Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Effective And Interactive Group Assignments In An Online Course, Teresa Focarile, Lana Grover

CTL Teaching Gallery

The current standard paradigm for online learning involves asynchronous learning. We propose to expand that paradigm to include synchronous elements to the general course design, specifically cooperative learning (CL). Cooperative learning in any classroom, traditional or online, must include a synchronous event: all members are present at the same time in the same space. A synchronous form of online CL simulates face-to-face interaction available in a live classroom but conducted through screen-to-screen communication. The inclusion of synchronous components carries the benefit of increased student engagement and community-building, thereby maximizing the potential for student learning and successful completion.

Online Course Design In Higher Education: A Review Of National And Statewide Evaluation Instruments, Sally Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research identifies six online course evaluation instruments used nationally or in statewide systems. We examined the characteristics (i.e., number of standards and criteria) and coded the criteria that guide the design of online courses. We discussed the focus of the instruments and their unique features.

Faculty Development – The Critical Element, Deborah J. Seepersaud

FDLA Journal

Faculty development is a complex idea, often misunderstood, but not at the University of Mississippi where the key to faculty development is clear – instructional design is the critical element of faculty development. Instructional design and instructional designers are considered necessary to quality online education. Instructional designers are involved in all aspects of faculty development from first efforts of professors to ongoing strategies for course enrichment.

An organization’s commitment to quality online education can probably be determined by asking one question – what is the institution’s level of commitment to appropriate and research-based instructional design strategies?

Do Udoit For Webcourses@Ucf: Who Is Using It And Where?, Karen Tinsley-Kim

FDLA Journal

This paper is an expansion on the presentation of the same name given on Tuesday, January 16th, 2018 at the 2017 FLDA/FAMTE Conference in Orlando, FL (originally scheduled for September 2017, rescheduled due to impact from Hurricane Irma). The presentation, “Do UDOIT for Webcourses@UCF: Who Is Using It and Where?” given by Karen Tinsley-Kim was part of the 10:30-11:45am Concurrent Session, “Online Course Design: Privacy, Inclusion, and Accountability.” Graphics and images originate from slides shown in the presentation and other relevant sources.

All Roads Lead To Online Teaching Excellence: An Alternative Route To Faculty Certification For Online Teaching, Nancy Swenson, Shelly Wyatt Phd

FDLA Journal

New faculty who arrive at the University of Central Florida are very likely to be asked to teach at least one online (“W”) or mixed-mode (“M”) course. Realizing that effective teaching in these digital formats requires additional skills and knowledge that go beyond the traditional face-to-face classroom, UCF requires faculty to be certified in online teaching. Faculty at UCF have two avenues to obtain certification to develop and teach online or mixed-mode courses: our online teaching certification course IDL6543 or our alternative track for experienced faculty new to UCF called Online Faculty Readiness Assessment (OFRA). This assessment recognizes a faculty …

Accelerating Students Forward To Excellence With Ucf Online, Bren Bedford, Beth Nettles, Karen Tinsley-Kim

FDLA Journal

The Center for Distributed Learning, in the Division of Digital Learning at the University of Central Florida (UCF), has been instrumental in driving the use of educational technology to expand online teaching and learning opportunities. The advances have occurred while retaining the level of excellence for which its online learning has been nationally recognized and awarded over the last 20 years. As online educational trends have evolved due to a demand for more expansive offerings, the fully-online UCF Online initiative was born. UCF is accelerating students forward to excellence by expanding the reach of an affordable higher education with UCF …

Users Not Watchers: Motivation And The Use Of Discussion Boards In Online Learning, Sarah Ransdell, Jia Borror, Angie Su

FDLA Journal

College students will participate in any learning activity when they feel it helps. Students have an uncanny sense of a tipping point of use. Is it worth my time? Will it help me get a better grade? Discussion boards only work if they help and not hinder online learning. Discussing course content online can be as useful as discussing it among physical classmates. In fact, actively using discussion boards can encourage students to be active users not passive watchers. Users are motivated to engage. Watchers disengage. The present paper provides six examples of how DB motivated online learning. These …

Determining And Implementing Social Presence In College Level Online Course Using Student Input: Theoretical Underpinnings Supporting Student Participation In Online Course Design, Brad Van Alstyne

Communication & Media Studies | Faculty Dissertations and Theses

As online education continues to grow as a method to deliver education at the college and university level, research on online education has shifted from studying the technology and its ability to deliver course content to trying to better understand what encourages a positive online experience for instructors and students.

The marked difference between a virtual classroom as opposed to a physical one has shifted technology-focused research to research that inquires about the vitality of the social environment in virtual venues. It is conceived that social presence is what makes the virtual experience feel real and sustains student’s attention and …

Give To Teachers What Belongs To Teachers, Senta A. Sellers, Joana Fernandez

FDLA Journal

The Nova Southeastern University Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center opened in December 2001 to accommodate both academic and public users (Nova Southeastern University, 2001). The facility, built as part of a 1999 agreement between Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and Broward County Board of County Commissioners, serves the public as well as students, staff, and faculty of Nova Southeastern University. Joint-use facilities such as the Sherman Library have existed since the 1970s (Matthews & Calvert, 2007).

As of the end of 2017, the Sherman Library houses 1,176,148 volumes and has access to over 500 databases. Because the Sherman …

Teaching Qualitative Research Online: Using Technology To Leverage Student Engagement, Elda Veloso, Anymir Orellana, Jennifer L. Reeves

FDLA Journal

Three faculty colleagues collaborated to effectively pilot the concept of an online community to integrate innovative technologies for learning qualitative research concepts and skills in an online research course. The strategies implemented resulted in engaged students with improved research skills. Students also expressed how much they enjoyed learning and implementing concepts of qualitative research. Technologies that were integrated included cutting-edge apps, social media, and Blackboard collaboration tools. The team followed the ASSURE model (Smaldino, Lowther, Russell, & Mims, 2015) to plan and implement for effective integration of technology and media.

Leveraging The Affordances Of Virtual Reality Systems Within K-12 Education: Responding To Future Innovations, Rohan Jowallah, Luke Bennett, Kathleen Bastedo

FDLA Journal

It is estimated that by 2021, revenue from virtual reality systems could reach two hundred and fifteen billion dollars (Reyes, 2017). The leading investors in virtual reality systems include some of the largest technology companies: Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. This increased revenue spending has influenced and continues to influence improvements in virtual reality systems. As these new advances emerge, it is imperative that policymakers, educators and instructional designers consider the fusion of pedagogy and technology when using virtual reality systems.

Increasing Social Presence Online: Five Strategies For Instructors, Charlotte A. Jones-Roberts

FDLA Journal

As one component of the Community of Inquiry Model, social presence comprises how learners effectively project themselves in a learning environment. Effective cultivation of social presence can lead to more motivated students, success in the class, and, of course, effective online instruction. However, increasing social presence in an online course can be easier said than done. Through a review of literature, this paper briefly overviews the benefits of increased social presence and highlights five research-based strategies for improving social presence in online environments.

Digital Footprints: Creation, Implication, And Higher Education, Maureen Mcdermot

FDLA Journal

Twenty-first century higher education instructors are continually tasked to review, align, pilot, adopt, infuse, and evaluate new technology tools and resources into curricula rich with standards regardless of course format (online/distance, hybrid, and face-to-face courses). Demands often overwhelm instructors who cannot assume that all students approach technology with the same levels of expertise increases constantly with new multimedia developments. Before courses begin, instructors should pilot these tools and applications to determine accessibility, types of support students may need, as well as determine what types of digital footprints students will leave behind. Digital footprints are unique data trails Internet users leave …

A Critical Divide In Higher Education: Bridging The Gap Between Student Success And Organizational Leadership, Kathyleen G. Wyatt

FDLA Journal

The emergence of the use of technology in the classroom and the demand for on-line classes has created a challenge for organizational leaders in higher education to retain students and foster an atmosphere conducive to student success. The purpose of this article is to assist those leaders in determining if a leadership growth plan could be a valuable component of a comprehensive professional development plan to increase student success. The discussion in this article is based on the triangulated findings of a qualitative case study designed to generate unbiased, rich, and in-depth information from those involved in degree programs at …

What Motivates Students In The Online Communication Classroom? An Exploration Of Self-Determination Theory, Laura Jacobi

Communication Studies Department Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine instructional strategies used to motivate students to engage in online communication courses. Eighteen undergraduate students, seven graduate students, and ten faculty members were interviewed individually or in small focus groups. Results indicate the significance of instructional strategies that promote autonomy, perceived competence, and relatedness in motivating students. Two instructional strategies that promote autonomy (i.e., conveying choice in instructional language and validating negative feelings associated with arduous or tedious tasks) were not discussed by participants in this study, which poses interesting challenges for instructors. The results reveal the utility of Self-Determination Theory in …

The #Vleireland Project, Claire Mcavinia, Angelica Risquez

Papers, presentations and other resources

A decade after Martin Weller’s proclamation that ‘The VLE/LMS Is Dead’ (2007) was met with widespread acclaim and debate, virtual learning environmentsVLEs)remain pervasive in most higher education institutions (HEIs) including those in Ireland .

University Partnership: A Grant-Funded Program For Minority And Underserved Populations, Jerry Holt

FDLA Journal

Provision of services for minority and underserved populations is often problematic. Often, these students attend schools in districts in which funding is lacking for the delivery of services (Ballantine, 2017; Brint, 2017). Classic texts such as Kozol’s Savage Inequalities (1991) highlighted the disparate nature of the schools that serve these populations, and concomitantly the diminished opportunity for these students in terms of academic progress and workforce possibilities. This disparity of opportunity, often characterized by ethnicity and socioeconomics, persists into the 21^st century (Rothstein, 2014; Weir, 2016).[1]

[1] Kozol also continues to describe the ongoing disparity in American education …

Improving Online Learning With Learning Analytics, Martonia Gaskill, Phu Vu

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

The overarching goal of this presentation is to discuss the use of learning analytics in Canvas to track and predict students’ performances and to provide timely support for success in online courses. In addition, the issue of students’ privacy in online courses will also be reviewed through preliminary survey data. According to Horizon Report 2016, learning analytics is an educational application of web analytics aimed at learner profiling, a process of collecting and analyzing details of individual student performances in their online courses. Learning analytics has developed in three stages, moving from an emphasis on hindsight to foresight. The first …

Translating Studio Courses Online, Claire Amy Schultz

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

This presentation will highlight some of the successes and struggles of translating a studio art class to the online format. Teacher reflections on pedagogical and instructional designs will be shared along with ways to provide students with a quality studio course experience in an online format.

Group Portfolios As A Gateway To Creativity, Collaboration, And Synergy In An Environment Course, Katherine Nashleanas

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Group Portfolios as a Gateway to Creativity, Collaboration & Synergy in an Environment Course

Yankee Hill I

Katherine Nashleanas (UNL)

Recent studies have suggested the world students are facing today is moving so fast that the professions and skills they are training for now might be obsolete by the time they graduate. As a result, students in the 21st century need to think more flexibly, innovatively and creatively as well as practice in collaboration, negotiation and teamwork. With an entry-level class of 49 students in a hybrid course, groups were assigned with a semester portfolio project on the general topic …

Male Allies At The University Of Nebraska, Heath Tuttle, Wes Juranek

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Greater demands and limited resources mean that innovation is essential for Information Technology Systems (ITS) at the University of Nebraska. A key element of a successful and innovative organization is a culture that values and respects diversity. Diverse teams, in turn, lead to improved performance and a more effective organization (Hutchings & De Cieri, 2016). In this interactive session, presenters will discuss the role male allies have in creating an inclusive culture, discuss every-day actions that everyone can take to improve the work environment, and promote the 2 development of a Male Ally group within ITS and how participants can …

Creating A Student Success Center: Transitioning Graduate Students Into An Online Community Of Learners Through A Collaborative Approach, Brian Wilson, Christina W. Yao, Erica Defrain, Andrew Cano

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Community building and socialization are key to success in graduate education, particularly as students are facing two new realities at the start of their academic careers: shifting identity into becoming graduate students 2 and scholars, and developing online learning competency. As a way to address these challenges, the EDAD Student Success Center was created in Fall 2016 to increase interactions with faculty and peers as a way to develop a community of learners. This collaborative project included interest and effort from departmental faculty and staff, colleagues from the UNL Libraries, and current graduate students representing the EDAD Graduate Student Association …

A Course Delivery Evolution: Moving From Lecture To Online To A Flipped Classroom, Kim Michael, Tanya Cluster

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

This presentation will focus on the findings of a research study designed to evaluate different modes of course delivery in a Genitourinary Sonography course. The purpose of the study was two-fold, first to determine if the mode of delivery (traditional, on-line, flipped) affects student satisfaction in a genitourinary sonography course and second to evaluate overall course outcomes.

The study reviewed current data over a 9-year period from a single sonography course offered in the spring semester of a 12-month Bachelor of Science health professions program. During the first three years (2010- 2012), the course was offered in a traditional, lecture …

Beyond Chunking: Micro-Learning Secrets For Effective Online Design, Amanda Major, Tina Calandrino

FDLA Journal

This article focuses on micro-learning for its effectiveness in online learning design. Faculty members in many universities incorporate micro-learning in their classes as it engages students with the subject matter and results in deeper learning, by encouraging them to connect to the subject matter with their everyday lives as well as the world around them. By improving knowledge retention, micro-learning supports learning in a more easily accessible bites of information productively designed in an online environment.

The Lived Experience: A Study In Teaching Online, Bobbette M. Morgan

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

A researcher with five years’ experience of teaching online classes shares what she has seen and experienced while working with her students. Through the evolution of working with Tegrity, Collaborate, and ZOOM the author shares the lived experience. The work of Max van Manen, a phenomenological researcher, serves as the framework. Descriptions are included of experiences from actual online classes. Research supports the findings: communication is essential in online classes; establishing a community of learners provides support to all involved; and students need to be accountable to themselves, the class and to the professors.

Learning Styles, Online Courses, Gender, And Academic Achievement Of Hispanic Students In Higher Education, Irma S. Jones, Dianna Blankenship

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This study aims at identifying learning styles of two groups of online students enrolled in Legal Studies and Corporate Training courses and comparing learning styles and academic achievements in those courses. The learning styles questionnaire was adapted from a learning styles questionnaire in College Study Strategies (Laskey & Gibson, pp. 52-53, 1997) and is a continuation of previous research by the authors. In the fall 2017, the authors administered the adapted questionnaire to undergraduate corporate training and legal studies online students in a Southern Hispanic serving institution. The questionnaire allowed students to identify whether their preferred method of learning was …

Structured Techniques For Creating Engaging Online Discussions, Caroline Kinskey, Carrie Lewis Miller, Keith Hauck

IT Solutions Publications

Each year, more students enroll in online classes than the year before (Allen and Seaman, 2017). Online asynchronous discussions are often used in these online classes as a method of interaction between students and the instructor typically via an online discussion forum. It is in the discussion forums that students examine topics, debate points of view, defend opinions, and receive feedback from their instructor and peers despite the location or time difference that may exist between them (Cho and Tobias, 2016). Within these discussions, communities of inquiry can be created and the sense of isolation that can often be defeating …

Learning Analytics: Translating Data Into “Just-In-Time” Interventions, Pauline Salim Muljana, Greg Placencia

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Innovative Pedagogy (2018-2020 archives)

Despite the burgeoning studies on student attrition and retention, many institutions continue to deal with related issues, including D, F, and W grades rates. The emerging and rapidly developing Learning Analytics (LA) field shows great potential for improving learning outcomes by monitoring and analyzing student performance to allow instructors to recommend specific interventions based on key performance indicators. Unfortunately, higher education has been slow to implement it. We, therefore, provide the rationale and benefits of increased LA integration into courses and curriculum. We further identify and suggest ready-to-implement best practices, as well as tools available in Learning Management Systems (LMSs) …

A Causal Comparative Study Of Student Success And Retention In An Undergraduate Program Offered Online And On Campus, Daniel David Tudor

Online Theses and Dissertations

Online education has grown significantly both in the number of courses offered and the number of degrees offered. The delivery format is being fueled by a student population that is growing more non-traditional. Work and family obligations dictate that classes are offered in a format that meets the needs of the students. The growth of universities toward online courses and degrees has brought opportunities to students, but it has also given institutions of higher education new income streams. In the case of public universities in Kentucky, this has helped offset reductions in state support. The viability of this format for …

Using Interactive Digital Wall (Iwall) Technology To Promote Active Learning, Cheryl Bagley Thompson, Suhasini Kotcherlakota, Patrick Rejda, Paul Dye

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Using Interactive Digital Wall (iWall) Technology to Promote Active Learning

Garrat

Cheryl Thompson (UNMC), Suhasini Kotcherlakota (UNMC), Patrick Rejda (UNMC), Paul Dye (UNMC)

UNMC's iWall technology bridges College of Nursing campuses across the state. The multi-taction iWall consists of from 9-12 high resolution video panels. These panels provide interactive monitor space on which to project class content and simultaneously allow instructor and student interaction with content. The iWalls across the state are connected, allowing interactions between students in different locations. Students at home or sites without iWall are able to view and participate in class activities via webinar technology. This …