Foreword: Implementing Adaptive Learning at Scale

What follows is the second of now two Specials Issues of the CIEE journal to have been produced and guest edited by the Personalized Learning Consortium (PLC) of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). Both special issues feature important research resulting from university initiatives to launch, implement and scale up the use of adaptive courseware and the strategies of adaptive learning. The Personalized Learning Consortium has been working with institutions for more than five years to improve student success in high enrollment undergraduate courses. Using a combination of active learning and adaptive courseware, many universities are reporting higher passing rates but also more equitable outcomes. In this issue, we share five papers that discuss how and why higher education institutions have incorporated adaptive courseware and learning into high enrollment general education courses. The papers also provide detailed examples of levels of success achieved

Developing an example-based faculty training course

The course detailed in this presentation is based upon the principle of placing the new faculty member in the role of a student. Typical students are motivated and they are adults. We tell students, up-front, the course is completely asynchronous and that they must be prepared to logon and participate in course activities five out of seven days every week (this simulates how they should manage their own future classrooms). Active participation counts for 30 to 40% of the credit earned for successful course completion

An Investigation of Traditionally-Aged College Students\u27 Perceptions of the Community of Inquiry

Online learning courses are taken by nearly 31% of college students (Allen & Seaman, 2011). The majority of those enrolled in online learning are graduate and non-traditional undergraduate students. Survey data from multiple sources show a growing number of traditional students enrolling in online courses or online only universities. There is a lack of information about younger college students enrolling in online courses and those attending online only institutions. Without more research on the perceptions of this population, it is difficult to design an effective online learning environment. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has been used as a process model that defines, describes and measures the tasks supporting online learning. The core elements are the three overlapping presences of teaching, social and cognitive and the interrelationships among those presences. Through more than a decade of work on the framework, a methodology and survey instrument emerged for studying the potential and effectiveness of online learning. Will younger college students enrolling today perceive the CoI framework and the presences from the model, the same way that non-traditional students have in the last decade? Most CoI studies sample non-traditional adults aged 25 and older. American Public University System (APUS) is a for-profit online only institution which publishes research studies that contribute to the growing number of CoI studies available. In the last four years APUS has provided large samples to validate the CoI model and investigate how CoI relates to retention and course design. The limited purpose of the research is to determine whether the CoI framework and its current results, is applicable to a select group of traditional students aged 21 and under who enroll in only online courses APUS. Through an exploratory study using statistical tests including a factorial analysis, the first sample population (n=2,019) consisted of students\u27, 21 and under, responses to the CoI questionnaire and the second sample (n=125,039) was the responses of students older than 21. The samples were compared to determine if there was any significant difference between the perceptions of non-traditional and younger college students on the CoI model. Results indicated that the comparative means of the two populations are highly correlated at .924 but the p value is .000 at the 95% confidence interval. The two populations are different. A factor analysis showed that both samples perceived a three factor solution. The total variance explained was very similar for both samples. For the students who were 21 and under, the three factors accounted for 77.16% of the total and for the older students, three factors accounted for 74.17% of the total. The factor analysis results from the younger students also show that each item from the questionnaire is associated with the appropriate factor. The factor analysis results correspond to previous validated research conducted on the CoI model. The results continue to support the validity of the CoI model, but the differences in the populations are significant. The significance tests are useful but may not be as meaningful as the factor analysis due to the size of the samples. This research adds to the body of knowledge on the CoI model, a dominant theory that describes what learners perceive in an online environment. The results inform the understanding of the CoI model as it applies to younger college learners\u27 perceptions of an effective online learning environment

Introduction: Analytics Research And Case Studies In Online Learning

We are pleased to present this Online Learning Journal special issue devoted to learning analytics for online teaching and learning. The nine papers contained here provide a range of information including reviewing the literature, examining frameworks in development, presenting a large scale analysis on the effectiveness of learning modalities from the PAR Framework, examining an international study of learning, and providing real-world learning analytics case studies on transfer, facilitation, and medical education. Each of these papers provides new and informative research that we hope can help readers make decisions about applying analytics within the context of their own online teaching and learning environments. While research studies on analytics are beginning to populate journals and conferences, many of those articles are aimed at a more limited audience of researchers. This collection of articles presents readers with information about designing environments within online learning while also highlighting studies that expand upon what exists in currently published research. The authors here represent a significant contribution to practical decision making for administrators, insights for faculty teaching online courses, and works for other researchers to build upon

INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE ON OER AND ONLINE FOR INTERNATIONAL, RURAL, AND HARD-TO-REACH POPULATIONS

This special issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks on Online Learning and Open Educational Resources (OER) for International, Rural & Hard-to-Reach Populations is a compilation of projects spurred by global changes and needs in education. Extending knowledge and education to masses through internet technologies has flourished for the last 15 years. The reach of online education is just beginning to penetrate international and rural populations. OER plus online learning are a powerful set of tools that extend reach and lower costs [1]. This special issue showcases projects and trends which, when combined, are changing the scope and reach of education

Designing Corporate Training in Developing Economies Using Open Educational Resources

The Food Safety Knowledge Network (FSKN) is a collaboration between Consumer Goods Forum (CGF—formerly known as Global Food Safety Initiative) and Michigan State University. FSKN’s goal is to help strengthen the food industry’s response to the complex food safety knowledge and training challenges that affect emerging markets by providing access to free learning resources. The resources were built to be available on demand and as a structured learning experience which can support face to face training and fully online training. The pilots thus far have shown a clear increase in participant’s knowledge. The paper will share the processes used to set up an efficient open educational resources including understanding licensing, using open software, establishing competencies and working with corporate and other international partners

Access to Communication for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and ESL Students in Blended Learning Courses

In an effort to better understand student perceptions of communication in blended (online and traditional) learning courses, a 22 item questionnaire was developed and sent to all students registered for these courses at a large technology-focused college during three quarters of instruction. The respondents were divided into four groups: 1) hearing, 2) deaf, 3) hard-of-hearing (D/HH), and 3) English as a second language (ESL). Their perceptions of communication and the blended learning experience were examined. While the hearing and ESL students were positive about blended learning, the findings indicated that deaf and hard-of-hearing students reported that both the quality and quantity of their interactions with the professor and other students was greatly improved by the inclusion of an online component. ESL and hearing students were also positive about the blended experience; but the greatest benefit to communication access was observed by students with a hearing loss

Access to Communication for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and ESL Students in Blended Learning Courses

In an effort to better understand student perceptions of communication in blended (online and traditional) learning courses, a 22 item questionnaire was developed and sent to all students registered for these courses at a large technology-focused college during three quarters of instruction. The respondents were divided into four groups: 1) hearing, 2) deaf, 3) hard-of-hearing (D/HH), and 3) English as a second language (ESL). Their perceptions of communication and the blended learning experience were examined. While the hearing and ESL students were positive about blended learning, the findings indicated that deaf and hard-of-hearing students reported that both the quality and quantity of their interactions with the professor and other students was greatly improved by the inclusion of an online component. ESL and hearing students were also positive about the blended experience; but the greatest benefit to communication access was observed by students with a hearing loss