Increasing Participation in Distance Learning Courses

Web-based discussion forums are key tools in online education environments. Extant studies have shown that active participation helps drive the success of these forums. The integrated participation evaluation tool (iPET) is a Web-based application combining social network analysis and visualization to enable distance learning instructors and students to improve their participation in online discourse and so improve their overall learning experience. An analysis of the results obtained in a study using iPET in a distance learning context shows that iPET increases participation and motivation in distance learning courses without increasing facilitator workload     

The importance of personality in students’ perceptions of the online learning experience

The current research examined the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and five specific types of online course impressions (engagement, value to career, overall evaluation, anxiety/frustration, and preference for online courses). Results revealed that conscientiousness was the most consistent predictor of an individual’s impressions of online courses. Specifically, conscientiousness was significantly related with each of the five online course impressions studied. In addition, agreeableness and openness were both positively related with the perceived value of online courses to one’s career. Work experience was positively associated with engagement, value to career, and overall evaluation, and negatively associated with anxiety/frustration. Undergraduates reported stronger preferences for online courses than did graduate students, and married students reported lower levels of anxiety/frustration with online courses. Results are interpreted with the intent of providing an enhanced understanding of the importance of personality in students’ impressions of the online learning experience.     

Does Anyone Need Help Out There?

SUMMARY

In order to provide online help for distance students, as well as the increasing number of on-campus students who regularly access library resources, a team of librarians from the Marshall University Libraries created an online library assistance site (HELP). This site brings together traditional print handouts, FAQs, online subject guides, course-specific guides, learning modules, and instructional videos in one central location where users can get assistance with library-related questions at their point of need. This article discusses the rationale for developing the site, the process of creating it and incorporating user input, ongoing content development, the impact upon the Libraries' Web site, and future development plans.     

Prompting authentic blogging practice in an online graduate course

Blogging is characterized by an individual exploration of ideas of personal interest through frequent online posts, documenting ideas as they emerge over time. Community emerges as bloggers read and link across blogs, based on shared interests. Blogs have gained acceptance in higher education for a variety of instructional activities, among which, reflective journal writing is popular. In this study, we examine a project in which blogs were implemented within an online graduate course in order to create opportunities for students to reflect on their academic, professional and personal interests, with the goal of establishing consistent blogging that exhibits the timely, frequent and interest-driven practices of blogging practices outside educational contexts. Students enrolled in an online graduate course maintained individual blogs in which they were prompted to write about their interests and experiences as graduate students. Through an analysis of the patterns of prompt use and blog content, as well as data from a post-course survey and an online discussion, we explore how to support student engagement with blogging practice within an educational setting. Findings suggest that frequency of writing, topic resonance with the students own interests, and the timeliness of entries were key factors in scaffolding writing that aligns with blogging practice. By focusing on writing as characterized by authentic blogging practice, this study contributes to an understanding of how to harness the unique communicative elements of the blog in post-secondary settings.     

Students’ perceptions of collaboration, self-regulated learning, and information seeking in the context of Internet-based learning and traditional learning

This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of three aspects of learning - collaboration, self-regulated learning (SRL), and information seeking (IS) in both Internet-based and traditional face-to-face learning contexts. A multi-dimensional questionnaire was designed to evaluate each aspect in terms of perceived capability, experience, and interest. The analyses explore (1) potential differences of students’ perceptions between Internet-based and face-to-face learning environments and (2) potential differences in the three aspects in relation to learners’ attributes and the use of the Internet and enrollment in online courses. This study surveyed students in a higher education institute who had had experiences with Internet-based and face-to-face learning. The results showed that students perceived higher levels of collaboration (capability only), SRL (capability and experience) and IS (capability, interest, and experience) in Internet-based learning than in traditional learning environments. In terms of students’ education level, graduate students perceived higher levels of capabilities and interests in some of the aspects, than undergraduate students. In addition, for Internet-based learning, significant differences in collaboration and SRL were found derived from time spent on the Internet related to learning; and students’ perceptions of collaboration, SRL, and IS were all positively correlated to students’ online course-taking experience. Implications for online learning practices and instructor’s facilitation are discussed.     

Peer interaction: the experience of distance students at university level

This study investigates how university students on distance learning courses experience interaction with their peers. Students on two distance learning courses at The Open University (UK) were interviewed, to investigate learners' experience of interaction on these courses. The analysis, using a grounded‐theory approach, reveals disparities between course designers' and students' reasons for integrating computer‐mediated interaction within the courses. It draws attention to the significant affective challenges that online students face when working together, and demonstrates a need to pay attention to their problems with self‐presentation. The study also reinforces the socio‐cultural view that it is important to consider the various contexts in which online learning takes place. Distance students have opportunities to structure their own learning contexts, and this allows them to source face‐to‐face learning interaction and other forms of support as they engage with individuals in their everyday environment.     

Sharing and cultivating tacit knowledge in an online learning environment

Research on knowledge cultivation often focuses on explicit forms of knowledge. However, knowledge can also take a tacit form—a form that is often difficult or impossible to tease out, even when it is considered critical in an educational context. A review of the literature revealed that few studies have examined tacit knowledge issues in online learning environments. The purpose of this study was to develop a greater understanding of the conditions and processes that help promote the sharing or cultivation of tacit knowledge in a formal online course setting. Using naturalistic inquiry as the methodology of this study, an online graduate business course offered at a private, non-profit United States-based university was purposively selected as the research site. The study found that the online course encouraged processes and created conditions consistent with Nonaka‘s model of knowledge creation and the concept of ba (or shared context)—encouraging students to share, and to construct knowledge through socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. The results suggest that purposefully developing a ba-like environment may be a useful approach to facilitating online learning, creating a strong potential to support learning processes necessary for students to cultivate tacit knowledge.     

Cui bono?: Revisiting the promises and perils of online learning

We chronicle—in both an historical and bibliographic framework—the discussion of rhetorics of empowerment and disempowerment throughout the last 15 years, and we also examine the promises and perils of current trends in online teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on the role of universities in promoting distance education. This article addresses the question cui bono?, or who benefits, from the rush to technologize teaching and learning? We address the extent to which the continued rush to technologize teaching and learning is a perilous return to a rhetoric of empowerment that as compositionists we must continue to interrogate critically; we question how, in an era of 24/7 learning, students may or may not benefit and also how teachers may lose out, based on the increased workload and course management surrounding online learning.     

Comparison between on- and off-campus behaviour and adaptability in online learning: A case from China

More and more universities and colleges are providing online courses not only for on-campus students but also for off-campus students. Tutors have to consider the differences between on- and off-campus students in order to improve effective instruction. Comparisons are made in this paper between on- and off-campus performances in online learning from four areas: learning time, path of browsing courseware, intercommunication and adaptability towards online learning. The last two areas are emphasized. Multiple approaches were adopted to collect data, which include questionnaires, posted documents, online logs, interviews and observations. This study shows that the rush time of online learning, paths of browsing courseware and favourite intercommunication means of on- and off-campus students are similar. But there are also some differences between these two groups such as competence of self-learning, enthusiasm of interpersonal exchange, dependence on tutors, feeling of learning stress, etc.     

Influence of group configuration on online discourse writing

This study examines the impact of different strategies for grouping students in online, discourse-intensive distance education courses. The mixed methods research focused on note writing productivity (based on 366 participants in 25 classes) and participants' perceptions (12 graduate students and 10 instructors) relating to three different class configurations (large whole class, small whole class, large class divided into subgroups). Each configuration exhibited advantages and disadvantages in terms of supporting note writing, however, the data analyses suggested that the advantages for writing in subgroups outweighed those of the other two conditions. Splitting larger classes into smaller subgroups appears to reduce information overload and encourages more focused, in-depth discussions. The research concludes with a list of pedagogical recommendations and suggests new software features that may help learning within specific group configurations. This study may have implications for both practitioners and researchers who wish to promote more fruitful online discussions.     

Investigating the relationships among instructional strategies and learning styles in online environments

This exploratory study tests the assertion that instructional strategies that match field-dependence status of students are most effective. The study conducted with 12 graduate students registered in a graduate level online course. An online version of the Psychological Differentiation Inventory was used to measure the field-dependence status of students. Students’ perceived learning outcomes, their effort and involvement, and level of interaction that they perceived in online course module were measured through an online questionnaire. Results suggested that matches between students’ learning styles and instructional strategies did not affect learner perception of their own learning outcomes, level of effort and involvement, and level of interactions in the course. Data also indicated that no single instructional strategy, among three instructional strategies tested, emerged as superior for high and low field-dependent online students.     

Creating a community of inquiry in online environments: An exploratory study on the effect of a protocol on interactions within asynchronous discussions

The purpose of our research was to examine the influence of an online protocol on asynchronous discussions. A mixed-methods study compared two online graduate classes: one that used a protocol and one that did not use a protocol for the same discussion about a complex reading. Analysis of the data revealed that the online protocol more evenly distributed the presence of cognitive, social, and teaching elements necessary to create and sustain an online community of inquiry. Use of the protocol also promoted more shared group cognition and more student ownership of the discussion and empowered students to facilitate themselves, helping to reduce the instructor workload. These findings may enable educators to provide more dynamic interaction and richer learning experiences in asynchronous online environments.     

Investigating critical success factors in online learning environments in higher education systems in the Caribbean*

ABSTRACT

Online learning has grown as a key method in education management over the last couple of decades. Studies have shown that significant investments in this technology are being made by universities, yet the full benefits expected have not been realized due to issues and challenges experienced by stakeholders such as learners and instructors in adopting and effectively using e-learning. This is especially true in developing economies where they may be attempting online delivery modes for the first time. In this study, we explore the question “What are the factors that influence university students’ adoption and use of an e-learning system in the context of the English-speaking Caribbean?” using an extended technology acceptance model framework. Partial least squares analysis was used to test the derived research model and found that critical success factors influencing students’ perception and use in online learning settings, particularly those within a developing economy conditions, include supportive cultural practices, access to computers, system or online environment availability, computer and online learning self-efficacy, user perception of usefulness and ease of use. These results have significant implications for university executives and policy-makers as they consider adopting online learning delivery modalities for users.     

Adaptive feedback generation to support teachers in web-based distance education

This work examines the application of user-adapted technologies to address problems experienced in web-based distance education. We have proposed an approach to support distance learning instructors by offering advice that points at problems faced by students and suggests possible activities to address these problems. The paper describes an original feedback generation framework which utilises student, group and class models derived from tracking data in web course management systems, and follows a taxonomy of feedback categories to recognise situations that are brought to the instructors’ attention. The results of an empirical study in an online learning course point at benefits of the generated feedback to both instructors and students. Teachers can get a better understanding of their students by knowing what problems they may be facing, when they are behind or ahead of their peers, who can help them and how, and what roles can be assigned in discussion forums. This, in turn, can have a positive effect on students who can receive feedback tailored to their needs and problems. The evaluation study points at issues that can be related in general to planning empirical evaluations of user-adapted systems in realistic web-based learning settings.     

Online class size, note reading, note writing and collaborative discourse

Researchers have long recognized class size as affecting students?? performance in face-to-face contexts. However, few studies have examined the effects of class size on exact reading and writing loads in online graduate-level courses. This mixed-methods study examined relationships among class size, note reading, note writing, and collaborative discourse by analyzing tracking logs from 25 graduate-level online courses (25 instructors and 341 students) and interviews with 10 instructors and 12 graduate students. The quantitative and qualitative data analyses were designed to complement each other. The findings from this study point to class size as a major factor affecting note reading and writing loads in online graduate-level courses. Class size was found positively correlated with total number of notes students and instructors read and wrote, but negatively correlated with the percentage of notes students read, their note size and note grade level score. In larger classes, participants were more likely to experience information overload and students were more selective in reading notes. The data also suggest that the overload effects of large classes can be minimized by dividing students into small groups for discussion purposes. Interviewees felt that the use of small groups in large classes benefited their collaborative discussions. Findings suggested 13 to 15 as an optimal class size. The paper concludes with a list of pedagogical recommendations and suggestions for new multimedia software features to enhance collaborative learning in online classes.     

Librarian Participation in the Online Classroom

SUMMARY

As distance education courses increasingly move to the online environment, librarians are discovering new challenges and opportunities for reaching distant students. Collaboration with faculty is essential in reaching students who may never enter the library building. One such method of collaboration is librarian participation in online courses through “lurking” in Blackboard and Desire2Learn classrooms and monitoring discussion threads devoted to library research. Advantages such as improved access to students, course content, and assessment data are discussed, as are disadvantages, such as time commitment, varying expectations, and privacy issues. Considerations for librarians interested in “lurking” are outlined.     

Procrastination,participation, and performance in online learning environments

The present study focuses on a specific learner characteristic in the management of time – procrastination-, and its role in an online learning environment. More specifically, it was expected that procrastination would influence the successfulness of online learning and that this could be explained by the level of participation of learners in discussion forums. A study was conducted to test this hypothesis among a sample of learners taking a 10-week course on environmental and land use issues. As predicted, a negative relationship was found between procrastination and performance, and this relationship was mediated by the level of the learners’ participation in discussion forums. In other words, it appears that if high procrastinators are less successful online learners than low procrastinators, it is partly due to their lack of participation in discussion forums during the learning process. Additionally, some behavioral differences between high and low procrastinators were found in the times they decided to (re)start working at a distance, felt motivated to work on their course, and felt like dropping out of the course. To conclude, some practical implications for tutoring online activities and for stimulating participation in online learning environments have been proposed.     

Pedagogical lurking: Student engagement in non-posting discussion behavior

This paper presents the results of a study of student non-posting participation behavior in two online classes. Most often active message is assessed and thus implicitly valued in online class discussion, but the act of writing messages is not the only factor that contributes to student learning. However, it is the most visible and easiest to measure. Students may engage in processes of reading and reflection on the discussion board, not leaving their mark; it is these acts that may be referred to as pedagogical lurking. In this study, students were asked to self-report their non-visible course activities, the reasons behind these activities and their perceived usefulness related to learning. Findings show that about half of the students felt that they learned through the online discussion experience, and that they believe both posting and reading messages contributed to their ability to learn. These students were likely to enter the discussion before posting to obtain a model for participation, and to return at a later time to check for replies and reflect. Students who participated solely to meet course requirements and who focused on posting messages more than reading messages had less positive impressions of the discussion activity’s impact on learning.     

How to mitigate the significant negative influence of computer anxiety on ease of use perceptions

Contemporary research into virtual learning embraces the concept that the constraints of time and place of study are eliminated. The potential market it could therefore encapsulate is phenomenal and the subsequent changes that threaten to ricochet through the higher education sector can be described as evolutionary. Whilst concurrently being an incredibly exciting prospect for future learners, online learning is also making the traditional 'bricks and mortar' higher education establishment extremely uneasy, arousing fears of global competition, which would evoke a need for transformational change. The UK has embraced technology to support virtual learning across the whole tertiary education sector. There is an implicit assumption that the provision of systems to support remote, independent learners will provide learner-centred environments for all to access. This may not be the case as evidenced by O'Donoghue et al . (2001), amongst others. This paper aims to examine the possible metamorphosis of the organizational structure of the higher education system, and the methods university administrators and lecturers will need to use to adapt to this. Through considering the impact on students, an analysis will be made of the extent of the threat that distance learning imposes on the traditional campus. The work centres on the UK experience, but draws heavily on the opportunities, threats and promises of globalize learning paradigms.