Research Area: Student Services
[Summary from: The Journal of Educators Online, January 2012.] Online education is becoming an increasingly important component of higher education. The Sloan Foundation 2010 Survey of Online Learning reports that more than 30 percent of all students take at least one online course during their college career. Because of this, attention is now turning to the quality of student outcomes that this instructional method provides. However, there is a huge gap in empirical investigations devoted to the link between technology … Continue reading
When you replace the traditional classroom with the Internet, it’s easy to lose the vital face-to-face connection between instructors and students. That makes it imperative for distance-education instructors to find new, effective ways to interact with the diverse group of people taking their courses. And thanks to the magic of the Internet, there are a host of innovative resources that can replicate the physical classroom. One of the newest and best tools is Google Hangouts, a video chat program that … Continue reading
[Summary from: The Journal of Educators Online, January 2012] Online education is becoming an increasingly important component of higher education. The Sloan Foundation 2010 Survey of Online Learning reports that more than 30 percent of all students take at least one online course during their college career. Because of this, attention is now turning to the quality of student outcomes that this instructional method provides. However, there is a huge gap in empirical investigations devoted to the link between technology … Continue reading
In its first post-Steve Jobs product unveiling on Thursday, Apple announced its plans to shake up the world of education with a series of new textbook products that could drastically affect how students and professors receive and disseminate information. From today’s Los Angeles Times news article on Apple’s bold move: With the new iBooks 2 app, students can download interactive textbooks to their iPads, usually for $14.99 or less, eliminating the need for … out-of-date, hundred-dollar textbooks. IBooks Author enables … Continue reading
[Summary from: Merlot's Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, December 2011] Numerous studies have compared student outcomes in online classes and traditional classes, but with mixed results. This paper adds to the existing body of evidence through an examination of students in personal finance courses. Primary results indicate that the delivery method made little difference in student performance. Secondary results identify pre-course GPAs, and to a lesser extent ACT scores, as predictors of student success in personal finance. Ary, Eddie … Continue reading
[Summary from: Merlot's Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 2011] Author David L. Baker’s position is that asynchronous online discussions face an array of resolvable pedagogical and course management challenges. Online discussions can transform mere course chatter into a cyber forum of student-centered learning through meticulous planning, designing and orchestrating. After introducing common issues, a literature review summarizes the contributions that online discussions bring to distance learning. The author then addresses pedagogical and managerial issues that plague online discussions with … Continue reading
[Summary from: Merlot's Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 2011] The purpose of this study was to examine correlates of both online classroom community and student engagement in online learning, as well as to compare community and engagement across disciplines in higher education. Participants (n=1,410) in online courses across five colleges and in both graduate and undergraduate courses were asked to complete an online survey. The survey consisted of 23 items measuring community and engagement as well as an additional … Continue reading
[Summary from: Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 2011] This paper reports the findings of research into the effect of E-learning experience on students’ perceived learning outcomes. The research examines perceived learning outcomes in terms of effectiveness, amount and productivity of learning in an E-learning context. The participants were undergraduate course students at Tamk University of Applied Sciences in Tampere, Finland. The course was the students’ first experience of E-learning. The results were interpreted using a quantitative and exploratory research … Continue reading
[Summary from: The Journal of Educators Online, 2010] The purpose of this article is to introduce Web accessibility to university faculty in theory and practice. With respect to theory, this article first reviews empirical studies, highlights legal mandates related to Web accessibility, overviews the standards related to Web accessibility, and reviews authoring and evaluation tools available for designing accessible Web sites. With respect to practice, the article presents two diaries representing the authors’ experiences in making their own Web sites … Continue reading
[Summary from: AACE, 2007] Postgraduate coursework is now delivered to a largely mature age study population, in what may be an unfamiliar mix of online and distance learning to many students. This paper reports on a novel approach to student orientation in this new environment. Orientation is conceptualized as a process of transition between the domain of everyday life and the domain of academic study over a period of time commencing prior to enrollment and continuing into formal studies. A … Continue reading