Effectively Using Discussion Boards to Engage Students in Introductory Leadership Courses

This article discusses the use of online asynchronous discussion boards as a valuable tool for connecting students to leadership concepts, theories, and models in introductory leadership survey courses. Recommendations are given for designing effective discussion boards that engage students and enhance their learning. Student outcomes include construction on knowledge, relevant connections between course material and personal lives, and critical reflection

The Missing Link: Discovering Your Facilitation Power For Online Course

Unfortunately, most of our faculty development related to online learning has been regarding designing courses. Yet where do we faculty spend most of our time? We spend it facilitating the courses, semester after semester. However, one of the reasons more one provides more guidance about online facilitation is that many people assume teaching online is more or less the same as traditional instruction. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth (Fink, 2003). Online learning shifts the focus from teacher to learners, and our role as educators from “all knowing experts” dispensing knowledge, to facilitators of more self-directed and independent learning. How do we do that? Where do we find good examples? Where are the boundaries for facilitating online learning? This paper provides recommendations to answer these and many more questions about facilitating online learning

Effects of Simulated Student Interaction on Student Perceptions of Teaching Presence

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the instructor posting in online discussions as a simulated student; particularly the impact simulated student interaction (SSI) had on the instructor/student relationship. Student perceptions were examined using a modified version of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey to determine what impact SSI had on teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence within the online classroom. The full 34 item CoI Survey was piloted in the summer of 2014 at a small comprehensive university located in northeast Texas. A factor analysis was conducted on the data and the top items from each factor in the instrument extracted. The resulting 17 item instrument demonstrated both validity and reliability. This modified CoI Survey was used in the fall of 2014 with three special education courses making up a control group and an intervention group in a pre-post experimental design. An ANOVA was performed to compare the results of the pre-course and post-course surveys by group. The ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference for all three factors for the intervention group between the pre- and post-course survey, while no significance between surveys was shown for the control group

Predicting academic performance with learning analytics in virtual learning environments: A comparative study of three interaction classifications

Learning analytics is the analysis of static and dynamic data extracted from virtual learning environments, in order to understand and optimize the learning process. Generally, this dynamic data is generated by the interactions which take place in the virtual learning environment. At the present time, many implementations for grouping of data have been proposed, but there is no consensus yet on which interactions and groups must be measured and analyzed. There is also no agreement on what is the influence of these interactions, if any, on learning outcomes, academic performance or student success. This study presents three different extant interaction typologies in e-learning and analyzes the relation of their components with students? academic performance. The three different classifications are based on the agents involved in the learning process, the frequency of use and the participation mode, respectively. The main findings from the research are: a) that agent-based classifications offer a better explanation of student academic performance; b) that at least one component in each typology predicts academic performance; and c) that student-teacher and student-student, evaluating students, and active interactions, respectively, have a significant impact on academic performance, while the other interaction types are not significantly related to academic performance

Learning Analytics and Interactions in Virtual Learning Environments. A Comparative Study of Typologies and their Relationship with Academic Performance

Analysis of learning data (learning analytics) is a new research field with high growth potential. The main objective of Learning analytics is the analysis of data (interactions being the basic data unit) generated in virtual learning environments, in order to maximize the outcomes of the learning process; however, a consensus has not been reached yet on which interactions must be measured and what is their influence on learning outcomes. This research is grounded on the study of e-learning interaction typologies and their relationship with students? academic performance, by means of a comparative study between different interaction typologies (based on the agents involved, frequency of use and participation mode). The main conclusions are a) that classifications based on agents offer a better explanation of academic performance; and b) that each of the three typologies are able to explain academic performance in terms of some of their components (student-teacher and student-student interactions, evaluating students interactions and active interactions, respectively), with the other components being nonrelevant

Fostering student engagement & motivated participation in discussion forums: Examples from Columbia University

For new and experienced online instructors, or those who work with them, this session will share examples of high-participation discussion forum assignments from Columbia University, different ways to set up and facilitate discussion forums, sample grading rubrics for discussion forums, and strategies to plan for issues that may come up. Discussion forums are a key component of most online courses, and are often included as homework for face-to-face courses as well. In this session, the presenters will share examples of discussion forum assignments that have yielded high student participation, as well as different ways to set up and facilitate discussion forums, including student-led and small-group discussion forums. The presenters will also share sample grading rubrics for discussion forums, and strategies to plan ahead for issues that may come up. The examples and strategies will come from Columbia University’s School of Social Work, which offers a fully online Master’s of Science in Social Work program. This interactive session will begin with polls to learn why participants have chosen to attend; the presenters will use the poll results to tailor the use of time for the different sections of the presentation. In addition, throughout the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to share their own strategies, ask questions, and add to their toolkits of strategies for online discussion forums. Strategies discussed will appeal to a range of budgets and classroom staffing, so as to be applicable and sustainable at any school

Exploring the influence of the teacher: Social participation on Twitter and academic perception

Analyzing the influence of social media on the learning process is no longer a novel idea; however, due to its importance for students and consequently for teachers, research continues to explore the pedagogical potential of social media. The main objective of the present study was to analyze the influence of teacher roles (guide or facilitator) on students’ social participation in Twitter and their perceived academic experience. The sample consisted of 525 future teachers, all of the Master’s degree students at Spain’s National Distance Education University (UNED). We used a mixed triangulation design, a theoretical model, quantitative methods (descriptive analysis and contrast of means) and qualitative methods (content analysis following the principles of grounded theory). Our results showed that the teacher’s role as a facilitator exerted a more positive influence on how students assessed their experience and on their participation on Twitter than the role as a guide. We conclude that the use of social media sites in education offers a motivating and satisfying framework that is not provided by other more traditional means such as forums, and that a role that facilitates independent learning is a better strategy when using social media in the classroom

The REEAL model: A framework for faculty training in online discussion facilitation

Discussion forums are a primary tool for interactions in the online classroom. Discussions are a critical part of the learning process for students, and instructor facilitation should reflect this importance. Effective instructor discussion facilitation encourages students, provides evidence and analysis and links the discussion to subsequent discourse. However, instructors receive little guidance in strategies to meet these expectations. To fill this gap, the REEAL Model is presented to support faculty in developing appropriate discussion responses. In addition, a transcript analysis technique is described which can be used as part of a faculty development program to ensure faculty have appropriate skills and background. The outcome of the process is faculty who are comfortable and confident developing discussion postings that align to learning outcome, provide meaningful, and facilitate ongoing conversation

Interaction in an asynchronous online course:a synthesis of quantitative predictors

The effectiveness and potential of asynchronous online courses hinge on sustained, purposeful interaction. And while many factors affecting interaction have been uncovered by prior literature, there are few accounts of the relative importance of these factors when studied in the same online course. In this paper, we develop a literature-informed model of six predictors on the likelihood that a note receives a reply. We corroborate earlier findings (such as the impact of the date that the note was posted), but also obtain one contradictory result (that reading ease does not appear to be a significant predictor). We offer hypotheses for our findings, suggest future directions for this type of research, and offer educational implications

Desarrollo del entorno personal de aprendizaje para tutoría e investigación en niveles educativos superiores

The concept of personal environment refers to systems that facilitate learners to take control of their learning autonomously. This includes support for determining their own goals, understanding of content and processes involved in the learning process. Usually the biggest boost comes in around new technologies, since it is assumed that the student is able to interact effectively with the languages and technological environments, as younger generations, most knowledgeable use and management of information digital media.From this assumption and assume that the student is able by itself to find its own path, leading to much frustration, especially when considered as a key factor of cultural differences.This paper seeks to recognize that there are cultural differences in handling tools that are considered usual as social networks to develop proposals enabling academic support and student learning is that there are factors that can potentially benefit or hinder academic development students if these are not considered in educational programs.Recognizing these differences is key to working in support programs for students, because once they recognized their potential and are able to generate appropriate to the requirements of new technology strategies will be more efficient in their learning.El concepto de entorno personal se refiere a los sistemas que facilitan a los aprendices a tomar control de manera autónoma de sus aprendizajes. Esto incluye apoyos para determinar sus propias metas, comprensión de contenidos y de los procesos implicados en el proceso de aprendizaje. Usualmente el mayor impulso se ofrece en torno a las nuevas tecnologías, ya que se supone que el alumno es capaz de interactuar de manera efectiva con los lenguajes y entornos tecnológicos, pues más jóvenes las generaciones, más conocimiento tienen del uso y manejo de la información en medios digitales.Partir de este supuesto, y suponer que el alumno es capaz por sí mismo de encontrar su propio camino, lleva a mucha frustración, especialmente cuando se considera como factor clave las diferencias culturales.El presente trabajo busca reconocer que existen diferencias culturales en el manejo de herramientas que se consideran usuales como las redes sociales para desarrollar propuestas académicas que permitan apoyar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes y se encuentra que existen factores que pueden potencialmente beneficiar o entorpecer el desarrollo académico de los estudiantes si estas no son consideradas en los programas educativos.Reconocer dichas diferencias es clave para trabajar en programas de apoyo a los estudiantes, pues una vez que éstos reconocen sus potencialidades y son capaces de generar las estrategias adecuadas a los requerimientos de las nuevas tecnologías, serán más eficientes en su aprendizaje