Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Low Academic Outcomes: A Result Of Food Insecurity And Student Mental Health During Covid19, Kristen Riley Cole

Honors Theses

Food insecurity has significantly increased throughout the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools switched to remote learning and children lost access to free school meals, affecting them psychologically and academically. This study examined the relationship between food insecurity and low academic outcomes, accounting for student mental health, such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD, as well as parental involvement as a possible protective factor against mental health. The current study administered a survey through Amazon’s MTurk to reach a diverse group of participants across the United States. Data analysis from the study can conclude that food …

Digital Equity: Difficulties Of Implementing The 1:1 Computing Initiative In Low-Income Areas, Demetric D. Williams

Dissertations

Successful One-to-One Computing Initiative implementation requires educators to communicate and collaborate effectively with everyone in the learning community. However, other factors such as teacher’s professional development, student’s perception, and parent’s perception often affect the implementation of the One-to-One Computing Initiative. School districts, which serve low-income areas in Mississippi, have difficulties ensuring students and communities have access to the information technology they need to participate outside the school setting. The concept is often called digital equity. However, when officials do not address the capacity, there is a vital threat to the participants’ civic, cultural, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential …

Technology Acceptance Of Lms—Do Previous Online Learning Experiences Matter?, Yan Dai, Xi Lin, Li Li

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study explores the variability of Chinese college students’ technology acceptance of using Learning Management System (LMS) during two semesters of fully online learning. A total of 262 college students participated in this study at a Chinese university. Results showed a significant increase in student technology acceptance towards using the LMS with growing online learning experiences. To be specific, compared to taking fully online courses for the first time, students have a higher level of Facilitating Conditions, Perceived Usefulness, and Attitude of using Technology when attending fully online courses for the second time. However, …

The Application Of Motivational Design To Office Hours Conducted Within Fully Online Courses, Mark P. Ferguson

Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of office hours conducted within online classes and created a framework for instructors to use when adapting office hours, office hours structures, and office hours procedures for online educational environments. A mixed-method approach using a sequential explanatory design was used to first gather quantitative information concerning student perception and use of office hour within online classes and student interaction preferences within online classes. This information was then used to in the development of a framework base the ARCS Model of Motivational Design and Social Information Processing Theory for instructors to use when planning and implementing …

Student Evaluations Of Instructor Email Response Speed As Chronemic Expectancy Violations, Nicholas T. Tatum

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Instructional communication researchers have begun exploring the effects of instructor email response speed on student evaluations of their instructor. To date, researchers have concluded that faster response times result in more favorable evaluations. To extend this line of research, this experiment explores student evaluations of instructor response speed through the lens of expectancy violations theory, arguing that eliciting positive evaluations is not just about responding quickly, but rather, responding more quickly than students expect. Results indicated that positive violations of instructor email response speed are evaluated more favorably than negative chronemic violations in terms of instructor credibility and relational closeness. …

Faculty Job Satisfaction Related To Online Course Design, April Marie Hixson

School of Education Doctoral Projects - Higher Education

Online education has expanded and evolved slowly through the decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 put online education at the forefront of teaching and learning worldwide and sped up the design and delivery of online courses. This study sought to examine faculty attitudes and opinions (amid a global pandemic) toward online course design that may affect their job satisfaction levels. Specifically, it explored factors that could inhibit or contribute to faculty job satisfaction during their engagement in online instructional design. Further, the study was designed to gain an understanding of how pedagogical and technological changes influence the degree of …

Exploring Chinese Students’ Learning Experience In Cic Mooc 2.0– A Study With Chinese Online Communities, Qing Zhang, Hengtao Tang, Barbara B. Lockee, Kathryn Jablokow

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This research explores Chinese students’ learning experience in the Creativity, Innovation, and Change (CIC) Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) 2.0 from the cultural, language, and communication perspectives. The CIC MOOC was the first course offered in both English and Chinese in Coursera. Data in this study were collected via online survey, interviews, QQ chat logs, and discussion threads in Guokr platform. Content analysis was performed to identify key themes from the collected data. Findings reveal that differences exist in Eastern and Western societies regarding power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity. Communication patterns also vary in QQ and …

Online Learning In Vocational Education Of China During Covid-19: Achievements, Challenges, And Future Developments, Xibin Han, Qian Zhou, Wanruo Shi, Shuyuan Yang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

COVID-19 has challenged education systems globally. Traditional teaching and learning activities of more than 1,300 vocational colleges and nearly 11,000 vocational high schools in China have had to be paused and transformed into an online mode. A study had been conducted to trace the unprecedented change which would provide reflections on policies and practical experience worthy of reference for the follow-up development of online vocational education in China and other countries in the world. The study used two methods to collect data: (1) delivering questionnaires to 767 schools, 17009 teachers, 270,732 students, and (2) gathering 110 institute cases from 21 …

Parents’ Voices: Virtual Classroom Bridging Homeschooling To Public Schools, Dennis Norman, Tian Luo, Pauline Salim Muljana

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This research examined to what extent homeschooling parents believed that virtual classrooms have bridged the home and public-schooling systems via a case study. Data were drawn from an online survey as well as Skype and personal interviews with ten participants who were parents of home-schooled children with an understanding of the virtual learning process. Participants reported both benefits and challenges of virtual homeschooling from parents’ perspectives. Discussion and implications to educational practitioners are included.

Stimulus Of Specialization On Postgraduate Students’ Application Of Mobile Technologies For Learning, Amos Ochayi Onojah, Adenike Aderogba Onojah, Nwadubike Edwin Nweke-Richards

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Most students could be adopting the mobile technologies available but may not be for learning purposes. This study investigated the postgraduate students’ application of mobile technologies for learning and examined the differences in the application of mobile technologies by postgraduate students based on their area of specialization. The study was a quantitative research design. The population comprised all postgraduates’ students in Nigeria out of which 750 of them were purposively sampled across eleven universities based on accessibility. The data for the study was gathered using a Researchers-developed questionnaire. Statistical form of Mean was used to answer the research questions while …

Comparison Of Retention Rates Between Traditional On-Ground And Online Biology Laboratory Courses In The Community College Setting, Megan Davis Winborne

Dissertations

Community colleges provide vital educational resources to students across the nation. Online learning has become an integral part of the course offerings for community colleges. With regards to online learning, there is a lack of empirical evidence and research focused on community college offered biology laboratories, particularly concerning retention rates of these students. Means, Toyama, Murphy, and Bakia. (2013) found that even though there are copious amounts of studies dedicated to evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning formats, many of them neglected to review retention rates associated with online educational courses.

The purpose of this study was to determine …

Educational Administrators’ Facing Covid-19 Measures In Paraguay, Valentina Canese, Jessica Amarilla

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Around the world COVID-19 has forced governments to take measures that have so far affected education systems, in various ways. Face-to-face interactions have been disrupted in around 70% of educational institutions as per reported by UNESCO (2020). Due to the pandemic, authorities in Paraguay adopted early measures to prevent the spread of the virus which in turn have affected educational institutions greatly. This article reports an analysis of educational administrators’ institutional perspectives in light of the challenges presented by quarantine measures and considering elements such as infrastructure and access to technology, teacher training, student and parent limitations. A mixed quan-qual …

A Research On The Effect Of Learner Attribution On Performance Under The Mediation Of Online Learning Environment, Keding Zhong

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Online learners' learning attribution has a significant effect on their learning behavior motivation and other psychological characteristics, and effects their learning performance through the change of learning behavior. The focus of this research is: What changes the learning behavior of online learners during the intermediate process? How does its mode of action relate to online learners' learning attribution? This research adopts the method of the role of mediating variable and takes online learning environment as the intermediary variable to test the direct effect of learning attribution on learning performance and the indirect effect through the mediating effect of online learning …

An Investigation Of The Impacts Of Traditional, Virtual, And Hybrid Biological Laboratories On College Students’ Achievement And Motivation To Learn Biology, Shavonda Jackson

Dissertations

Virtual courses function in a different manner than traditional courses, therefore they require teaching methods and assessment techniques geared specifically to maximize this learning experience. Internet-based learning and distance-education are no longer new concepts in the science field. Because of this, many collegiate biology programs have created courses that can be taken virtual or hybrid. A number of experimental studies have had great influence in terms of the effects and impacts of educational technology in relation to virtual laboratories.

However, not many studies emphasize the impact of hybrid laboratories on student achievement or assess students’ motivation to learn in a …

Design Variables For Self-Directed Learning In Mooc Environment, Tai Wang, Juhong Christie Liu, Tonggui Li

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can meet education needs from diverse social, cultural, and access backgrounds and require a minimal cost of resources from learners. To successfully scaffold large and distributed populations to learn effectively in these MOOCs, the design needs to optimize self-directed learning. In this paper, the researchers investigated the design variables for MOOCs' learning environment that allowed learning choices made by learners. With this study, the researchers developed a 21-item questionnaire based on a review of the literature and their MOOC design and implementation practices, Massive Online Open Course Learning Environment Design Questionnaire (MOOC-LED). The researchers used …

Social Media In Dynamic Learning: Logistics And Influential Factors, Leping Liu, Li-Ting Chen, Wenzhen Li

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Educators have been using social media to enrich learning activities and promote interactive and collaborative learning. Under the context of dynamic learning – the way that 21st century’s learners learn, the new challenges are: how educators design such a setting to effectively integrate certain social media tools to improve learning, and what the influential factors might be that educators need to focus during the design. In this article, we employ the concept “logistics” to explain and redefine dynamic design, dynamic learning, and dynamic thinking, which furthermore formulate the framework of the study. This article presents a critical content review of …

Using Microsoft Hololens To Improve Memory Recall In Anatomy And Physiology: A Pilot Study To Examine The Efficacy Of Using Augmented Reality In Education, Chen Chen, Lei Zhang, Tony Luczak, Eboni Smith, Reuben F. Burch

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This paper explores the use of augmented reality (AR) to improve memory recall and learning experiences in human anatomy and physiology. In particular, the opportunity to assess new computer technologies to improve learning environments may allow for an improvement in self-efficacy and a reduction in test anxiety. Twenty-two undergraduates participated in one of two study groups, the Microsoft HoloLens group (HLNS) or the traditional projector-based Microsoft Power Point group (PPT). Each group completed a five-minute, three-subject anatomy identification and brain physiology memory test. After a three-minute time delay, participants completed a fill-in-the-blank anatomy identification test and brain physiology question test, …

Fostering The Development Of Social Capital To Enrich Student Experiences Through After-School Digital Tutoring Programs, Chientzu Candace Chou, Hsueh-Hua Chuang, Aura N. Wharton-Beck

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Historically, tutoring has been considered an effective way of assisting academically challenged students. After-school digital tutoring programs that foster the development of social capital could provide academic and social support for struggling students in remote areas. However, research on how after-school digital tutoring programs can foster social capital development is sparse. In this study, we used the perspective of social capital theory to examine the factors that shaped student-learning experiences in an E-Tutor Program. Specific attention was given to the types of and the strategies for developing social capital. The study utilized a case study approach to analyze data collected …

Old Dogs Can Learn To Like New Tricks: One Instructor's Change In Attitude To Online Instruction From 2009-2017, Thomas V. O'Brien, Holly A. Foster

Faculty Publications

This qualitative case study examined a veteran instructor's change in attitude about university online instruction. After a short review of the literature and explanation of the project, researchers conducted a content analysis of an instructor's annual self-reports about his online teaching of a graduate course in the social sciences. The self-reports were written between 2009 and 2017. The researchers also examined students' end-of-semester evaluation scores about the course and instructor. Results suggest that the teacher began online teaching with a mixed attitude. After four years of teachin ghte online course (delivered once each spring) the instructor reported more about content …

Soft Skills In Mississippi Community Colleges' Online Career And Technical Programs, Joanna Sue Alston

Dissertations

Soft skills are an essential piece in the employment puzzle, and most students’ behavioral characteristics require development, if not complete transformation, before learning can subsequently be transferred to the workplace. To that end, this facet of occupational education in community colleges’ online courses was in need of exploration to determine whether instructors were having success in implementing instructional and assessment methods for both teaching and grading students’ soft skills behaviors. This mixed methods study narrowed the focus of an extremely broad topic to four skills, specifically communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and work ethic. A look at how those skills related …

Effectiveness Of Technology In An English Grammar And Punctuation Course, Deborah Brandon

Dissertations

As enrollment in online courses continues to climb, technology also continues to advance to provide students with course designs that promote optimal learning environments. New communication tools continually evolve that help improve learning outcomes in online course designs. The lack of physical class meetings in online classes necessitates a comprehensive focus on course design to optimize learning, including a focus on communication and collaboration opportunities.

Much of the available current research regarding the outcomes of increased online learning investigates the effectiveness of this learning format primarily in the fields of healthcare, foreign language, and the study of English grammar as …

A Predictive Study Of Students’ Self-Regulated Learning Skills And Their Roles In The Social Network Interaction Of Online Discussion Board, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Aras Bozkurt, Chih-Hsiung Tu, Laura Sujo-Montes, Claudia Rodas, Hoda Harati, Adam B. Lockwood

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Online learners’ learning skills and behaviors are challenging for educators to foresee, particularly what skills may be related to certain social interaction behaviors. Self-regulated learning (SRL) skills are critical to online learning. It is unclear how SRL skills may predict social network interaction. This study empirically investigated: How will SRL skills predict students’ network roles (i.e., in-degree, out-degree, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, eigenvector centrality, reciprocated vertex pair ratio, & PageRank) in the social network discussions of discussion board within online courses? The predictive utility of SRL skills for betweenness and closeness centralities was supported. Learners with greater SRL skills play …

Conducting Synchronous Assessment Through Web Videoconference To Improve Online Learning: Case Outcomes With Nonparametric Analysis, Leping Liu, Li-Ting Chen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Online assessment has always been a challenge to online teaching. Educators have been exploring a variety of methods to perform online assessment. However, it appears that there is not enough work in the field focusing on online synchronous assessment. This paper presents two cases that demonstrate the design and implementation of using web videoconference for synchronous assessment in an educational research methods online course and an instructional video production online course. The purpose of the two cases was to explore whether or with what methods student online learning could be improved through synchronous assessment. Case outcomes were analyzed with nonparametric …

A Pilot Study On Real-Time Monitoring Of Heart Rate And Movement Speed In Middle-Distance Race Of Physical Education Classes, Daqing Zhu, Xingui Zhang, Lanying Fu, Peiyong Wang, Shaohong Zhai

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

In Chinese universities, students need to participate in the middle-distance-race. Normally, female students are required to participate in the race of 800 meters, while male students are required to participate in the race of 1000 meters. However, it is difficult for teachers to grasp the real time information of students during the race. And there is a lack of timely communications between the teachers and students. Focusing on this issue, this study, with the use of POLAR heart rate sensor and other modern information technologies, expands the original function of the sensor to achieve a concurrent operation of detecting heart …

Intrinsic Motivation Factors In Gamified Photography Learning: Direct And Indirect Effects, Domenic Dini, Leping Liu

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

To help students with motivation to learn, gamification has been explored as a method of delivering content to students in an engaging and motivating way. This study explored the motivation components in gamified design that linked to learning outcomes in a gamified photography curriculum. Six intrinsically motivating factors (challenge, curiosity, control, cooperation, competition, and recognition) were carefully integrated into the game experience design. Participant test scores and survey data were used to develop a maximum likelihood structural equation model. The model showed that among the six intrinsic motivation factors curiosity and control were directly linked to learning outcomes while challenge …

Using Learning Analytics To Improve Instructional Support Design For Online Learning, Lin Zhong

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Learning analytics has been demonstrated as a great tool to evaluate quality of instructional design. This study examined how instructors can utilize learning analytics to improve online learning support design. 128 students from a southern university in United States participated in this study. All learning data related to learners and online learning environment was collected and analyzed. Results showed that learning analytics results were very helpful for instructors to improve online instructional support timing, adjust learning module design, and enhance learning materials accessibility.

Factors Affecting Faculty Use Of Video Conferencing In Teaching: A Mixed-Method Study, Juhong Christie Liu, Rob Alexander

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Teaching and learning can now utilize a variety of real-time technologies to build online social presence and learning interactions. However, teachers and students must effectively prepare for this experience; and the identification of contextual and perceptual influences become evolving and necessary (Lehman & Conceição, 2010; Liu & Kaye, 2016). In this paper, the authors explore factors that impact faculty use of synchronous video conferencing (VC) in teaching. The two-phase mixed-method study spanned a year, converging qualitative and quantitative approaches through observations and recordings during a 6-week faculty professional development program, a campus-wide survey, and focus groups. Thematic analysis was used …

The Effectiveness Of K-12 Principal’S Digital Leadership In Supporting And Promoting Communication And Collaboration Regarding Ccss Implementation, Lin Zhong

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Technology plays an important role in supporting successful College-and Career- State Standards (CCSS) implementation, which requires principals and educators effectively communicate and collaborate at the local, state, and national level. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of digital leadership in supporting communication and collaboration regarding CCSS implementation in K-12 schools. In this study, 254 public school teachers from five school districts in Mississippi were surveyed. Results showed that principals were most effective in supporting professional development and digital citizenship. In addition, teachers’ age and teaching grades have an impact on the effectiveness of principals’ digital leadership strategies. Implications are …

Construction And Implementation Of Institutional E-Learning Development Framework In Continuing Higher Education, Weiyuan Zhang, Chenggui Duan

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

E-learning has become a popular teaching and learning mode in the education and training sectors in the digital age. Many studies have been done in the field of e-learning at course level. However, limited literature has been found about e-learning strategic development in continuing higher education sector at the institutional level. The purpose of this study was to explore the institutional development and implementation of e-learning, using the School of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE) as a case. In this paper, the comprehensive e-learning development framework at institutional level is proposed and seven …

Effect Of Texting With Friends During Video Lectures On High School Students’ Learning, Mike Schellen, Lin Lin, Chris Bigenho

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The purpose of this study was to examine high school students’ learning by looking at the effect of texting with friends through a computer chat program on their comprehension and memory of video lectures. Two videos were selected and two settings (texting and no-texting settings) were created. Students were asked to watch one video while being interrupted by a friend to text with them, and to watch another video without being interrupted. The results of the students’ video lecture comprehension and memory quizzes showed that the students scored lower while texting with friends, and that they scored differently between the …