Online and Distance Education Commons^™

How Do Open Educational Resources (Oers) Impact Students? A Qualitative Study At New York City College Of Technology, Cuny, Cailean Cooney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis reports on findings from a study conducted with students using open educational resources as the primary course material in their Health Psychology course. The study took place at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), of the City University of New York (CUNY), a comprehensive college located in Brooklyn. Students were assigned the OER by their course instructor, who developed it as part of a library funded pilot initiative. Two research instruments were employed to collect qualitative data from students: a survey and one-on-one interviews with a smaller student sample. Both survey and interview items asked students …

Queering By Example: Sex Education In The Age Of Vlogging, Zoe M. Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The 1990s saw the rise of third wave feminism, queer theory and the digital age. This paper looks at how the three come together in YouTube video bloggers’ promotion of queer sex-positive ideology. Sex positivism is the belief that all safe, consensual sex is healthy, while queer theory emphasizes the diversity and instability of sex and gender identities. YouTube vloggers engaged in life-streaming profit from the entertainment value of revealing personal sexual information while framing their sexual revelations as healthy, shame-free sex positivism. In doing so, they also put their unique and sometimes changing sexualities on public display, in effect …

Comparison Of Online And Onsite Students’ Learning Outcomes And Experiences In A Massively Open Online Course In China, Weichao Chen, Jiyou Jia

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This paper compares the achievements and learning experiences of onsite and online students participating in a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) in China. Altogether 192 Chinese students learned face-to-face, and another 311 Chinese learners participated online. In regard to learning performance, onsite learners had a lower attrition rate than the online students. However, for learners who had completed all their learning assignments, no significant difference was detected between the onsite and online participants’ average assignment scores, and they were equally likely to win two of the learning awards. As to their learning experiences, there was also no significant difference between …

How Fast Is Fast Enough? Education Students’ Perceptions Of Email Response Time In Online Courses, Ching-Wen Zhang, Beth Hurst, Annice Mclean

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

An unintended consequence of the ubiquitous use of email for online course communication is that some faculty believe students now seem to expect 24/7 access to their instructors. Emails come from students at all hours of the day and night, and they seem to expect answers quickly. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of college students in the field of education of how long they expect to wait for their online instructors to respond to their emails and how quickly they respond to emails from their online instructors. A voluntary, anonymous survey was sent to undergraduate …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Exploration Of The Shared Perceptions Of Online Adjunct Faculty In The United States Who Have A High Sense Of Community, Tiffany Ferencz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of online adjunct faculty who have a high sense of community within their respective university. Sense of community was generally defined as feelings of connectedness within the university community. The theories that guided this study were McMillan and Chavis’ (1986) sense of community theory and Herzberg’s (1968) motivation-hygiene theory. McMillan and Chavis’ sense of community theory suggests a sense of community is a powerful force that influences people. Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory is used as it identifies guiding principles for why people are motivated to work. The central question …

A Predictor For Ple Management: Impacts Of Self- Regulated Online Learning On Students’ Learning Skills, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Chih-Hsiung Tu, Laura Sujo-Montes, Karen Sealander

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Web 2.0 integration requires a high level of learner-centered skills to create a personal learning environment (PLE). The pedagogical capability of Web 2.0 could support and promote self-regulated learning (SRL) by enabling the constructions of PLEs. This study investigated how will each of the six aspects of self-regulated online learning (i.e., environment structuring, goal setting, time management, task strategies, help seeking, & self-evaluation) respectively predict the level of initiative, the sense of control, and the level of self-reflection in personal learning environment (PLE) management. The study concluded that all six aspects of SRL could predict three types of PLE management …

Using Postfeedback Delays To Reduce Racing In Online Learning, Anna L. Conard

Dissertations

Computer-based instruction (CBI) has become an increasingly popular tool in both business and education throughout the last decade. Despite the various benefits of using CBI, there are several challenges that accompany this mode of instruction, such as computer-based racing. Computer-based racing occurs when learners respond so quickly that frequent mistakes are made. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of postfeedback delays on racing through online lessons conducted in uncontrolled settings. Six different computer-based instructional formats were assessed in terms of learner performance and satisfaction using a between-group pretest-posttest design. Statistically significant differences were observed in …

Massive Open Online Courses And Educational Equality In China: A Qualitative Inquiry, Hengtao Tang, Alison Carr-Chellman

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Although Chinese governments are devoted to the improvement of education, considerable defects such as inequality in education and an increase in educational costs exist in the current education system of China. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) assume the hope of resolving the educational inequality in China with the potential of empowering a diverse population with free, open access to prominent educational resources. This qualitative research project applies narrative inquiry to examine Chinese MOOCs learners’ perceptions of their lived experiences and how MOOCs attend to the problems in Chinese education. The inquiry includes triangulated data in the form of interviews, observations, …

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.

Modernizing The Integrated Approach: A Dynamic Teaching Method Using Podcasts And Multimedia Content, Justin T. Hughes

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores ways to create a curriculum in which multimedia and technology such as podcasts, streaming video, and online articles are utilized effectively in order to develop academic skills for adult international students, specifically those with the goal of attending an American university. Through this integrated approach that combines all of the essential language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing), students will build confidence and thus become empowered and individualized learners. They will be able to attain mastery of an essential academic skill set that will assist them in attaining their goals in many different realms.

This project engages …

Student Participation In Coil Programs And Its Impact On Study Abroad Enrollment, Ashley E. Reed

Capstone Collection

This capstone paper delves into and exposes the impact of participating in the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program has on students’ decision to study abroad. Focusing on State University of New York (SUNY) institutions, a survey was administered to 25 students who participated in a course which employed COIL principles or pedagogy in its design with the primary intent of discovering: 1) the demographics of who enrolled in the COIL courses, 2) why they enrolled, and 3) if their experience had any impact on their interest to study abroad. The survey employed methods which were largely quantitative in nature, …

Enhancing Inquiry-Based Learning (Ibl) Strategies Online Through The Integration Of Interactive Technology Tools, Kathy-Ann Daniel-Gittens, Tina Calandrino

Florida Distance Learning Association Conference

No abstract provided.

Including “Anyone” In The “Anytime, Anywhere” Paradigm: Strategies To Build Aceess To Distance Education, Kathleen P. King, Greene M. Thompson

Florida Distance Learning Association Conference

In the past 30 years, distance learning has come a long way in innovative technologies advancing opportunities for teaching and learning. In 2011, the public understands and accepts widely the once surprising concept of “Anytime, Anywhere” learning (Allen & Seaman, 2010). To expand our educational commitment to access and equity, this paper addresses the need and means to incorporate “Anyone” into this paradigm.

While we spend a great deal of time and effort teaching educators to adopt and design effective online learning, we focus much less on creating welcoming and accessible online learning environments for every student. This paper has …

The Missing Link: Discovering Your Facilitation Power For Online Course, Kathleen P. King, Heba Abuzayyad-Nuseibeh

Florida Distance Learning Association Conference

Unfortunately, most of our faculty development related to online learning has been regarding designing courses. Yet where do we faculty spend most of our time? We spend it facilitating the courses, semester after semester. However, one of the reasons more one provides more guidance about online facilitation is that many people assume teaching online is more or less the same as traditional instruction. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth (Fink, 2003). Online learning shifts the focus from teacher to learners, and our role as educators from “all knowing experts” dispensing knowledge, to facilitators of more self-directed and …

Online Instruction Of Dyslexic Students: A Call To Action, Matthew G. Kenney

Florida Distance Learning Association Conference

This paper is a call to action for academic and information technology industry leaders to develop a generalizable online instructional model tailored to the learning needs of those suffering from dyslexia. It is estimated that 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic (Logan, 2009). According to the Sloan Consortium, online instruction is the fastest growing segment of the higher education industry (Allen & Seaman, 2010). Online entrepreneurship students may provide researchers with an opportunity to identify dyslexics clustered in higher proportions than other academic disciplines. There is no evidence to show entrepreneurship students are more likely to be dyslexic than other students, …

Online Learning Communities: Enhancing Undergraduate Students ‘ Acquisition Of Information Skills, Ling Wang, Noraida Domínguez-Flores

Florida Distance Learning Association Conference

Since the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL, 2000) approved the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, many efforts have been made to help undergraduate students develop the information skills they need. Although there are different activities that have been developed to facilitate the acquisition of information skills and work with the students’ limitations and the problems that are evidenced, and research has identified librarians as the key resource to educate students and to help them develop better research skills (Mundava, & Chaudhuri, 2007; Wilbe, 2006), the reality is that librarians do not have enough time available to …

The Use Of Compressed Video For Distance Learning: From Middle School To Senior Citizens, Al P. Mizell

Florida Distance Learning Association Conference

A review of a ten-year project using ISDN Compressed Video to connect middle and high schools around the world for monthly explorations of a variety of topics ranging from music concerts to joint science experiments. At the other extreme, the use of webcams over the Internet in Skype, ooVoo, Logitech, and Google Video to make free video conferencing calls by limited income senior citizens in a Quality of Life project illustrates the distance compressed video has come. Finally, the use of video conferencing in Elluminate in Blackboard for graduate online courses is described. Participants will be invited to use their …

Beyond Behavior, Craig C. Laupheimer

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Teaching to engage students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can inspire the whole classroom and make teaching and learning engaging and exciting. Although teachers and students alike face a challenging educational landscape, much can be done to empower students with special needs. Teaching with the whole classroom in mind with an emphasis on hands on, explorative and inspirational learning experiences to accommodate for these students strengthens and causes student engagement and agency. This article highlights the challenges and potential breakthroughs possible for classroom instruction specifically where the ADHD student is concerned and looks towards teaching mindfulness and empowerment as …

Connecting Communities And Building World Language Proficiency, Tyler Anthony

Honors Projects

There are a variety of ways for students to learn a second language such as, learning in the typical classroom setting, studying abroad, and participating in an immersion program. However, often times the benefits of technology are overlooked in the world language classroom. Technology can be used to establish a global community and provide students with new opportunities to practice their language outside of the classroom. Utilizing the language as much as possible is essential to evolving high levels of proficiency and developing communicative competence; however, world language students often do not get the chance to speak the second language …

New Metaphors For Networked Learning, Caroline A. Haythornthwaite

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

As networked learning leaves designed spaces and becomes diffused and re-infused through open, online information sharing and knowledge construction, what metaphors will frame our next steps, our next inquiries? In keeping with the conference theme of ‘Looking Back – Moving Forward’, this presentation will engage with where we are in the sea of change, and how our current understanding of networks, learning and knowledge will take us forward into new areas of inquiry. Elsewhere I have been advocating for a reclamation of the term ‘e-learning’ that takes us beyond the design and use of the closed LMS and VLE systems …

Exploring Academic Persistence For Nontraditional Business Students At For-Profit Universities, Leroy Purdie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study explored academic persistence for 10 nontraditional students pursuing business degrees at for-profit universities in southern Georgia and northern Virginia. The literature review provides a theoretical framework based on Tinto’s (1975) theory of persistence and Bandura’s (1993) self-efficacy theory. Data was collected through a demographic survey, timeline of significant events, in- depth survey, and a letter of advice. Data analysis included identifying significant statements, utilizing participant feedback to create structural and textural descriptions and ultimately describing the participant essences of their experiences. The decision to pursue a degree themes that emerged were career progression, family security, transferability, and …

Exploring The Experiences Of Senior Enlisted Military Wives Seeking Higher Education Through Distance Learning, Andrea Disque

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of my study was to explore the experiences of senior enlisted military wives and document how the military lifestyle has affected their ability to attain higher education while their servicemember was on active duty. Specifically, my study focused on senior enlisted military wives who have chosen to pursue their higher education through distance learning. The study portrayed experiences of those spouses who are an integral component of today’s military, yet who are often unseen not only in the military world and the civilian sector, but also in higher education. In the study, I explored four research questions:

1) …

Administrators' And Faculty's Perceived Online Education Barriers And The Role Of Transformational Leadership At A U.S. University In Lebanon, Sahar El Turk, Isabelle D. Cherney

Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the perceived barriers obstructing the implementation of online education by administrators and faculty at the School of Arts and Sciences of a U.S. university located in Lebanon. The aim of this study was to offer a solution to the most important perceived barriers to online education that informs administrative decisions concerning the appropriate modalities of online instruction that may be implemented at the university. The exploratory factor analysis identified 8 factors out of 35 possible perceived barriers to online education. Faculty and administrators perceived the structural barriers and the pedagogical barriers …

Student Participation And Grade Performance In The Tennessee College Of Applied Technology Online Collaborative, Tachaka I. Hollins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to determine whether a significantly statistical relationship exists between student participation and final grade performance within an online environment at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) Regents Online Degree Program (RODP). The study used data retrieved from the Desire2Learn (D2L) course management system and the Student Information System (SIS) for the 2013-2014 academic year. The stratified sample consisted of 360 individual students enrolled in either one or more of the 43 TCAT RODP course sections randomly selected from a total of 217 course sections offered during 3 semesters. The courses were offered …

Community College Student Success In Online Versus Equivalent Face-To-Face Courses, Cheri B. Gregory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As part of a nationwide effort to increase the postsecondary educational attainment levels of citizens, colleges and universities have expanded offerings of courses and programs to more effectively meet the needs of students. Online courses offer convenience and flexibility that traditional face-to-face classes do not. These features appeal to students with family and work responsibilities that typically make attending classes on campus difficult. However, many of the students who tend to take courses in this instructional format have characteristics that place them at high-risk for academic failure. Because of the traditional mission of community colleges, they generally serve more students …

Online Learning And Academic Support Centers: How Synchronous Support Opportunities Affect Graduate Students’ Interaction With The Content, Henri Joseph Moser

All Theses And Dissertations

This study analyzed the effects of live academic support sessions on online graduate students’ interaction with the course content. This was accomplished through qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. In-depth interviews with eight purposely selected online graduate students provided the textual data. Through a systematic framework analysis of the data garnered through interview, it was found that students did perceive the live interactions as being especially effective in improving their interactions with the course content. Students partially attribute the effectiveness to connections made between the students and university stakeholders. This study also revealed that students recognize initial student distress …

Qualitative Case Study On The Perspective Of Pennsylvania Superintendents On Distance Education In K-12 Public School Districts, Stephanie Pennucci

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Distance education is rapidly changing the way K-12 students learn. School districts use it for course recovery, to supplement the curriculum with additional courses, and to offer alternative educational opportunities. Pennsylvania’s 500 public school superintendents face a unique challenge in an economic recession, severe cuts in state funding, and competition from cyber charter schools. The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study is to understand the impact of distance education on the experiences of Pennsylvania public school superintendents as they deal with the influence of distance education in their programs, particularly the implementation of cyber charter schools. As the educational …

Quality Assurance In Online Graduate Education: Program Review Processes And Assessment Techniques Used In Higher Education, Lindsay N. Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to form an understanding of the online program assessment and assessment processes in higher education, and how program review processes were adopted and implemented through institutional policies in regard to industry quality assurance standards. The study looked at institutions classified as very high, high, or research universities by the Carnegie Classifications, and which offered online masters programs focused on preparing students for positions in educational administration or leadership roles. The study used an electronic survey and content analysis through institutional policy and quality assurance documents to develop a recommendation for institutional level quality …

A Modularized Tablet-Based Approach To Preparation For Remedial Mathematics, Kenneth A. Parker

Publications and Research

Basic arithmetic forms the foundation of the math courses that students will face in their undergraduate careers. It is therefore crucial that students have a solid understanding of these fundamental concepts. At an open- access university offering both two-year and four-year degrees, incoming freshmen who were identified as lacking in basic arithmetic skills were engaged in an experimental technology-enhanced workshop designed to provide them with a deeper understanding of arithmetic prior to their initial remedial coursework. Customized online content was created specifically for this experiment, and the first implementation (n=27) yielded statistically significant improvement, not only from pretest to post- …

Integrating Twitter Into The Classroom, Toria Felton

Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology Plan II Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to research, create, and implement lesson plans that utilized Twitter in the classroom. This project was also used to gauge how students felt about using social media in the classroom. It showed professors how to effectively and easily use the app in the classroom, which helped them to connect with more students and work on a platform that was of interest to many of the students.