Social Presence, Identity, and Online Learning Research: Research Development and Needs

Scholars across many disciplines have grappled with questions of what it means for a person to be and interact online. Who are we when we go online? How do others know we are there and how do they perceive us? Within the context of online learning, scholarly questions tend to reflect more specific concerns focused on how well people can learn in a setting limited to mediated interactions lacking various communication cues. For example, how can a teacher and students come to know each other if they cannot see each other? How can they effectively understand and communicate with each other if they are separated by space and, in many instances, time? These concerns are related to issues of social presence and identity, both of which are complex, multi-faceted, closely interrelated constructs

Virtual Enhancement to Physical Spaces: A QR Code Based Orientation Game

University orientations are typically passive events for students, with activities that include sitting and listening to speakers and perhaps talking to others seated nearby. In this project, the authors sought to provide a more active and collaborative component to a university orientation via a team-based game that incorporated content included in a typical orientation and modeled appropriate instructional technology use. This mobile orientation game used QR codes and videos to augment the physical environment of an academic building. This paper describes the design and development process for this game, and presents the results of an evaluation conducted at the end. The game, which lasted an hour, both helped players learn more about the people and key locations within the new program they were joining and, most importantly, helped participants meet and interact with their new peers prior to the beginning of classes

Systematic Reviews of Research on Online Learning: An Introductory Look and Review

In this introduction to the special issue on systematic reviews of research on online learning, we introduce the need for systematic reviews on online learning. Utilizing a three-tier lens focusing on systems, pedagogical, and people levels, we have selected nine articles for this issue. At the systems level, there are two articles that focus on research trends during COVID-19, and features of high-quality online learning. At the pedagogical level, five articles were included that address online learner collaboration, help-seeking strategies, intersubjectivity, invisible participation, and online assessment. Finally, at the people level, there are two articles. The first focuses on online learning for minoritized and first-generation students. The second examines moderators in asynchronous online discussions. This introductory article provides a short summary of the nine articles and concludes with implications for practitioners and researchers on using and conducting systematic reviews on various topics in online learning

College Students, Networked Knowledge Activities, and Digital Competence

Amid the landscape of digital literacies and frameworks is a common assumption that contemporary youth, frequently dubbed “digital natives,” intuitively understand and use online technologies. While their use of these technologies may be frequent and highly skilled in some respects (e.g., communicating with friends), their use and abilities in other areas, such as those valued in school settings and the workforce, may differ. This survey of 350 college students examines how they use an array of online platforms for everyday life information-seeking purposes, including the frequency with which they engage in different networked knowledge activities. Findings show that while students often use platforms associated with personal networking, such as Instagram, professional platforms like LinkedIn are less commonly used. Students are much more likely to engage in passive online activities than active ones. In particular, skills related to tagging, writing, and creation are infrequently used. Additionally, about half of these college students do not believe social media, which fosters these networked knowledge activities, is relevant to their careers. These findings show opportunities for better developing college students’ digital skill sets, with guidance for skills that might be targeted, taught together, and supported through learning activities in online spaces to prepare college students for digital information tasks in the workplace

Online Learning and Bloom's Taxonomy

This webinar, published by the Center for Workforce Development, is part of a series on technology and instructional issues. In this presentation, Dr. Venessa Dennen presents on how Bloom’s Taxonomy can help guide the selection and design of online learning activities. Dennen begins with an introduction to online learning concerns, explores learner interactions, highlights Bloom's Taxonomy, and considers online learning activity design. Dennen concludes with ideas for how to support learners as they attain lower, middle, and higher order learning outcomes. A Q&A follows the presentation. The webinar recording runs 59:29 minutes in length

FACEBOOK, “FRIENDS,” AND THE HIGHER EDUCATION CLASSROOM: STUDENT PREFERENCES AND ATTITUDES

This study explores student preferences and attitudes related to using Facebook in a higher education setting. The research questions guiding this study are:1. What are college students preferences regarding Facebook use in a class setting?2. What are college students preferences regarding Facebook friendship with their instructors?Participants in this descriptive study were 169 students at a large public university in the United States. They completed an online survey about their Facebook use habits and beliefs in an educational context. The majority of survey respondents were female (88%), held undergraduate status (95%) in the College of Education (62%), were current Facebook users (95%), and ranged in age from 19 to 62

Boundaries, Privacy, and Social Media Use in Higher Education: What do Students Think, Want, and Do?

In this study, we examine university students’ beliefs and behaviors related to social media, identity, and boundaries in a higher education context. Findings suggest a complex and at times contradictory relationship between students and social media, in which they enjoy free access to information about and contributed by other people and freely share about themselves in a social or personal context, but are reticent to be active contributors in an academic context. Although students seek information about their instructors online, they do not believe that instructors might reciprocate. In contrast to a common assumption, they do not want to use social media in their coursework and prefer to restrict both their communication with instructors and coursework to private tools and settings