miguel Sanchez

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

This study explains the process of incorporating electronic grading rubrics into multiple sections of one Digital Literacy course at one online university. Researchers share their experience transitioning from paper rubrics to electronic iRubrics linked directly into each assignment, a process that involved evaluating existing course rubrics, revising them to align with assignments and institutional learning outcomes (ILOs), running pilot courses using the automated iRubrics tool, and training faculty on the use of these new rubrics and the iRubrics tool. The experiences suggest that using iRubrics instead of paper rubrics can significantly increase the efficiency of grading and offer quick access …

July 2018, Marci Grant

The CETL Correspondent

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is spotlighting faculty members monthly in a series of articles called “Focus on SWOSU Faculty”. These faculty have been selected as doing inspiring active learning activities in their courses and have agreed to share some of their activities with the SWOSU community. One SWOSU faculty member will be spotlighted per month who is using transformative and other exciting active learning methods in their teaching which advances student learning at SWOSU.

Investigating Predictive Factors For Online College Coursework Success Among High School Students, Kenneth Tidwell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study seeks to examine the relationship of motivation and self-regulated learning with online college course completion among dual enrolled high school students in Northwest Iowa. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a predictive relationship between high school student self-efficacy, intrinsic value, test anxiety, cognitive strategy usage and self-regulation strategy usage and successful completion of an online college course. A predictive correlational study was performed. A convenient sample of 23 high school students from one urban Northwest Iowa school district was utilized. Students were surveyed regarding these traits using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire …

Reading Researchers In Search Of Common Ground: The Expert Study Revisited, Tiffany A. Flowers

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this book review was to analyze the main arguments regarding literacy instruction from various paradigms of research. The Foreword of this text was written by Dr. Patricia Edwards the Past President of the Literacy Research Association. As Dr. Edwards pointedly reveals in her endorsement of this text, “Reading researchers must find some common ground in order to provide teachers with the necessary strategies to teach children reading." Dr. Edwards takes a strong stance on the reading wars debate. This foreword leaves readers with key questions that are answered throughout the reading of this text such as, what …

The Hidden Curriculum Of Starting An Open-Access Online Journal: An Editor’S Perspective, Sydney Freeman Jr.

Journal of Research Initiatives

Starting a new academic journal is a scholarly undertaking that is not taught in graduate school. However, higher education professors may well find it necessary to engage in journal work during their careers. As available literature gives little direction for prospective journal founders and editors, this article provides a Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) account of a Senior Editor-in-Chief’s journey through the process of establishing a new academic journal. Challenges inherent to the process are discussed, and recommendations are provided for prospective editors.

Spirituality And Sense Of Coherence In Muslim Students : A Mixed Methods Study, Mohamed A. Ali, Franco Zengaro, Sally A. Zengaro

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this mixed methods research was to measure sense of coherence of convenient sample of college Muslim students in Tennessee and to investigate from their perspective, meaning attached to faith as a source of strength, motivation and courage. This research was framed in salutogenic model (sense of coherence). Two questions guided the research,1) to what degree do Muslim students indicate, through their education, age groups, place of birth, gender and marital status a sense of coherence? 2) Why and how is their faith important to them-when dealing with stressors- as sources of strength, meaning and courage to cope …

The Industrial Revolution Of Higher Education, Adriel Adon Hilton, Kevin Mcclain, Donavan L. Outten

Journal of Research Initiatives

For generations, higher education has accommodated its scholars through analog forms of instruction akin to blackboards and textbooks. As society blossomed into a globalized marketplace with information readily available at the stroke of a button, higher education has had to meet the needs of an evolving student population. Through the use of business models like Six Sigma, higher education has attempted to adapt and keep up with the times. This article will highlight the key impacts Six Sigma has had on higher education and supplementary improvements needed within the marketplace.

Autism And The Academic Library: A Study Of Online Communication, Amelia Anderson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses within the general population is reflected in the growing number of college and university students with ASD. This exploratory study used an unobtrusive qualitative content analysis design to explore the experiences of students with ASD in academic libraries. It seeks to understand their questions and concerns, as well as their experiences in using the library and library resources. Using the social model of disability studies, this study allows for voices of students with ASD to be presented in their own words, not through the perceptions of parents, caregivers, faculty, or staff. ©2018 …

Rwu Awarded $150,000 By Barr Foundation To Put Success Within Reach Of All Students, Edward Fitzpatrick

Featured News Story

School of Continuing Studies will use grant to design new school model that will serve English Language Learners.

How Mooc Reality Informs Distance Education, Online Learning, And Connectivism, Adelina G. Hristova, Fernanda C. Bonafini, Kathryn W. Jablokow, Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Eunsung Park

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

In this paper, we draw from our experience as designers, instructors, and researchers in the second edition of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) called Creativity, Innovation, and Change (CIC) 2.0 to discuss MOOC interactions. Since the CIC 2.0 MOOC was inspired by the tenets of connectivism, we employed connectivism and its four main conceptual components (autonomy, diversity, openness, and connectedness) to discuss these empirical findings from a theoretical perspective. We build our argument on the four levels of interactions (interactions with instructors, learners, course materials, and the interface) traditionally used in the field of distance education and online learning …

Pioneering Alternative Forms Of Collaboration, Rebecca J. Hogue, Jeffrey M. Keefer, Maha Bali, Keith Hamon, Apostolos Koutropoulos, Ron Leunissen, Lenandlar Singh

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

One key experience of human work, life, and play is people working together on a common goal. Yet this aspect of working together does not have one primary recognizable instantiation of what it means to work together. Words like collaboration and cooperation are often used to describe such instances, but even words like ‘collaboration’ don’t always have a neat formula for working through a collaboration. In this article we examine and reflect on our own collaborative experiences as a research group. We do this through an examination of past experiences, and through a method of writing that developed in our …

Developing And Testing An Electronic Homework System To Improve Student Engagement And Learning In Engineering Thermodynamics, Stephen Crown, Constantine Tarawneh, Jazmin Ley

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

An electronic homework delivery system was developed for an advanced undergraduate engineering thermodynamics course due to limitations in available electronic homework systems. A commercially available system was effectively used in the introductory course for simple problems. The complexity of problems in the advanced course made adoption of the same system problematic as students needed feedback in the problem solving process. A system was devised that delivers individual problems to each student, provides feedback throughout the process, and records results for assessment. The system has helped students become more active in homework assignments in both completing assignments and in doing original …

Use Of Lightboard Video Technology To Address Medical Dosimetry Concepts: Field Notes, Julia Vandermolen, Kristen Vu, Justin Melick

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

Focusing on Lightboard video technology to create online videos as a resource for Medical Dosimetry students, this field note shares perspectives and student voices on Lightboard videos that can be useful in understanding the concepts pertaining to Medical Dosimetry such as brachytherapy equations. Through the study, the instructors wanted to know students’ perceptions of how video use increased their interest and understanding of brachytherapy equations. A SurveyMonkey questionnaire collected responses from eight students and revealed that these students perceived the use of Lightboard videos provided a solid learning platform to master the concept of brachytherapy prior to performing the homework. …

A New Framework For Online Business Teaching, Cristina Nistor, Prashanth Nyer

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Recently, business education has experienced an expansion of online education programs. In this paper, we propose a framework to improve the effectiveness of student learning in an online lecture format. In particular, we focus on business courses, which tend to be hard to replicate online as they rely on team work and applied logical thinking in addition to the learning of facts and theory. We identify two main areas that are vital to online business education: competition and community building among students. We argue these are an additional task for the instructor to deliberately perform in an online setting, compared …

Perception Of The Online Degree By Accounting Hiring Gatekeepers Of Mid-Size Firms In The Northwestern U.S., Domanic Thomas

Dissertations and Theses

The latest research shows over 2.8 million higher education students or one-in-seven are enrolled in fully online programs. In fields such as accounting, students are able to complete their degree, pass a standardized exam, and enter the workforce with little to no work experience. Accounting firm human resources managers are primarily responsible for the recruitment and selection of candidates. Prior studies conducted show that these hiring gatekeepers prefer candidates with earned degrees in a traditional classroom environment when holding constant for all other factors. While many students invest in online degrees as an ideal pathway to employment, career advancement, and …

A Review Of Tools And Techniques For Data-Enabled Formative Assessment, Rob Nyland

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2018

The purpose of this literature review is to understand the current state of research on tools that collect data for the purpose of formative assessment. We were interested in identifying the types of data collected by these tools, how these data were processed, and how the processed data were presented to the instructor or student for the purpose of formative assessment. We identified two categories of data: machine graded and activity stream data. The data were processed using three methods: unprocessed activity streams, descriptive data analysis, and data mining. Processed data were presented to students through reports and real-time feedback, …

The Experiential Journey Of Teacher-Scholars: “If You’Re Not A Teacher, You Just Don’T Get It”, Ashleigh L. Pelafigue

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Center of Graduate Schools (2015) published a report detailing applications, enrollment, and trends in graduate schools across the nation showing that approximately one third of all first-time graduate school applicants in master’s degree programs utilizing the GRE assessment identify their career path in either business or teacher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of classroom teachers who concurrently pursued graduate studies to earn a master’s degree in education and to understand how adult learning provided opportunities for personal growth and the attainment of professional goals. Individual interviews and two focus groups were conducted …

Rwu School Of Continuing Studies Dean Receives Award From Alliance Of Ri Southeast Asians For Education, Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

Featured News Story

Jamie E. Scurry earns Success Value Award.

Introducing The Historical Newspapers Of South Carolina Online Database, Kate F. Boyd

Faculty and Staff Publications

For ten years we have been scanning South Carolina newspaper from microfilm and making them available online. Most of this time we made them available through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America database with NEH funding. When that funding ended, we need to find another way to continue making small South Carolina newspapers searchable online. With support from the Library Information Technology department, we now scan microfilm and index the content completely in-house. This presentation introduces this new workflow that the Libraries' Digital Collections Department has adopted.

The Effect Of Motivation On Student Persistence In Online Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study Of How Adult Learners Experience Motivation In A Web-Based Distance Learning Environment, Kevin Lucey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of motivation in the persistence of adults enrolled in online higher education. Since the 1990’s, online courses and programs have proliferated across higher education, with adults (ages 25 and over) currently making up the largest portion of online enrollments. Online courses, however, suffer from a higher rate of student attrition than their hybrid and face-to-face counterparts. Although it is difficult to attribute the high rate of attrition in online education to any one factor, research has identified a lack of motivation as a primary cause of student dropout. Likewise, studies …