E-Learning in Postsecondary Education

Over the past decade postsecondary education has been moving increasingly from the class room to online. During the fall 2010 term 31 percent of U.S. college students took at least one online course. The primary reasons for the growth of e-learning in the nation\u27s colleges and universities include the desire of those institutions to generate new revenue streams, improve access, and offer students greater scheduling flexibility. Yet the growth of e-learning has been accompanied by a continuing debate about its effectiveness and by the recognition that a number of barriers impede its widespread adoption in higher education

Blended learning internationalization from the commonwealth: An Australian and Canadian collaborative case study

This case depiction addresses the contentious issue of providing culturally and globally accessible teaching and learning to international students in universities in the Commonwealth nations of Australia and Canada. The chapter describes the university systems and cultures, the barriers to authentic higher education internationalization, and the problems frequently experienced by international students. Two university cases are presented and analysed to depict and detail blended learning approaches (face-toface combined with e-learning) as exemplars of culturally and globally accessible higher education and thereby ideologically grounded internationalization. Lessons learned are presented at the systems level and as teaching and learning solutions designed to address pedagogical problems frequently experienced by international students in the areas of communication, academic skills, teaching and learning conceptualization, and moving from rote learning to critical thinking. The blended learning solutions are analysed through the lens of critical theory

The Distance Education Evolution: Issues and Case Studies

Gisela Gil-Egui is a contributing author, Online teaching, copyrights, and the need for concerted solutions (p.185-190) and with S.F. Shields, and C.M. Stewart, Certain about uncertainty: Strategies and practices for virtual teamwork in online classrooms (p.116-141). Book description: The Distance Education Evolution: Case Studies addresses issues regarding the development and design of online courses, and the implementation and evaluation of an online learning program. Several chapters include design strategies for online courses that range from the specific to the universal. Many authors address pedagogical issues from both a theoretical and applied perspective. This diverse compilation of contributions by Temple University administrators and faculty gives a comprehensive overview of the distance education experience that can serve as a guide to others interested in providing quality distance education.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/communications-books/1011/thumbnail.jp

Techniques for fostering collaboration in online learning communities

Collaboration is, to date, extensively adopted for supporting learning processes, both in face-to-face and in virtual learning contexts. However, technology profoundly changes the nature of human interactions and, consequently, also changes the nature of the collaborative learning process, yielding a range of new potentialities and problems. "Techniques for Fostering Collaboration in Online Learning Communities: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives" provides a focused assessment of the peculiarities of online collaborative learning processes by looking at the strategies, methods, and techniques used to support and enhance debate and exchange among peers. Offering an extensive discussion of the design, management, monitoring, and evaluation of learning processes, this work reviews issues from both a theoretical and practical viewpoint and includes methodological contributions as well as perspectives on real experiences

Improving Online Interactions: Lessons from an Online Anatomy Course with a Laboratory for Undergraduate Students

An online section of a face-to-face (F2F) undergraduate (bachelor\u27s level) anatomy course with a prosection laboratory was offered in 2013-2014. Lectures for F2F students (353) were broadcast to online students (138) using Blackboard Collaborate (BBC) virtual classroom. Online laboratories were offered using BBC and three-dimensional (3D) anatomical computer models. This iteration of the course was modified from the previous year to improve online student-teacher and student-student interactions. Students were divided into laboratory groups that rotated through virtual breakout rooms, giving them the opportunity to interact with three instructors. The objectives were to assess student performance outcomes, perceptions of student-teacher and student-student interactions, methods of peer interaction, and helpfulness of the 3D computer models. Final grades were statistically identical between the online and F2F groups. There were strong, positive correlations between incoming grade average and final anatomy grade in both groups, suggesting prior academic performance, and not delivery format, predicts anatomy grades. Quantitative student perception surveys (273 F2F; 101 online) revealed that both groups agreed they were engaged by teachers, could interact socially with teachers and peers, and ask them questions in both the lecture and laboratory sessions, though agreement was significantly greater for the F2F students in most comparisons. The most common methods of peer communication were texting, Facebook, and meeting F2F. The perceived helpfulness of the 3D computer models improved from the previous year. While virtual breakout rooms can be used to adequately replace traditional prosection laboratories and improve interactions, they are not equivalent to F2F laboratories

BİLGİSAYAR VE İNTERNET DESTEKLİUZAKTAN EĞİTİM PROGRAMLARININ TASARIM, GELİŞTİRME VE DEĞERLENDİRME AŞAMALARI SUZEP ÖRNEĞİ

Bu çalışma bilgisayar destekli uzaktan öğrenme programlarının hazırlanma süreçlerini ortaya koymayıamaçlamaktadır. Bu süreçler uzaktan öğrenme programlarının tasarım, geliştirme ve değerlendirme aşamalarınıiçermektedir. Öncelikle, bu süreçlerle ilgili teorik çatıortaya konmuştur. Daha sonra Selçuk Üniversitesi Uzaktan Eğitim Programıbu teorik çatıya göre değerlendirilmiştir. Bu değerlendirmenin sonuçlarına göre Selçuk Üniversitesi Uzaktan Eğitim Programıöğretim tasarımıve ekran tasarımıilkelerine uygun değildir. Son aşamada ise Selçuk Üniversitesi öğrencileri arasında bir alan araştırmasıgerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu araştırma Selçuk Üniversitesi Uzaktan Eğitim Programıyla ilgili öğrencilerin değerlendirmelerini ve tutumlarınıincelemiştir. Sonuçlar, deneklerin % 63,9’unun programıhiç ziyaret etmediklerini ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca deneklerin % 27,8’i programın ilgi çekici olmadığı, % 25,1’i de programın faydalıolmadığıyanıtlarınıvermişlerdir

Faculty attitudes towards features/tools supported by course management software

Many instructors and faculty members make use of course management software for teaching traditional/hybrid classes as well as distance education classes. The software provides various features like putting up course documents; online tests and grading; discussion forum, virtual chat, etc. This study describes interviews with twelve faculty members at the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who have made use of Blackboard course management software. The interviews explored the benefits and drawbacks of the various features in providing education and reaching teaching objectives; and how the usage affects the teaching process and student-faculty communication. The student-faculty communication in the online environment was found to be a very different experience from the traditional classroom setting. Selection and use of the appropriate features depends on the instructor's teaching objectives

Participation and barriers to participation in adult learning at a community college in the Western Cape: A chain-of-response model

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL)This study investigates “why adults participate in learning activities” and “what barriers deter adults from participating in learning activities.” Learning activities can include informal learning initiatives and formal education programmes. According to Larson and Milana (2006) “the question of why some people participates in adult education and training while others don’t thus” (p. 2) is as relevant and urgent as ever as we want to make lifelong learning accessible for everybody. While working at a Community College in the Western Cape (South Africa), for the period October 2007 until June 2010, I have observed and noticed that many of the learners who entered the different programmes were all of a certain age. Many of them experienced an excess of barriers deterring them from participation in learning. For the purpose of this study, I am going to use the Chain-of-Response (COR) Model by Cross (1981a) to investigate specifically the situational barriers affecting those learners. Cross (1981a) developed the COR model. The rationale behind it was to better understand what urges people to participate in higher education or learning institutions. This model can be seen as cyclic, and involves seven steps developed by Cross (1981a) which have different impacts on the decision-making process of whether to enter or participate and persist in an adult learning course. Cross (1981a) argues that “an adult’s participation in a learning activity is not an isolated act but is the result of a complex chain of responses based on the evaluation of the position of the individual in their environment” (p. 36). Responses leading to participation tend to originate within the individual, as opposed to outside forces; it can either encourage or discourage participation in learning

The Relationship between College Student Attitudes towards Online Learning Based on Reading Self-Efficacy, Ethnicity, and Age

The convenience of online programs has revolutionized education to make it available for more people interested in seeking to further their education. Students enrolling into various online, higher education programs have different aptitudes and factors that play a role in their experiences and successful completion of the program. The study aims to determine relationships between factors that may influence the students’ attitudes towards online programs. The factors include reading self-efficacy, ethnicity, and the age of the college students. The present study examines these relationships between self-reported self-efficacy, ethnicity, and age, as related to attitudes toward online learning. The participants consisted of 295 post-secondary students enrolled in online courses. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data and determine which variables had the greatest amount of impact on the students’ attitudes toward online learning. The analysis of the data found a significant relationship between reading self-efficacy and a student’s attitude toward online learning. No statistically significant evidence was found for the relationships between age and ethnicit