Engaging the Digitally Engaged Student: Comparing Technology-Mediated Communication Use and Effects on Student Learning

The role of communication technologies in the learning process is both a dynamic and complex issue. Yet, we know surprisingly little about how the use of specific communication technologies may influence classroom performance, key learning outcomes, and other measures of course satisfaction. The research reported here attempts to add to our knowledge about the role of communication in the technology enhanced classroom (TEC) education and in technology-enhanced online (TEO) education through a direct comparison of two courses. Our findings indicate additional support for “The No Significant Difference Phenomenon.” Furthermore, we found that prior experiences lead students to gravitate towards their preferred learning environments, and that basic website elements are required in any learning environment to enhance student outcomes. Finally, we found that when used appropriately, the benefits of communication technology use in education outweigh many of the drawbacks

Motivación estudiantil en CORONAPOLIS: Efectos de las percepciones de distancia transaccional en la motivación de los estudiantes universitarios de inglés como lengua extranjera

The concept of Transactional Distance (TD) experienced in distance education has been recorded as a focal point in many studies examining its effects in various dimensions in different courses. However, there is scarcity of research on TD in relation to learner motivation in language learning. This exploratory case study investigated TD perceptions of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) undergraduates participating in distance education courses held at a Turkish university within the boundaries of CORONAPOLIS, an imaginary city which is under the threat and destructive effects of Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study examined the effects of TD perceptions on the motivation of 87 EFL students. The data were collected through the participants’ informal self-reports and open-ended questions. The results of the content analysis showed that the participants had varying perceptions of the dimensions of TD; dialogue, structure and autonomy. The results also showed that they had different motivational experiences in relation to their perceptions. In the light of the results, some pedagogical implications are made.El concepto de Distancia Transaccional (TD) experimentado en la educación a distancia se ha registrado como un punto focal en muchos estudios que examinan sus efectos en varias dimensiones en diferentes cursos. Sin embargo, hay escasez de investigación sobre TD en relación con la motivación del alumno en el aprendizaje de idiomas. Este estudio de caso exploratorio investigó las percepciones de TD de estudiantes universitarios de EFL (inglés como lengua extranjera) que participan en cursos de educación a distancia realizados en una universidad turca dentro de los límites de CORONAPOLIS, una ciudad imaginaria que se encuentra bajo la amenaza y los efectos destructivos de la pandemia de Covid-19. Específicamente, este estudio examinó los efectos de las percepciones de TD en la motivación de 87 estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera. Los datos se recopilaron a través de autoinformes informales de los participantes y preguntas abiertas. Los resultados del análisis de contenido mostraron que los participantes tenían diferentes percepciones de las dimensiones de TD; diálogo, estructura y autonomía. Los resultados también mostraron que tenían diferentes experiencias motivacionales en relación con sus percepciones. A la luz de los resultados, se sugiere la formación teórico-práctica del cuerpo docente y la integración de cursos de educación a distancia en los programas de grado/grado

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes—measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation—was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education)

Toward Designing Innovation Learning Experiences: Examining Engagement and Affective Traits Based on Learner and Course Characteristics

Expanding innovation education research beyond the business domain, this study introduces learning assignments using individual and group knowledge acquisition to mimic participation in today’s digital innovation platforms, examining learner affective and course characteristics as important factors for designing appropriate innovation learning experiences. Findings suggest that graduate students are more engaged and report higher perceptions of quality and quantity of social capital as well as learning from such assignments and also report higher perceptions of affective characteristics. Groups assigned by instructors (rather than self-selected) are also more engaged with higher perceptions of learning and quantity of social capital. Learners for whom the course is in their degree program are also more engaged, storing more knowledge resources individually and reporting higher perceptions of perceived learning, quantity of social capital, task value, and system satisfaction. Together, these findings have practical implications for educators seeking to engage students in meaningful innovation learning experiences

Interaction, Internet Self-Efficacy, and Self-Regulated Learning as Predictors of Student Satisfaction in Distance Education Courses

Online learning research is largely devoted to comparisons of the learning gains between face-to-face and distance students. While student learning is important, comparatively little is known about student satisfaction when engaged in online learning and what contributes to or promotes student satisfaction. Emerging research suggests there are a few strong predictors of student satisfaction, and other predictors that may or may not predict student satisfaction. None of the existing research examines predictors together, or statistically controls for course differences. This study examines the influence of various factors on student satisfaction including three types of interaction, Internet self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. Participants (N = 180) include both undergraduate and graduate students attending exclusively online classes in education. Students responded to an online survey adapted from several different scales. A pilot test of the survey and procedures showed strong validity and reliability for the sample. To control for course differences, data analysis focused on a hierarchical linear model (HLM) with student and class level variables. Results indicate learner-instructor interaction and learner-content interaction are significant predictors of student satisfaction when class-level variables are excluded. Of the class-level predictors, only the program from which the course was offered moderates the effect of learner-content interaction on student satisfaction. There is no direct impact of class-level predictors on student satisfaction. Learner-content interaction is the sole significant predictor when class-level predictors are added to the model. Supporting analyses for the HLM, results, limitations, and significance of the findings are reported and discussed

To complete or not complete : Student persistence in post-secondary education online courses

Many factors influence learners\u27 decisions to complete or drop out of online learning courses in higher education where learners\u27 persistence is considered critical to the success of the higher education institutions. This review examines recent literature on the relationship between learners\u27 perceived Sense of Community (SOC), Social Presence, Satisfaction, and Participation and Interactions in distance education courses and learner persistence. Over 30 peer-reviewed studies published in academic journals within the past ten years were selected for critical analysis. Results are mixed and while many studies imply relationships between various learner and institution characteristics and student persistence, significant correlations are often lacking. Given the increasing popularity of on line education in higher education, identifying the characteristics of both successful students and of successful online learning environments warrants further investigation

Factors influencing student satisfaction and perceived learning in online courses

Online education, with its genuine characteristics, has changed the way students experience learning processes. This fact led research to study the aspects of online learning settings that influence the way students experience their learning, and several aspects were identified from this effort. However, usually each study focuses on only one or a few of these aspects, and some results are contradictory. In this study the authors consider together, in an integrated model, most of the aspects identified by the literature in order to determine which aspects are more influence for students' satisfaction and perceived learning. With this aim, they conducted a correlation and ANOVA analysis on the responses to a questionnaire answered by 499 students of higher education social sciences online courses in the USA, China and Spain. They found that the most influential aspects of the online courses in social sciences on students' satisfaction and perceived learning were learning content and course design

An examination of social presence in an online learning environment.

The distance education literature is lacking studies investigating the construct of social presence, the value placed on it by online learners, and whether its existence in text-based environments is necessary for learning, satisfaction, and contributing to course retention. The purpose of this study was to explore learner perceptions and experiences of the learning process within the Web-based online learning medium in terms of social presence. More specifically, it examines the relationship among learners\u27 perceptions of social presence in asynchronous online courses and how it relates to satisfaction with learning, whether course activities perceived as having high levels of social presence also have high levels of satisfaction and quality of learning, and whether perceptions of social presence and satisfaction with learning affects their likelihood of enrolling in future online courses. The research design of this study utilized an online survey administered to 280 students enrolled in online courses of nine disciplines; both undergraduate- and graduate- level at a large urban university. Open-ended questions from the online survey were examined as well to help inform and support the findings from the quantitative data. Data were analyzed using correlations, ANOVAs, and hierarchical regression analysis. The findings demonstrated that students\u27 perceived social presence was statistically, significantly, and positively related to their overall perceived satisfaction with learning in online courses. Furthermore, students\u27 perceived social presence was statistically, significantly, and positively related to their perception of quality of and satisfaction with learning for each of the five course activities examined in this study. The hierarchical regression analysis suggested that perceived social presence contributed substantially more incremental variance to the decision to enroll again in an online course than the satisfaction with learning variable. Overall, the theoretical model including social presence and satisfaction with learning explained 18 percent of the variance in the dependent variable. The potential implications for theory and practice for online course designers and instructors are provided

Transactional Distances In An Online Histology Laboratory Course

This dissertation examined the transactional distances that exist in an online histology laboratory course assessed through student interactions with the course content, instructors and fellow students. The interactions in the online course were compared to those in a face to face (F2F) course covering the same content. The student-content interactions were assessed through student course outcomes and lecture attendance. Results showed there were no differences in student performance on assessments between the course formats; however, overall student attendance levels were significantly greater in the online course. These results suggest that online students spent more time interacting with course content. It was also shown that there was a direct relationship between lecture attendance and course performance for both online and F2F students. With higher overall attendance rates and a correlation between lecture attendance and course performance, it would be expected that online students would have higher course outcomes compared to the F2F students. The fact that there were no differences in student outcomes suggests that some transactional distance still exists between online students and course content. Student-instructor interactions were examined through an assessment of student questions during the laboratory sessions. Results indicated that the transactional distance between the online students and instructor was lower than that with the F2F students with online students asking questions at higher rates. However, while technology allowed students to communicate synchronously with the instructor, online attendance patterns showed that students preferred to view archive recordings of the lectures, thus maintaining some transactional distance in the online course. The incorporation of synchronous peer teaching to the laboratories was an attempt to increase student-student interactions. Improved laboratory outcomes for both online and F2F students were shown; however, the impact was greater with the online students possibly due to the fact that F2F students were already engaging in informal peer teaching. Due to low survey response rates, it was not possible to show differences in the student’s perceived impact of peer teaching on group dynamics. While technology has improved the transactional distances in online courses, some transactional distances are maintained, often by student choice which is also enabled through technology

The Effects of Elaborative Interrogation and Summarization on Student Comprehension, Retention, and Satisfaction in Online, Self-Paced Instruction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two elaboration strategies, elaborative interrogation questioning (EIQ) and summarization, on student comprehension, retention, and satisfaction in a self-paced online environment. There were four treatment groups: (a) Control (no treatment); (b) EIQ only; (c) Summarization only; and (d) EIQ and Summarization. Both undergraduate and graduate students (mean age = 25.84 years) volunteered and completed the study (N=191). Results revealed a significant interaction between strategy type and age on comprehension. Older participants in the Control and EIQ/Summarization strategy groups comprehended more than the younger participants, and the younger participants in the EIQ and the Summarization groups comprehended more than the older participants. Retention was tested one month later and was significantly affected by prior knowledge. Those with more prior knowledge had higher mean scores ( M=63.89) than those with less prior knowledge (M=58.03). Both the EIQ and summarization strategies—alone and in combination—while effective when tested immediately following module completion, were evidently not effective one month later. Learners with more prior knowledge of the to-be-learned material retained more information than those with less prior knowledge. Lastly, satisfaction results revealed a significant interaction between age and gender and strategy type and age. As age increased, females were more satisfied than males, however as age decreased, females were less satisfied than males in the online instruction module. Furthermore, younger participants were more satisfied in the EIQ group than older participants, and younger participants were less satisfied in the Summarization group than older participants. Specifically, participants using the EIQ strategy were 87 percent satisfied with this learning strategy, 86 percent were satisfied with the Summarization strategy, and 81 percent were satisfied using the combination of EIQ/Summarization strategies. Overall, 93 percent of the participants were satisfied with this self-paced online module