Comparing Effectiveness Of Undergraduate Course Delivery: A Student Perspective

Higher education students can and do take courses delivered in a variety of ways. But, to date, little research has been done on the effectiveness of different delivery modes.  This study sought to fill that void by comparing the effectiveness of three undergraduate course delivery modes: classroom, online, and video conference at a technical institute in a mid-Atlantic state. Students (N = 1,206) completed questionnaires on effectiveness, in terms of satisfaction, for each mode and on demographic characteristics. The questionnaire response rates were 74% for students.   In terms of student satisfaction, the results revealed that classroom delivery was more effective than technologically delivery with online being slightly more effective than video conference.  The results of this research should assist leaders in higher education to understand the benefits associated with different undergraduate course delivery modes. In addition, the study provides leaders with a useful tool for securing and applying this type of information when making decisions about the modes best suited to serve their academic communities

A Template For Analyzing Costs Associated With Educational Delivery Modes

The purpose of this research was to develop, test, and apply a framework for determining cost of alternative educational course delivery modes. This study reviews and analyzes the costs associated with traditional education and compares it to those costs associated with video conference and online distance education at a single institution.  The intended result of this study was to assist leaders in higher education in gaining a better understanding of the costs associated with three different delivery modes for undergraduate courses. Leaders should request and apply cost (and effectiveness) information when making decisions about the course delivery modes best suited to serve their academic communities.  Whether the emergence of distance education spells the end of traditional campuses, as some maintain, or whether learning by distance represents, instead, a particularly powerful addition to a growing array of delivery options for higher education, the fact remains that distance education is already having a very real impact on higher education. Distance education through technology has created alternative models of teaching and learning, new job descriptions for faculty, and new types of providers of higher education. But many questions remain about the costs (and the effectiveness) of these delivery methods. 

A Study In Analyzing Effectiveness Of Undergraduate Course Delivery: Classroom, Online And Video Conference From A Student And Faculty Perspective

Higher education students can and do take courses delivered in a variety of ways. But, to date, little research has been done on the effectiveness of different delivery modes.  This study sought to fill that void by comparing the effectiveness of three undergraduate course delivery modes: classroom, online, and video conference at a technical institute in a mid-Atlantic state. Students (N = 1,206) and faculty (N = 160) completed questionnaires on effectiveness, in terms of satisfaction, for each mode. The questionnaire response rates were 74% for students and 86% for faculty.  In terms of student satisfaction, the results revealed that classroom delivery was more effective than technologically delivery with online being slightly more effective than video conference. The same results were found for faculty satisfaction.  The results of this research should assist leaders in higher education to understand the benefits associated with different undergraduate course delivery modes. In addition, by developing and testing a framework that can be used for estimating effectiveness of different delivery methods, the study provides leaders with a useful tool for securing and applying this type of information when making decisions about the modes best suited to serve their academic communities

Faculty Satisfaction With Distance Education: A Comparative Analysis On Effectiveness Of Undergraduate Course Delivery Modes

Higher education faculty can and do teach courses delivered in a variety of ways. But, to date, little research has been done on the effectiveness of different delivery modes. This study sought to fill that void by comparing the effectiveness of three undergraduate course delivery modes: classroom, online, and video conference at a technical institute in a mid-Atlantic state. Faculty (N = 160) completed questionnaires on effectiveness, in terms of satisfaction, for each mode. The questionnaire response rates were 86% for faculty. In terms of faculty satisfaction, the results revealed that classroom delivery was more effective than technologically delivery with online being slightly more effective than video conference. The results of this research should assist leaders in higher education to understand the benefits associated with different undergraduate course delivery modes. In addition, the study provides leaders with a useful tool for securing and applying this type of information when making decisions about the modes best suited to serve their academic communities

Bench and engine operation of a fuel-distribution control

Presents application of a fuel-distribution-control method to actual gas-turbine engine operation. The control used was designed to equalize the flow to the 14 nozzles of a gas-turbine engine. The maximum measured deviation from perfect distribution during engine operation was 3.8 percent. It was shown that the control model is capable of maintaining this accuracy independently of changes in fuel-nozzle resistances from 0 up to 1.46 times the resistance of a normal engine fuel nozzle

Identification of the Genomic Insertion Site of the Thyroid Peroxidase Promoter–Cre Recombinase Transgene Using a Novel, Efficient, Next-Generation DNA Sequencing Method

Background: It can be useful to know the transgene insertion site in transgenic mice for a variety of reasons, but determining the insertion site generally is a time consuming, expensive, and laborious task. Methods: A simple method is presented to determine transgene insertion sites that combines the enrichment of a sequencing library by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for sequences containing the transgene, followed by next-generation sequencing of the enriched library. This method was applied to determine the site of integration of the thyroid peroxidase promoter?Cre recombinase mouse transgene that is commonly used to create thyroid-specific gene deletions. Results: The insertion site was found to be between bp 12,372,316 and 12,372,324 on mouse chromosome 9, with the nearest characterized genes being Cntn5 and Jrkl, ?1.5 and 0.9?Mbp from the transgene, respectively. One advantage of knowing a transgene insertion site is that it facilitates distinguishing hemizygous from homozygous transgenic mice. Although this can be accomplished by real-time quantitative PCR, the expected Ct difference is only one cycle, which is challenging to assess accurately. Therefore, the transgene insertion site information was used to develop a 3-primer qualitative PCR assay that readily distinguishes wild type, hemizygous, and homozygous TPO-Cre mice based upon size differences of the wild type and transgenic allele PCR products. Conclusions: Identification of the genomic insertion site of the thyroid peroxidase promoter?Cre mouse transgene should facilitate the use of these mice in studies of thyroid biology.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140267/1/thy.2015.0215.pd

Electrocorticographic Activation Patterns of Electroencephalographic Microstates.

Electroencephalography (EEG) microstates are short successive periods of stable scalp field potentials representing spontaneous activation of brain resting-state networks. EEG microstates are assumed to mediate local activity patterns. To test this hypothesis, we correlated momentary global EEG microstate dynamics with the local temporo-spectral evolution of electrocorticography (ECoG) and stereotactic EEG (SEEG) depth electrode recordings. We hypothesized that these correlations involve the gamma band. We also hypothesized that the anatomical locations of these correlations would converge with those of previous studies using either combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-EEG or EEG source localization. We analyzed resting-state data (5 min) of simultaneous noninvasive scalp EEG and invasive ECoG and SEEG recordings of two participants. Data were recorded during the presurgical evaluation of pharmacoresistant epilepsy using subdural and intracranial electrodes. After standard preprocessing, we fitted a set of normative microstate template maps to the scalp EEG data. Using covariance mapping with EEG microstate timelines and ECoG/SEEG temporo-spectral evolutions as inputs, we identified systematic changes in the activation of ECoG/SEEG local field potentials in different frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta, and high-gamma) based on the presence of particular microstate classes. We found significant covariation of ECoG/SEEG spectral amplitudes with microstate timelines in all four frequency bands (p = 0.001, permutation test). The covariance patterns of the ECoG/SEEG electrodes during the different microstates of both participants were similar. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate distinct activation/deactivation patterns of frequency-domain ECoG local field potentials associated with simultaneous EEG microstates