Research Annotations

Records: 322

Prepared to Teach Online? Perspectives of Faculty in the University of North Carolina System

Lysa Kosak     Dionna Manning     Ellen Dobson     Lisa Rogerson     Shannon Cotnam     Susan Colaric     Cheryl Mcfadden

Annotation

The purpose of this study was to discern if university faculty were receiving sufficient training and support in developing an online curriculum. There was also interest in the types and amount of training the faculty received at various institutions as well as their attitudes towards developing curriculum for online learning. Finally, the timeliness of available training was of interest.

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The Development of a Questionnaire for Predicting Online Learning Achievement

Robert Bernard     Aaron Brauer     Philip Abrami     Mike Surkes

APA Citation

Bernard*, R. M., Brauer, A., Abrami, P. C., & Surkes, M. (2004). The development of a questionnaire for predicting online learning achievement. Distance Education, 25(1), 31-47.

Annotation

A study of the predictive validity of an instrument that was designed to assess readiness for online learning. Measures, comfort with e-learning, self-management of learning, beliefs about the nature and effectiveness of online learning and the desire for interacting with an instructor and other students. Study found that the desire for interaction, negatively impacted the final grade. Research suggests that is possible to create a survey that predicts how well students will perform.

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Different by Design: An examination of student outcomes among participants in three types of living-learning programs

Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas     Jennifer L. Weisman

APA Citation

Inkelas, K. K., & Weisman, J. L. (2003). Different by design: An examination of student outcomes among participants in three types of living-learning programs. Journal of College Student Development, 44(3), 335-368.

Annotation

Because of these goals (shared learning between both students and faculty and connected learning where courses are offered in some type of theme or subject), there were four basic models of learning communities: linked or clustered courses, freshman interest groups (FIGs), coordinated studies, and residence-based programs.

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Examining Social Presence in Online Courses in Relation to Students’ Perceived Learning and Satisfaction

J. Richardson     K. Swan

APA Citation

Richardson, J., & Swan, K. (2003). Examining social presence in online courses in relation to students’ perceived learning and satisfaction. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/v7n1/v7n1_richardson.asp

Annotation

Not Available

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In Search of Higher Persistence Rates in Distance Education Online Programs

Alfred P. Rovai

APA Citation

Rovai, A. P. (2003). In search of higher persistence rates in distance education online programs. The Internet and Higher Education, 6(1), 1-16.

Annotation

This paper summarizes and builds upon previous theories of persistence among distance education learners, especially those of Tinto (1975) and Bean & Metzner (1985). Rovai identifies four main constructs that influence the student’s decision to persist: student characteristics, student skills, external factors, and internal factors.
Student characteristics include factors such as age, ethnicity, gender, intellectual development, previous academic performance, and academic . . . preparation.
Student skills include factors such as computer literacy, information literacy, time management, reading and writing, and computer-based interpersonal interaction. Later research (Park and Choi, 2009) questions the validity of these factors as meaningful indicators of persistence.
External factors include employment and family responsibilities, outside support and encouragement, opportunities to transfer, and life crises.
Internal factors include a wide variety of course design and program design variables as well as the smooth interaction between learning and teaching styles.
Of these four major constructs, student characteristics and student skills are elements that the student brings with them prior to admission, while external and internal factors are both things that happen to the student after admission. Later research responded to and built upon this theory. See Park and Choi (2009).

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The Virtual Student: A profile and guide to working with online learners

R. Palloff     K. Pratt

APA Citation

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2003). The virtual student: A profile and guide to working with online learners. John Wiley & Sons.

Annotation

Not available

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A Tale of Two Courses: A comparative study of tutoring online

L. Creanor

APA Citation

Creanor, L. (2002). A tale of two courses: A comparative study of tutoring online. Open Learning, 17(1), 57-68.

Annotation

Two contrasting case studies, one a web-based master’s programmed in lifelong learning, and the other an online work-based course for European trade union education.
Case Study 1: MSc in Lifelong Learning
● Internet-based postgraduate course leading to a certificate, diploma or degree
● 15 week course
Case Study 2: Transnational distance learning course carried out as part of the European Trade Union Distance Education project.
● Tutoring took part over 16 week period
● Participants were . . . highly experienced trade union educators to who teaching in a virtual environment was a new experience
● Addressing successfully the diverse need of adult learners has been a challenging experience for the tutors.

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Beyond Student Perceptions: Issues of interaction, presence, and performance in an online course

Anthony Picciano

APA Citation

Picciano, A. G. (2002). Beyond student perceptions: Issues of interaction, presence, and performance in an online course. Journal of Asynchronous learning networks, 6(1), 21-40.

Annotation

Interaction may indicate presence but it is also possible for a student to interact by posting a message on an electronic bulletin board while not necessarily feeling that she or he is a part of a group or a class. If they are different, then it is also possible that interaction and presence can affect student performance independently.
The major research questions that guided this study are as follows:
1. What is the relationship between actual student interaction/participation and . . . performance?
2. What is the relationship between student perception of social presence and performance?
3. What is the relationship between student perceptions of social presence and actual
participation?
4. Are there differences in student perceptions of their learning experiences and actual
performance?
5. Are there differences in student perceptions of their interaction and actual participation?
The course was organized into thirteen weekly themes and topics. The Web site for the course included a
syllabus, reading assignments, weekly discussion topics and questions, supplementary reading material,
and related links. These materials were always available and served as the organizational anchors for the
course. Each topic was organized for an asynchronous discussion on an electronic discussion board
during a specific week and was based on assigned readings and case studies. Four students were selected
each week to work with the instructor as discussion facilitators. The use of students as facilitators was
designed to encourage them to be contributors to and not simply receivers of learning activities. Once the
discussion of a topic commenced on Sunday morning, any student could contribute to the discussion, ask
a question of another student or the instructor. At the end of the week’s discussion on the following
Saturday, the instructor summarized the topic, added additional notes and comments, and posted these to
the Web site for access by the entire class.
Techniques to encourage social presence and a sense of community were used throughout the course.
Data on actual student participation in online discussions were collected throughout the semester. Students also completed a satisfaction survey at the end of the course, which asked a series of questions addressing their overall experiences, especially as related to their learning and interaction with others and the technology used. A series of questions elate to social presence was included as part of this survey.
The results of this study support the findings in other research which establish a strong relationship between students’ perceptions of the quality and quantity of their interaction and their perceived performance in an online course.

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Can Web Courses Replace the Classroom in Principles of Microeconomics

Byron Brown     Carl Liedholm

APA Citation

Brown, B. W., & Liedholm, C. E. (2002). Can web courses replace the classroom in principles of microeconomics?. American Economic Review, 92(2), 444-448.

Annotation

The study analyzes examines performance of students in three different modes or technologies of instruction: live, hybrid and virtual. The results strongly suggest that the virtual course represents an inferior technology compared to the live sections. If students enrolled in the virtual course had enrolled in the live course their scores would have risen by 5.79 points. The results may reflect the benefits and importance of the direct student-teacher interactions that occur in live classes.

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Comparing Student Satisfaction With Distance Education to Traditional Classrooms in Higher Education: A meta-analysis

Mike Allen     John Bourhis     Nancy Burrell     Edward Mabry

APA Citation

Allen, M., Bourhis, J., Burrell, N., & Mabry, E. (2002). Comparing student satisfaction with distance education to traditional classrooms in higher education: A meta-analysis. The American Journal of Distance Education, 16(2), 83-97.

Annotation

Meta-analysis suggests small student preference for traditional F2F classroom over online but negligible difference in student satisfaction. Articles used needed to compare student satisfaction between online instruction and traditional F2F instruction and 24 articles were used. Along a hierarchy of channels (written-audio-video), students preferred video over written instruction as information in the channel is reduced. This is consistent with the hypothesis that more information including . . . visuals is preferred by students. Overall there was little difference in student satisfaction between online and traditional F2F courses and the authors suggest that students find distance learning just as satisfying as traditional F2F learning.

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