Optimizing Instructional Video for Preservice Teachers in an Online Technology Integration Course

This study assessed the effect of design instructional video based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning by applying segmentation and signaling on the learning outcome of students in an online technology integration course. The study assessed the correlation between students’ personal preferences (preferred learning styles and area of specialization) and their learning outcomes. A three-group pretest–posttest design was employed to assess whether there were significant differences in students’ test scores after they watched an instructional video. The results of the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) analysis indicate that instructional design had a significant effect on students’ learning outcome. This effect was demonstrated by the statistically significant differences in students’ learning outcomes, with the highest scores achieved by students in the segmented and signaled video group and the lowest scores in the no-segmentation and no-signaling group. Moreover, results indicate that students’ learning preferences and area of specialization related significantly and positively to their learning outcomes. These findings suggest that the use of educational video in online courses has the potential to effectively improve students’ learning outcome; however, it requires design manipulation. The results also emphasize the importance of rethinking the one-size-fits-all approach in developing online course content and include consideration of the students’ learning preferences and area of specialization to optimize their learning.     

如何确保在线直播课程的教学成效?——以疫情期间在线直播课程的学习环境和学习内容设计为例

如何确保在线直播课程的教学成效,是当下在线教学亟待解决的问题。文章以师范生“中职课程设计与开发”课程为例,遵循学生中心、行动导向、工作过程导向和工作成果导向的基本理念,借鉴探究社区模型理论和学习环境设计相关理论,结合行动导向教学的要求,从学习环境(物理环境、心理环境)、学习内容(学习任务、学习活动)两方面展开在线直播课程设计,以提升学生的学习体验和学习参与度,确保在线直播课程的学习成效。文章的研究可为在线直播教学和混合学习的教学设计实践提供参考,并有助于推动教学改革。     

Serious game‐based and nongame‐based online courses: Learning experiences and outcomes

When combining the increasing use of online educational environments, the push to use serious video games and the lack of research on the effectiveness of online learning environments and video games, there is a clear need for further investigation into the use of serious video games in an online format. A mix methods model was used to triangulate statistical and qualitative findings on student performance, completion time, student intrinsic motivation, as well as desirable, undesirable, helpful and hindering aspects of serious game‐based and nongame‐based courses. Students in the game‐based course were found to have performed significantly better and to have taken significantly longer. Students and teachers in the game‐based course provided more reasons for student motivation along with more desirable, more helpful and less hindering aspects compared to students and teachers in the non‐game‐based course. In addition, students and teachers in both courses provided an equal number of undesirable aspects. The results from this study inform instructional designers, teachers, education stakeholders and educational game designers by providing research‐based evidence related to the learning experiences and outcomes of the serious game‐based online course.     

Chickering's Seven Principles of Good Practice: Student Attrition in Community College Online Courses

As online enrollments escalate, so does concern about student attrition rates. There is an abundance of literature addressing student success in online courses, particularly using constructivist learning theories to create engaging learning experiences. Also emerging from the literature is the Seven principles of good instructional practice by Checkering and Gamson as an accepted rubric for evaluating effective online instruction. This study focused on whether the use of instructional strategies as measured by the seven principles had an effect on student attrition rates in online courses. Full and part-time faculty at three community colleges in Virginia who taught online course(s) in the last three semesters completed an online survey to determine the extent to which they used instructional strategies reflecting the constructivist-based seven principles in their online courses. Scores from the survey were then compared to the attrition rates in their courses. Results indicated both groups strongly used instructional strategies reflecting the seven principles of good practice in their online courses with full-time faculty scores ranging a bit higher. When the results for the principles were examined individually rather than as a set, both groups scored lower on principles reflecting innovative instructional strategies. No relation between the extent to which faculty reported using those instructional strategies and student success as measured by attrition rates were found. However, a moderate relation was found with the third principle, “encourage active learning.” This indicated that faculty who made strides toward actively engaging students found some success in reducing student attrition.     

Making the Decision to Provide Enhanced Podcasts to Post-Secondary Science Students

Providing students with supplementary course materials such as audio podcasts, enhanced podcasts, video podcasts and other forms of lecture-capture video files after a lecture is now a common occurrence in many post-secondary courses. We used an online questionnaire to ask students how helpful enhanced podcasts were for a variety of course activities and how important having access to the enhanced podcasts was in their decision to miss classes. Student responses from two courses, one introductory and one advanced, were compared. Students in the introductory Genetics course reported that having access to enhanced podcasts was “very important” in their decision to miss class more often (39%) than those in the advanced Microbiology course (20%). They also reported missing more classes than students in the advanced course. Students in both courses found the enhanced podcasts helpful for a range of learning activities. First year students who missed just a few classes and those who missed many classes both found the enhanced podcasts to be very helpful for learning activities. We argue that creating these resources is a good choice for instructors irrespective of the level of the course they teach and that the potential value of these resources, particularly for first year students, outweighs any impact that having access to supplementary enhanced podcasts of the lectures may have on class attendance.     

Assimilation in Online Course Design

As online education continues to grow, instructors from traditional classrooms are being asked to design online courses. In this study, data from interviews with thirty-three public four-year college and university instructors, who had experience designing online courses, were used to understand the instructor’s perspective on online course design. Using grounded theory, data were analyzed, sorted, and coded to uncover the strategies instructors use to design online courses. Results revealed instructors adapt to the online environment by using strategies to mimic elements of face-to-face courses: in essence, adaption comes through assimilation. Instructors expressed interest in helping students navigate online to encourage active participation in courses. They described using technology and learning management system (LMS) features (e.g., videos, discussion forums) to “hear” and “see” students, as a way to increase interaction and presence, familiar elements from face-to-face education. They spoke of creating authentic assignments to increase student engagement. The implications of this study include effective design and instructional strategies for online courses, as well as understanding the motivation of instructors who design online courses. The study results are relevant to a broad audience including online instructors, instructional designers, LMS organizations, and administrators.     

Impact of Personality on Choice of Instructional Delivery and Students’ Performance

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to investigate how college students’ personality characteristics relate to their choice of instructional delivery (online or face-to-face) and whether this choice mediates the relationship between personality and academic performance. One hundred eighty-eight undergraduate students were given a choice between taking the same general education course online or face-to-face. Students completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) upon the conclusion of this course. Using a Bayesian regression course modeling framework, we found that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were related to the choice of instructional delivery. Students scoring higher on Conscientiousness and lower on Agreeableness tended to choose the online environment. Conscientiousness also was a direct predictor of academic achievement regardless of the course environment. These results suggest that in order to find the best fit between student and the learning environment, it is important to identify personality characteristics indicative of success in online and traditional face-to-face courses to help students to become more efficient learners and assist faculty in designing quality courses to meet students’ needs.     

Are they the same? Comparing the instructional quality of online and face‐to‐face graduate education courses

As instructors adopt web‐based learning environments, they must consider how students’ evaluations of learning reflect the overall quality of instruction. Traditional course evaluations are used for faculty retention, tenure and promotion decisions, but also provide instructors with valuable information on the quality of their instruction. This study looks at response rates and compares instructional quality, using student course evaluations along with additional data from online and face‐to‐face graduate education courses, to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. A statistical analysis of students’ course evaluations showed no significant difference in instructional quality based on the format used. Together with comparisons of student work, these results provide additional evidence in support of the finding of no significant difference between formats in the area of instructional quality.     

Online Education from the Perspective of Community College Students within the Community of Inquiry Paradigm

This article describes a qualitative inquiry that explored the phenomenon of online learning on a community college campus within the paradigm of Community of Inquiry (CoI). The learning experience of 15 community college students taking fully online courses was examined in-depth for evidence of social, cognitive, and instructional domains identified by CoI as critical components for the facilitation of a meaningful learning experience in computer-mediated environments. Findings conveyed suppressed social, cognitive, and teaching presence; and as a result, a meaningful learning experience was not achieved for the participants. Additionally, first-time online learners manifested a unique learning experience that warrants further investigation. Findings from this study raise questions about the pedagogical soundness of fully online courses for community college students. Future research should examine online learning as a distinct pedagogy and focus more intently on the teaching and learning process.     

数据驱动在线公选课程教学效果评价实证研究

在线公选课程参与学生数多、涉及面广,在人才培养中发挥了重要作用,但在线课程教学过程中教师和学生时空分离使得教师及管理人员无法直接观察学生的学习状况。解决这一问题的有效途径之一是通过采集和分析学生的在线学习数据,利用数据驱动方法实现在线课程教学评价与管理。本文利用某在线课程平台的学生学习实际数据进行了实证研究,结果表明学生对不同类别在线公选课程的偏好程度差异较大,学生在线公选课程的成绩分布明显偏离正态分布,在线公选课程的考核有效性有待提升,以进一步提高在线课程教学效果。     

网络精品课程建设的标准要求与开发策略

评价网络教育课程质量不能只看网上资源,而应全面衡量课程的教学设计、教学资源、教学过程和教学效果.网络课程的基本要求突出表现在:适于学生自主学习、准确呈现学习内容、便于开展师生交互、设计有效学习活动等四个方面;开发与设计网络精品课程,要掌握课程设计和教学分析方法,精心设计课程内容和表现形式,运用教学策略激发学生的学习兴趣,重视导学、助学与促学的设计,规范设计程序和发挥课程组作用.     

Assessment worlds colliding? Negotiating between discourses of assessment on an online open course

Abstract

Using the badged open course, Taking your first steps into Higher Education, this case study examines how assessment on online open courses draws on concepts of assessment used within formal and informal learning. Our experience was that assessment used within open courses, such as massive open online courses, is primarily determined by the requirements of quality assurance processes to award a digital badge or statement of participation as well as what is technologically possible. However, this disregards much recent work in universities that use assessment in support of learning. We suggest that designers of online open courses should pay greater attention to the relationship of assessment and learning to improve participant course completion.     

Designing effective video teletraining instruction: The Florida Teletraining Project

The Florida Teletraining Project was an evaluation study that sought to test the feasibility of providing various military courses to the Reserve Components using community college personnel. Delivery was via a two-way interactive system, TNET, one of the Army's teletraining networks. Five courses were delivered and evaluated in the project. This article describes the course design requirements used to develop the interactive video courseware for the project. It also presents the results of the performance tests and reactions of the students and some of the instructional personnel to the instructional methods used in the courses. Results showed that all students passed the performance tests (consistent with the U.S. Army's mastery requirements) and over 90% passed on the first attempt. Students and instructional personnel were positive about the strategies that were designed for the video teletraining courses. They rated the learning methods, including the interactivity provided, to be useful and effective.     

A phenomenology of learning large: the tutorial sphere of xMOOC video lectures

The current discourse surrounding Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is powerful. Despite their rapid and widespread deployment, research has yet to confirm or refute some of the bold claims rationalizing the popularity and efficacy of these large-scale virtual learning environments. Also, MOOCs’ reputed disruptive, game-changing potential for education remains unsubstantiated. A sober counterbalance is needed, in particular, via attending to students’ everyday accounts of the complex realities of learning in these massive online courses. This article reports on an exploratory, phenomenological study of the xMOOC learning experience. Our interest was not the xMOOC experience of students in general, but in its singular, lived particularities. What we discovered was a unique and intimate tutorial sphere that seemed to develop for some xMOOC students in the context of the video lectures, an experience sometimes marked by a sense of fandom surround.     

网络教学发展模式的理论构建与应用

教育信息化已经成为世界各国继续教育发展的方向,网络教学日益成为继续教育的重要教学传递模式。国家教育部2012年的《教育信息化十年发展规划》明确提出信息化技术与教育深度融合的要求,为学习者提供方便、灵活、个性化的学习环境。如何实现信息技术和继续教育的深度融合,关键是发展和采用有效的网络教学模式。从理论阐述上,笔者提出这一网络教学模式的基本框架,其组成包括网络学习平台、网络学习课程、网络导学和支持、网络教学管理以及质量保证体系。香港大学教师进修学院对这一网络教学模式的应用实践效果明显。学院于1999年开发了第一个网络教学平台,2012年又推出新的平台,称为SOUL2.0,其优势是功能模块化、整合Web2.0互动功能、整合学习功能、整合评价功能、降低开发成本。新平台为推进信息技术与继续教育的深度融合提供了坚实的基础设施。以全网络课程＂网络课程的设计和开发＂为例,在新平台上对课程介绍、课程教学设计、网络导学和支持、信息技术和互动学习融合及质量保证等方面进行了探索。经案例研究表明,我们通过采用系统的和有质量保证机制的网络教学发展模式,在继续教育领域中可以达到与面授相同而且更加灵活的教学和学习成效。     

Perceptions of instructional quality: impact on acceptance and use of an online learning environment

ABSTRACT

Given the growing use of online learning environments in higher education, it is important to further unravel how students’ use is influenced by their perceptions towards these learning environments. This study includes the perceived quality of the instructional design based on the First Principles of Instruction of Merrill and students’ acceptance based on the constructs perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the technology acceptance model (TAM). The aim of this study is twofold: a first aim is to investigate the influence of the perceived instructional quality on students’ acceptance and the second aim is to investigate the impact of students’ acceptance and the perceived instructional quality on the quantity (i.e. course activity) and quality (i.e. course performance) of use. In this study, a Moodle-based online learning environment for learning French as a foreign language was studied. Participants were 161 university students. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicates that the perceived instructional quality has a significant positive influence on students’ acceptance. Furthermore, students’ perceived instructional quality has a positive influence on the quality, but not on the quantity of use, whereas students’ acceptance of the online learning environment has no impact on the use of the learning environment.     

A Comparison of Online,Video Synchronous,and Traditional Learning Modes for an Introductory Undergraduate Physics Course

While the equivalence between online and traditional classrooms has been well-researched, very little of this includes college-level introductory Physics. Only one study explored Physics at the whole-class level rather than specific course components such as a single lab or a homework platform. In this work, we compared the failure rate, grade distribution, and withdrawal rates in an introductory undergraduate Physics course across several learning modes including traditional face-to-face instruction, synchronous video instruction, and online classes. Statistically significant differences were found for student failure rates, grade distribution, and withdrawal rates but yielded small effect sizes. Post-hoc pair-wise test was run to determine differences between learning modes. Online students had a significantly lower failure rate than students who took the class via synchronous video classroom. While statistically significant differences were found for grade distributions, the pair-wise comparison yielded no statistically significance differences between learning modes when using the more conservative Bonferroni correction in post-hoc testing. Finally, in this study, student withdrawal rates were lowest for students who took the class in person (in-person classroom and synchronous video classroom) than online. Students that persist in an online introductory Physics class are more likely to achieve an A than in other modes. However, the withdrawal rate is higher from online Physics courses. Further research is warranted to better understand the reasons for higher withdrawal rates in online courses. Finding the root cause to help eliminate differences in student performance across learning modes should remain a high priority for education researchers and the education community as a whole.     

Effective Online Instructional and Assessment Strategies

The purpose of this study was to better understand the instructional and assessment strategies that are most effective in the online learning environment. Faculty and students identified several strategies for maintaining instructional quality in the online environment, including the importance of using a variety of instructional methods to appeal to various learning styles and building an interactive and cohesive learning environment that includes group work. Online assessment strategies include having a wide variety of clearly explained assignments on a regular basis and providing meaningful and timely feedback to students regarding the quality of their work. Effective assessment techniques include projects, portfolios, self-assessments, peer evaluations, and weekly assignments with immediate feedback. The role of meaningful feedback cannot be overemphasized.     

Discontinuities in university student experiences of learning through discussions

This article reports on research into the student experience of learning through discussions in a third‐year undergraduate engineering subject. Information engineering students studying e‐commerce were required to engage in face‐to‐face and online discussions as a key aspect of their learning experience. This study investigates the quality of the experience of learning through those discussions using quantitative methodologies from Student Learning Research. Analyses of student ratings on the closed‐ended questionnaires identify qualitatively different approaches to learning through discussions, both in face‐to‐face contexts and online. Relationships are found among the variation in the quality of these approaches and how students perceive issues such as workload, what they thought they were learning through discussions and performance. Implications arising from these results identify different suggestions for teaching students to discuss successfully in different contexts.