Research Annotations

Records: 322

Dimensions and Strategies for Online Success: Voices from Experienced Educators

Lynne Schrum     Sunjoo Hong

APA Citation

Schrum, L., & Hong, S. (2002). Dimensions and strategies for online success: Voices from experienced educators. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 6(1), 57-67.

Annotation

Used two different phases of research:
Phase One was designed to identify the characteristics or dimensions that appeared to play a significant role in the success and satisfaction of students in an online class. To begin, an examination was made
of over seventy institutions throughout the world that currently offer post-secondary online learning
opportunities. While many more organizations do offer online courses, only those that appeared to have
an educational focus, and other components . . . that seem essential for post-secondary education (library facilities, student support personnel, etc.) were considered. The original group was narrowed again, so that only those that offered potential students a chance to investigate their own suitability for this
environment, through a substantive needs-assessment, (including advanced organizers, surveys, or other materials) were ultimately considered. This process resulted in a final group of over thirty such institutions. A document analysis was then completed on those instruments.
The information was aggregated and then presented to a sample of online educators. A purposeful sampling was used, which is based on the assumption that one wants to discover, understand, and gain insight, and “therefore one needs to select a sample from which one can learn the most “Web survey was presented
Seven dimensions were found to be critical factors that impact the success of adults: tools, technology experience, learning preferences, study habits and skills, goals and purposes, personal traits and characteristics and lifestyle factors.
Ends with a list of suggestions for online learning.

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Evaluation of Factors Related to Student Performance in a Distance-Learning Business Communication Course

Cheung Lenis     Andy Kan

APA Citation

Cheung, L. L., & Kan, A. C. (2002). Evaluation of factors related to student performance in a distance-learning business communication course. Journal of Education for Business, 77(5), 257-263.

Annotation

Found that the following factors were related to academic performance:
Demographics, educational background and student effort.
The results of our study show that gender, previous academic achievement, relevant academic background, tutorial attendance, and previous learning experience have a significant effect on student performance in distance-learning courses. In previous studies, all of these factors except gender were found to influence student performance.

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Foundations of Student Affairs Practice: How philosophy, theory, and research strengthen educational outcomes

Florence Hamrick     Nancy Evans     John Schuh

APA Citation

Hamrick, F. A., Evans, N. J., & Schuh, J. H. (2002). Foundations of student affairs practice: How philosophy, theory, and research strengthen educational outcomes. John Wiley & Sons.

Annotation

Not Available

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Predicting Success of Virtual High School Students: Preliminary results from an educational success prediction instrument

Marshall Roblyer     Jon Marshall

APA Citation

Roblyer, M. D., & Marshall, J. C. (2002). Predicting success of virtual high school students: Preliminary results from an educational success prediction instrument. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 35(2), 241-255.

Annotation

Through analysis and discussions, nine constructs thought to be related to successful behavior in VHS courses were identified:
* locus of control
* internal versus external motivation
* self-confidence/self-esteem
* responsibility
* degree of experimentation (risk taking)
* time management
* ability to set goals
* achievement motivation
* self-reported computer/technology skills
research questions:
1. Can this instrument discriminate reliably between successful and unsuccessful . . . students in VHS courses?
2. Do any factors (e.g., locus of control, self-esteem) or student characteristics that can be changed through counseling (e.g., technology skills/access, age or grade in school, hours spent in outside commitments) correlate with student success in online courses?
3. Can findings from this instrument yield a model for predicting success of high school students in distance environments?
The results of this initial usage of ESPRI indicate that it could be a reliable measure for predicting success of high school students in distance environments, and that there are constructs that could serve as the foundation of a theoretical framework for future uses of ESPRI.

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Quality Standards in e-Learning: A matrix of analysis

Jia Frydenberg

APA Citation

Frydenberg, J. (2002). Quality standards in e-Learning: A matrix of analysis. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v3i2.109

Annotation

“This review of literature focuses on institution-related quality standards relating to “e-Learning” in higher education in the United States. The article offers a “matrix” of nine common areas across the examined research: (1) “Executive Commitment,” (2) “Technological Infrastructure,” (3) “Student Services,” (4) “Design and Development,” (5) “Instruction and Instructor Services,” (6) “Program Delivery,” (7) “Financial Health,” (8) “Legal and Regulatory . . . Requirements,” and (9) “Program Evaluation.” The article provides an overview for each identified area, and outlines potential future research opportunities relating to each of the areas in the matrix.
“

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Socialization in the “virtual hallway”: Instant messaging in the asynchronous web-based distance education classroom

S. Nicholson

APA Citation

Nicholson, S. (2002). Socialization in the “virtual hallway”: Instant messaging in the asynchronous web-based distance education classroom. The Internet and Higher Education, 5(4), 363-372.

Annotation

Students in online and distance courses lack many of the social contacts and interactions that face-to-face and in-person students have. This missing social aspect of the classroom may be solved by implementing an instant messaging (IM) tool into courses. The author suggests that IM can be either incorporated using in-platform IM or external IM systems either hosted by the school or outside corporate partners.
One drawback to using IM in courses would be the inconvenience of needing to be . . . online at the same time as classmates in order to gain the most benefits from the tool. However, IM may also allow online students to form a better sense of community and belonging with the added social benefits.

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Effective Student Preparation for Online Learning

Maggie McVay Lynch

APA Citation

Lynch, M. M. (2001). Effective student preparation for online learning. The Technology Source, 6.

Annotation

Students enrolled in the online courses felt disconnected from the university and the domain of online learning was new to the students.
An online orientation was created to: create opportunities for interaction, provide skill practices and set student expectations.
After the orientation was implemented students demonstrated an increase in their technology skills, an increase in independent, self-directed learning, an ability to communicate effectively, and the attrition rate was reduced.
. . . While the sample size was small, this study shows the importance of orientations and why they are considered a high-impact practice for retention.

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Identifying At-risk Students in Videoconferencing and Web-based Distance Education

V. Osborn

APA Citation

Osborn, V. (2001). Identifying at – risk students in videoconferencing and web-based distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 41–54.

Annotation

This dissertation explores what indicators are posed by students who successfully complete online coursework. This question is spurred as a result of the high attrition rate of students participating in distance education. While predictable variables indicate academic success such as GPA and credit hours taken in a semester, previous experience with online and distance education also influences completion of distance and online courses.

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Identifying Excellence in Undergraduate Education: Are we even close?

E. T. Pascarella

APA Citation

Pascarella, E. T. (2001). Identifying Excellence in Undergraduate Education Are We Even Close?. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 33(3), 18-23.

Annotation

This opinion piece questions the value of national ranking systems and proposes alternative ways that colleges and universities can be evaluated for public consumption. This is of high importance given 1) more schools are trying to provide a high-quality education given: 1a) there are increased public calls for school accountability as college prices continue to rise and 2) the current ranking system by national magazines provide surface-level evaluations based on ill-placed values. primarily, . . . the author points to magazines’ resources plus exclusivity equals high quality education.
Instead of basing schools’ educational quality on the current values, the author wants to measure empirical, educationally-related data to decide rankings. This includes measurements such as “effective practices.” However, in order to have accurate measurements, the author wants exceedingly high response rates (70%-80%). However, the author is also careful to note that people should be cautious to make too many comparisons between schools as schools’ environments place different values on different aspects of the educational and student experience even if both claim to be “liberal arts colleges” or “research-driven universities.”

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Improving Distance Education: Perceptions of Program Administrators

Dann Husman     Michael Miller

APA Citation

Husman, D. E., & Miller, M. T. (2001). Improving distance education: Perceptions of program administrators. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 4(3). https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall43/husmann43.pdf

Annotation

“This article details a study that sought to better understand key factors that distance learning administrators find important in improving technology focused distance education offerings. Using the “Delphi Process,” 26 distance education administrators completed three rounds of surveys. Descriptive statistics on the administrator responses revealed that participants agreed most highly in areas related to faculty support. The researchers suggest that administrators largely view distance . . . education quality as dependent on the faculty, with distance education administrative units serving to assist these distance education efforts.
“

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