Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Developing Career Pathways In Uas For Non-Traditional Students Through Collaborative, Online Learning Environments, Kimberly Luthi, Christian Janke

Publications

The integration of drone technologies through online simulation platforms and uncrewed system scenarios offer opportunities to introduce STEM concepts from the fields of robotics, computer science, mechatronics, and aviation. New software technology developments will increase student engagement in STEM education and support learning of uncrewed systems applications and operating competencies. The use of drone simulation software creates a collaborative environment for group activities and sharing of results with peer review.

Re:Thinking Virtual Faculty Learning Communities, Angela Atwell

Publications

Kickstarted with a POD Early Researcher Grant in 2016 and subsequent Research Grant in 2017, Virtual Faculty Learning Communities (V-FLC) have become a staple offering at our center. Since their inception, times and conditions have changed but the idea of reconnecting with colleagues, specifically remote colleagues remains at the heart of these V-FLC experiences. In this session, participants will explore the value and flexibility of V-FLCs by reviewing the development process, analyzing the concept of community, and scrutinizing the impact of size on a V-FLC. Participants will also leave with access to a framework for creating Virtual Faculty Learning Communities. …

Cultivating Classroom Interactions Online During Covid-19: A Case For Using Team-Based Learning, Amanda Olsen, Candace Joswick

Journal of Practitioner Research

Team-based learning, an evidence-based collaborative learning teaching strategy, is a popular instructional model commonly used at the post-secondary level. While this model has shown success in traditional, face-to-face courses, and reports of use in hybrid and asynchronous online settings exist, though are few, no reports of which we are aware account for use in synchronous online teaching and learning. This paper introduces a tool developed to help higher education instructors plan for the implementation of team-based learning in their synchronous online courses along with an illustration of the use of the template planning tool from our own application for a …

A Pilot Study Using Asynchronous Case Discussion And Reflection To Provide Interprofessional Education To Physician Assistant And Physical Therapy Students, Erin Mccallister, Emily Weidman-Evans

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects an asynchronous interprofessional education (IPE) activity had on graduate healthcare students’ beliefs regarding IPE, as measured by the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Methods: All first-year physician assistant and physical therapy students participated in a collaborative four-week online case discussion. Students who consented to participate in the research component filled out a pre- and post-activity RIPLS questionnaire. Responses were matched by an individualized, student-generated number to protect students’ identity. Only matched scores were analyzed. Results: The total score as well as the Teamwork and Professional Identity …

Using Pair Programming As A Collaborative Learning Approach To Support Students With Learning Disabilities Via Zoom Breakout Rooms, Ling Li, Li Da Xu, Yuming He, Wu He, Silvana M.R. Watson, Shana Pribesh, Debra A. Major, Elizabeth Langran (Ed.), Leanna Archambault (Ed.)

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Peer learning through pair programming is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs to discuss computer programming concepts or develop codes to solve problems. The Zoom breakout room method is applied to teach pair programming in a virtual classroom during the COVID-19 environment. By facilitating pair programming in a virtual learning environment, we gained valuable experience in promoting collaborative learning, active learning, and problem-based learning activities in a cloud setting.

Promoting 21st-Century Learning: Online Collaboration Through Design Thinking Framework For Today's Esl Students, Hande Yildiz

Master's Projects and Capstones

Learners of the 21st-century engage and learn differently than ever before. Policymakers and teachers are now challenged to makeshift into the 21st-century education model and adapt their approaches to better prepare the students for the future work world. 21st-century ESL classrooms should reflect this learning model through a more engaging, collaborative, and student-centered approach. Collaboration and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills are vital in 21st-century learning. Research shows that ESL learners can benefit from collaborative activities and the use of technology improves students' language reception and production. However, due to the lack of understanding of the paradigm shift in …

Transforming Organizational Change Through Collaborative Digital Storytelling, William Tate Brendel, Chientzu Candace Chou

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Planned or unplanned, organizational change can be an arduous, confusing, and lonely endeavor, unless individuals are afforded a platform for making sense of their unique relationship with change. Through the lens of Transformative Learning Theory, which views adult learning as a process of meaning-making, this article demonstrates how contextual facets of digital (online) storytelling may assist individuals, departments, and the organization as-a-whole. Particular, in sharing their storied relationships with change, reflecting upon habits of mind, and coming to consensus on a creative and cohesive path forward.

Experiential Learning: Using Virtual Simulation In An Online Rn-Bsn Program, Henny Breen, Melissa Jones

Faculty Publications

This article highlights the innovative experiential learning used by an online RN-BSN program through the use of simulation that takes place in an online classroom. Three experiential learning activities using a virtual community are described. These learning activities engage the students in thinking about social justice and health policy as well as teaching concepts that include community, leadership, influence, advocacy, networking, collaboration, and vulnerable populations. These concepts are critical to the learning needs of diploma and associate degree-prepared nurses who wish to continue their education to be better prepared to meet the complex needs of today’s health care environment.

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

Conference papers

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 …

The Influence Of The Scripted Task On Learning Outcomes In Collaborative Learning, Liang Yu, Rong-Huai Huang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Scripting task is one of the key issues on the study of collaborative learning thatprimarily focuses on the influence of scripted task on learners’ knowledge building. It is known that the outcomes of collaborative learning entail learners’ knowledge building as well as their acquirement of collaborative skills. The paper, through a quasi-experiment, examines the effects of individual characteristics (gender and learning style), group characteristics (task type and group production), and their interaction effect on learners’ knowledge acquisition and acquirement of collaborative skills. The result shows that (a) the group with the scripted task and the group with scripted task and …

Development Of A Scaffold Design Model In Inter-School Collaboration Environment: A Design-Based Research, Xiaoying Feng, Li Chen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study examines the development of a theoretical framework for scaffold design in an inter-school collaboration environment. The research question primarily deals with how to design scaffolds for an Inter-school Collaborative Learning (ICL). Design-based research methodology was used in this study. Literature review, questionnaire survey, field survey, and interviews were used during the course of research. Forty-seven secondary schools in 25 provinces in China were selected and participated in the study. This paper reports the first circle of design-based research. Through design-based research, a scaffold design model was developed and revised. Eight key types of scaffolding for ICL were identified. …

Exploring Theatre Of The Oppressed And Media Synchronicity To Supplement Virtual Learning Environments: Experiences With Mados, Pedro Silva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explored the application of Media Synchronicity Theory and its potential for translating Critical Pedagogy (specifically Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed) into a computersupported collaborative work (CSCW) environment. It introduces the Maquina dos Oprimidos (Mados) prototype, a CSCW supplement to traditional asynchronous learning networks. Mados operates as a role-playing debate game, in which students debate a pre-selected prompt while performing assigned character roles. The study explores the prototype's potential to affect student's identification with their assigned character and personal attitude toward the prompt, as well as examining the effect of presence on students' performances. The study was performed with …

Using Social Annotation Tools To Foster Collaborative Learning, Tian Luo, Fei Gao, Yanyan Sun

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Social annotation (SA) allows learners to highlight and comment on web pages and share annotations with each other online. Despite its potential in promoting collaborative learning, how to integrate it into educational settings has not been fully studied. This study aims at introducing and exploring three different ways of incorporating SA-based activities into an online course: (a) peer review; (b) annotated discussion; and (c) collaborative reading. Students participated all three SA- based activities and took a survey at the end reporting the effectiveness of these activities. In this proposal we reported the initial findings of student participation in the three …

Scaffolding Facilitates Inter-School Collaborative Learning: A Case Study In China, Xiaoying Feng

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Inter-school collaborative learning (ICL) has significant meaning for bridging the educational gap between urban and rural schools. This study examines the effectiveness of three scaffolding conditions on learning outcomes in an ICL environment. One urban primary school and one rural school were selected to participate in the inter-school collaboration. Three 6th grade classes in each school were randomly assigned to one of three scaffolding conditions: lowest-coercion scaffolding (class A), highest-coercion scaffolding (class B), or adaptive scaffolding (class C). Detailed scaffolds were designed and developed to support ICL from 8 dimensions, including 18 strategies and 27 scaffolding tools. Both process data …

Developing Online Tutors And Mentors In Sri Lanka Through A Community Building Model: Predictors Of Satisfaction, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Shantha Fernando, Chulantha Kulasekere, Mark Lamontagne, Madduma B. Ekanayake, Thanaraj Thaiyamuthu

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper discusses the results of a tutor mentor development program that utilized a community building model to train online tutors and mentors in higher education institutions and professional organizations in Sri Lanka. Based on WisCom; an instructional design model for developing online wisdom communities, this tutor mentor development program which utilized a blended format of face-to-face and online activities in MOODLE, attempted to build a learning community between trainees, both academics and professionals who represented diverse disciplines and organizations. A regression model examined predictors of learner satisfaction, using four independent variables: Community Building, Interaction, Course Design, and Learner Support. …

Collaborative Learning Problems And Identity Salience: A Mixed Methods Study, Feihong Wang, John K. Burton

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Peer collaborative learning that emphasizes collaboration among peers has attracted a great deal of interest since the last two decades of the 20^th century (Dornyei, 1997; Martin, 2007). Other than proved academic advantages, many collaborative groups were ineffective and failed to generate any collaborative actions (Hardy, Lawrence, & Grant, 2005; Johnson & Johnson, 1996). Identities are motivators of human actions (Stryker, 1968), which impact students’ behavior tendencies to be contributing or preventing to the occurrence of the collaborative learning problems. The purpose of this study was to explore students’ behavioral tendencies in dealing with collaborative learning problems in relation …

A Case Study Of Student Engagement In Collaborative Group Learning In A Blended Community Based (Service) Learning Module, John G. Mcgarrigle

Research Theses

Abstract: A participatory action research case study employed mixed methods to examine student collaboration and engagement in a Community Based (Service) learning module. A quasi experimental testing of Coates (2007) typology of student engagement found low agreement between students and lecturers in assigning the terms, passive, intense, independent or collaborative to student postings to discussion fora. Evidence from this case study found greater student collaboration in discussion fora when linked to practical course activity. Qualitative analysis of discussion threads using conversation analysis provided evidence for collaboration in deeper knowledge construction when supported by lecturers’ contributions. Discourse analysis examined interviews with …

Reflections On Evaluating Online Learning And Teaching, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

In this chapter, I will discuss my decade of evaluation activities relating to online learning experiences, with a focus on methods. These online experiences range from setting up online networks for social interaction, facilitating collaborative learning experiences among graduate students in several universities, moderating worldwide online professional development activities, and teaching entirely online. Most of my online experiences relate to my role as a professor at the University of New Mexico where I teach graduate level courses in distance education and educational telecommunications. In this respect, I would like to acknowledge the valuable lessons I have learned from many students …

Multiple Perspectives On Implementing Inter-University Computer Conferencing, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Chere Campbell Gibson, John J. Cochenour, Tony Dean, Connie L. Dillon, Roseanne Hessmiller, Karen Murphy, Landra L. Rezabeck, Farhad Saba

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The purpose of this symposium is to discuss the organization, design, implementation and preliminary evaluation of an inter-university collaborative learning experience that used computer mediated communication (CMC) to link graduate students in several universities to discuss issues related to distance education. The discussion is based on the Globaled project, a computer conference that was set up and implemented for the second time, during the Fall 1993 semester. Globaled was first implemented during the Spring of 1992. With the increasing offering of distance education as a graduate discipline in many traditional universities, Globaled, can be seen as a unique way to …