Challenges and Questions Concerning “Culturally-Sensitive Design”

Since the inception of the field of anthropology, scholars have debated the definition for the word culture. Lonner and Adamapoulos (1997) note that there are 200 or more definitions of \u27culture\u27 in the literature of the social sciences, not one of which has been embraced by a substantial number of social scientists (p. 76). Strauss and Quinn (1997) provide an overview of four schools of thought regarding the interpretations of culture : Geertzian interpretivists have stressed the publicness of meaning, cognition, and culture. Foucauldian postmodernists have argued for the constructedness of culture and of the self. Some contemporary historical materialists highlight the importance of resistance to cultural meanings. Finally, many of our colleagues in cognitive and linguistic anthropology focus on the way thought and meaning are situated (emphases theirs, p. 12)

ICT International: Developing an “International Issues in ICT” Course

Given that educational or instructional technology graduate programs are preparing students to work in a highly connected, global society, faculty should seriously consider adding a course to their curriculum that specifically examines ICT integration in educational or training contexts outside of the nation in which the course is offered. Adding a course that examines international perspectives about ICT for teaching and learning would benefit all students no matter their career trajectory, as the issues to be addressed can provide them with critical perspectives within a comparative framework. This article provides a brief overview of a course that I designed for the spring 2011 semester, which was offered as a three-credit hour elective in the Boise State University’s Department of Educational Technology master’s degree program

Using Research-Based Practices to Increase Response Rates of Web-Based Surveys

An office of information technology at any institution of higher education must not only maintain and extend operations and services but also innovate. Under budgetary pressures current and future, goals for support and visioning face increased scrutiny and a demand for return on investment. Decisions, therefore, must be made based on a careful accounting of an organization’s needs — the gap between what is and what is not. Because IT staff serve constituents with a wide range of needs, however, these needs are not always easily identified. The 2008 IT budget of a midsize state university on the East Coast, shown in Figure 1, demonstrates the amount of money at stake, even though the $2.1 million budget is modest compared to the budgets of larger institutions. Decisions about where and how much money to spend cannot be left to traditional models or gut feelings. A solid understanding of needs, however conceptualized, is the critical first step in providing an IT office with data crucial for sustainable innovation, as well as helping it solve and forecast problems

Assessment and Evaluation in Online Learning

Humans are evaluative by nature. It is quite likely one of the essential characteristics of our species that has allowed us to persist for hundreds of thousands of years. Despite what might be considered our almost instinctual inclination to assess or evaluate, we do not always do it well. There are any number of examples of the wrong questions being asked, or the wrong data being collected, or the wrong analysis being conducted, or the wrong conclusions being drawn. An aphorism, perhaps especially well known to readers of this text, warns, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The maxim concerns assumptions about almost anything except books. It carries with it the notion that features other than surface ones need to be taken into account when making decisions about something—or someone. This chapter addresses how to evaluate and assess online learning in particular and how to do so in a way that is systemic and systematic. This chapter is not about how to measure student learning within an online course, as that is a separate topic entirely; however, any evaluation of online learning may well include data on student progress

From Silent Film to YouTube™ : Tracing the Historical Roots of Motion Picture Technologies in Education

This article traces the historical roots of YouTube™ and online video to examine it within the context of educational motion picture history. The current state of online video is discussed first followed by a thematic analysis of the history of educational motion pictures from silent film to YouTube. The historical literature reveals recurring themes and issues, which include: (1) the intrinsic advantages of motion picture technologies, (2) differing opinions about the benefits of film and video, and (3) access and equipment issues. Previous historical accounts fall short of addressing how these themes connect to online video. The potential future of online video is discussed in the conclusion

Establishing an Equitable and Fair Admissions System for an Online Doctoral Program

The field of educational technology has seen marked growth from just a small number of distance-based doctoral programs to nearly 20 today. Creating and sustaining a quality doctoral program of any kind requires a substantial amount of work; the additional challenges of online programs both increases and changes the nature of the efforts required. Among these challenges is creating an admissions process that treats people fairly, does not create a burdensome system for applicants or those involved in the selection process, and ensures the selection of a solid foundation of high quality candidates with whom faculty can mentor, who add value to the program, and who can benefit from the program. This paper explores common admissions requirements among institutions offering a distance or hybrid doctorate in educational technology and examines the specific admissions system used by the Department of Educational Technology at Boise State University

Open Access Journals in Educational Technology: Results of a Survey of Experienced Users

As the academic publishing industry evolves, there has been an unprecedented growth of open access journals (OAJs). In educational technology alone, with an estimated 270 associated journals, nearly one-third are designated as open. Though OAJs are lauded for what their availability can contribute to social justice issues (reduction of subscription requirement barriers), some remain suspicious of the content found in them and question the legitimacy of publishing in them. In this study, we sought to discover the opinions of educational technology scholars about OAJs in their own field. We were able to learn which OAJs were deemed to be most valuable, as well as the characteristics of OAJs thought to be particularly important

Effects of Personalization and Invitation Email Length on Web-Based Survey Response Rates

Individual strategies to increase response rate and survey completion have been extensively researched. Recently, efforts have been made to investigate a combination of interventions to yield better response rates for web-based surveys. This study examined the effects of four different survey invitation conditions on response rate. From a large metropolitan university in the West, a group of 1,598 selected students were randomly assigned to four groups, each of which received a different version of the invitation email to participate in a survey of campus technology needs. Findings show that neither the degree of personalization nor the length of the invitation email impacted survey response or completion. Additionally, the outcomes demonstrated the impact of research-based “best practices” and their impact on overall response rate

Visions of Quality Assurance in Online MBA Programs

Online MBA programs have undergone significant growth in recent years. However, quality assurance measures have not kept pace with this growth. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize aspects of quality assurance specific to Association to Advance College Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited online MBA programs. The Delphi methodology was used to facilitate a group conversation among administrators, faculty members, and instructional designers around the topic of quality assurance for online Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs over the next 3-5 years. This paper reports the results of this study and how the results will help to direct the efforts of those involved in the delivery of a quality online MBA program

Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (MOOCs): Tales from the Front Line

Very little research has been conducted about what it is like to teach a MOOC. Given this, a mixed methods study, involving a survey of 186 MOOC instructors and 15 follow-up interviews, was conducted to explore the motivation, experiences, and perceptions of instructors who have taught massive open online courses. Findings indicate that instructors were motivated to teach MOOCs for three main reasons: (1) interest and passion, (2) publicity and marketing, or (3) benefits and incentives. Most instructors had little online teaching experience prior to teaching their first MOOC, but were satisfied with the experience. The majority believed their own MOOC provided a high quality learning experience but thought that MOOCs overall might not be as good as face-to-face courses. Concerns were raised about the future of MOOCs for online learning