PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS AS A SUPPLEMENT TO FACE TO FACE INTERACTIONS: A META REVIEW

Today’s technological age is evolving students away from the traditional classroom model with over three million students exclusively enrolled in online classes (Classes and Careers, 2018) with many online courses attempting to provide an online educational experience that parallels a traditional face to face (f2f) model. Researchers have deduced that there is no significant difference between online and f2f courses.(Johnson et al., 2000; Nguyen, 2015) however, modifications must be made due to the differences in the delivery modes of instruction. Asynchronous online discussion forums can be an effective tool for improving student learning outcomes (Green et al., 2014; Tony Bates, 1997) yet, such an environment decreases opportunities for social interactions (Bullock & Colvin, 2015) and can foster miscommunication in non-verbal subtleties clarified in spoken language (Mongan-Rallis & Shannon, 2006). This proposed research will investigate current literature concerning perceptions of the effectiveness of asynchronous online discussions as a supplement to f2f social interactions. Under the proposed study, a meta-analysis will be executed to synthesize already existing research with aims to evaluate the overall effectiveness and perceptions of asynchronous online threaded discussion forums versus f2f platforms

Faculty and student feedback of synchronous distance education in a multi-university learning consortium

The Texas Learning Consortium (TLC) began as a partnership between the foreign language departments at 5 small, private, liberal arts universities, where each specializes in a small number of different world languages to increase the course offerings to their students without the expense of adding additional faculty on every campus. Each university offers their language courses to consortium students in a real-time, interactive, distance education format. In Fall 2017, the consortium expanded beyond foreign languages, and the first engineering course, Statics, was offered in this synchronous, distance format. As background, this paper will provide an overview of the technology used in the classrooms and some of the administrative obstacles that were overcome in scheduling, registration and information technology. The paper will also reflect on the impact of this particular technological implementation on various teaching styles in both foreign language and engineering courses, especially compared to other distance engineering education in the literature, with a purpose of analyzing the model’s suitability for expansion into other engineering courses or a fully accredited consortium based engineering program. Student and faculty satisfaction surveys will additionally provide insight as to whether this distance format is the right fit for campuses used to high-touch learning environments.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Mental tactility: the ascendance of writing in online management education

A qualitative study of online management education and the role of writing as an indicative measure of thinking and learning. Established educational models, such as Dale\u27s Cone of Experience, are expanded and redeveloped to illustrate the central role of writing as a critical thinking process which appears to be increasing, rather than decreasing, with the advent of online multimedia technology. In an environment of increasing reliance on audiovisual stimulus in online education, the authors contend that tertiary educators may witness an ascendance or re-emergence of writing as central to the academic experience. This may be both supply and demand driven. Drawing on a study of two undergraduate units in the Bachelor of Commerce and applying hermeneutics to develop challenging insights, the authors present a case for educators to remain conversant with the art of teaching writing, and to promote writing to improve educational outcomes. <br /

Distance learning of foreign languages

doi: 10.1017/S0261444806003727This article provides a critical overview of the field of distance language learning, challenging the way in which the field is often narrowly conceptualised as the development of technology-mediated language learning opportunities. Early sections focus on issues of concept and definition and both theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on the field. Emphasis is placed on evident shifts from a concern with structural and organisational issues to a focus on transactional issues associated with teaching/learning opportunities within emerging paradigms for distance language learning. The next section reviews choices and challenges in incorporating technology into distance language learning environments, foregrounding decisions about technology made in particular sociocultural contexts, the contribution of ‘low-end’ technologies and research directions in developing new learning spaces and in using online technologies. The investigation of learner contributions to distance language learning is an important avenue of enquiry in the field, given the preoccupation with technology and virtual learning environments, and this is the subject of section six. The two final sections identify future research directions and provide a series of conclusions about research and practice in distance language learning as technology-mediated interactions increasingly come to influence the way we think about the processes of language learning and teaching

An exploratory study to determine students' perceptions of the value of interaction in an Australian classroom context and the perceived impact on learning outcomes

Interaction has long been a defining and critical component of the educational process, whatever the classroom context (Anderson 2003). This paper presents findings of a study to explore the attitudes of students at an Australian university towards various types interactivity in the classroom. The study also investigates students perceptions of how interactivity in the classroom impacts on cognitive, affective and behavioural learning outcomes. In a recent review of the literature Muirhead & Juwah (2003) argue that interactivity is critical in underpinning the learning process in face-to-face, campus based and distance and online education. They say that interactions serve a diverse range of functions in the educational process, which include learner to learner, learner to content, learner to tutor, learner to technology, tutor to content, tutor to technology, content to content. These functions promote and enhance the quality of active, participative learning in a learning environment. However, literature indicates that attitudes towards active learning involving greater interactivity varies across students and between students and lecturers (Billings, Connors, & Skiba 2001). Investigation into student attitudes of the value and effectiveness of interaction is of particular interest for educators who are adapting the learning of a diverse range of students, including oncampus, distance, international, under and postgradute students. Much of the existing research into classroom interaction was grounded in the behaviourist and cognitive sciences approach to learning and teaching, where traditional classroom interaction placed the teacher at the centre of all activities as transmitter of knowledge and co-coordinator of student interaction (McLoughlin 2002). Those studies predate the recent application of constructivism (Bonk and Cunningham 1998) and social learning theory (Bandura (1977), and the emphasis on building life long learning skills. This research will contribute to current discussion about the role of interaction in learning, based on a constructivist approach to developing life long learning skills. This paper will present the findings of an exploratory study of students’ attitudes to various types of interaction in a classroom context. The first step of this exploratory study will employ a focus group approach to gather data from on campus students to identify the key issues that emerge from this data. These findings will be used to design a survey instrument to implement a follow-up research project

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)

Assessment of online reflections: engaging english second language (ESL) students

Online discussion boards are increasingly being used by tertiary educators as a tool for encouraging greater student interaction and developing learning communities. In particular, educators who have adopted a learner-centered, socio-constructivist approach to teaching have sought to facilitate collaborative learning in which students reflect upon and share their experiences and perspectives, and construct knowledge together through developing shared meanings. In this paper, the findings of an electronic survey of the perceptions of 70 distance education EFL and ESL students concerning a compulsory assessment item involving contribution to an online course discussion board are presented. The study revealed that the majority of the students enjoyed the assessment item and agreed that posting to the online course discussion board had allowed them to achieve a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as, to develop some important graduate skills. In particular, ESL students reported the benefits of posting to the discussion board in terms of sharing their experiences with others and reducing the feeling of isolation. Further, when considering social outcomes, ESL students perceive the discussion board provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other students in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies