Improving Engagement of Online Learning with Live Lectures

Online courses have historically been self-taught or a form of independent study. However, with the 2020 Pandemic a renewed focus on remote/online learning has forced the academic community to revisit what works, and does not work, with online classes. I propose that providing a livestream of a class and uploading the recording to a media sharing website, like YouTube, is more engaging to students than posting a pre-recorded lecture (text or video). I propose that doing this motivates students to keep up with the lectures rather than attempting to binge before an exam, or an assignment is due, and improves engagement with the instructor.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1150/thumbnail.jp

Instructors’ perceptions and pedagogical approaches to online teaching in selected Malaysian private universities

Private university instructors in Malaysia faced obstacles in their adaptation to the online learning mode while holding their pre-existing academic duties. This research aimed to explore those obstacles, and observe how the instructors tailored their pedagogical approaches. The research employed a qualitative research design. We used convenience sampling to select eight instructors from three private universities in Malaysia using semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that the main challenges were instructors’ own workload and lessened time for professional development, the incompatibility of the provided multimedia with their teaching approaches, as well as the problem with their students’ readiness and participation. It was found that the instructors adapted their pedagogical approaches with a main focus on learners’ cognitive development, and this was hoped to be achieved through their choices of learning tools and multimedia, instructional strategies of collaborative and reflective learning, and consideration of learning outcomes and objectives. The instructors also incorporated their students’ feedback into their content development to increase the engagement. Interestingly, some instructors initiated their own content and approach, while receiving support from their institutes, peers, and other resources. The findings may contribute positively to instructor’s efforts in providing and maintaining an interactive, productive and stable learning environment

The Effect of Technostress on the Motivation to Teach Online in Higher Education Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of Business Faculty

This study investigated the relationships among technostress creators (techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, techno-invasion, techno-overload, and techno-uncertainty) on the motivation to teach online using the Motivation to Teach Online – Faculty Version scale. Data were collected from faculty members of the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS), a member of the AACSB Business Education Alliance, and the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences (ASBBS), an interdisciplinary professional organization comprised of faculty teaching in accounting, finance, management, marketing, organizational behavior, and computer information systems early 2020 (N = 307). The findings indicated that techno-stressed faculty are less motivated to teach online. Techno-insecurity and techno-overload subconstructs were statistically significant pre-pandemic. Techno-insecurity was statistically significant during the pandemic. Gender and years of teaching online were not observed among faculty to modify online teaching motivations. Results are presented to supply institutions of higher learning with evidence to support faculty with online learning undertakings while leveraging opportunities to manage enrollment

Evaluating Online Learning Orientation Design With a Readiness Scale

Student online learning readiness (SOLR) has been identified as being closely associated with the success of learning in online environments. Online learning orientations have also been used as a key intervention to support students. However, the evaluation practice and research of online learning orientation design are limited. This research studied the effects of an orientation course on SOLR, using a multiyear design-based research with a one-group pretest and posttest method as the evaluation measurement. The design and implementation of a self-paced orientation course in Canvas learning management system was detailed as the intervention. A 20-item SOLR questionnaire was selected as the pretest and posttest instrument. After the initial cycles, a sample of 2,590 college students were invited to participate in the 2017 orientation and respond to the pretest and posttest. Because separate consent forms were distributed and collected at the pretest and posttest stages, the researcher was able to use 445 pretest and 624 posttest datasets. The independent samples t-test results indicated statistically significant improvement of SOLR competencies. The exploratory factor analysis results also indicated changes of items associated with the SOLR constructs. The reliability coefficients of all subscales were > .90, with an increase in the reliability of the SOLR instrument as a whole from pretest (a = .92) to posttest (a = .95). Implications for the design and evaluation of online learning orientations and preparing student online learning readiness are discussed toward future design and implementation

Academic staff’s motivation and knowledge building in online pedagogical studies

Abstract. Pedagogical training has been found to increase the quality of teaching and learning in higher education. Pedagogical training, however, is often not mandatory for academic staff (university teachers, lecturers, and doctoral students), leaving academic staff to start teaching without any pedagogical training and without purposefully developing their teaching skills. Adopting the methods by which they were taught is not always effective for students’ learning. Thus, it is important to identify the reasons why academic staff pursue pedagogical training and continue to be motivated to seek professional development in the domain of teaching. With an increase of online learning possibilities, limited research has been done on online pedagogical training. It can be beneficial, however, to understand academic staff’s motivational experiences and learning quality in these online learning environments. This study investigated academic staff’s motivation, experience, and quality of learning interactions in an online pedagogical training course. Fifteen academic staff from five different universities in Finland successfully completed an online pedagogical training module called Creating and Utilizing Working Life Contacts. To obtain a holistic view of the participants’ experience, the data was collected from registration forms at the beginning of the course, video data was recorded during the web meetings, and open-ended feedback questionnaires were collected at the end of the online training. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Numerical questionnaire answers were presented to reveal that the participants were overall satisfied with the course and their goals were achieved, contributing to their teaching practices and benefiting their students. The results of qualitative content analysis showed that professional development, building connections, interest in the topic, and learning from others were key factors in initial motivation. Factors in sustaining motivation were also analyzed and external support and learning from others were identified as some of the motivating factors. The analysis of the video data revealed high quality learning wherein the majority of the interactions were associated with knowledge building. Suggestions on how to develop online pedagogical training are discussed

Virtual Classes: A Comparative Study on the Overall Effect of Virtual Science Classes on High School Students\u27 Course Grade

Due to the rapid growth of technology and implementation of virtual learning into the lives of students, there is a push for the evaluation of virtual educational programs. The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to compare the impact of traditional, face-to-face instruction and virtual instruction on students’ course grades. The sample included 272 high school students in Florida; 125 students were enrolled in a virtual honors-level course and 147 students were enrolled in a traditional, face-to-face honors-level course. The students were enrolled in honors biology, chemistry, or physics. The theories guiding this study were social learning theory, self-determination theory, cognitive load theory, and online readiness. Data were collected from archival information of students’ course grades after the science course was completed, and the delivery method was noted. Separate t tests were conducted for each of the science courses. Assumption testing was run with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and the Wilks-Shapiro tests. Results were not tenable; therefore, Mann-Whitney U tests were run. No statistically significant difference was found between median course grades of students who completed honors-level biology virtually or in a face-to-face format. It was also found that there was a statistically significant difference between course grades in honors-level chemistry and honors-level physics. The average course grade was higher for all three virtual classes than for the face-to-face classes. Recommendations for future research include examining the difference between the classes of virtual biology, virtual chemistry, and virtual physics, comparing how many virtual classes a student completes to the student’s course grade, and more research on virtual classes at different grade levels

Perceptions of the Effects of Technical Competence on Female Adult Learners

Colleges and universities face some retention problems for female adult learners over the age of 25 who face technical requirements in higher education courses. However, little is known about how technology influences the experiences of female adult learners. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify how female adult learners over the age of 25 perceived the technical demands of the courses in their degree programs and how they coped with those demands. The conceptual frameworks for the study were the adult learning theory, which focuses on self-directed learning, and the transactional distance theory. Participants for this study were 12 female adult learners who reside in Tennessee who have been enrolled in undergraduate and graduate courses and were over the age of 25. Data sources included face-to-face and phone interviews. Data were analyzed using open coding to identify patterns and themes. The findings of this study indicated that participants were influenced by the technical demands they faced. Participants attributed the extent of success in their courses to the level of technical competence they possessed during their time as students. Participants used individual coping strategies in their courses as well as resources provided by the institutions they attended. This study contributes to positive social change because it provides information that higher education institutions can use to both increase retention and help female adult learners succeed during their higher education careers

The Effects of Student Activity Dashboards on Student Participation, Performance, and Persistence

Researchers have turned their attention to the use of learning analytics and dashboard systems in education. Schools are using knowledge gained in this area to address the issue of persistence to increase graduation rates. While dashboard systems have been developed and are starting to be implemented, it is not yet clear how activity and performance data from dashboards influences student behavior. In addition, much of the research has been focused on instructor-facing dashboards rather than student-facing dashboards. The current study implemented a student-facing dashboard in the learning management system and measured how information on the dashboard may have influenced participation in discussions, student performance on graded items, and persistence in future courses. A dashboard tool was developed for this study. Activity, performance, and persistence data was collected from all participating students. The study followed an experimental design approach that involved assigning a random group of students from multiple courses to a dashboard tool which showed the individual student’s activity and performance compared with that of their peers. Activity indicators included frequency of posting, average length of posts, percent of posts made to peers, and percent of posts made to instructor. The current score for the student, as a measure of performance, was also shown on the dashboard along with the current class average. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in participation as measured by number of posts, word count of posts, and percent of posts to peers or performance as measured by final grade. Chi Squared analysis was used to determine whether there were significant differences in persistence as a measure of whether students registered for and attended the following session. The analysis of results indicated no significant differences in participation or performance between the experimental and control groups (f(4, 59) = .947, p = .443). Similarly, no significant differences were found in persistence between the two groups (χ2(2) = .960, p = .619). Further research is needed to more fully understand the use of student dashboard interfaces and their impact on student behavior. Future studies using a similar methodology should incorporate larger sample sizes and include all students in the class, rather than using self-selected samples. A better understanding of how the use of dashboards influences participation, performance, and persistence is needed in order to develop effective strategies for supporting students

Student Motivation and Intent to Take Online Courses

The Motivation Orientation Scale – Student Version (MO-SV) and Unified Theory of User Acceptance of Technology (UTAUT) were used to predict to what extent motivation orientation impacts student intent to take online courses, to examine the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of students that drive them to take online courses, to examine the relationship between motivation to take online courses and motivation to take face-to-face courses, and to determine if demographic variables influence behavioral intent to take online courses. A sample of 394 full-time and part-time students at a large, public, research university with an integrated health center in the Southeast United States responded to the online survey. Results demonstrated that more students than not reported behavioral intent to take online courses. Multiple regression analysis indicated that performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, total motivation orientation to take online courses, total motivation orientation to take face-to-face courses, and current number of online courses taken statistically and significantly predicted behavioral intent to take online courses

Faculty Motivation & Intent to Teach Online

The unified theory of user acceptance of technology, Motivation Orientation Scale – Faculty Version, and Individual Innovativeness Scale were used to predict faculty intent to teach online, to better understand what motivates faculty to teach online, and the relationship between faculty innovativeness and their intent to teach online. A sample of 348 self-selected full-time faculty at a large, public, comprehensive research university with integrated academic health center in the Southeast United States responded to an online survey. Results demonstrated that slightly more faculty than not reported a behavioral intent to teach online. Multiple regression analysis indicated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, motivation orientation to teach online, motivation to teach face-to-face, sex, and level of innovation statistically and significantly predict behavioral intent to teach online. Stepwise regression indicated that motivation orientation to teach online, motivation to teach face-to-face, social influence, effort expectancy, and sex represented the optimal combination of constructs within this study sample to predict behavioral intent to teach online