Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Evaluating The Motivations Of Participants In Online Equine Extension Courses, Sarah Vos

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditional program evaluations emphasize participant demographics, knowledge gain, behavior change, and program impact. However, evaluating participant motivation can provide addition insight into why participants enroll in extension programs and help explain participant engagement and persistence throughout a program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate participant motivation in two online equine extension courses and examine potential relationships between motivation, demographics, and course delivery method, and describe participant engagement in Virtual Horse Judging Camp (VHJC). This cross-sectional study utilized convenience sampling of participants in two online equine extension courses, Horse Adult Leader Training and Educational Resource (HALTER) and VHJC. The …

Creation Of An Open Access Textbook, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Slide presented during the PRCA Research Celebration, June 3, 2025, in the University Libraries, University of Nebraska-Lincoln titled Creation of an Open Access Textbook, about the development and publication of Concepts in Animal Parasitology, co-edited by Scott L. Gardner and Sue Ann Gardner and published by Zea Books (Lincoln, Nebraska, USA) in 2024.

The Role Of Popular Culture In Decolonial Transformative Learning: A Racially Minoritized Adult Educator's Journey, Riyad Shahjahan

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

While a growing body of literature examines the role of popular culture in transformative learning, much of it centers on fostering transformative experiences among learners, rather than educators themselves. This paper addresses that gap by exploring how popular culture enhances transformative learning for racially minoritized adult educators. Drawing from my experiences as a graduate instructor at a predominantly white institution, I reflect on how engaging with popular cultural texts facilitated my own transformative learning within my teaching practice. Grounded in decolonial theory, which emphasizes the inclusion of Indigenous and marginalized knowledges while confronting contemporary colonial oppressions, my reflexive approach highlights …

Benefits And Applications Of Learning With Virtual Reality, Michael W. Timm

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Education is a fundamental pillar of society. It equips students for employment and interpersonal relations. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a transformative technology in the field of education. The aim of this paper is to synthesize existing research in order to determine the benefits of utilizing virtual reality in a variety of education settings, such as K-12 classrooms, universities, and workplace training. This paper observes significant benefits of virtual reality in constructivist and experiential learning, gamified learning, and tailored practice. This analysis also finds that virtual reality is advantageous for educational accessibility, particularly for absentee students and impoverished students. …

Taking A Closer Look At Tpack: Examining Teacher Perspectives Of The Knowledge, Competencies, And Context Needed For Improved Remote Education In Grades 4-8, Jennifer Christine Buth Bell

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Though wrought with challenges, the COVID-19 Pandemic, which led to the closure of schools worldwide and forced educators into a rapid transition from traditional to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT), held some promise for furthering the integration of digital technology in schools. But now, years following the crisis, policymakers, administrators, and teachers continue to grapple with how best to incorporate lessons learned and improve the future of teaching and learning in both traditional and remote settings. This mixed-methods study (n = 21; n = 6) followed an explanatory sequential design to collect and analyze data from a sample of 4th-8th …

Examining Adolescence And Agency In The Midst Of International Crisis: Pandemics, Pandemonium, And Zombie Young Adult Literature, T. Hunter Strickland

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-22 brought an abundance of changes to secondary education as students transitioned across the country to virtual and hybrid learning contexts. Teachers flexed quickly and frequently to support the learning that students acquired in these new, digital spaces even as school, district, and state demands on teaching increased. The English/Language Arts classroom pivoted along with others as teachers sought out digital reading and writing resources for students to engage in. In the midst of a national crisis, a metaphorical monster that sought to destroy, much like Beowulf ’s dragon did, adolescent readers, despite the discourses of …

Collaborative Pedagogy: Teaching (With) The Grateful Dead On Tour, On Campus, And Online, Rebecca G. Adams

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay describes my experiences teaching with the Grateful Dead “on tour” in 1989, on campus in the early 2000s, and online in 2019. Using a life course framework, I discuss how my own development as a teacher, Deadhead, and Grateful Dead scholar and the changing context over time shaped these experiences and how teaching with the Grateful Dead opened a pedagogical space for experimentation that allowed the students and me to take risks and to collaborate despite status differences. Rather than unpacking these experiences entirely, my goal here is to focus on how these three experiences of teaching with …

Triple Threat Or Triple Opportunity: When A Pop Culture Course Goes Online At A Community College, Lance Eaton, Alex Rockey

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Teaching popular culture comes with many opportunities and challenges in a traditional classroom, but equally interesting and valuable are the possibilities that teaching such a course online can provide. This article explores how “Popular Culture in the US,” an online course at a community college, embraces some key attributes of the digital world such as multimodal communication and Web 2.0 interactivity. Evolved from a face-to-face community college course, the online version has increasingly developed to move from an instructor-centered to a student-centered approach that relies upon various engagement strategies. By using student choice, OER-enabled pedagogy, and constructivist approaches, the instructor …

Strategies To Improve Student Achievement, United States Department Of Education

Open Learning Resources, General/Selected

Strategies to Improve Student Achievement

A once-in-a-generation pandemic has had a once-in-a-generation impact on our nation’s children and youth. That is why, since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked aggressively to safely reopen schools and keep them open, help students recover academically, support their mental health and well-being, and address teacher and staffing challenges many communities face.

While American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds have helped fuel important progress toward academic recovery, we have much work to do to get students back to – and beyond – pre-pandemic levels of achievement. This will require continued and additional actions, commitments, and …

Honors Online: Teaching, Learning, And Building Community Virtually In Honors Education, Victoria M. Bryan, Cat Stanfield

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Contents

Introduction, Victoria M. Bryan and Cat Stanfield

Part I: Harnessing Virtual Connection in Program and Course Design

1. Through the Looking Glass: Honors in Virtual Reality, Betsy Greenleaf Yarrison

2. Exploring Incoming Honors Students’ Beliefs About Online Courses, Kristy Spear and Pavlo D. Antonenko

3. Reimagining Honors Curriculum—Delivered Through Technology Utilizing Our Alumni Community, Mollie Hartup, Amy Cossentino, and Lexi Rager

4. Online Faculty Professional Development and Community as Nexus, John Zubizarreta, Beata M. Jones, and Marca V. C. Wolfensberger

5. Building a Pipeline for Transfer and Scholarship Through (Virtual) Honors Research Partnerships, …

Translanguaging In World Language Higher Education, Alessia Barbici Wagner

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Increased global migration and a myriad of other social and political factors has made today’s universities more diverse than ever. As a result, teachers in higher education regularly find multilingual learners from a variety of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their classrooms and must consider this diversity in their teaching. One of the ways that teaching can better serve today’s multilingual and multicultural student population is through translanguaging. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the intentional and unintentional use of translanguaging by multilingual language learners and world language instructors in higher education. Additionally, this qualitative case study …

Students' Perceptions Of Online Equine Courses And Their Impacts On Learning Outcomes, Blaire L. (Gibbens) Speck

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Post-secondary education is always changing and evolving. Over the last few years, significant changes in education have resulted in an increased number of online courses. Approximately 28% of students seeking higher education participate in at least one online course and 14% are enrolled exclusively in distance or online programs (Allen & Seaman, 2016). However, courses that are typically hands-on, like equine science, may be more challenging online. The hands-on experiences in equine science classes help prepare students for future careers. Due to an increase in students choosing to take courses online, a review of online teaching methods was conducted to …

Access To Online Formative Assessments In Introductory Biology Courses: Investigating Barriers To Student Engagement, Allison M. Upchurch

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Instructors use a variety of online formative assessment (FA) activities to support learning outside of class. Previous studies have revealed barriers for students in online courses, but little is known about the barriers students experience when completing online FA assignments. Understanding these barriers to access is critical to fostering more inclusive learning for all students. Using a framework from previous work in online learning, we examined student perceptions of online FA access with respect to five barrier categories: technical resources, instructor organization, social interactions, personal engagement, and learning environment. We developed and administered a survey to over 1200 undergraduate biology …

Curiosity, Motivation, Autonomy, And Lifelong Learning In Education And The United States Marine Corps, Cynthia Malmquist

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Curiosity, intrinsic motivation, and autonomy-supportive teaching all promote lifelong learning in both the classroom and Marine Corps. Humans are all born with curiosity. Children inherently practice forms of intrinsic motivation. Most would agree that they do not like being micromanaged - they enjoy a sense of freedom when completing tasks. Despite this, many students learn in a controlling environment and many Marines work under controlling leaders. Though a large amount of time is spent on learning through the first 18 years of life, lifelong learning does not come naturally and is not commonly practiced. The research and ideas discussed below …

Integrated Honey Bee Education And Research Aids For Promoting Pollinator Conservation, Courtney Brummel

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Extension and outreach programs combine University instruction and research, with off-campus outreach and service to the community. Successful public education requires training in which colleges and their education services provide programs relevant to today’s needs. To better engage with the public, institutions and Extension professionals often partner with private and not-for-profit organizations to provide training opportunities. The following thesis reviews one such partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard that provides science-focused, on-farm experiences and agriculture production training programming. Chapter 1 reviews their partnership since it began in 2005 and highlights examples of current farm-to-table education …

Developing Regional Extension Programs And Research Tools For Beekeepers, Sheldon Brummel

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The body of work presented in this thesis describes the development and structure of the Regional Great Plains Master Beekeeping training program, which started in 2019, serves 1500+ beekeepers across five Midwest states (IA, KS, MO, NE, WY), and is supported through local partnerships and beekeepers. This chapter also discusses the leadership structure and aspects I developed for program advancement and long-term sustainability, such as incorporating mentorship and volunteer service goals as well as requiring independent projects to become a certified Master beekeeper. Independent projects may focus on research or teaching goals but must illustrate the candidate’s ability to apply …

Utilizing Online Resources To Enhance Distribution Of Competitive Animal Evaluation Knowledge And Benefits, Brooke L. Parrish

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In recent years, the shift toward online education has revealed new challenges for learners to retain information, and for educators to find new and engaging ways to present content. This mixed methods, action research study explores the need and creation of online resources for competitive horse judging through surveys and pilot groups. The study was broken into four cycles. The first was an adult learner analysis survey, distributed through email Listservs and extension social media pages, to aid in answering the research questions: what expert horse judging instructors indicate their students should be learning, and what resources they need. Based …

Inclusive Access For All, Marcia Dority Baker, Jaci Lindburg

Information Technology Services: Publications

Inclusive Access provides a framework for digital course material delivered via the learning management system (LMS) day-one to students. This platform assists instructors with selecting current, quality, affordable material, and supports learning analytics by providing engagement data in Canvas. The University of Nebraska Provost office has funded an initial series of grants to support open educational resources (OER) initiatives at the Lincoln, Kearney, and Omaha campuses for several years. The vast majority of these dollars went to incentivize faculty in the adoption of OER. The OER and Inclusive Access pilots are ready to mature into a service supported by Academic …

Innovation In Pedagogy And Technology Symposium, 2019: Selected Conference Proceedings, University Of Nebraska Online, University Of Nebraska Information Technology Services

Zea E-Books Collection

Advancing Technology in Education at the University of Nebraska, May 7, 2019

Welcome Address • Susan Fritz, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Nebraska 6

Opening Remarks • Mary Niemiec, Associate Vice President for Digital Education, Director of University of Nebraska Online 6

Keynote Presentation: Shaping the Next Generation of Higher Education • Bryan Alexander, Ph.D. 6

Featured Extended Presentation: Redesigning Courses & Determining Effectiveness Through Research • Tanya Joosten, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), Erin Blankenship, Ph.D. (UNL), Ella Burnham (UNL), Nate Eidem, Ph.D. (UNK), Marnie Imhoff (UNMC), Linsey Donner (UNMC), Ellie Miller (UNMC) 7

5 Ways to …

Small But Mighty: How A Team Of Four Administers A Robust Library Publishing Program, Sue Ann Gardner, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

A team of four people administers the UNL institutional repository (https://digitalcommons.unl.edu), which is one of the largest (109,000-plus full text items) and most-accessed (over 62,000,000 downloads) in the United States. The team also administers a robust library publishing program with over 80 scholarly monographs and 12 peer-reviewed journals. A recent focus of the program has been open educational resources, partnering with scholars to identify or create free online learning objects.

This talk will include details about how such a small team accomplishes so much. Staffing, task assignment, workflow, author relations, reader relations, education, administration, policy generation, platform management, …

6th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #5 • Theme: Aztecs, Mayans, & Incas, Amanda Mclaughlin, Lauren Gatti, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

This week you will travel back in time to the civilizations of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca. These three civilizations built great cities throughout Central America and South America, also known as Mesoamerica. Their inventions and culture can still be found in these regions today!

Day 1 • Ancient Mesoamerica Vocabulary, Mesoamerica: Where Civilizations Flourished, and Crashed, Repeatedly, Map of Mesoamerica Scavenger Hunt, What is PEMDAS?

Day 2 • Aztec Primary Source, Mayan Xocolatl, Order of Operations

Day 3 • Suspension Bridges, Mayan Girls use their language skills to help immigrants from Guatemala, Roll an equation

Day 4 • Math …

7th–8th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #4 • Theme: Disasters #4, Caryn G. Jones, Lauren Gatti, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

Exploring Survivor Stories, Grades 7-8

We've already explored a few survivor stories, but we're going to look at a few other experiences. This week we are going to take a look at the stories of people, kids in particular, who have experienced disasters and lived to tell about them. We're going to take a look at their encounters with natural disasters to understand how they withstood these dangers.

Lesson 1 • It's going to BLOW!, Mountain of fire, Meetings challenges

Lesson 2 • Too hot to handle, Lost in Death Valley, Meeting challenges

Lesson 3 • Cold enough for you?, …

6th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #3 • Theme: China, Amanda Mclaughlin, Aaron P. Johnson, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

Thinking Skills Glossary

Question Words

Ancient China Vocabulary

A Look at China's Ruling Dynasty's Throughout History

Natural Barriers in Ancient China

Intro to Percentages

Chinese Zodiac

The Ballad of Mulan

Finding Percentages

Tangrams

Ancient Chinese Dynasties

Finding Percentages: Riddle

The Silk Road

Giant Panda vs. Red Panda

Discounts, Tips, and Taxes

Vocabulary Story

Chinese Philosophy: What Would They Do?

Percent Mystery Picture

Weekly Reflection

My Packet Journal

Reference Sheet

Answer Keys

11th–12th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #2 • Theme: Space, Katie Loughrist, Lauren Gatti, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

Lesson 1 • Space: Outer space and inner space, Vocabulary

Lesson 2 • Get some space! Strengthen your body & clear your mind

Lesson 3 • Measuring distances to galaxies by Jonathan D. Davis

Lesson 4 • X= space: using algebra to study the solar system, Use PEMDAS to simplify the expressions

Lesson 5 • Lonely as a cloud: poetry inspiring art, Reflection: a focus on space

Reference Sheet

Answer Keys

11th–12th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #1 • Theme: Sleep, Katie Loughrist, Lauren Gatti, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

Lesson 1 • Accessing prior knowledge, Vocabulary preview and game, Sleep: dreams of a dream

Lesson 2 • Why sleep? by Dara S. Manoach & Robert Stickgold

Lesson 3 • X = sleep: using PEMDAS for order of operations, Move to rest: exercises for a good's night's rest

Lesson 4 • Dream big: figurative language through music

Lesson 5 • Express yourself to sleep well: dreams, desires, & the Mandala, Reflection: a focus on sleep

Reference Sheet

Answer Keys

2nd-3rd Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #1 • Theme: Space, Samantha Monter, Tricia Gray, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

These packets are self-contained. Everything a child will need to be successful with the activities is provided in the packet. Students will only need a writing utensil. Additional tools like crayons or scissors can be used, but do not have to be.

Day 1 • - Solar System Mini Book - Vocabulary Dictionary - Explore the Solar System - Math Word Problems

Day 2 • - Learn about Astronauts - If I were an astronaut writing. - Label the Astronaut - Match the Vocabulary

Day 3 • - Read about Constellations - Draw a constellation - Compare 2 planets - …

4th-5th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #1 • Theme: Space, Nicole M. Ponti, Tricia Gray, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

These packets are self-contained. Everything a child will need to be successful with the activities is provided in the packet. Students will only need a writing utensil. Additional tools like crayons or scissors can be used, but do not have to be.

Day 1 • ELA: Read Space Expedition Sections: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Math: Moon Multiplication math facts, Science: Create Space Trading cards (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Art: Make yourself an astronaut

Day 2 • ELA: Read Space Expedition Sections: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Math: Moon Multiplication math facts, Science: Create Space trading cards (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)

Day 3 • ELA: Read …

2nd-3rd Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #3 • Theme: Taking Care Of Myself, Samantha Monter, Tricia Gray, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

My Plan for the Week

Choose activities from the different content areas to complete each day. You can choose one or two activities from different areas to do during the day. Below is a list of the activities in each content area.

Reading - Food Groups - What we eat - Handwashing

Writing/ Grammar - How do you take care of yourself - How To Writing - Exercise Journal - Suffix Organizer - Suffix Matching

Vocabulary - Dictionary - Vocabulary Matching - Vocabulary Sentences

Physical Education - Yoga - Create a Workout - Walk around Your Neighborhood

Math - Crack …

7th–8th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #2 • Theme: Disasters #2, Caryn G. Jones, Lauren Gatti, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

Survival School, Grades 7-8

We will explore the disasters that impact our world, how they happen, what damage they can cause, and how we can be prepared to survive and overcome them.

Lesson 1 • What do we really need? Safety vs survival? What hazards threaten us? Rule of threes

Lesson 2 • Getting safe, Read all about it, Analyze priorities and classify dangers

Lesson 3 • Situational awareness, Getting shelter, food, and water, Finding help

Lesson 4 • Alone of in a group, what changes? Leadership qualities, Choose a leader

Lesson 5 • Review your work this week, Write …

6th Grade: English Level 3, Learning Packet #4 • Theme: Greece And Rome, Amanda Mclaughlin, Lauren Gatti, Alexa Yunes

ICMEE Learning Packets: Level 3 of English Proficiency (K-12)

This week you will travel back in time to the land of Ancient Greece and Rome! These two empires both ruled over large areas of land in modern day Europe. From mythology to engineering, these empires made a significant impact on civilization.

Question Words

Thinking Skills Glossary - Level 3 English

Day 1 • Ancient Greece and Rome vocabulary, Take a Side: Athens vs. Sparta?, Mapping: Ancient Rome, Converting fractions, decimals, and percentages

Day 2 • Reading comprehension challenge: Gladiators, The destruction of Pompeii, Comparing fractions, decimals, and percentages

Day 3 • Roman numerals, Mythology: "A touch of gold," Roll …