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Articles 31 - 47 of 47
Full-Text Articles in Online and Distance Education
Designing Wise Communities That Engage In Creative Problem Solving: An Analysis Of An Online Design Model, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Layne, Casey Frechette
Designing Wise Communities That Engage In Creative Problem Solving: An Analysis Of An Online Design Model, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Layne, Casey Frechette
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
Addressing the conference theme of “design thinking,” this paper discusses an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities) that we developed to build a wise learning community online, to solve open-ended, ill-structured problems such as solving a health crisis or an environmental disaster, which requires the exchange of multiple perspectives, inter-disciplinary thinking, creative problem solving, and social construction of knowledge. Based on socio-constructivist, sociocultural theories of learning and mediated cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), distributed cognition (Hutchins, 1995; Pea, 1993), group cognition (Stahl, 2006), research on how people learn (Bransford, Vye, Bateman, Brophy, & Roselli, 2004), and distance education design principles (Moore & …
Cross-Cultural E-Mentor Roles In Facilitating Inquiry-Based Online Learning, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Geetha Kulasekera, Malinda C.B. Kumarasinha, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
Cross-Cultural E-Mentor Roles In Facilitating Inquiry-Based Online Learning, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Geetha Kulasekera, Malinda C.B. Kumarasinha, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
This paper discusses how cross-cultural e-mentoring facilitated inquiry-based learning through community and knowledge building and the multiple roles e-mentors played in fostering transformative learning in protégées. A series of professional development programmes on “online tutoring and mentoring” were conducted by the Distance Education Modernization Project (DEMP) implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education in Sri Lanka. These programmes were conducted in the form of a blended online course using the MOODLE learning management system. The main aim of these programmes was to develop the capacity of faculty and other professionals who would be responsible for designing and delivering online programmes. …
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
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. …
Predictors Of Learner Satisfaction And Transfer Of Learning In A Corporate Online Education Program, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Jennifer Linder-Vanberschot, Deborah Lapointe, Lalita Rao
Predictors Of Learner Satisfaction And Transfer Of Learning In A Corporate Online Education Program, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Jennifer Linder-Vanberschot, Deborah Lapointe, Lalita Rao
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
This study explores factors that predict learner satisfaction and transfer of learning in an online educational program at a multinational corporation, established to improve organizational learning through providing training in technical skills. A mixed-methods design was employed, selecting both quantitative methods utilizing survey research and qualitative methods employing open-ended questionnaire items, face-to-face and phone interviews, gathering the perspective of students, instructors, and instructional designers. The online courses were designed using a problem-centered and case-based approach to learning, and utilized technologies including Learning Management Systems such as Blackboard, Sharepoint, as well as instructional design tools such as Breeze, Captivate and PowerPoint. …
Enhancing Collaborative Problem Solving In Distance Education Courses Using Web-Based Concept Mapping, Ludmila Ortegano-Layne, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Carrie Main
Enhancing Collaborative Problem Solving In Distance Education Courses Using Web-Based Concept Mapping, Ludmila Ortegano-Layne, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Carrie Main
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of web-based concept maps as a communications and problem-solving tool in an online graduate level course. The study used an exploratory-descriptive research design that applied a qualitative methods approach in order to explore how concept maps foster collaborative problem-solving activities in an online learning environment. Three of the five groups participating in the study effectively used concept mapping, which they combined with other communication strategies such as eliciting group suggestions, asking questions, and brainstorming ideas, to reach consensus and solve the CBR project required. These results indicate that concept maps …
Identity, Gender, And Language In Synchronous Cybercultures: A Cross-Cultural Study, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ahmed Idrissi Alami, Gayathri Jayatilleke, Fawda Bouacharine
Identity, Gender, And Language In Synchronous Cybercultures: A Cross-Cultural Study, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ahmed Idrissi Alami, Gayathri Jayatilleke, Fawda Bouacharine
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
The integration of the Internet into contemporary society worldwide has had a profound impact on the way we communicate, relate to ourselves, and to each other. Different users, depending on various characteristics such as age, gender, education, and sociocultural background, access the Internet for various communication needs such as exchanging emails, making new friends, or engaging in a serious discussion. Whatever the goal, users need to adjust to this new computer-mediated interactive environment, and they do so either in ways that reveal native cultural values, or reflect the creation of new cultural norms and conventions.
E-Mentoring Strategies For Cross-Cultural Learning And Community Building, Deborah Lapointe, Carol Richmond, Jennifer Linder-Vanberschot, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Kerrin Barret, Marlie Saligumba Cardiff, Jason Skinner
E-Mentoring Strategies For Cross-Cultural Learning And Community Building, Deborah Lapointe, Carol Richmond, Jennifer Linder-Vanberschot, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Kerrin Barret, Marlie Saligumba Cardiff, Jason Skinner
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
This paper builds on mentoring practices by describing the strategies and results of cross-cultural group e-mentoring in an inquiry-based online course activity that supported Sri-Lankan faculty as online learners or protégés and higher-education students in their quest for knowledge and community. It focuses on the online e-mentoring experience of eight e-mentors in the United States (master's and doctoral students at the University of New Mexico) who engaged in a three-week-long, cross-cultural problem-solving learning activity using Moodle.
Social And Cultural Diversity In Distance Education, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Deborah Lapointe
Social And Cultural Diversity In Distance Education, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Deborah Lapointe
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
With the expansion of global telecommunication networks and the worldwide demand for higher education, distance education has the potential to reach out internationally to enhance learning for diverse learners and increase intercultural awareness and communication. By definition, distance education is borderless (Latchem, 2005), although differences in sociocultural contexts, values and expectations of diverse educational systems and learners may prove to be its greatest challenge (Hanna, 2000). While distance education programs proclaim an international focus with international content and learners, instructional design and methods frequently carry Eurocentric Western bias. Distance educators need to be sensitive to social, cultural and educational differences, …
Learning Transformations Through Cross-Cultural E-Mentoring: Perspectives From An Online Faculty Development Forum, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Jennifer Linder-Vanberschot, Deborah Lapointe, Kerrin Barret, Julia Mummert, Marlie Saligumba Cardiff, Jason Skinner
Learning Transformations Through Cross-Cultural E-Mentoring: Perspectives From An Online Faculty Development Forum, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Jennifer Linder-Vanberschot, Deborah Lapointe, Kerrin Barret, Julia Mummert, Marlie Saligumba Cardiff, Jason Skinner
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
Employing qualitative research methods, this study discusses the learning transformations of e-mentors from the United States and protégés from Sri Lanka who engaged in online problem solving tasks that were part of a faculty development forum.
New Model, New Strategies: Instructional Design For Building Online Wisdom Communities, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Ortegano-Layne, Kayleigh Carabajal, Casey Frechette, Ken Lindemann, Barbara Jennings
New Model, New Strategies: Instructional Design For Building Online Wisdom Communities, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Ludmila Ortegano-Layne, Kayleigh Carabajal, Casey Frechette, Ken Lindemann, Barbara Jennings
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
We discuss the development of an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities), based on socio-constructivist and socio-cultural learning philosophies and distance education principles for the development of online wisdom communities, and the application and evaluation of the model in an online graduate course in the U.S. The WisCom model aims to facilitate transformational learning by fostering the development of a wisdom community, knowledge innovation and mentoring and learner support in an online learning environment, based on a “Cycle of Inquiry” module design, and a “Spiral of Inquiry” program design. Extending beyond current instructional design practice, WisCom provides both a new …
Designing The Social Environment For Online Learning: The Role Of Social Presence, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
Designing The Social Environment For Online Learning: The Role Of Social Presence, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
A major challenge to designing online learning is the development of appropriate means to facilitate the social environment that is critical for higher-order learning in many disciplines. In many online learning designs, the majority of resources are channeled to web interface design and technology, while little or no resources are devoted to facilitating the teaching and learning process, the negotiation of meaning and the validation of knowledge among peers and instructors that depends on a conducive socio-cultural environment and adequate learner support. This paper seeks to address this issue by examining one factor, social presence that has been shown to …
Synthesizing Social Construction Of Knowledge In Online Conferences Using Concept Maps, Ludmila Ortegano-Layne, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
Synthesizing Social Construction Of Knowledge In Online Conferences Using Concept Maps, Ludmila Ortegano-Layne, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
By using content analysis techniques to compare social construction of knowledge in online dialogues to concept maps generated to synthesize this knowledge construction, this study showed that concept maps are an effective tool to synthesize knowledge construction in online conferences. This finding was also supported by self-reported data in a moderator survey. Concept maps were also considered an effective tool for organizing information which indicates that they can be utilized as a knowledge management and preservation tool in online conferences. All students perceived that the Cmap tool software could be used as a tool to foster online collaborative learning in …
Methods For Evaluating Interface Design For Online Learning Environments, Constance A. Lowe, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
Methods For Evaluating Interface Design For Online Learning Environments, Constance A. Lowe, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
Designing online learning environments poses many challenges. One critical issue is the design of appropriate user interfaces so that the interface does not become a barrier to the learning process. The interface of a web site may be described as the sum of the visible (and/or audible) elements which convey to a user what functions and resources are available at the site and provide access to, or control over, those functions and resources. The interface is a key element of usability, where usability means the ease or difficulty with which the user can complete the intended tasks. Following a brief …
Reflections On Evaluating Online Learning And Teaching, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
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
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 …
Globaled Questionnaire, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
Globaled Questionnaire, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
The purpose of this unpublished questionnaire is to evaluate the GLOBALED project.
Learner Support: The Critical Link In Distance Education, Connie L. Dillon, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Robert Parker
Learner Support: The Critical Link In Distance Education, Connie L. Dillon, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Robert Parker
University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications
This study evaluates the Oklahoma Televised Instruction System, through an analysis of the student support services to include the resources available to the learner, the communications process characterized by the coordination services provided among the on-campus and distance sites, and the communication process characterized by the mechanical and electronic transfer of information. The study also compares the attitudes and performance of the participating on-campus and distance students.