Volume 9, Issue 1 - March 2005

Gender, Voice and Learning in Online Course Environments

David M. Anderson, Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling, Eastern Michigan University
Carol J. Haddad, Department of Interdisciplinary Technology, Eastern Michigan University

A self-selected sample of 109 online students at a midwestern regional university was surveyed and asked to compare expression of voice, control over learning, and perceived deep learning outcomes in face-to-face versus online course environments. We found that females experience greater perceived deep learning in online than in face-to-face courses,...

Online Engineering Education: Learning Anywhere, Anytime

John Bourne, The Sloan Consortium, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Babson College
Dale Harris, The Sloan Consortium, Purdue University
Frank Mayadas, The Sloan Consortium,The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

The emergence of worldwide communications networks and powerful computer technologies has redefined the concept of distance learning and the delivery of engineering education content. This article discusses the Sloan Consortium’s quest for quality, scale, and breadth in online learning, the impact on both continuing education of graduate engineers as well...

Digital Text, Distance Education and Academic Dishonesty: Faculty and Administrator Perceptions and Responses

Kimberly B. Kelley, Ph.D., The Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland University College
Kimberly Bonner, J.D.,The Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland University College

This study examined administrator and faculty perceptions of the frequency and pervasiveness of student academic dishonesty, including their perceptions of the personal and contextual factors that affect whether a student is likely to engage in any form of academic dishonesty. One important contextual factor examined in this study was the...

The Ebb and Flow of Online Discussions: What Bloom Can Tell Us About Our Students’ Conversations

Katrina A. Meyer, Associate Professor of Higher and Adult Education, The University of Memphis

This study looks at online discussions within the context of a group endeavor and attempts to evaluate three assertions: 1) students in an online discussion proceed through higher levels of thinking; 2) Online conversations follow an “ebb and flow” pattern; 3) The level of the first posting to the discussion...

Roles of Faculty in Teaching Asynchronous Undergraduate Courses

Libby V. Morris, PhD, Associate Professor, Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia
Haixia Xu, Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia
Catherine L. Finnegan, EdD, Associate Director, Assessment and Public Information, Advanced Learning Technologies, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Although the availability of web-based education and the number of totally asynchronous courses have grown exponentially in the last decade, the literature on online instruction offers limited empirical guidance to faculty teaching in this environment. Much of the literature is anecdotal and prescriptive, and much more research needs to be...

Questioning the Hybrid Model: Student Outcomes in Different Course Formats

Saxon G. Reasons, EdD, Programming Manager, Instructional Technology Services, University of Southern Indiana
Kevin Valadares, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Services/Administration, University of Southern Indiana
Michael Slavkin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Southern Indiana

Current literature suggests that a hybrid model of distance education supports student learning more effectively than any other format. It also seems likely that the hybrid format can be used in most courses. The purpose of our study was to examine the strength of these assertions. This study examined the...

A Learning Object Success Story

Robin Mason,Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, UK
Chris Pegler, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, UK
Martin Weller, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, UK

This paper outlines an approach to designing a course entirely in learning objects. It provides a theoretical basis for the design and then presents evaluation data from a master’s level course using this design. It also describes several re-uses of the learning objects on other courses and in different contexts....