Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Online Systemic Human Anatomy Course with Laboratory

Systemic Human Anatomy is a full credit, upper year undergraduate course with a prosection laboratory demonstration at Western University Canada. To meet enrolment demands beyond the physical space of the laboratory facility, a fully online section was developed to run concurrently with the traditional face-to-face (F2F) course in 2012-13. Lectures for F2F students were broadcast in live and archived format to online students using Blackboard Collaborate virtual classroom. Online laboratories were delivered in the virtual classroom by teaching assistants (TAs) with three dimensional (3D) anatomical models (Netter’s 3D Interactive Anatomy). Student performance outcomes and student and instructor perceptions of the experience were studied over a two year period to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the new format. Data comparing the online and F2F student grades suggest that previous academic achievement, and not delivery format, predicts performance in anatomy. Students valued pace control, schedule and location flexibility of learning from archived materials. In the online laboratory, they had difficulty using the 3D models and preferred the unique and hands-on experiences of cadaveric specimens. The F2F environment was conducive to learning in both lecture and lab because students felt more engaged by instructors in person and were less distracted by their surroundings. The course was modified in its second year with the addition of virtual breakout laboratory rooms, which allowed students to learn in smaller groups and interact with 3 TAs per lesson. The new laboratory format encouraged the majority of online students to use the 3D models. Virtual breakout rooms engaged online students in learning and the students were satisfied with their interactions with TAs and peers, though online laboratories did not adequately replace the F2F learning environment for all students. The biggest concern of the instructors was their inability to see coverbal student behaviour and use it to assess class engagement and their teaching effectiveness. The design and evaluation of the course will guide anatomy educators in accommodating large student populations when faced with limited laboratory facilities and/or cadaveric specimens. The instructional methods will also be of interest to science, engineering, and mathematics educators who teach 3D concepts

Go Online!

COVID-19’s impacts revealed that teaching writing online was no longer merely an issue of convenience or economic necessity—it was critical to public health and equity concerns as well. Now higher education faces one of its greatest historical challenges, expanding online offerings to fully engage and support students around the world. Gathering together educators who teach writing at college and graduate levels using creative hybrid, blended, and online/remote/virtual modes, this book should be required reading for all teachers and administrators. The volume features those new to online teaching alongside experienced online writing teachers. Referencing the latest research in online teaching and writing, contributors share stories of crucial successes as well as unforeseen difficulties. Essays address compelling concerns such as engaging diversity and cultural inclusivity, social justice, as well as global learning in online writing courses; radically reshaping graduate seminars for online delivery; flipping classrooms to promote more successful writing instruction; fostering greater community within online writing classrooms; examining the problems and possibilities of Learning Management Systems for teaching writing; sustaining remote writing-centered archival research; avoiding Zoom fatigue in writing classes by using design thinking; utilizing expressive arts in online writing classes; mentoring doctoral students online; constructing meaningful approaches to online peer writing feedback; as well as making access and inclusivity central to online writing course design

7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21)

Information and communication technologies together with new teaching paradigms are reshaping the learning environment.The International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd) aims to become a forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, experiences,opinions and research results relating to the preparation of students and the organization of educational systems.Doménech I De Soria, J.; Merello Giménez, P.; Poza Plaza, EDL. (2021). 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD21.2021.13621EDITORIA

Digital material: tracing new media in everyday life and technology

Three decades of societal and cultural alignment of new media have yielded a host of innovations, trials, and problems, accompanied by versatile popular and academic discourse. New Media Studies crystallized internationally into an established academic discipline, and this begs the question: where do we stand now? Which new questions are emerging now that new media are being taken for granted, and which riddles are still unsolved? Is contemporary digital culture indeed all about 'you', the participating user, or do we still not really understand the digital machinery and how this constitutes us as 'you'? The contributors to the present book, all employed in teaching and researching new media and digital culture, assembled their 'digital material' into an anthology, covering issues ranging from desktop metaphors to Web 2.0 ecosystems, from touch screens to blogging and e-learning, from role-playing games and cybergothic music to wireless dreams. Together the contributions provide a showcase of current research in the field, from what may be called a 'digital-materialist' perspective.Nieuwe media zijn vanaf hun opkomst begeleid door revolutionaire beloften en bedreigingen: hypertekst zou lezers veranderen in auteurs, digitale beelden zouden de waarheid en werkelijkheid ondermijnen, en online communicatie zou alle afstanden overbruggen. 'Cyberspace' werd gevierd dan wel gevreesd als immaterieel en autonoom, losgezongen van onze dagelijkse leefwereld. Na twee decennia 'cyberrevolutie' zijn nieuwe media vanzelfsprekend geworden en blijken zij allesbehalve immaterieel. Vanuit dat perspectief belicht de bundel Digital Material digitale culturen. De bijdragen onderzoeken onder meer computer games, mobiele communicatie, interfacemetaforen, weblogculturen, software ontwikkeling en digitale beeldproductie. Bij elkaar vormen zij een inspirerend theoretisch kader om de hedendaagse betekenis van nieuwe media te doorgronden

Instructional Message Design: Theory, Research, and Practice (Volume 2)

Message design is all around us, from the presentations we see in meetings and classes, to the instructions that come with our latest tech gadgets, to multi-million-dollar training simulations. In short, instructional message design is the real-world application of instructional and learning theories to design the tools and technologies used to communicate and effectively convey information. This field of study pulls from many applied sciences including cognitive psychology, industrial design, graphic design, instructional design, information technology, and human performance technology to name just a few. In this book we visit several foundational theories that guide our research, look at different real-world applications, and begin to discuss directions for future best practice. For instance, cognitive load and multimedia learning theories provide best practice, virtual reality and simulations are only a few of the multitude of applications. Special needs learners and designing for online, e-learning, and web conferencing are only some of many applied areas where effective message design can improve outcomes. Studying effective instructional message design tools and techniques has and will continue to be a critical aspect of the overall instructional design process. Hopefully, this book will serve as an introduction to these topics and inspire your curiosity to explore further!https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/distancelearning_books/1003/thumbnail.jp

Instructional Message Design: Theory, Research, and Practice (Volume 2)

Message design is all around us, from the presentations we see in meetings and classes, to the instructions that come with our latest tech gadgets, to multi-million-dollar training simulations. In short, instructional message design is the real-world application of instructional and learning theories to design the tools and technologies used to communicate and effectively convey information. This field of study pulls from many applied sciences including cognitive psychology, industrial design, graphic design, instructional design, information technology, and human performance technology to name just a few. In this book we will visit several foundational theories that guide our research, look at different real-world applications, and begin to discuss directions for future best practice. For instance, cognitive load and multimedia learning theories provide best practice, virtual reality and simulations are only a few of the multitude of applications. Special needs learners and designing for online, e-learning, and web conferencing are only some of many applied areas where effective message design can improve outcomes. Studying effective instructional message design tools and techniques has and will continue to be a critical aspect of the overall instructional design process. Hopefully, this book will serve as an introduction to these topics and inspire your curiosity to explore further

Investigating the Relationship Between Students\u27 Religiosity and Their Sense of Community in Online Courses

The introduction of the internet has had a profound effect on the way in which students learn. Students are no longer bound by the four walls of traditional classrooms because they can now receive their education through online courses. However, one of the largest hurdles that universities face with teaching online courses is keeping students enrolled. Many researchers have investigated why there is such a large drop-out rate for online courses, and several have found that a relationship between drop-out rates and sense of community in online course. Researchers have typically found that as sense of community increases the drop-out rate decreases. Therefore, it is imperative to study what causes sense of community to rise. This quantitative correlational study has investigated the relationship between sense of community and another factor, religiosity, to see if they are related. The purpose of this study was to add to the current research base on religiosity and sense of community. This study is important because its findings helped to shed light on why online, undergraduate level students drop out of their online college courses. A convenience sample of 95 online, undergraduate level students from a Southeastern United States University participated in the study. In this study, two separate instruments were used to measure the variables of religiosity and sense of community. Pearson’s r and Spearman’s r were calculated, and it was discovered that a relationship exists between religiosity and sense of community. It was concluded that universities should try to utilize students’ religiosity in the online classroom to help promote a sense of community. Future research should focus on the effect that religiosity has in both secular and religious universities