Balancing Institutional Demands with Effective Practice: A Lesson in Curricular and Professional Development

ABSTRACT

Online writing courses have developed in importance to meet student learning and institutional expectations; over time, a controversy about training online instructors and building sustainable programs has emerged. This article relates training demands within the University of Arizona’s Writing Program and development of an online professional & technical writing certificate. The article proposes training instructors with master courses and building a sustained program through a participatory design to create a professional and integrated environment.     

Community,Towards Dialogue: A Self-Study of Online Teacher Preparation for Special Education

ABSTRACT

Online teacher education is experiencing significant growth worldwide. One of the major challenges accompanying this growth is that many teacher educators find themselves underprepared and under pressure to design online teacher education courses that reflect their beliefs about what constitutes high-quality teacher preparation practice. Further, teacher educators in disciplines such as special education face additional challenges in developing understandings about the legalities of writing and implementing disability service plans and performing additional testing. In this self-study of online special education teacher education practice, two collaborators worked to identify strategies and practices for professional community building in a class about teaching reading to students with disabilities. The findings highlight issues of teacher educator authority and presence online against other needs to model collegiality and promote scholarly thinking. Researchers in online teaching may find insight into both the cognitive and contextual concerns as they work to enhance online teacher education while they plan their own investigations.     

Incorporating Blended Format Cybersecurity Education into a Community College Information Technology Program

ABSTRACT

The main goal of this project is to expand cybersecurity curriculum. This was accomplished by developing six new courses. The curriculum for each course utilized a common online course for all class formats including web-enhanced, hybrid, or online. In this article, we will discuss the online components used, faculty professional development, and the development process. We will present challenges as well as recommendations for support and future research.     

Course Design,Quality Matters Training,and Student Outcomes

ABSTRACT

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) recognized the need to address the increasing rates of Ds, Fs, and Withdrawal by students matriculating in online courses. Led by two science faculty, a faculty learning community in partnership with the NCCU Division of Extended Studies was created to assess online science course offerings and instruction. Faculty within this learning community completed the Quality Matters (QM) “Applying the Quality Matters Rubric” course. This online training course, coupled with services provided by the NCCU Division of Extended Studies, offered the faculty learning community a variety of pedagogical strategies to meet their instructional needs. All faculty participating in this learning community completed the online training course and all faculty indicated that they implemented changes in their subsequent online course offerings. This article describes the impact of that training and the application of quality course design standards in the Quality Matters Rubric on the design and student outcomes for an Introductory Biology course over four terms. As faculty learning communities are broadly utilized, it is anticipated that this article may present an effective strategy to increase the quality and quantity of online science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses at similar institutions.     

Involving History Students

Abstract

This article discusses the use of text messaging as an effective way for faculty to communicate with students in between class meetings or within an online course. The benefits of text messaging will be discussed, as well as the tools one faculty member has used when texting students or groups of students. Text messaging can be used to give student “nudges” to increase the likelihood students will act in accordance with what the faculty member expects (i.e., read textbook prior to class, attend tutoring sessions, submit homework on time). It can also be used to streamline group work.     

The Development of QM-Fudan Higher Education Online Course Quality Standards: Some Results and Analysis

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to examine whether and how the US-based Quality Matters (QM) Higher Education Rubric-Design Standards for Online and Blended Courses apply to the Chinese higher education environment. Suitability and matchability of QM Standards are respectively examined through a questionnaire and course reviews at Fudan University, a leading research institution in China, with which Quality MattersTM has an exclusive five-year cooperation agreement to develop an adapted Chinese rubric based on the QM Standards. Cross-referencing the dimensions of suitability and matchability, QM Standards are divided into four categories, namely, Perfect, Challenging, Potential and Chicken-ribs standards. This classification helps to identify what standards are ready for adoption and what standards need to be adapted. It is found that most QM Standards are thought to be suitable for the Chinese higher education environment, but China has a long way to go to meet these standards. On the whole, QM Standards on course format, function, and basic quality elements are relatively easy for Chinese online courses to meet while the advanced standards on course quality, particularly those relating to learning outcomes, assessment and evaluation, interaction and other aspects of course design remain challenging at the present time. The research findings not only show areas of course design in China that need improvement, but also lay a solid foundation for the development of QM-Fudan Standards, which will be supplemented and improved by future practice and research based on the actual condition and progress of online education in China.     

Immersion,Reflection, Failure: Teaching Graduate Students to Teach Writing Online

ABSTRACT

A common challenge facing those who prepare graduate students to teach writing online is the need to help those students connect online writing instruction (OWI) theory with their classroom practice. The authors present how graduate students are prepared to teach writing online at three universities and then synthesize those approaches to highlight three principles that can guide effective OWI preparation for graduate students in any program: immersion, reflection, and failure.     

The Teacher–Learner Relationship: Considerations for Social Work in the Digital Age

ABSTRACT

In light of a rapidly changing educational landscape, this paper will discuss the implications of online education for the teacher–learner relationship, which is a critical aspect of academic and professional development for the social work student. As technology revolutionizes relationships, how will we ensure the intra-and interpersonal nature of social work education? The pursuit of accessible and flexible educational opportunities presently driving social work education threatens to undermine this important alliance. The centrality of relationship is discussed here in the context of current trends in distance learning. Relational-Cultural Theory and Transactional Distance Theory are posited to provide evidence for the significance of relationship in learning.     

From the Newspaper to the ‘News‐screen’ in Portuguese Schools

Abstracts

English: The paper points out the main objectives of school newspaper production, emphasizing those that may be achieved through work with electronic papers ‐ media competence and hypermedia literacy ‐ which are so important in the Information Society, and crucial for lifelong independent learning which is required in our continuously changing world. A pedagogical approach to the work with online papers which stresses the advantages of ‘learning by doing’ is suggested. A short overview of the Portuguese situation as to the integration of the new Information Technologies in schools will be followed by a presentation of some examples of electronic newspapers produced by Portuguese pupils.

The linear reading mechanisms of traditional papers are compared to those of online papers based on hypertext. The differences in the lay‐out and logic and in the ways of organizing information at the conceptual level will be mentioned, alongside some basic rules for writing an electronic newspaper.     

Vocational Learning Outside Institutions: Online pedagogy and deschooling

This analysis of current developments in online learning for vocational education and training uses Ivan Illich's book Deschooling Society as a frame. Illich argued that formal educational institutions are flawed; that a mix of compulsion, indoctrination, certification and education creates an authoritarian atmosphere. Key benefits of online learning include its flexibility and its capacity to support dialogue between learners. On the basis of the capabilities of online technologies, and current developments in education, the authors predict that vocational learning will be profoundly changed. Inevitably, these developments will also challenge established colleges and universities, including their current dominance in major areas of vocational education and training. Education will probably become more pluralistic and more international. This paper calls for an inclusive approach?which makes the elements of an online course available to informal learners and free to people who cannot afford course fees.     

A Computer Achievement Model

Summary

With over two million students projected to be enrolled in higher education distance learning courses by the year 2002, it is imperative that consideration be given to the design of high-quality online programs. Using the framework of grounded design as a context for dealing with the range of design decisions that best facilitate learning outcomes, five areas are discussed: psychological, pedagogical, technical, cultural, and pragmatic (Hannafin, Hannafin, Land, &; Oliver, 1997). Examples are provided of how each area of grounded design can be used, as instructional designers, content experts, and others establish Web-based programs in higher education.     

The importance of prior knowledge and assessment for increasing efficiency of the learning processes,especially in ‘problem-based’ powerful learning environments

Abstract

Does it help one to know how a Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 1989 looks, smells and tastes in Montpellier, when in fact one is in the process of tasting a Pichon Longueville Baron 1990 at home in a dark and humid cellar at 14 degrees? How important is prior knowledge and assessment for learning in higher education?

The present paper provides a theortical background concerning activation prior knowledge, using new assessment methods and applying a new learning process model referred to as powelful learning environments. Recent research has shown that increasing efficiency in learning can be achieved by introducing powerful learning, building on the students' prior knowledge and making use of multiple functions of assessment tools. Different concepts, methods and effects are explained in the paper with regard to their use in real classrooms. A model is outlined for integrating learning, instruction and assessment.

Attendants to the session in Montpellier should not only be prepared to taste a good glass of French claret wine, but should also be interested in thinking and working interactively. The presentation itself will elaborate on some of these and will focus practical applications in agricultural higher education.     

Community of Inquiry (CoI): A Framework for Social Work Distance Educators

ABSTRACT

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, a research-based seminal work, provides a structure for integrating a collaborative constructivist approach in course design, implementation, and evaluation. The CoI framework suggests that by fostering three essential elements – social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence – a community of inquiry can be created to promote student engagement and learning. This paper will present the concepts of the CoI framework for social work educators to consider for distance education course design, implementation, and evaluation.     

Building Active Online Interaction via a Collaborative Learning Community

Abstract

Online interaction creates a desirable learning situation. Transferring traditional instruction to an online environment usually does not generate effective interaction for learning. This paper discusses theories and practices for an interactive collaborative learning community in an online environment. Three theoretical constructs-interactivity, social context, and technologiesare discussed to provide a theoretical foundation. Effective online interactive strategies and activities, communications, online discussions, technology selections, peer evaluations, team moderations, team projects/presentations, and online learning specialists are recommended to maximize online learning interaction.     

Touching creativity; a review and early pilot test of haptic tooling to support design practice,within a distance learning curriculum

ABSTRACT

Machine haptics has been shown to assist and enhance human–computer interactions. Research from previous studies in the field of haptics has focused on developing a user’s sense of realism of touch when using a haptic device. This paper examines the use of haptics for education, specifically for creative online education. The paper is presented in two parts. First, a review of literature was conducted and used to aid the rationale and underpin the design of a pilot test. Second, a pilot test was designed using a single-point kinaesthetic haptic device with a haptic rendered interface, to support the assembly of a virtual design prototype. The pilot test proved to be extremely valuable in creating and developing a rich virtual environment for non-sighted and sighted participants to use. The results from the initial pilot test showed that although users were positive about their experience of using the haptic device, there were improvements to be made to the interface to enhance the user experience in the next phase of testing.     

What Do We Know About Online Coursetaking,Persistence, Transfer,and Degree Completion Among Community College Students?

ABSTRACT

Surprisingly, and despite the vast literature on the subject, there is little agreement on the most vital issues surrounding online learning in community colleges. While some studies report that community college students are hampered by online course enrollment, others have found that community college students who take online courses are more likely to persist and succeed in the long term. With this in mind, the present essay will review and synthesize the empirical research literature in order to establish what is known about online coursetaking and the effects on community college students with regard to course completion, persistence, transfer, and degree completion.     

Quality Control in Online Courses

SUMMARY

There has recently been increased interest in the quality of online courses. Faculty from the School of Education at Marquette University suggest using social constructivist theories in the design and development of online courses and in the training and pedagogy of online instructors to ensure quality in online courses. Quality can be designed into online courses by focusing on complex tasks, using multiple perspectives, establishing a learning community, encouraging the social negotiation of meaning and providing assistance for learners at various levels. While good design can go a long way to ensure quality in online courses, the quality of the instructor is equally critical. Training instructors to establish a supportive climate, provide constructive feedback, and ask critical and probing questions leads to high quality online instruction.     

Costs and Effectiveness of Online Courses in Distance Education

This paper discusses cost-effectiveness as it applies to education, focusing particularly on the delivery of online courses in open and distance learning. The general concept of cost-effectiveness is discussed, and issues concerning the costs and effectiveness associated with using online technology in distance education are then addressed. Finally, a pilot project on an online course at the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) is used as an illustrative example. The key features of the pilot project relating to costs and effectiveness are outlined, and ways to improve its cost-effectiveness in implementing its second stage are suggested.     

Revising the Online Classroom: Usability Testing for Training Online Technical Communication Instructors

ABSTRACT

This article reports on an effort by the authors to use usability testing as a component of online teacher training for their multimajor technical communication course. The article further explains the ways in which program administrators at other institutions can create their own usability testing protocols for formative online teacher training in course design and in principles of user-centered design.     

Mirror, mirror, on my screen≡ Exploring online reflections

This paper suggests that, through the provision of opportunities for reflection–in–action at critical learning stages and with the support of a trained e–moderator, the participants in computer mediated conferencing (CMC) can be encouraged to engage in reflecting about their onscreen experiences. Such reflection aids the building of a productive online community of practice. In addition, by encouraging participants to reflect on later stages of their online training experiences, a reflection–on–action record can be built up. Participants' reflective processes can be captured through analysis of their on screen text messages and so be available for research purposes. Examples of conference text message reflections are given throughout the paper, drawn from the on screen reflections of Open University Business School (OUBS) Associate Lecturers who were working online through the medium of computer mediated conferencing for the first time. The conclusion is that reflection–on–practice in the online environment is beneficial for helping the participants to learn from online conferencing and can provide an excellent tool for qualitative research. Opportunities for reflection need to be built into the design of online conferences and facilitated by a trained e–moderator.