Online vs. face-to-face discussions in a web-based research methods course for postgraduate nursing students : A quasi-experimental study

Background: Web-based technologies are increasingly being used to create modes of online learning for nurses but their effect has not been assessed in nurse education. Objectives: Assess whether participation in face-to-face discussion seminars or online asynchronous discussion groups had different effects on educational attainment in a webbased course. Design: Non-randomised or quasi-experimental design with two groups – students choosing to have face-to-face discussion seminars and students choosing to have online discussions. Setting: The Core Methods module of a postgraduate research methods course. Participants: All 114 students participating in the first 2 years during which the course teaching material was delivered online. Outcome: Assignment mark for Core Methods course module. Methods: Background details of the students, their choices of modules and assignment marks were collected as part of the routine course administration. Students’ online activities were identified using the student tracking facility within WebCT. Regression models were fitted to explore the association between available explanatory variables and assignment mark. Results: Students choosing online discussions had a higher Core Methods assignment mark (mean 60.8/100) than students choosing face-to-face discussions (54.4); the difference was statistically significant (t = 3.13, df = 102, p = 0.002), although this ignores confounding variables. Among online discussion students, assignment mark was significantly correlated with the numbers of discussion messages read (Kendall’s taub = 0.22, p = 0.050) and posted (Kendall’s taub = 0.27, p = 0.017); among face-to-face discussion students, it was significantly associated with the number of non-discussion hits in WebCT (Kendall’s taub = 0.19, p = 0.036). In regression analysis, choice of discussion method, whether an MPhil/PhD student, number of non-discussion hits in WebCT, number of online discussion messages read and number posted were associated with assignment mark at the 5% level of significance when taken singly; in combination, only whether an MPhil/PhD student (p = 0.024) and number of non-discussion hits (p = 0.045) retained significance. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a research methods course can be delivered to postgraduate healthcare students at least as successfully by an entirely online method in which students participate in online discussion as by a blended method in which students accessing web-based teaching material attend face-to-face seminar discussions. Increased online activity was associated with higher assignment marks. The study highlights new opportunities for educational research that arise from the use of virtual learning environments that routinely record the activities of learners and tutors

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 /

Flexibility and Interaction at a Distance: A Mixed-Model Environment For Language Learning

This article reports on the process of design and development of two language courses for university students at beginning levels of competence. Following a preliminary experience in a low-tech environment for distance language learning and teaching, and a thorough review of the available literature, we identified two major challenges that would need to be addressed in our design: (1) a necessity to build sufficient flexibility into the materials to cater to a variety of learners' styles, interests and skill levels, therefore sustaining learners' motivation; and (2) a need to design materials that would present the necessary requisites of authenticity and interactivity identified in the examined literature, in spite of the reduced opportunities for face-to-face communication. In response to these considerations, we designed and developed learning materials and tasks to be distributed on CD-ROM, complemented by a WebCT component for added interactivity and task authenticity. Although only part of the original design was implemented, and further research is needed to assess the impact of our environment on learning outcomes, the results of preliminary evaluations are encouraging

Using ICT tools to manage knowledge: a student perspective in determining the quality of education

Within the e-learning context of a university, technology has the potential to facilitate the knowledge interaction between the source (instructor) and the recipient (students). From a literature review, it can be concluded that prior studies have not explored the types of channels that encourage knowledge transfer in this environment. For example, how explicit knowledge travels through the e-learning environment and goes through interaction processes and is received and acquired is largely unknown. According to Alavi & Leidner (2001), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can help speed up the processes of transferring knowledge from those who have knowledge to those seeking knowledge. Within the university context, technologies such as email, Internet, IRC chat, bulletin boards and tools such as WebCT and BlackBoard have the potential to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and act as a link between source and recipient. Effective knowledge transfer has to consider effective knowledge acquisition, which are therefore inexplicably linked. Nonaka's spiral model addresses knowledge acquisition through spiraling processes in which an individual would be able to convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge and vice versa. According to Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) there are four types of interaction, which give way to the conversion of one form of knowledge into another, namely tacit-to-tacit, tacit-to-explicit, explicit-to-tacit and explicit-to-explicit. In an academic environment, this can be studied as the source, either transferring tacit or explicit knowledge, and similarly as the recipient, receiving knowledge either in tacit or explicit form. Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) also refer to this as the SECI model, where SECI stands for Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation. This 'Research in Progress' reports the outcomes of a study undertaken to understand how and to what extent knowledge spiraling processes and accompanying characteristics of SECI can be ICT-enabled to contribute towards the studying and learning processes for university education. A survey instrument was developed for this purpose and it is currently undergoing peer-review and other customary validity and reliability tests. Once the instrument is validated, it will be administered on about 50 tertiary students. It is hoped that the results obtained from this survey will be reported in the QIK 2005 conference

Web Courseware Usability and Tools for the Enhancement of Teacher Education

This article presents the findings of a study designed to investigate the effectiveness of the usability and tools in on-line course management packages. It also describes the challenges that teacher educators may face with respect to student use of on-line courses. Five research questions were formulated to ·explore the usability issues and the use of teaching tools in the on-line courseware, WebCT. The findings indicated that there was a significant difference between students\u27 acceptance of on-line courseware, WebCT, based on their genders: female students were more satisfied than male students. Significant variance among academic status (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and Graduate) was observed in students\u27 acceptance ofWebCT, demonstrating that graduate students were more likely to prefer learning on-line than undergraduates. Two usability elements, perceptual limitation and learnability, were the most statistically significant predictors in the on-line courseware. No significant differences were observed among students\u27 acceptance of WebCT in terms of their previous on-line experiences and computer skills. In addition, the qualitative results provided compelling evidence that learners did not use the Help tools as their primary aid when encountering difficulties. Some problems associated with the use of the discussion board, such as sending/ viewing attachments, were revealed in the discussion section

Assessment of students\u27 motivation to use computer tools in a Web -enhanced counseling course

Increasing numbers of professional counseling educators recognize the importance of information technology in counselor education, but the majority of members in the counseling community still lack interest in using computer tools for their professional development. How to motivate them to acquire these necessary skills is a problem in counselor education. This study provided a motivating web-based instructional (WBI) design for a web-enhanced course and examined counseling students\u27 motivation to use computer tools in the course. It focused on four research questions that examined (1) how students\u27 use of computers changed; (2) the impact of web-based instructional (WBI) features on their motivation to learn; (3) the relationship between their motivation to learn and learning experiences; and (4) indicators of their adoption of computer tools.;The results of this study showed that students were motivated to learn in this web-enhanced environment. Most students increased their use of computer tools, became more confident using computer tools, and had more positive attitudes regarding the use of computers. WBI features that consider learners\u27 needs and learning outcomes can motivate students to learn to use computer tools. This study concluded that motivation to learn computer skills is a complicated matter which is related to several variables, including improved computer skills, web performance, emotion regarding computer use, and learning satisfaction. Students were more likely to continue to use computer tools in the future if they had positive experiences using computer tools. All indicators of adoption supported the belief that students were likely to adopt computer tools in the future.;This study implies that students will improve their computer skills and become motivated to continue to use computer tools in the future, if they are exposed to a learning environment similar to that in Coun 620. Students will be motivated to learn to use computer tools if they have access to a course web site that includes active hyperlinks, an organized structure, intuitive navigation, and the integration of computer tools that includes at least instructors and instructional designers is required to design a course that features a motivating WBI design. Further studies should seek to understand how counseling students can be convinced to become competent computer users through the use of a WBI environment

Teachers\u27 perceptions of the application of instructional design elements in the distance teaching process

Educators use an instructional design process to improve instruction and to ensure learning. Faculty who teach at a distance must rely heavily on the instructional design process because of constraints in distance instruction. Thus, it is especially important for instructors to know, understand, and apply instructional design elements when planning to teaching at a distance. However, little research has been done in this field. Therefore, additional research has become the focus of this study. This study examines the perceptions of instructors at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Cedar Falls, Iowa, regarding how they understood and applied instructional design elements in the distance teaching process. A descriptive study approach was used with a mailed self-reporting questionnaire as the data collection instrument. A focus group of six distance educators pretested the questionnaire in April 2002. The study sample was instructors at UNI who had been involved in distance teaching using the Internet and interactive television (ITV). A convenience and unstratified sampling method was used to determine the participants. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses concerning: (a) to what extent the instructors would report implementation of the elements of instructional design, (b) to what extent the instructors had taken advantage of opportunities provided by UNI (or elsewhere) to learn about distance teaching, and (c) what information would be gained that could promote better instruction at a distance at UNI. A combination of different kinds of scales were used in this study. Open-ended questions were also used to answer the questions in the questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed using statistical analysis procedures with the statistical package SPSS for Windows. A coding system was used to analyze the qualitative data. Chi-square tests were run on several demographic factors to determine if they significantly predicted results related to training for instructors using the Iowa Communication Network (ICN) and WebCT for distance learning, and training to help instructors design instruction using distance learning technologies. Results showed that generally most instructors at UNI could understand and apply the identified instructional design elements when they taught at a distance. The information from this study provides an understanding of how applying instructional design elements affects the instruction in distance education courses. The data acquired can provide administrators, instructional designers, and instructors in distance education with vital decision-making information for instructional design. Distance education program planners and educators can use this knowledge to improve the quality of distance teaching by making necessary resources and services available to them