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Ecampus Research Unit

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Oregon State publishes new study about equity and bias in online learner data

April 14, 2023

Learning analytics is a fast-growing field that tracks how students interact with their online courses, and it has the potential to improve the online learning experience for many university students. But the collection and analysis of student data also invites ethical issues. A team of interdisciplinary researchers, led by the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit, recently published a study in the Journal of Learning Analytics that sought to bring different perspectives to issues of equity and bias in this emerging field.
Oregon State Ecampus liberal studies alumna Janine Romero stands on a balcony speaking to her husband, Lee. Janine is one of several Ecampus alumni who shared about the process of building a network and communication skills while earning an Oregon State degree online.

Perspectives, perceptions and privacy: Voices in higher education learner data

February 9, 2022

Interdisciplinary research team organized by Oregon State Ecampus explores learning analytics from a systems perspective Feb. 9, 2022 Institutions of higher education are perpetually collecting data about their students and faculty. How that data is collected and analyzed varies widely, but one thing is certain according to industry experts at EDUCAUSE: The use of learning … Perspectives, perceptions and privacy: Voices in higher education learner data

When does online class size matter? Read the study

November 1, 2021

The Oregon State Ecampus Research Unit recently conducted a study on a rarely researched topic in online education: class size. What the researchers found is that students’ grades were higher in certain online classes that had lower enrollment, and that it may be beneficial to limit particular kinds of courses to 30 students or fewer.
Clock and bell tower on the campus of Oregon State. Teaching online

Why continue to teach online? Interview results from experienced online instructors

September 28, 2020

Since Oregon State has been offering online education for more than 20 years, our the OSU Ecampus Research Unit decided to conduct a qualitative study where we interviewed faculty from diverse disciplines who had been teaching online for 10 years or more. The interviews asked a series of questions about instructors’ perspectives and experiences teaching online, as well as lessons learned over time.
Photo of the Weatherford Hall building on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon

The 3 most valuable skills for online teaching, according to long-term instructors

June 1, 2020

The Oregon State Ecampus Research Unit conducted interviews with 33 faculty members who have taught online at OSU for 10 years or more. This post discusses the results from one of the interview questions in this study: “What skills do you think are most valuable for online instructors to have?” A qualitative analysis of this question revealed some useful and timely information for instructors who may be teaching or planning to teach online.
Demian Hommel is sitting in front of a large window and two large potted plants. He wears a plaid button up shirt with a black suit jacket and gestures with his hands as he talks. Out of focus in front of him is Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, the Ecampus assistant director of research. Mary Ellen has dark brown hair and wears a vibrant blue shirt and a blue and white scarf.

Rallied by research

September 27, 2018

When Demian Hommel applied for the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Fellows Program, he carried the seed of an idea: Experiential education can transform a student’s understanding of a concept into real-world circumstances, so it should be offered equally to learners in online and traditional classroom settings. What he didn’t know was that sowing the seed of this idea through his research project could help sprout a grassroots community of advocates like him.

When it comes to making research actionable, Oregon State Ecampus is leading the charge

March 28, 2018

Oregon State University Ecampus knows that as leaders in the field of higher education, there is a responsibility that comes with it: stay on top of the research. And what better way to do so than by being the ones to conduct the research?
Yvette Gibson, Oregon State Ecampus rangeland sciences instructor, browses OSU's Online Learning Efficacy Research Database on a silver laptop.

Oregon State’s new research database responds to faculty skepticism of online, hybrid learning

November 9, 2017

Oregon State University Ecampus has developed a new research database that allows users to explore whether the learning outcomes of online and/or hybrid (online and in-person) education are equivalent to face-to-face environments.
Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, assistant director of the OSU Ecampus Research Unit, is smiling near a bookshelf in the Valley Library.

Getting to know Mary Ellen Dello Stritto

November 6, 2017

It took one high school psychology class to kick-start Mary Ellen Dello Stritto’s lifelong interest in how humans behave. Her educational history and subsequent career in higher education are inextricably linked to studying and educating others on that behavior. And now as the assistant director for Oregon State Ecampus Research Unit, Mary Ellen combines that extensive knowledge with ample experience as a researcher to contribute to the field of online teaching and learning.

Oregon State Ecampus
4943 The Valley Library
Corvallis, OR 97331
800-667-1465 | 541-737-9204
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