Online Shopping

Examines trends in online shopping and the use of online services, comparing survey data by gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, income, and region. Analyzes attitudes toward online shopping and services, with a focus on low-income Internet users

Motivating factors in online language teacher education in southern Argentina

Online teacher education is of growing interest and so is the study of motivation as a key factor in technology-mediated learning environments. This study is based on a pre-service language teacher education programme in Patagonia, a southern Argentinian region with no face-to-face training offers, limited Internet access and a large number of unqualified teachers. Our goal is to broaden the understanding of online teacher education programmes at undergraduate level in contexts where most trainees are practicing teachers and where online education is the only possibility for holding a teaching qualification. We focused on the motivating factors that led 71 trainees to enrol and to remain in this online teacher training course. Through a mixed methods approach, the trainees completed an online survey (n = 71) and participated in a follow-up interview (n = 24). Results showed that obtaining a teaching degree, autonomy, and individual activities were key factors in initial and sustaining motivation. Participants' experiences challenged collaborative learning in an online environment

Volume 4.0: Centre for Sustainable Fashion: Green Collar Graduates for the Fashion Industry

UK Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) play a unique and important role in the education of ‘green collar’ fashion graduates, to equip them with the tools to create a more sustainable fashion industry. Focusing on the links between employability and sustainability, this research will examine the needs and expectations of fashion industry employers in relation to education in sustainability within fashion related courses. It is intended that the results of this research will provide HEI courses with the information needed to develop curriculum on fashion related courses, as well as informing curriculum development on other art and design courses. Phase one of the research focused on an online survey aimed at fashion led businesses within the UK. The results of this survey facilitated the identification of key themes for the telephone interviews of key fashion industry members, which followed as part of phase two. The survey results and notes from the telephone interviews can be found in the appendices one and two

Undergraduate Library Internships and Professional Success

This poster reports on an assessment completed of former undergraduate library interns to explore the impact their internship had on the development of career goals, acceptance to and preparation for graduate education, and their early career. Through an online survey (n= 45) and six semi-structured telephone interviews, respondents reported a positive impact on the above areas

Initial Impacts of No Child Left Behind on Elementary Science Education

This research examines the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on elementary science education within a Midwestern state possessing strong national education measures. Elementary teachers (N = 164) responded to an online survey, which included both closed-ended and open-ended questions pertaining to science instruction and changes made in science instruction since the implementation of NCLB. More than half of these teachers indicated they have cut time from science instruction since NCLB became a law. The reason given for this decrease in science education was mainly the need to increase time for math and reading instruction

Virtual R&D Teams: A potential growth of education-industry collaboration

In this paper, we present our more than two years research experiences on virtual R&D teams in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and draws conclusions, giving special attention to the structure of virtual teams required to support education-industry collaboration. We report the relevant results of an online survey study. The online questionnaire was emailed by using a simple random sampling method to 947 manufacturing SMEs. The findings of this study show that SMEs in Malaysia and Iran are willing to use virtual teams for collaboration and the platform for industry-education collaboration is ready and distance between team members or differences in time zones, are not barriers to industry-education collaborations.Collaboration, virtual teams, SMEs, Education

Inside Online Charter Schools

Online charter schools -- also known as virtual charters or cyber charters -- are publicly funded schools of choice that deliver student instruction via telecommunications. Today, about 200 online charter schools are operating in the United States, serving about 200,000 students at the elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. Although online instruction is increasing rapidly, there have been few studies of their operations and effects. In innovative new research funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the National Study of Online Charter Schools offers a rigorous analysis of online charter schools and their effects. Mathematica Policy Research's report provides the first nationwide data and analysis of the operations and instructional approaches of online charter schools, based on data collected in a survey completed by 127 principals of online charter schools across the country and public data from the U.S. Department of Education

A Descriptive Analysis of Quality Online Practices as Perceived by West Virginia Higher Education Faculty

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent West Virginia higher education faculty agree their online courses reflect high quality practices, as identified by the literature, for teaching in an online educational environment. The identified high quality practices are: (a) support, (b) collaboration and teamwork, (c) flexibility, (d) feedback, (e) assessment, and (f) adult learning techniques. This was a non-parametric study that incorporated measures of central tendency and the Kruskal Wallace test for significance to analyze the data. The instrument used in this research was a cross-sectional, self-reporting survey, titled the Survey of Online Educational Practices. The participants of this study were West Virginia higher education faculty who taught in online environments during the spring, summer and fall semesters of 2006. Results of the survey yielded that overall West Virginia Higher Education faculty agreed with the statements on the Survey of Online Educational Practices that their courses reflected quality online practices as supported by the comprehensive literature review. However, further analysis of the survey results revealed faculty do not agree with all of the quality online practices targeted within the survey. For example, there is evidence from the survey results that indicate the areas of institutional support, collaboration and teamwork, and areas of assessment are not well utilized by faculty. These areas of disagreement with quality online practices provide valuable information that there is an ongoing need for sustainable professional development and mentoring opportunities for online faculty. There is also a need for institutions to provide policies and procedures that are reviewed and revised by faculty and other higher education stakeholders on a regular basis due to the ever-changing nature of technology and online education