Online Learning Journal

Despite the growth of its popularity in recent years, online learning has demonstrated high dropout rates compared to dropout rates in traditional face-to-face courses. Prior research attributes attrition to the physical isolation of students from one another and the lack of interaction between and among them—factors which foster feelings of...

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of scripted roles on students’ level of cognitive presence in asynchronous online threaded discussions. A quantitative content analysis was used to investigate: (1) what level of cognitive presence is achieved by students’ assigned roles in asynchronous online discussions; (2) differences...

Cultural differences between faculty and their students can create important challenges that affect the quality and efficacy of online teaching and learning. The objectives of this study were to: (a) create and pilot test an assessment for online faculty to measure culturally responsive teaching knowledge (CRT) and culturally responsive educational...

This study uses Critical Discourse Analysis and Social Network Analysis to examine an online peer mentoring site created to unite first-year and third-year preservice teachers enrolled in an undergraduate teacher education program.  The peer mentoring site was developed to provide both first-year preservice teachers and more experienced peers the opportunity...

Prior research has suggested that there may be differences in the ways that male and female students approach their online courses. Using data for 802 high school students enrolled in 14 online courses, this study explored gender differences in the interrelationships among online behaviors and course performance. The findings show...

Students with disabilities represent a growing number of learners receiving education in K-12 fully online learning programs. They are, unfortunately, also a large segment of the online learning population who are not experiencing success in these environments. In response, scholars have recommended increasing instruction in self-regulation skills for these students,...

This article examined a blended learning initiative in a large suburban high school in the Midwestern region of the United States. It employed a single-case exploratory design approach to learn about the experience of administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Using Zimmerman’s Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Theory as a guiding framework, this...

In addition to the special issue section reflecting papers presented in the OTL SIG at the 2016 conference of the American Educational Research Association this issue also features papers from our standard submission process. These papers investigate issues related to the academic performance of minority students in online settings, experiential...

The study investigated the relationship between minority students’ use of technology, social media, the number of online courses, program of study, satisfaction, and academic performance. Participants in the study were a diverse student body regarding age, gender, and educational level, and functioned at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Analysis of...

Designing experiential learning activities requires an instructor to think about what they want the students to learn. Using importance-performance analysis can assist with the instructional design of the activities. This exploratory study used importance-performance analysis in an online introduction to criminology course. There is limited research on experiential learning in...

In the last two decades, online learning has transformed the field of higher education. Also during this time, institutions of higher education have seen increases in their adult learner populations. The flexibility and accessibility of an online education model is often particularly appealing to adult learners, who bring unique needs,...

Virtually Connecting (VC) is a connected learning volunteer movement that enlivens virtual conference experiences by partnering those that are at the conference with virtual participants that cannot attend. In looking to articulate the ethos and intentions of VC, a manifesto was developed by a group of core members and presented...

Abstract: Previous research indicates that online learning at the community college level results in higher rates of withdrawal, failure, and dropout compared to classroom-based education (Xu & Smith Jaggars, 2011; Smith-Jaggars & Xu, 2010). The primary goal of the current study was to examine national data (US Dept. of Ed....

Abstract:  The purpose of this study was to measure and explore factors influencing K-12 online teachers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954), Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Satisfaction (1959, 1968), Meyer and Allen’s measure of Organizational Commitment (1997), and Fishbein and Ajzen’s Theory of...

Abstract: This article reports the findings of a study on the perceptions of faculty governance leaders to online and blended learning. For the purposes of this study, faculty governance was defined as formally established bodies in colleges and universities such as senates, councils, and collective bargaining organizations that are affiliated...

Abstract This paper presents the results of a pilot study investigating the use of the Realizeit adaptive learning platform to deliver a fully online General Psychology course across two semesters. Through mutual cooperation, UCF and vendor (CCKF) researchers examined students’ affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions to the system. Student survey...

Abstract: This study explored the interaction between student characteristics and the online environment in predicting course performance and subsequent college persistence among students in a large urban U.S. university system. Multilevel modeling, propensity score matching, and the KHB decomposition method were used.  The most consistent pattern observed was that native-born students...

Abstract This study examines the interaction behaviors and metacognitive behaviors of graduate students in the online portion of a flipped classroom.  For their time outside the face to face classroom, students were given the choice of two online methods for their interactions — synchronous verbal discussions and asynchronous written discussions. ...

Abstract: Policy surrounding K-12 online learning continues to evolve as the field grows exponentially. In Michigan, Section 21f of the State School Aid Act enacted in 2013 strengthened parents’ and students’ ability to request online courses: “A student enrolled in a district in any of grades 6 to 12 is...

Abstract: There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended learning courses.  However, few research studies focus on what happens at the classroom level.  This research study aims to consider the highly contextual environment of effective blended learning courses by identifying the strategies instructors use to...

Abstract: As part of a major shift to embed quality improvement processes within a School of Nursing at a medium-sized Midwestern university, a faculty enrichment program using a Plan-Do-Act-Study design was implemented.  A central focus for the program was the development and maintenance of an online faculty resource center identified...

This issue of Online Learning contains six articles outside the Special Conference Section. This section of OLJ includes papers investigating faculty development, academic dishonesty, the community of inquiry model, online labs, sense of connectivity, and academic performance in an online program....

Abstract: As online education continues to expand across varied educational sectors, so does the demand for professional development programs to guide academic teaching staff through the processes of developing their capacities to design and teach online courses. To meet these challenges at one higher education institution, a mixed methods research...

Abstract: Cheating, left untended, erodes the validity of evaluation and, ultimately, corrupts the legitimacy of a course. We profile an approach to manage, with an eye toward preempting, cheating on asynchronous, objective, online quizzes. This approach taps various technological and social solutions to academic dishonesty, integrating them into a technology-centered,...

Abstract: The present study investigated the relationships among teaching, cognitive, and social presence through several structural equation models to see which model would better fit the data. To this end, the present study employed and compared several different structural equation models  because different models could fit the data equally well....

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact on learning, attitudes, and costs in a redesigned general education undergraduate biology course that implemented web-based virtual labs (VLs) to replace traditional physical labs (PLs). Over an academic year, two new modes of VL instruction were compared to the...

Abstract: This study examined graduate students’ desired and experienced levels of connectivity in an online, asynchronous distance degree program. Connectivity was conceptualized as the students’ feelings of community and involvement, not their level of access to the Internet. Graduate students enrolled in a distance degree program were surveyed on both...

Higher education for the 21st century continues to promote discoveries in the field through learning analytics (LA).  The problem is that the rapid embrace of of LA diverts educators’ attention from clearly identifying requirements and implications of using LA in higher education.  LA is a promising emerging field, yet higher...

This paper presents a dialogical tool for the advancement of learning analytics implementation for student retention in Higher Education institutions. The framework was developed as an outcome of a project commissioned and funded by the Australian Government’s Office for Learning and Teaching. The project took a mixed-method approach including a...

Based on Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice, this research project attempted to revitalize the principles by merging them with Merrill’s (2006) Different Levels of Instructional Strategy. The aim was to develop, validate, and standardize a measurement instrument (DLISt7) using a pretest-posttest Internet quasi-experiment. It was proposed...

Online learning continues to grow at post-secondary institutions across the United States, but many question its efficacy, especially for students most at-risk for failure. This paper engages that issue. It examines recent research on the success of community college students who take online classes and explores similar comparisons using 656,258...

This paper summarizes initial field-test results from data analytics used in the work of the Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S) project, on the “ICT Literacy — Learning in digital networks” learning progression.  This project, sponsored by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft, aims to help educators around the world...

Students’ re-enrollment in the subsequent semester after their first semester at a four-year institution is a strong predictor of retention and graduation.  This is especially true for students who transfer from a community college to a four-year institution because of the many external or non-academic factors influencing a student’s decision...

The popularity of online learning has boomed over the last few years, pushing instructors to consider the best ways to design their courses to support student learning needs and participation. Prior research suggests the need for instructor facilitation to provide this guidance and support, whereas other studies have suggested peer...

This paper addresses a relatively unexplored area in the field of learning analytics: how analytics are taken up and used as part of teaching and learning processes. Initial steps are taken towards developing design knowledge for this “middle space,” with a focus on students as analytics users. First, a core...

This study aimed to identify misconceptions in medical student knowledge by mining user interactions in the MedU online learning environment. Data from 13000 attempts at a single virtual patient case were extracted from the MedU MySQL database. A subgroup discovery method was applied to identify patterns in learner-generated annotations and...

This issue of Online Learning also contains four articles outside the theme of learning analytics. This section contains papers investigating MOOCs, a comparison of anxiety levels and the “imposter phenomenon” between online and classroom students, and a qualitative analysis of information behaviors among online students....

This paper examines activity patterns, participant demographics, and levels of satisfaction in multiple MOOC offerings at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from August 2012–December 2013.  Using the following guiding questions: “Who are MOOC participants, how do they participate, and were they able to get what they wanted out of...

This paper utilizes a case-study design to discuss global aspects of massive open online course (MOOC) assessment. Drawing from the literature on open-course models and linguistic gatekeeping in education, we position freeform assessment in MOOCs as both challenging and valuable, with an emphasis on current practices and student resources. We...

High anxiety levels have been associated with high levels of the imposter phenomenon (IP), a negative experience of feeling like a fraud. This study was designed to explore IP among graduate students and to determine whether a difference exists between online graduate students and traditional graduate students. The theoretical foundation...

In a study of the information behaviors of graduate students enrolled in an online Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program, it was determined that learners engage in threaded discussions not only for cognitive purposes but for affective reasons as well.  The information sharing among students was particularly prolific...

With the announcement of our latest issue of Online Learning we report the achievement of a significant milestone.  The current issue marks our 20th year of continuous publication! While there have been some significant transitions in these two decades, including a name change from the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks...

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether experienced online students (who have completed seven or more online courses) perceive the quality of their courses differently than novice online students (who have completed three or fewer online courses) or students with an intermediate level of online course experience (those...

Emotions have been confirmed to be a critical component of the process of learning. In the online Community of Inquiry theoretical framework, and the recently suggested online Relationship of Inquiry framework, emotions are considered a subsection of social presence. In this study, the concept of emotional presence is examined. This...

We explored online dissertation chairs’ perceptions of trust in the mentor–mentee relationship, as trust was identified as a crucial factor in the success of doctoral students. Through the implementation of a multiple-case study, and a qualitative, online questionnaire, and through qualitative data analysis, we discovered 16 chairs’ perceptions of trust...

Research examining factors contributing to online students’ success typically focuses on a single point in time or completion of a single course, as well as individual difference variables, such as learning style or motivation, that may predispose a student to succeed. However, research concerning longer term online student outcomes, such...

The case study is a classic tool used in several educational programs that emphasizes solving of ill-defined problems. Though it has been used in classroom-based teaching and educators have developed a rich repertoire of methods, its use in online courses presents different challenges. To explore factors that develop skills in...

The ability to convert face-to-face curricula into rigorous and equally rich online experiences is a topic of much investigation. In this paper, we report on the conversion of a face-to-face research mentor training curriculum into a synchronous, online course. Graduate students and postdoc participants from the Center for the Integration...

Online courses and programs have grown to become and continue to be a popular option for students. As part of an online Master’s of Education in Instructional Technology program, students must complete a school technology leadership course. Leadership decision making, policy making, and how to have innovations take hold in...

Within the past four years all 50 states and the District of Columbia have developed significant online learning opportunities for K-12 students (Watson, Murin, Vashaw, Gemin, & Rapp, 2013). K-12 online student enrollments in the US have grown from approximately 40,000 to more than four million in a period of...

As participation in online learning grows, so do concerns around the ways in which students with disabilities are served in virtual school programs, both full and part-time. At the crux of this struggle is the way in which federal and state laws (many of which were incepted before online learning...

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the impact of synchronous online tutoring services on struggling middle school students’ mathematics achievement. The online tutoring was provided as a response to intervention (RTI) Tier 3 support (intensive, individualized intervention) in schools implementing a school-wide mathematics program that addresses...

Due to the challenges facing rural schools, many jurisdictions have resorted to the use of virtual school programs to provide curricular opportunities to their students. While the number of virtual schools that rely on synchronous instruction as a primary or significant method of delivery is quite small, there are some...

As enrollments in cyber charter schools grow, it becomes increasingly important to understand how parents engage in their students’ learning. Researchers have hypothesized that parental engagement is even more critical when online students learn from home, but few researchers have examined parents’ engagement behavior—especially parents of adolescent learners. In this...

Editors Tom Clark and Michael Barbour assemble an array of research and case studies from some of today’s leading scholars in digital learning in this user-friendly compilation. With over 30 years of experience in online learning research between them, Clark and Barbour’s wisdom is evident in their choices of contributors...

Editors Tom Clark and Michael Barbour assemble an array of research and case studies from some of today’s leading scholars in digital learning in this user-friendly compilation. With over 30 years of experience in online learning research between them, Clark and Barbour’s wisdom is evident in their choices of contributors...

Teacher education programs are increasing the use of online courses to train and prepare teachers. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework is one strategy used to effectively train and prepare special education teachers in the online learning environment. The purpose of this study was to examine participants’ perception of...

The purpose of this study was to develop an effective instrument to measure student readiness in online learning with reliable predictors of online learning success factors such as learning outcomes and learner satisfaction. The validity and reliability of the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) instrument were tested using exploratory factor...

The purpose of this article is to revisit the basic principles of technology planning as applied to online education initiatives. While not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of the topic, the article is timely because many colleges and universities are considering the development and expansion of online education as...

Since “the year of the MOOC” in 2012, the effectiveness of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has been widely debated. Some argue that MOOCs are not an effective mode of instructional delivery because of low completion rates. In the interest of developing alternative indicators of performance this study draws from...

The International Conference on Online Learning traces its origin to a 1995 one-day meeting of grantees of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Anytime, Anyplace Learning Program held in Philadelphia. Ninety individuals attended this first meeting where several invited speakers presented on the possibilities of online learning....

During the Winter and Spring 2014 semesters students registered in the online offering of Human Kinetics and Recreation 1000 (N=589) were asked to participate in two Twitter events encompassing two of the course’s assessment activities. In each Twitter event, students were required to post, at minimum, one original tweet and...

The purposes of the research were to (1) examine the relationships between faculty behaviors that promote critical thinking and the resulting critical thinking within peer interaction and (2) identify specific faculty behaviors that result in the highest levels of critical thinking within peer interactions. Using a concurrent embedded mixed methods...

This article presents the quantitative findings of an exploratory mixed methods study that investigatedfirst- and second-year online graduate master’s students’: 1) perceptions of the importance of, andsatisfaction with, administrative, academic, technical, and online community supports; 2) personal factorsand grit level; and 3) differences, if any, that existed among students, in...

Researchers in a recent study found that online students’ ability to self-regulate led to more focused attention and time on task, and in turn, these skills could lead to better learning. Given the need for more theoretical work in this area, as well as the potential practical benefits from the...

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine how the gender of distance learning students related to variables such as the perception of the availability of library resources, technology available at home and work, technology provided by a university for distance learning, and career preparedness. A total of 166...

BlendKit is a 5-week course designed by the University of Central Florida in an open, online format specifically for the professional development of higher education faculty and designers preparing to design and teach blended learning courses. The evaluation of this course provides us with interesting and valuable information on the...

A team of instructional designers, educators, and the School of Liberal Arts (SLA) academic program coordinator from a nonprofit online college, collaborated on producing short voice-over videos with interactive elements that address the most common technology frustrations of beginning students. These videos were inserted into the “Start Here” page of...

The following paper describes the rationale for creating an online therapy program of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, for students at the University of Florida who are struggling with stress and anxiety. In addition, the paper discusses the unique challenges of the instructional design process of creating psychoeducational materials through...

This issue contains two additional articles that were not specifically selected from sessions conducted at the Online Learning Consortium’s Annual Conference. These two articles provide insight into faculty attitudes about and student engagement in online learning....

The purpose of the present study is to further understand faculty attitudes about distance education by exploring the psychological processes through which these attitudes are influenced. We explored the following research question: Do feelings of excitement versus fear mediate and/or moderate the relationship between online teaching experience and various faculty...

Student engagement is critical to student learning, especially in the online environment, where students can often feel isolated and disconnected. Therefore, teachers and researchers need to be able to measure student engagement. This study provides validation of the Online Student Engagement scale (OSE) by correlating student self-reports of engagement (via...

I warmly welcome our readers to a fresh issue of the newly expanded journal, Online Learning (which we are now abbreviating as OLJ). As many of you know we recently merged OLJ with the Journal of Online Teaching and Learning (JOLT), published by the MERLOT organization with which the Online...

As the pivotal role of self-regulation has been widely accepted in online learning literature, much interest is focused on identifying pedagogical strategies to help foster regulatory behaviors in online learners. The authors of this article argue that the learning presence (LP) construct, a recently proposed addition to the Community of...

This research addresses the affordances of using Voki avatars to create a sense of social presence in an asynchronous online writing classroom setting. Digital media afford online educators the opportunity to harness different technologies and new ways of being in a digital classroom that can enhance student engagement in ways...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether asynchronous video posts and synchronous videoconferencing would create higher levels of teaching and social presence within an online course when compared with the university’s current text-based discussion platform. Undergraduate students in an online teacher education course were randomly assigned to either...

Low retention rates in online freshman-level mathematics courses are a concern, especially at postsecondary institutions that serve academically unprepared students. The purpose of this study was to determine if student performance in an online College Algebra course that relies heavily on text-based multimedia tools can be improved by replacing publisher-generated...

Blended learning options vary and universities are exploring an assortment of instructional combinations, some involving video lectures as a replacement for face-to-face (f2f) lectures. This methodological study investigates the impact of the provision of lecture choice (online or f2f) on overall student achievement and course engagement. This research uses a...

This paper explores how blended learning can enhance learning at the boundary between academia and industry, and make possible the design of a new kind of internship. Boundary theory proposes that socio-cultural discontinuities between different environments create opportunities for learning. Blended learning pedagogy makes it possible to make the boundary...

Written reflections of 113 occupational therapy clinical doctoral students who graduated from an online program between 2007 and 2013 were analyzed for themes which reflected transformative learning and characteristics of curricular design which promoted transformative learning. Qualitative analyses of written reflections were performed. Several themes emerged which are presented using...

In this qualitative study, we examine the experiences of seven tenure-track and non-tenure track current/future online faculty through the conceptual lenses of sense of community (McMillan & Chavis, 1986) and collegiality (Gappa, Austin, & Trice, 2007). We found: (1) participants reported that their sense of community and collegiality around online...

The online classroom is perceived as being a non-threatening, unbiased, safe environment due to the lack of visual cues that normally trigger hidden attitudes and biases. However, it is possible that stereotypical student names often trigger implicit bias in instructors leading to group expectations that can often manifest in a...

This systematic review and synthesis of existing empirical studies examines peer-reviewed research articles published between January 2000 and May 2014 on the use of Internet-mediated discussion board in higher education settings with a specific interest in the participants’ interactions. Forty-two primary studies were examined after a systematic search and full...

To address the paucity of data on the use of MOOCs in “traditional” postsecondary institutions, Ithaka S+R and the University System of Maryland studied the feasibility of repurposing MOOCs for use in hybrid, credit-bearing courses. In this paper we will describe the design of a large-scale study undertaken to examine...

Comparisons of grade based learning outcomes between online and face-to-face course formats have become essential because the number of online courses, online programs, and institutional student enrollments have seen rapid growth in recent years. Overall, online education is largely viewed by education professionals as being equivalent to instruction conducted face-to-face....

This article examines the issue of whether linguistics is better suited for a face-to-face (F2F) environment than an online teaching environment. Specifically, it examines assessment scores and student perceptions of the effectiveness of an introductory linguistics course at an undergraduate state university that has been taught multiple times in both...

This study explores the extent to which learners feel connected through a concept called social presence. This study explored social presence the first two years of a graduate-level certificate program, specifically the first two cohorts of a 13-month program designed to help educational administrators integrate technology into their schools. Vygotsky’s...

This study explores student achievement, sense of social community, and sense of learning community (Rovai, 2002) in two sections of an online course taught concurrently by the same instructor. One section was delivered in a fully asynchronous format; the other incorporated weekly synchronous lectures using an Adobe Connect environment. Students...

The purpose of this action research was to explore students’ perspectives regarding using Web 2.0 technologies to develop a community of learners. The course described in this study was a fully online course in an Educational Learning Technologies master’s program at a medium-sized university in the U.S. Southwest. A variety...

The purpose of this study was to explore how post-graduate students in a fully online business course used information communication technology during a virtual peer coaching experience. In this exploration of technology use it was found students required additional guidance in the use of technologies such as email, telephone calling,...

The authors explore the possible relationship between student satisfaction with online learning and the theory of psychological contracts. The study incorporates latent trait models using the image analysis procedure and computation of Anderson and Rubin factors scores with contrasts for students who are satisfied, ambivalent, or dissatisfied with their online...

This literature review examines the evolving online military learner population with emphasis on current generation military learners, who were most frequently Post-9/11 veterans. The review synthesizes recent scholarly and grey literature on military learner demographics and attributes, college experiences, and academic outcomes against a backdrop of conceptual frameworks addressing adult...

This study sought to describe the correlation of academic, financial, and social supports to the persistence of a military student population: veterans, active duty, and their families. The study also contrasted these relationships with non-military students and looked at the results of the overall group to persistence. Results confirmed the...

Veterans and military service members enter the classroom with valuable life and leadership experience; however, transitioning to student life represents unique challenges. Like the larger veteran population, student veterans may bring to campus the negative aftereffects of their combat experiences in the form of post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, depression, and...

Due of the expected influx of veterans attending college, it is critical that higher education not only be cognizant of the projected growth, but take a proactive stand and properly plan for these students’ success. Academic planning begins with the advising professionals developing open communications and be able to guide...

This paper presents two unique yet confluent perspectives regarding the use of technology to support student veterans in college, and is meant to ignite discussion of the blending of high impact practices with technology to promote their academic success. The authors highlight the historical trends of student veterans in the...

In online distance learning environments military learners are not particularly obvious or distinctive; however, they do possess a degree of difference that needs to be recognized. The military can be considered to possess a Janusian culture; two distinctive cultural patterns that emerge in different situations. The culture they display in...

Because of the intense and unique nature of their military life, military officers face challenges that other students do not need to be concerned about when taking courses online. An institution’s ability to understand these military officer students, design online programs to meet their unique learning needs, and deliver valuable...

The Joining Forces Initiative challenges nursing programs throughout the country to develop curriculum that address the unique healthcare issues facing veterans. This article describes how the RN to BSN program at American Public University System responded to the Joining Forces Initiative by developing the core curriculum course, Caring for Today’s...

This article describes one school of social work’s innovative online elective course to prepare Masters of Social Work (MSW) students for practice with the military, veterans, and their families. Developed as part of a university-wide Veterans Initiative, this online course keeps the focus on the student veteran and uses best...

Changes in the U.S. Healthcare System along with the need for institutions of higher education to prepare a work force ready to address the challenges of today and tomorrow have highlighted the need to incorporate technology in its broadest sense as part of the student learning experience. In health professional...

For disciplines heavily reliant upon traditional classroom teaching, such as medicine and health sciences, incorporating new learning models may pose challenges for students and faculty. In an effort to innovate curricula, better align courses to required student learning outcomes, and address the call to redesign health professions education, Health Sciences...

Time and space constraints, large class sizes, competition for clinical internships, and geographic separation between classroom and clinical rotations for student interaction with peers and faculty pose challenges for health professions educational programs. This article presents a model for effectively incorporating technology to overcome these challenges and enhance student engagement...

This article discusses a learning partnership among faculty and students to influence reflective practice in a blended course. Faculty redesigned a traditional face-to-face (FTF) introductory physician assistant course into a blended course to promote increased reflection and higher order thinking. Early student reflective writing suggested a need for learner familiarization...

By reviewing the literature and interviewing 83 individuals knowledgeable about massive open online courses (MOOCs), we investigate the goals of institutions of higher education that are currently developing and delivering such courses. We identify six major goals for MOOC initiatives: extending reach and access, building and maintaining brand, improving economics...

There is well-documented evidence that online retention rates are lower than face-to-face retention rates. However, most past research on online retention focuses on student characteristics, with little knowledge existing on the impact of course type. This study uses a matched sample of 2,330 students at a large urban community college...

Drawing on research in constrained online discussion environments and strategy instruction, this approach combines explicit instruction on discussion strategies with the use of post type labels. In a trial of this approach in an online course, students actively used the discussion strategies and post type labels in their discussions. Analysis...

The purpose of this case study was to explore the application and outcome of appreciative inquiry as an online instructional strategy for the development of three specific factors: adult learner motivation, engagement, and performance. Appreciative andragogy was an original phrase developed for this study and is an adaptation of appreciative...

Most often the topic of creating presence in online education is viewed from the student perspective (Oztok & Brett, 2011). The purpose of this mixed methods research was to look at the creation of teaching presence from the vantage point of a lone ranger instructor (Anderson, 2004). Based on data collected from...

The purpose of this study was to investigate instructor participation in asynchronous discussions through an in-depth content analysis of instructors’ postings and comments through the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework (Garrison et. al, 2001). We developed an analytical tool based on this framework in order to better understand what instructors...

E-Learning remains a new frontier for many faculty. When compared to the traditional classroom, E- Learning requires the talents of many team members from a variety of departments as well as the use of different teaching and learning strategies. Pedagogy as well as team configurations must change when moving to...

This article presents the results of a national study of 39 higher education institutions that collected information about their evaluation procedures and outcome measures for faculty development for online teaching conducted during 2011-2012. The survey results found that over 90% of institutions used measures of the faculty person’s assessment of...

Peer grading offers a scalable and sustainable way of providing assessment and feedback to a massive student population. However, currently there is little empirical evidence to support the credentials of peer grading as a learning assessment method in the MOOC context. To address this research need, this study examined 1,825...

The growth of online learning within education has corresponded to an increase in use of asynchronous discussion. Asynchronous discussion is a form of interaction that is mediated rather than directed, and is characterized by a time lag in the interactions between discussants. In this paper we conducted a brief narrative...

Discussion forums are a widely used activity in online courses. However, knowledge construction within online discussion rarely stimulates high levels of thinking. Therefore, it is important to understand which aspects of online discussion encourage learning and increase knowledge construction. This paper investigates the effect three Structured Divergent prompts (playground prompts,...

Research is limited on how metacognition is facilitated and manifested in socially situated online learning environments such as online discussion forums. We approached metacognition as the phenomenon of interest with a methodological objective to evaluate the relevance of a metacognition construct. We also had a content objective to study student-led...

This study compares student exam performance of undergraduate students in classroom and online course sections with nearly identical instructional designs. The sections differed only in lecturing and peer discussion activities, which are typical differences of classroom and online instruction. Classroom discussion activities included synchronous speech, while online discussions used asynchronous...

As mobile devices become more prominent in the lives of students, the use of mobile devices has the potential to transform learning. Mobile learning, or mLearning, is defined as learning that is personalized, situated, and connected through the use of a mobile device. As mLearning activities are developed, there is...

The pace of globalization coupled with the growing institutional pursuit of online education means online classes are increasingly composed of a multi-national, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural student body. Teaching presence, which is the ability to structure the class, create the social environment, give instruction, and assess student work, is the basis...

This article presents the results of a national study of 39 higher education institutions that collected information about their practices for faculty development for online teaching and particularly the content and training activities used during 2011-2012. This study found that the most frequently offered training content (97% of the institutions)...

The literature suggests that personal information management is a serious challenge for many computer users. Online faculty are especially challenged because of the large number of electronic files necessitated by teaching online. Those who have experience in this environment may offer valuable insights regarding information management challenges and practices. Faculty...

This article presents the results of a national study of 39 higher education institutions that collected information about the cost measures used to evaluate faculty development for online teaching as well as anticipated future decisions regarding faculty development activities and content in a budget-cutting situation. Generally, institutions are more likely...

The Community of Inquiry model provides a framework for recognizing and evaluating interpersonal behaviors in online educational settings. One of its three components, teaching presence, describes behaviors that are under the auspices of the online instructor. By examining behaviors through the theoretical lens provided by teaching presence, and by measuring...

The dynamics of the student-student relationship within the asynchronous online classroom, as evidenced by conversations in an online discussion board, is a balancing act potentially more complex than those occurring in real-time. In order for learning to truly be considered effective, a collaborative, safe environment needs to exist among students...

This research project explores the effects of altering the structure of discussion board formats to increase student engagement and participation. This paper will present the findings of a two-university, two-class research project in which asynchronous discussion board entries were analyzed for substance. By using oral discourse analysis techniques, the postings...

This research explores communicative influences on cognitive learning and educational affect in online and offline courses. A survey was conducted of students (N = 147) enrolled in online and offline courses within a single department during Summer 2013. Respondents were asked about their perceptions of classroom communication. Responses were subjected...

The ability to work in groups across time and space has become a frequent requirement for the workplace and is becoming increasingly more common in higher education, but there is a surprising lack of research on how online groups work. This study applies analytical approaches used in studies of face-to-face...

The purpose of the research was to compare student performance in an online or face-to-face (F2F) required Psychology course on three distinct sets of variables (i.e., pre-course, course, and post-course variables). Analyses revealed mixed significant and nonsignificant results. Students did not differ in terms of such variables as hours transferred...

Long-awaited rulings from the copyright infringement lawsuit provide the most specific guidance available to date regarding fair use of certain types of materials in e-reserves systems and online course management systems. Unless successfully appealed or otherwise overturned, this case represents a significant victory for Georgia State University specifically and higher...

The rapid growth of online academic programs in higher education has prompted institutions to develop processes and implement strategies to ensure the quality of their online offerings. Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are quality standards that institutions can effectively implement regardless of context. This paper examines the approaches...

Retaining students in distance education programs requires institutions to field a strategically aligned, cross-unit team able to provide streamlined and effective services to online learners throughout the student’s academic life (from applicant to alumni). If any team member drops the ball during interaction with the online student, the student becomes...

This paper focuses on the use of ePortfolios to inform the redesign and development of academic degree programs. The practice aligns with the Connect to Learning (C2L) design principles of inquiry, reflection, and integration (IRI), which are nested within C2L’s “Catalyst for Learning” model for successful ePortfolio implementation [1]. In...

Utilizing multimedia tools, such as videos and audio clips, can be an effective way to promote student learning and engagement in online settings. This study explores the implementation of a photo-rich comprehensive counseling center environment through which students of a semester-long online graduate psychology class learned about important research methodology...

This paper examines the ongoing challenge of defining what learning means from the perspective of the cognitive and learning sciences, especially as it unfolds in online environments. To better define learning as well as offer guiding principles, this paper uses Khan Academy as an example of what some highprofile individuals,...

The study presents a conceptual framework of a blended professional development program for teacher success in learning a subject matter and enhancing instructional practice. Twenty-nine middle school teachers (22 first-year and 7 continuing teachers) participated in a year-long, blended professional development (PD) program. Effects of the blended PD program were...

This article presents the results of an extensive review of the published literature on faculty development for online teaching. This review included 68 articles and five books, which were reviewed to identify elements of the training and the findings (e.g., theoretical bases, training aims and organization, content of training, nature...

To address the growing need for incorporating experiential learning into online degree programs, this paper proposes a design framework that would integrate industry-sponsored projects into online capstone courses. The design could be applicable to any program at any institution. The research and data used to develop the framework was gathered...

Online learning has been growing at an exponential rate over the past decade, providing new opportunities for students seeking quality courses and programs offered through flexible formats. However, as higher education continues to expand online offerings, services must be expanded simultaneously to support all students. This article focuses on online...

Online learning provides extensive opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enroll in degree and certificate programs. However, accessibility must be central to online course development since this can have a profound effect on student engagement, academic performance, and completion rates. This article provides a unique perspective on accessibility in online...

K–12 special education policies and practices that ensure students with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment are coming under pressure from the rapid expansion of online learning. Forty-six state and non-state jurisdiction special education directors responded to a brief survey about K–12 online learning....

A review of multiple online courses at one institution was conducted by a skilled screen reader user for the purpose of assessing the extent to which the courses were navigable and understandable to online students using assistive technologies. This paper identifies features of online courses that may present problems for...

Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of requests for online course material accommodations at the University of Central Florida (UCF). In response to these requests, UCF’s Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) formed new teams, reevaluated its processes, and initiated a partnership with...

For students with disabilities to have the same opportunities to succeed as their nondisabled peers, access to educational technology and digital content is critical. It is essential that higher education boards, administrators, faculty, and administrative staff understand why accessibility must be on the forefront of our educational programs, co-curricular initiatives,...

Success for online students with disabilities requires an institutional commitment to accessibility. This success also requires an understanding of the benefits and opportunities as well challenges and barriers related to online learning. This question and answer session provides a national perspective from the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and...

This paper proposes both theoretical and empirical approaches to differentiating the community of inquiry (CoI) in online classes at individual and group levels. Following the example of research on organizational climate, it assesses the strength of shared perceptions of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. The paper develops a...

This pilot study asked graduate students enrolled in higher education programs at two institutions to ascertain whether and to what extent they experienced nine flow-related conditions in two settings: (1) online courses or (2) surfing or gaming online. In both settings, flow was experienced “sometimes,” although no significant difference in...

Disinhibition is recognized as an effect that prompts online users to communicate with less constraint than in face-to-face discussion. This article describes how disinhibition may affect more than individual instances. In a blended learning environment, disinhibition may alter the entire context of discussion by disrupting established patterns of interaction among...

The aim of AgShare is to create a scalable and sustainable collaboration of existing organizations for African publishing, localizing, and sharing of science-based teaching and learning materials that fill critical resource gaps in African MSc agriculture curriculum. Shared innovative practices are emerging through the AgShare projects, not only for creating...

Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy and contributes significantly to the gross domestic product. A great majority of this contribution comes from smallholder farmers who paradoxically face numerous obstacles ranging from a lack of support structures to poor policies and inadequate resources. A major challenge is assisting these farmers...

The AgShare Phase I Program, conducted at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, was formed to create open education resources for teaching and community development through action research. The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of investigators from fields of veterinary medicine and agri-business. Two master of science students conducted dairy...

One of the cornerstones of the AgShare program is the application of an information loop of action research in the training of graduate students to generate new and practical educational materials and interventions for creating open education research (OER) modules for teaching at universities, and for designing interventions and training...

Graduate programs in agriculture in developing countries such as in Ethiopia are often designed in cognizance of the need for skilled manpower for agricultural development. In Ethiopia, the contribution of graduates of agricultural graduate programs to the attempt to transform smallholder agriculture has become a matter of urgency in the...

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Africa face the challenge of responding to the expanding demand for tertiary education while maintaining or enhancing the quality of their course offerings. This demand has led to some HEIs introducing the use of interactive web technologies to support their distance teaching and learning practices....

This article presents a case study of the adoption and use of open textbooks by three high school teachers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The textbooks, collaboratively authored and distributed through the South African initiative, Siyavula, are available online and are openly licensed, allowing teachers to freely use,...

In today’s world, where tuition fees continue to rise rapidly and the demand for higher education increases in both the developing and developed world, it is important to find additional and alternative learning passage ways, learners can afford.Traditional education as we have known it has begun to change, allowing for...

Learning analytics is a domain that has been constantly evolving throughout recent years due to the acknowledgement of its importance by those using intelligent data, learner-produced data, and analysis models to discover information and social connections for predicting and advising people's learning [1]. Learning analytics may be applied in a...

In the last years, a variety of approaches and tools have been developed for giving access to Open Educational Resources (OER) related to food safety, security and food standards, as well to a various targeted audience (e.g. farmers, agronomists). The aim of this paper is to present a technology infrastructure,...

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) continue to attract press coverage as they change almost daily in their format, number of registrations, and potential for credentialing. An enticing aspect of the MOOC is its global reach. In this paper, we will focus on a type of MOOC called a cMOOC because...

Over the past twelve years, Monroe Community College (MCC), in Rochester, NY, has administered three surveys to non-successful online students to ask about their perceptions of online learning and to learn about student perceived barriers in the online environment. For these surveys, non-successful students were defined as those students who...

Student  retention  in  higher  education  has  become  a  critical  focus  in  recent  years.  This  paper  describes   the   efforts   of   Lone   Star   College-­Online   and   its   Online   Student   Support   Services   unit   to   build   and   implement...

A   rural   Community   College   evaluated   its   procedures   for   preparing   students   for   online   courses   and   determined   it   was   not   meeting   the   needs   of   the   students.      Through   the   use   of   the...

As more colleges add online courses and fully online programs, the need to offer online supports to students becomes more apparent. The connection to an adviser is critical for all students, but for online students it can serve as their primary connection to the institution. In Fall 2011 a pilot...

As combinations of place-based, blended and fully online education proliferate, so do options for support and services. Aligning with regional accreditation criteria, the Sloan-C Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs is a useful way for institutions to measure and compare the quality of social and student engagement and...

Recent research in online learning [1] identifies five areas of adjustment for students experience becoming a competent online learner: virtual interaction, self-identity, instructor role, course design and technology. This paper is about the first, second and third of these areas and about the importance of analyzing the role that students...

The Professional Science Master’s Biotechnology program at the University of Maryland University College developed and implemented a novel online mentoring program to increase synergy with the biotechnology industry. In this program, Master’s students are paired with mentors from the biotechnology industry. A mentor assistant, who is a graduate of the...

Mobile devices and applications are expected to have a significant impact on teaching and learning in the near future. Yet colleges and universities are currently facing severe budget constraints and discretionary funding is restricted for new initiatives. The question addressed in this paper is: “What strategy should an institution of higher...

Over   the   last   two   decades,   students   and   teachers,   across   educational   levels   and   disciplines,   have   been   subject  to  a  variety  of school  reform  efforts.  Nevertheless,  some  instructional  practices,  such  as  portfolio   assessment,   persist  ...

The current gap in technology knowledge and lack of leadership preparation related to digital literacy for school environments can cause serious problems, as school leaders, parents, and broader social communities are currently realizing. The authors describe strategies for educational leaders to prepare their stakeholder groups for a digital future, as...

U-Pace, an instructional intervention, has potential for widespread implementation because student behavior recorded in any learning management system is used by U-Pace instructors to tailor coaching of student learning based on students’ strengths and motivations. U-Pace utilizes an online learning environment to integrate content mastery with Amplified Assistance (instructor-initiated, individually...

This research was designed to explore the learning experiences of state college students using mobile electronic textbook (e-book) readers. The purpose of the study was to build a rich description of how students used e-books delivered on mobile computing devices for college-level, introductory sociology courses at a public state college...

Embry-­Riddle  Aeronautical  University - Worldwide  serves  more  than  36,000  online  students  across  the   globe,  many  of  whom  are military  and  other  non-­traditional  students,  offering  34  undergraduate,  graduate,   and   professional   education/workforce   certificate   programs,   presented   both   online   and   via   blended...

There   are   comparatively   few   studies   on   one-­to-­one   tutoring   in   online   settings,   even   though   it   has   been   found   to   be   an   effective   model.   This   paper   explores  ...

Less   than   half   of   the   students   in   the   United   States   graduate   from   high   school   and   are   ready   to   take   college-­level   math   courses.   Many   years   and  ...

Higher  education  institutions  are  under significant  pressure  to  provide  affordable, sustainable  approaches   that  will  prepare  their students with  the  skills  they  will  need  after graduation  to  achieve  success  in  the  21st   Century   workplace.   Digital   Media   Simulations   are   among   the   new...

This article describes the design and development of a professional development program based upon research on the competencies necessary for online teaching success [1] conducted at Penn State University in 2009-2010. The article highlights how the results of this research are being aligned with various professional development courses comprising the...

Online education is no longer a peripheral phenomenon in higher education: over one-third of faculty members have taught or developed an online course. As institutions of higher education expand their online education offerings, administrators need to recognize that supporting faculty members through the use of incentives and through effective faculty...

Faculty and student feedback on blended courses is instrumental to improving blended courses and programs. The purpose of this article is to describe the process and results of blended learning outcome assessment at a large, multi-campus, private university. The outcome measures used in this assessment were developed in the context...

Online instruction, like all traditional instructional environments, requires learner self-control and proactive learning to construct knowledge and acquire skills. However, online students often fail to complete some components of their online work each week, damaging their overall academic progress in the course. To assist students in completion of all assigned...

Institutions of higher education are realizing the importance of service learning initiatives in developing awareness of students' civic responsibilities, leadership and management skills, and social responsibility. These skills and responsibilities are the foundation of program outcomes in accredited higher education business programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. In an attempt...

This study compares dialogic behavior in asynchronous course forums from blended learning environments with non-mandatory student participation at a campus-based college and at a distance education, Open University.  The goal is to document similarities and differences in students' and instructors' dialogic behavior that occur in two similar instructional resources used...

The effectiveness and potential of asynchronous online courses hinge on sustained, purposeful interaction. And while many factors affecting interaction have been uncovered by prior literature, there are few accounts of the relative importance of these factors when studied in the same online course. In this paper, we develop a literature-informed...

A multitude of factors influence interpersonal interaction between students and instructors in an online course. This study examines perceptions of six experienced online instructors to determine factors they believe increase interaction among their students and between the students and instructor of online courses. The end result is an inventory of...

Are online activities devoid of emotion and social intelligence? Graduate students in online and blended programs at Texas Tech University and the University of Memphis were surveyed about how often they laughed, felt other emotions, and expressed social intelligence. Laughter, chuckling, and smiling occurred "sometimes" as did other emotions (e.g.,...

Data-driven decision making, popularized in the 1980s and 1990s, is evolving into a vastly more sophisticated concept known as big data that relies on software approaches generally referred to as analytics. Big data and analytics for instructional applications are in their infancy and will take a few years to mature,...

The authors describe the top-down / bottom-up action analytics approach to using data to inform decision-making at the University of Central Florida. The top-down approach utilizes information about programs, modalities, and college implementation of Web initiatives. The bottom-up approach continuously monitors outcomes attributable to distributed learning, including student ratings and...

Producing a visualization from a given dataset which brings light to specific questions involves a difficult process of design. As the field of learning analytics is still in its relative infancy, a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities afforded by the creation of visualizations of complex datasets is needed...

Community colleges continue to experience growth in online courses. This growth reflects the need to increase the numbers of students who complete certificates or degrees. Retaining online students, not to mention assuring their success, is a challenge that must be addressed through practical institutional responses. By leveraging existing student information,...

Despite high enrollment numbers, postsecondary completion rates have generally remained unchanged for the past 30 years and half of these students do not attain a degree within six years of initial enrollment. Although online learning has provided students with a convenient alternative to face-to-face instruction, there remain significant questions regarding...

This essay is written to present a prospective stance on how learning analytics, as a core evaluative approach, must help instructors uncover the important trends and evidence of quality learner data in the online course. A critique is presented of strategic and tactical issues of learning analytics. The approach to...

This paper is a study of the author’s experiences taking a six-week, asynchronous, online, faculty development class for educators at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Using autoethnography methods, the author details her learning and the ways her experiences support adult learning theories. Implications of this research suggest that adult learning...

This action research study explored the change in face-to-face teaching practices as a result of faculty professional development for online teaching. Faculty’s initial teaching model is typically born from that of their own teachers, and they teach as they were taught. However, few have any online experience as a student...

The reluctance to design and teach online courses in higher education is often attributed to technology anxiety in faculty. This article documents a faculty development model that has successfully helped faculty overcome this obstacle. “Bootcamps,” faculty development programs held at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI, were specifically and intentionally designed...

An Online Instructor Training (OIT) program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse provides a three-week asynchronous training, focused on design, delivery, and facilitation of online courses. OIT trainees from 2010 and 2011 participated in a three-phase evaluation of the OIT. In Phase I, common conceptions (myths) about online education were assessed both...

This paper describes the redesign of a faculty development program at a large public university that transitioned from weekly face-to-face meetings to a version that reduced seat time by half. Focus is on course development activities in which individual faculty began designing and developing their online courses. Survey data was...

Faculty development is a critical process, enabling instructors to remain abreast of new discipline specific content and innovations in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The explosion of online higher education and advances in technology provide examples and rationale for why faculty development for e-learning is needed.  Literature on faculty...

In order for faculty to make a successful transition to teaching in the online classroom, they must receive professional development specifically geared toward this challenge. Bay Path College offers a faculty development program that incorporates three distinct components all geared toward aiding faculty to adjust to teaching online and providing assistance...

Research conducted in various settings suggests that preparation and support for online instructors should be considered separately from comparable efforts for instructors in face-to-face environments. However, few studies provide empirical data that outline the ways in which preparation to teach online should differ, and only a handful link these practices to...

Experienced e-learning faculty members share strategies for implementing a comprehensive postsecondary faculty development program essential to continuous improvement of instructional skills. The high-impact META Model (centered around Mentoring, Engagement, Technology, and Assessment) promotes information sharing and content creation, and fosters collaboration among a fifty-member faculty team that is geographically dispersed...

The Center for eLearning was established at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) as a result of a university-wide task force. A brief overview of the center’s start-up activity is followed by a thorough report of the first faculty development program created and implemented. The structure of the program is described, and data are...

The growth of online learning has exposed fundamental gaps in our knowledge, both theoretical and pragmatic. This research investigated some questions of the role of emergent leaders in online leaning and the influence of different behaviors. Firstly are there any common factors that identify thought-leaders? Secondly does the presence of...

Many researchers have documented connections between student motivation/proactive student behavior and academic success. This study investigates if early participation on course message boards is connected with success in online and hybrid courses. Investigating 12 first-year writing classes, eight hybrid and four fully online, the authors found that first posters on...

Students continue to demand and enroll in online courses, but are not always satisfied with their experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine if students’ responses to evaluations for online courses could be used to identify faculty actions that could lead to improved evaluation scores in teaching effectiveness...

This exploratory study examined teaching behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs (referred to as tasks) that reflect potential competencies for online teaching success. In this study, teaching tasks are those tasks performed during course delivery. A 7-point Likert scale survey instrument was constructed and distributed to experienced online faculty and staff asking...

The purpose of this research is to determine whether nontraditional undergraduate students in the US who enroll in distance education classes are less likely to have an enrollment gap (enrollment gap=part year enrollment). Previous research has shown that preference for distance education classes is significantly greater among nontraditional than among...

Encouraging continuous improvement in the quality, scale and breadth of online education, the Sloan Consortium invites practitioners to share effective practices. This report synthesizes effective practices submitted by Sloan-C members to the online collection at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/effective as of December 2011. The synthesis includes links to detailed postings about practices, including the...

 This paper examines a core leadership strategy for transforming learning and teaching in distance education through flexible and blended learning. It focuses on a project centered on distributive leadership that involves collaboration, shared purpose, responsibility and recognition of leadership irrespective of role or position within an organization. Distributive leadership was...

Technology and change are so closely related that the use of the word innovation seems synonymous with technology in many contexts, including that of higher education. This paper contends that university culture and existing capability constrain such innovation and to a large extent determine the nature and extent of organizational...

 Online distance education (ODE) has become pervasive and can potentially transform pedagogical practices across primary, secondary, and university-based educational systems. ODE is considered a flexible option for non-traditional students such as adult learners and home-schoolers, and a convenient way to deliver remedial courses. ODE is also a feasible and attractive...

The purpose of this study is to analyze what is happening at schools regarding the integration and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and to examine teachers‘ perceptions about what teaching and learning processes can be improved through the use of ICT. A multiple-case-study research methodology was applied. From...

 Mobile learning (m-learning) has moved beyond the realms of fantasy to become a viable platform for contextual learning that bridges formal and informal learning environments. This paper overviews how mobile Web 2.0 has been instrumental in facilitating pedagogical change and informing an institution‟s new e-learning strategy that focuses upon social...

 We present a case study to evaluate the use of a Wimba Voice Board to support asynchronous audio discussion. We discuss the learning strategy and pedagogic rationale when a Voice Board was implemented within an MA module for language learners, enabling students to create learning objects and facilitating peer-to-peer learning....

 The uptake of web-based lecture technologies for recording and delivering live lectures has increased markedly in recent years. Students have responded positively, and for many their use has transformed learning – freeing them up from rigid timetables by providing choice in lecture attendance and supporting learning by extending the lecture...

Given the complex environment in which the U.S. military operates, leaders at all levels must be prepared for a force that is more responsive to regional combatant commanders needs, better employs joint capabilities, facilitates force packaging and rapid deployment, and fights self contained units in non-linear, non-contiguous battle space. This...

Ten experienced online faculty were interviewed to elicit examples of how they improved student learning productivity in their online courses. The ten faculty represented nine different states, 13 different fields or disciplines, and all were tenured or tenure-track at master’s or doctoral level higher education institutions. Based on a thematic...

Student e-mails without the student’s name, message, file attachment, and other identifying information may impede a timely and thorough instructor response. To help resolve this issue, we apply template and reminder interventions to improve student e-mail format defined as the degree of agreement between a student’s e-mail format and an...

The intent of this study was to learn about students’ perceived barriers and the impact of those barriers on the quality of online discussions between two distinct cultural groups in Eastern and Northern Siberia (Russia). A mixed-methods approach utilizing surveys and interviews was used to investigate (1) the types of...

The Faculty of Education, University of Brasilia, implemented an online undergraduate degree program for classroom teachers (student-teacher) who have not yet completed their studies. There are 1800 classroom teachers in the Brazilian state of Acre, bordering Peru and Bolivia, who have completed only high school. However, a new directive from...

To adapt to the knowledge economy The United States needs millions more educated citizens. New approaches to delivering academic quality and quality assurance in teaching and learning make effective, affordable postsecondary education accessible to more learners than ever before possible....

This study presents findings from an investigation of the impact of teachers who graduated from a fully online master’s degree program with training in pedagogy and a content-specialization in elementary reading and literacy (oERL) on reading achievement in a large urban public school system in the northwestern United States. The...

Though online enrollments continue to accelerate at a rapid pace, there is significant concern over student retention. With drop rates significantly higher than in face-to-face classes it is imperative that online providers develop an understanding of factors that lead students to disenroll. This study utilizes a data mining approach to...

Facilitating class discussions effectively is a critical yet challenging component of instruction, particularly in online environments where student and faculty interaction is limited. Our goals in this research were to identify facilitation strategies that encourage productive discussion, and to explore text mining techniques that can help discover meaningful patterns in...

As higher education moves increasingly to blended and fully online environments, smaller institutions often ask whether this is a desirable trend. They face many challenges in transforming their largely face- to-face didactic teaching traditions to the technology mediated learning environments. Learning effectiveness and student satisfaction are seen to be decisive...

This paper describes the conversion of an introductory computing course to the blended learning model at a small, public liberal arts college. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by incorporating rich, online learning experiences. To assess the impact of blended learning on students, survey data was collected at the midpoint...

The principles of course redesign that were applied to a gateway Cell Biology course at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are applicable to courses large and small, and to institutions of any size. The challenge was to design a content-rich science course that kept pace with present and future content and...

Adopting a new teaching approach is often a daunting task especially if one is an early adopter in a limited-resource environment. This article describes the challenges encountered and the strategies used in pilot testing a blended instructional method in a large size class within the college of education at a...

Implementing blended accelerated learning programs or courses requires a systematic approach, not just the addition of new technologies. Small colleges face challenges when they move toward blended learning because of already-constrained resources. In this article, we will survey issues faced by small colleges in moving to blended learning, document a...

In transitioning to a hybrid delivery model, faculty are presented with an opportunity to engage in a systematic instructional design process which can bring coursework in line with pedagogical best practices that may not exist in traditional face-to-face classes. This paper presents a model whereby Marist College Academic Technology &...

Faculty development programs are critical to the implementation and support of curriculum innovation. In this case study, the authors present lessons learned from ten years of experience in faculty development programs created to support innovation in technology enhanced learning. Stages of curriculum innovation are matched to stages of faculty development,...

To support the growth of its blended courses, Bronx Community College (BCC), a unit of the City University of New York (CUNY), participated in a CUNY-sponsored initiative to increase blended learning options for students. The initiative allowed BCC to expand its existing faculty development program. This paper describes major aspects...

The number of instructional offerings in higher education that are online, blended, or web-enhanced, including courses and programs, continues to grow exponentially. Alongside the growth of e-learning, higher education has witnessed the explosion of cloud-based or Web 2.0 technologies, a term that refers to the vast array of socially oriented,...

The purpose of this article is to examine online learning at the macro level in terms of its impact on American K-12 and higher education.   The authors draw on six years of data that they have collected through national studies of online learning in American education as well as related...

As the demands for public accountability increase for the higher education, institutions are seeking methods for continuous improvement in order to demonstrate quality within programs and processes, including those provided through online education. A six round Delphi study was undertaken with 43 seasoned administrators of online education programs who agreed...

This paper presents data about the successful use of the Mentored Innovation Model for professional development for a group of Hungarian teachers (n=23, n=20 in two iterations), which was employed in the CALIBRATE project in order to enhance their ICT skills and pedagogical competences needed for participation in a multicultural,...

This study identified faculty actions which positively influenced student satisfaction in the online classroom at the community college level. The escalating demand for Internet-based, distance education courses has been met by an increased inventory of them. However, while online education has been in existence for over a decade, standardized practices in...

We have developed a set of tools for improving online collaborative learning including an automated expert that monitors and moderates discussions, and additional tools to evaluate contributions, semantically search all posted comments, access a library of hundreds of digital books and provide reports to instructors. The technology behind these tools is...

Educational technology is developing rapidly, making education more accessible, affordable, adaptable, and equitable. Students now have the option to choose a campus that can provide an excellent blended learning curriculum with minimal geographical restraints. We explored ways to maximize the power of educational technologies to improve teaching efficiency and cut costs...

Encouraging continuous improvement in the quality, scale and breadth of online education, the Sloan Consortium invites practitioners to share effective practices. This report synthesizes effective practices submitted by Sloan-C members to the online collection at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/effective as of November 2010. The synthesis includes links to the provider institutions and to detailed...

 Asynchronous  and  blended  education  provide  solutions  for  meeting   large  scale  demand, thus  this  issue  features  four  cases  about  innovative  workforce  development  programs.     Each  one  of  them  advances  the  possibilities  and  provides  replicable  practices  for expanding  access.  ...

A qualitative research project was conducted to evaluate the suitability of e-learning as a means of deliv- ering training to workplace learners in the South African furniture manufacturing sector. Twenty learners participated in a three-month pilot e-learning course and were monitored throughout. While the study was designed primarily to investigate...

To meet workforce demand and the needs of working or place-bound students, Whatcom Community College developed an online version of its existing face-to-face Physical Therapist Assistant program which became a model for other lab-based health science degrees. This article describes research studies that support the program’s practices and includes the...

This  article  highlights the  experiences  of  two  baccalaureate  Health  Information  Administration  (HIA)   programs  in  the  adoption  of  the  American  Health  Information  Management  Association’s  (AHIMA)  e-­HIM   Virtual  Laboratory  (Virtual  Lab)  into  the  Professional  Practice  Experience  (PPE).  Information  is  provided   describing  the  implementation  of  the  Virtual  Lab,  issues  that  were  encountered,...

The  Center  for  Economic  and  Workforce  Development  (CEWD)  at  Kingsborough  Community  College  is   currently  working  on  a  workforce  development  project  that  contains  innovative  teaching  tools  that  proved  successful  in  overcoming  issues  of  academic  isolation...

Recognizing that the shifting corporate environment is placing ever greater stresses on learning organizations, this paper reports how companies are increasingly offering employees a wide choice of learning options beyond conventional classroom training, including online, social learning, and other modalities in “blended” programs. Identifying a number of trends—a multi-generational workforce,...

An exploratory study of 954 mostly veteran workplace learning professionals sought to determine why respondents adopt e-learning. The results indicated that they see e-learning was most valuable for delivering instruction governing familiar company tasks, such as providing information about products, fulfilling compliance requirements, and securing standardization. While the results were...

When measuring outcomes in corporate training, the authors recommend that it is essential to introduce a comprehensive plan, especially when resources are limited and the company needs are vast. The authors hone in on five critical components for shaping a measurement plan to determine the success and ROI of training....

The Sloan Pillars have set the standard for university-wide online learning program assessment for more than a dozen years. In this paper, the authors propose the extension of the Pillars to corporate e-learning, offering an alternative to traditional enterprise learning assessments. Claiming that conventional methods stress individual courses or programs,...

[Reprinted from 12:1, February 2008] If higher education is a right, and distance education is the avenue for making higher education universally available, then who shall pay? This article asks (1) can state governments in the United States afford to fund this initiative and (2) can public higher education...

What are the most significant factors that motivate and inhibit faculty with regard to teaching in online environments? And what are the specific kinds of experiences that underlie and explain the importance of these factors? One goal of this study was to add to understanding of these issues, but the...

[Reprinted from Elements of Quality Online Education: Into the Mainstream, Volume 5 in the Sloan-C series (2003)] Developing and delivering curricula that are integrated and that use blended learning techniques requires a highly orchestrated design. While institutions have demonstrated the ability to design complex curricula on an ad-hoc basis,...

[Reprinted from 10:3, July 2006] This paper reviews online enrollment trends in higher education, describes the characteristics of online programs that have scaled successfully to meet increasing demand, identifies challenges impacting the continued growth of online enrollments in this sector, and outlines the opportunities for increasing access ...

[Reprinted from 11:1, April 2007] Drawing on the University of Massachusetts experience in developing successful blended local programs, this paper suggests guiding principles that include mission-driven responsiveness to local contexts and partnerships; using low-cost marketing strategies available through local relationships and brand; attending to students’ preferences for blending face-to-face and...

[Reprinted from 13:1, April 2009] Given the importance of administrative attention to blended learning, this article adumbrates the institutional benefits but also the institutional challenges of this integration of online and on-campus instruction. The reasons for engaging in blended learning determine how it will play out, so the why is...

Economic and demographic shifts in the United State are transforming higher education. With substantial reductions in state funding, increasing campus energy and operational costs, endowments generating reduced returns, and a national economic readjustment of unprecedented proportions, higher education must re-examine and reposition itself to meet new and emerging challenges. This...

Teaching online can be particularly challenging when there is a need to immerse students located anywhere in the world in specific environmental contexts. We used the Ecological Psychology Approach to Instructional Design (EPAID) to design four courses in two concentration areas (Border Health, and Workforce and Healthcare Delivery Environments). In...

Methods for characterizing asynchronous text-based discussions have received significant attention in the literature. In this study, we examine student and instructor posts made in seventeen undergraduate mathematics courses over the duration of a fifteen-week semester (n=6964 posts). We apply our previously developed multifactor discussion board metric to compare differences in...

This study investigates perceived ease of use and overall computer/internet experience as emotional factors that affect e-learning. Results suggest that online learning systems design should address typical software interfaces so that students feel more comfortable using them.  ...

Encouraging continuous improvement in the quality, scale and breadth of online education, the Sloan Consortium invites practitioners to share effective practices. This report synthesizes effective practices submitted by Sloan-C members to the online collection at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/effective as of December 2009. The synthesis includes links to the provider institutions and...

From 2003 to 2007, enrollment in online courses nearly doubled, from 1.98 million to 3.94 million. By 2007, the 12.9% growth rate of online enrollments far exceeded the 1.2% growth of the overall higher education student population. Online education will continue to grow as a significant percentage of the 19...

This case study describes the philosophy underlying the delivery of online programs and courses at Peirce College through Peirce Online®. The strategies used to implement the Peirce College model and the measures used to validate its success are outlined. These factors are reviewed in the context of the Sloan-C Five...

This case study offers a strategic model of methods and services resulting in relatively high student success rates as defined by course completion of introductory first and second semester online courses. This strategic model is presented in the context of Sloan-C's Five Pillars of Quality Online Education....

RIT Online Learning courses have an overall course completion rate of 94%. For lower-division courses the rate is 92%, undergraduate 93%, and graduate 96%. In this case study we will share additional measurements we have used to monitor student success and describe strategies we have used to promote online discussion...

The University of Cincinnati (UC) is a premier, public, urban research university dedicated to undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, experience-based learning, and research. The University also maintains a deep commitment to accessible education. Distance learning is an integral part of the University’s 21st century approach to meeting diverse educational needs...

Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private, Christian, liberal arts institution located in the DFW Metroplex. Just over 5,200 students, DBU provides both traditional undergraduate, adult and graduate degrees with the enrollment almost equally divided between the three student groups. Today, DBU offers 34 degree programs fully online maintains a...

Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private, Christian, liberal arts institution located in the DFW Metroplex. Just over 5,200 students, DBU provides both traditional undergraduate, adult and graduate degrees with the enrollment almost equally divided between the three student groups. Today, DBU offers 34 degree programs fully online maintains a...

In the U.S., only 38 of every 100 ninth graders enroll in college; of these 38, only 18 complete bachelors’ degrees within six years. Asynchronous learning networks (ALN)—asynchronous, highly interactive, instructor-led, resource-rich, cohort-based learning—can yield high success rates. Growing demand for online education and the expectation among higher education leaders...

Although there are many reasons why students dropout of college courses, those reasons may be unique for students who are enrolled in an online program. Issues of isolation, disconnectedness, and technological problems may be factors that influence a student to leave a course. To understand these factors, an online survey...

This paper focuses on an assessment of an online certification program in K–12 library media which has a near-perfect record of retaining students. Students and graduates of the program were asked to identify reasons for enrolling (and staying enrolled) in the program as well as functions that faculty performed well....

Many students who begin postsecondary education drop out before completing a degree. According to the Lumina Foundation, an estimated 60 percent of students at public institutions fail to complete degrees within five years, and half of these students leave during the freshman year. As shown by research by the Policy...

The growing demand for higher education worldwide, along with global expansion of telecommunication technologies, give online distance education a potential world-wide reach for institutions in many countries. Given the persistent international digital divide and the potential for the host institutions and languages to be those of wealthy, industrialized countries, international...

The integration of online technologies in educational practice is rendering new opportunities for teaching and learning. It is known that instructors who have taught fully online courses have acquired new skills and have had the opportunity to implement novel pedagogical practices in the online environment. However, it is unclear whether...

During the past three years, we have developed and implemented an enterprise information system (EIS) to reengineer and facilitate the administrative process for preparing and teaching distance learning courses in a midsized-to-large university (with 23,000 students). The outcome of the implementation has been a streamlined and efficient process which...

Asynchronous text based discussion boards are included in many online courses, however strategies to compare their use within and between courses, from a disciplinary standpoint, have not been well documented in the literature. The goal of this project was to develop a multi-factor metric which could be used to characterize...

In this technologically advanced age, much emphasis is put on collaboration in education at many levels. As a result, faculty co-teaching (collaborative teaching) has grown dramatically. This paper introduces how two instructors from different countries (USA and Turkey), one experienced in online teaching and the other in medical informatics, collaborated...

This article is reprinted from [A. Mayadas et al., Online Education Today. Science 323: 85–89, 2 January 2009]. Reprinted with permission from AAAS. Online education is established, growing, and here to stay. It is creating new opportunities for students and also for faculty, regulators of education, and the educational institutions themselves....

Based on earlier studies using the 1999 and 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) data [1, 2], a causal model explaining faculty technology use was constructed. Path analysis was used to test the causal effects of age, gender, highest degree, discipline (health science or not), recent research productivity, and...

The study compared the effects of a professional development course delivered in an online and a face-to-face format.  The effects examined included changes in teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, instructional practices, and understanding of teaching number-sense and related mathematical concepts.  The study randomly assigned participants to either the online or the face-to-face...

In April 2008, the University of Illinois-Chicago hosted the Fifth Sloan-C Workshop on Blended Learning and Higher Education. This workshop attracted 180 educational leaders, faculty members, instructional designers and researchers who discussed, shared and considered effective practices in the design and delivery of blended learning environments. Presentations on best...

The purpose of this article is to propose a blending with purpose multimodal conceptual model for designing and developing blended learning courses and programs. A blended learning model is presented that suggests teachers design instruction to meet the needs of a variety of learners. Specifically, Blending with Purpose: The Multimodal...

The purpose of this research was to perform a three way comparison of delivery modes for an introductory Management Information Systems course to determine if there existed a difference in student success among the delivery modes.  The research compares student exam and final grade results in this class that was...

This paper discusses utilizing course objectives to drive the change of existing 10–15 week undergraduate courses into 8-week courses that feature blended learning tools. To begin the redesign process, instructors and a faculty mentor revisit course objectives for currency, and with an eye toward blended course restructuring. The restructuring is...

At Michigan State University the two medical schools, College of Human Medicine (CHM; M.D. degree) and College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM; D.O. degree),  have offered the same science courses to first year students for many years. Science departments report to both colleges, and the same faculty can effectively teach the...

The authors contend that blended learning represents a boundary object; a construct that brings together constituencies from a variety of backgrounds with each of these cohorts defining the object somewhat differently.  The Sloan-C Pillars (learning effectiveness, access, cost effectiveness, student satisfaction, and faculty satisfaction) provide a foundation for the evaluation...

The 2008 Sloan Blended Workshop evaluation track provided participants with ideas, methods, and resources with which to design and evaluate their courses, programs, and blended initiatives. The many questions that arose from participants at the Workshop provided the motivation to document our University’s evaluation experiences at course, program and institutional...

For at least the last quarter century, enterprises—including higher education institutions—have increasingly relied on Information Technology Services (ITS) for business functions. As a result, IT organizations have had to develop the discipline of production operations as well as recovery procedures to respond when those operations are disrupted. More recently, both...

Financial aid systems help make higher education available to all who can benefit. To “adjust” the existing financial aid system to make it more student friendly and open doors currently closed to many part-time learners and students with the greatest financial challenges, state policy changes and greater private sector initiatives...

To make online learning an integral part of higher education, institutions must determine the real costs of instruction and what tuition to charge based on these costs. Then the question is: Is this tuition bearable by the target population of potential students?...

The Sloan Semester was a vibrant and vitally important undertaking that required the immediate attention of a group of dedicated educators. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, though its sponsorship of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), financed this worthwhile initiative that helped Hurricane Katrina- and Rita-affected higher education students continue with their...

At the intersection of online education and preparedness, Johns Hopkins University’s (JHU) Center for Public Health Preparedness provides all-hazards preparedness and response training for public health and public safety professionals. This report comes from Jonathan Links’ keynote address to the Sloan Summer Research Workshop in Baltimore, Maryland in August 2006....

An increasing number of students in the United States are involved in online education, according to research by the Sloan Foundation. By fall 2004, approximately 2.6 million students were estimated to be enrolled in at least one online course, an average growth rate of 24.8% from 2003–04; this figure represents...

For minority serving institutions, policies that support learners call for decisions about equity, quality, cost, impact on national economic performance, and international global relationships....

Globalization is enabling transnational provision of post-secondary education. The leadership of higher education needs to attend to issues of quality and accreditation....

Within our nation’s public universities, online courses and programs have been increasing in number. This increase has led to the establishment of a National Commission on Online Learning through a collaborative effort between the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. This...

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the 60 years since the Declaration, changes have swept higher education. The emergence of online education promises that growth in its quality, scale and breadth could insure that education becomes a right. Sloan-C...

Projections for the global economy frequently center on the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. As futurists and economists alike define and re-define both formal and informal coalitions (for example, by broadening the R in BRIC to include all Eastern European economies or instead re-directing the discussion to G-8...

While availability of information and access to it enables education in developing countries, information alone does not secure transmission of knowledge—especially to remote learners in low-tech, infrastructure-poor communities. For this reason, 21st century distance education tools require innovative mechanisms for accessing the hardest-to-reach learners. This paper explores an ethnographic case...

The ‘right to education’ proclaimed by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights requires access to learning as well as the support systems. Since access can be interrupted by various circumstances, the possibility of providing continuity despite external dangers by using online distance education, offers an intriguing and valuable option....

Every child has a right to an education. In the United States, the issue is not necessarily about access to a school but access to a quality education. With strict compulsory education laws, more than 50 million students enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and billions of dollars spent annually...

With today’s computer and telecommunications technologies, every young person can have a quality education regardless of his or her place of birth. This is the dream that Open Educational Resources (OERs), when viewed as a right rather than a privilege, are directed to realize. For developing countries, we propose a...

One of the key concepts in the right to education is access: access to the means to fully develop as human beings as well as access to the means to gain skills, knowledge and credentials. This is an important perspective through which to examine the solutions to access enabled by...

This paper connects an online learning model to the rights to education that the online educational environments can provide. The model emerges from a study of ninety-two online learners and is composed of three kinds of inquiries, namely, independent inquiry, collaborative inquiry, and formative inquiry towards expert knowledge. Online learners...

Perhaps the most promising and understudied aspect of online education is course assessment. Course assessment is important because it has a strong impact on learning and is an indicator of the quality of learning occurring in a class. In the online environment, methods of assessment can be very different. However,...

This paper presents a case study of using course-specific rubrics combined with content analysis, together with instructor and student feedback, to assess learning via online discussion. Student feedback was gathered via Small Group Instructional Diagnosis, and instructor feedback was collected through formal interviews. Content analysis used emergent coding with different...

This paper describes an exploratory, observational study using a purposive sample selection to determine if the presence indicators of the well regarded Community of Inquiry model can be a useful tool to observe and assess learning events which use a Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE) as the mode of delivery...

Thirteen students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: Diversity, Academic Freedom, Political Tolerance, Affirmative Action, and Gender. Students read materials on each topic and generated questions for discussion that were categorized by Bloom’s taxonomy so...

The case method can be classified as a type of experiential learning because students treat the problem in the case as if it were real and immediate. Until the Internet there was no practical way for cases to actually be real and immediate. The Internet makes possible instantaneous distribution of...

In 2006–2007, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awarded a grant to the Sloan Consortium and Hunter College to conduct a survey of online learning in K–12 schools. For more than a decade, the Foundation had been most generous in awarding grants for online learning that focused on higher education, however,...

Chris Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. His fields of scholarship include emerging technologies, policy, and leadership. His funded research includes a grant from the National Science Foundation to aid middle school students learning science via shared virtual environments and...

Over the past decade online learning initiatives have shown tremendous potential for broadening educational opportunities and for addressing local and regional shortages of highly qualified K–12 teachers. The Louisiana Algebra I Online initiative represents one type of online model than can address both the need for improving course offerings and...

Online education is a rapidly growing phenomenon for science teachers. Using a sample of 40 online science courses for teachers offered during the 2004–2005 academic year, the Learning Science Online (LSO) study examines the nature and variety of instructional methods and activities as well as communication, and students’ perceptions of...

One of the more challenging aspects of teaching online is promoting content-focused, collaborative dialogue among students. How do we move discussants beyond initial brainstorming toward more focused, deepened dialogue that clearly supports a course’s instructional goals? Garrison and Anderson’s framework for communities of inquiry illuminates the critical interplay among social...

This study examines the patterns and substance of student self introductions in nine fully online graduate courses in education. A composite of social identity frameworks with an emphasis on language as the tool for self-presentation is first developed to guide the analysis and interpretation of these data. In particular Sfard...

The research literature on online learning has grown significantly in the past decade. Many studies have been published that examine the extent, nature, policies, learning outcomes, and other issues associated with online instruction. While much of this literature focuses specifically on postsecondary education with approximately three million students presently enrolled...

This paper reports the findings of a case study in which audio feedback replaced text-based feedback in asynchronous courses. Previous research has demonstrated that participants in online courses can build effective learning communities through text based communication alone. Similarly, it has been demonstrated that instructors for online courses can adequately...

The complexity of equipment and cost of training are increasing annually for high tech semiconductor manufacturing. The article describes the process and methodology adopted by a team at Intel Corporation to convert a 12-day class on equipment training into a blended solution consisting of a 5-day Classroom experience, a 3-hour...

Using a unique item included for the first time in the Sloan Consortium’s 2006 national survey of online learning, the authors analyze the reasons why higher-education institutions engage in online learning. Nine reasons are explored from contributing to extension efforts to returning a surplus. Eight of the nine reasons are...

This paper reports on initial findings from a research study of factors that enable and constrain faculty participation in online teaching and learning environments. It is noted that demand for higher education continues to grow in the United States. It is argued that the nature of the higher education student...

This study (N=2,826 postings from 92 participants) examines the phenomenon of interactivity in asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC), also known as threaded discussion, in the context of master’s level Teaching English as a Second Language (MATESL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (MATEFL) courses. The study, which is grounded in...

This study investigates differences in instructional and learner factors between two groups of learners exposed to online only and blended delivery formats, respectively, in an effort to compare learning outcomes and other instructional variables between online and blended delivery methods. Findings indicated that no significant differences existed in learning outcomes;...

Blended learning can be seen as the means to achieving a greater sense of "localness" on the part of colleges and universities. Blended learning has been evolving for several years and while definitions vary from one institution to another, it is defined in this paper essentially as a combination of...

The City University of New York is taking a new, local approach to online instruction: offering an online baccalaureate for degree completers, designed for NYC students who have "stopped out" in good academic standing and need the "any time" flexibility of asynchronous learning to finish the degree. What is especially...

Several forms of blended learning at Pace University offer flexible options for learners, and its growth reflects its appeal to traditional and corporate learners....

WebCampus.Stevens, the online graduate education and corporate training unit of Stevens Institute of Technology, delivers one of the largest and most effective ALN and blended programs of any college or university in the New York metropolitan region. Under a newly awarded Sloan Foundation grant, the school is extending its engineering...

The Eduventures survey examined next-generation demand for online postsecondary education, assessing online experience, delivery mode and marketing channels preferences, and perceptions of price, quality and location, identifying key takeaways in each area....

This paper explores four issues that have emerged from the research on social, cognitive, and teaching presence in an online community of inquiry. The early research in the area of online communities of inquiry has raised several issues with regard to the creation and maintenance of social, cognitive and teaching...

Despite the explosion of empirical research on online learning effectiveness over the last decade, development and acceptance of theoretical frameworks unique to the online learning environment are still relatively lacking. While there are several emerging models, one that has attracted some of the most attention is the Community of Inquiry...

The authors discuss elements that potentially impact student satisfaction with asynchronous learning: the media culture, digital, personal and mobile technologies, student learning preferences, pedagogy, complexities of measurement, and the digital generation. They describe a pilot study to identify the underlying dimensions of student satisfaction with online learning and present examples...

Changes in the language we use to talk about our activities in service of this mission and a concomitant increased emphasis on blended learning are two trends that emphasize the importance retaining important meaning and knowledge associated with earlier practice and do not limit our thinking by unnecessarily circumscribed discourse....

Over the past decade, the Internet has had a profound impact on higher education by enabling the phenomenal growth of online learning. Moreover, just as we were getting used to fully online courses,blended courses, courses which integrate online and face-to-face instruction, seem to be growing in similar, perhaps even more...

The development of feasible and cost-effective remote engineering and science laboratories is one of the most important problems facing the progress of online technical education. In this paper, we describe the development of a complete remote laboratory for the instruction of control engineering. Equipped with common industrial sensors and actuators,...

Teaching online courses is unexplored territory for many instructors. Understanding how to use the powerful learning techniques involved in cooperative group learning in an online context is imperative. This paper is a first attempt to explore the dynamics of learning groups in the context of online discussion forums. Given the...

This article describes a study exploring how students' learning is reflected in asynchronous online discussion. The study examined how online discourse contributes to the learning process. In examining online group discussions using discourse analysis, five different types of discourse were identified: goal setting, reflection, connection, original reformulation, and re-direction. With...

In this paper we argue for the possibility of using asynchronous technology to create a continuous, voluntary learning community in face-to-face courses. We discuss the theoretical concepts and values that are the foundation of such a community, describe some of the activities that take place there, and present principles of...

In addressing how to evaluate online discussions, this paper will describe several concepts, tools, or frameworks that have been used in evaluations and discuss differences in approach based on instructor purpose, be it research, assessment, or learning. Then several common problems are described, including use of content analysis, identification of...

This paper focuses on an assessment of an online certification program in K-12 library media which has a near-perfect record of retaining students. Students and graduates of the program were asked to identify reasons for enrolling (and staying enrolled) in the program as well as functions that faculty performed well....

This research examines classroom-based student participation in online discussion groups while preparing for a test, as well as the relation between the type of participation and student achievement. The online discussion groups were set up towards particular tests in a large-scale course, Introduction to Ecology, during the academic years of...

Environmental forces influencing the future of higher education in the U.S. threaten to undermine the desirable role of faculty as arbiters of academic quality. For online learning to live up to its potential, institutional policies can return academic authority to faculty over degree programs in all modes and support the...

This study focuses on understanding the social and teaching presence required to create a blended faculty development community of inquiry. Garrison, Anderson and Archer's community of inquiry framework was used to analyze transcripts from the face-to-face and online sessions of a faculty learning community focused on blended learning course redesign....

Instant messaging (IM) is changing the way we communicate with each other and may prove to be a more effective communication tool for distance learning environments than the more commonly used discussion groups and email. Media richness and social presence theories are described and young adults' perception of IM's richness...

This paper investigates how access to higher education in the United States can be increased through further integration of online education. The search for opportunities to increase access to online education examined multiple prospective higher education contexts. A series of papers produced by participants in the 2005 Sloan-C summer workshop...

It is common practice for researchers and developers of innovative programs, as well as for the foundations and agencies that provide support for such research and programming, to target their efforts on specific segments of the educational system: K–12 or higher education, for example. However, the growing acceptance of the...

This paper provides a profile of the population niche known as baby boomers, seniors and retired, collectively called the silver tsunami, relative to the potential for growth of the number of asynchronous online learners. General contextual information concerning population statistics, computer use and access trends, prefaces a listing...

"Closing the digital divide is a national challenge among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)," writes White examining the state of information technology readiness of five four-year HBCUs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The inequalities created by the digital divide have the potential of undermining the effort of HBCUs in...

In the U.S., only 38 of every 100 ninth graders enroll in college; of these 38, only 18 complete bachelors' degrees within six years. Asynchronous learning networks (ALN)—asynchronous, highly interactive, instructor-led, resource-rich, cohort-based learning—can yield high success rates. Growing demand for online education and the expectation among higher education leaders...

The goal of community colleges is to serve local needs. Community colleges' low tuition helps keep higher education affordable for a diverse population. Distance learning holds the promise of providing yet another mechanism by which community colleges can bring education to a non-traditional student body. This paper explores the role...

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on issues of growth and access in blended learning environments. Increasingly decision makers throughout higher education are considering blended learning as an important component of their academic programs. It is hoped that this paper will help to provide insight for these decision...

Is there sufficient motivation for the institution to scale up online education? This may involve financial and other considerations, and [we refer] to it as "cost-effectiveness" . This special issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks focuses on institutional transformation, including insights into business models. This introduction points to additional...

The ways institutions have structured their initial innovation with online learning vary greatly. Initial business model decisions present different challenges in terms of how institutions will integrate online learning. This paper looks at several common business models and the opportunities and challenges that each presents to institutions that want to...

Online learning is now reaching the core, helping to transform higher education and moving beyond isolated efforts to pervasive influence and change. The dichotomy of distance learning vs. campus-based education has broken down, and forward-looking senior administrators have embraced new approaches to education that contain the elements of successful online...

Higher education is engulfed in change. At the same time that institutions of higher education are endeavoring to transform themselves by integrating information and communication technologies into curriculum delivery, student profiles are changing. Low income-ethnic populations are among the fastest growing segment of 18–24 year old students; male enrollments are...

Six institutions provide snapshots of some of the major transformative effects of online education....

Despite the rapid growth in the adoption of online learning, there is a dearth of detailed information on effective business models, business strategies and effective practices on which to build sustainable online education programs. A survey instrument was developed as an initial attempt to define business models and business strategies...

Nine institutions—Colorado State University, Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD), Duquesne University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Central Florida, The University of Illinois at Springfield, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Michigan, University of Georgia—share information about their business models....

A wide range of theoretical and empirical analyses emphasize the importance of active participation and collaboration among students in promoting the effectiveness of online learning. Collaboration models activity in the workplace, helps students to actively construct knowledge, enhances students' understanding and appreciation of diversity, and may give students a sense...

Collaboration entails working together toward a common goal, but what is the common goal we want students to work toward in classes? What kinds of interactions and outcomes do we value as collaboration, and how do we facilitate them? This paper addresses these questions, beginning with an examination of research...

This paper uses the community of inquiry model to describe the principles of collaboration. The principles describe social and cognitive presence issues associated with the three functions of teaching presence—design, facilitation, and direction. Guidelines are discussed for each of the principles....

Assessment can be seen as the engine that drives student course activity, online or off. It is particularly important in encouraging and shaping collaborative activity online. This paper discusses three sorts of online collaborative activity—collaborative discussion, small group collaboration, and collaborative exams. In each of these areas, it provides both...

This paper examines best practices for technology use in online, collaborations between the University of Illinois at Springfield and Chicago State University in class sessions shared across institutional boundaries. We explore the collaborations between these two ethnically and culturally diverse institutions. The University of Illinois at Springfield received two grants...

The Quality Matters (QM) project funded by FIPSE and administered by MarylandOnline (MOL) is creating a replicable inter-institutional continuous improvement model to assess, assure, and improve the quality of online courses. Designed to address statewide and national needs for credible quality assurance in online learning, the inter-institutional collaboration is...

Over the years, insights about ALN collaboration from Sloan-C's annual publications in the quality series, in Effective Practices, and in The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN), have been useful for refining theoretical and practical knowledge about online education. This summary points to additional resources related to collaboration....

This paper looks first at some of the often unspoken epistemological, philosophical, and theoretical assumptions that are foundational to student-centered, interactive online pedagogical models. It is argued that these foundational assumptions point to the importance of learning community in the effectiveness of online learning environments. Next, a recent study of...

Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) make the process of collaboration more transparent, because a transcript of conference messages can be used to assess individual roles and contributions and the collaborative process itself. This study considers three aspects of ALNs: the design; the quality of the resulting knowledge construction process; and cohesion,...

The last six years have seen an increasing interest in the use of online technologies for delivering training in the UK, as employers recognize that these technologies can offer a more economic and flexible training package that can be tailored to the priorities of a company and its employees. This...

The purpose of this study was to understand the practice of online facilitation in a Midwestern university which has a highly successful traditional MBA program. This study explored the instructors' perceptions regarding four dimensions of instructor roles using Berge's [1] classifications: pedagogical, managerial, social, and technical. This study also examined...

Blended learning is a prominent trend in corporate training that has implications for distributed learning across a range of venues and constituents. Typically defined as an instructional program offered through a combination of two or more delivery modes, blended learning utilizes a variety of approaches, including print-based materials, instructor-led training,...

This paper builds on the model we have developed for creating quality online learning environments for higher education. In that model we argue that college-level online learning needs to reflect what we know about learning in general, what we understand about learning in higher-education contexts, and our emerging knowledge of...

The Monroe County (NY) Health Alert Network (MCHAN) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently completed their second year of a Centers for Disease Control grant-funded project that offers a series of instructor-led asynchronous online learning courses. The courses are designed to enhance the workforce competencies of local and...

One of the reasons most often cited for the increasing number and popularity of online courses is the format's ability to provide access to students who cannot attend conventionally delivered face-to-face courses. Are these underserved students in fact the ones enrolling in online courses? Or are online course enrollees the...

This paper presents a review of a sample of recent case studies on the use of asynchronous online discussion in higher education. These studies are analyzed in terms of curriculum design, assumptions about teaching and learning, and claims and reported conditions for using online discussion. The claims made for asynchronous...

In most secondary school classrooms, teachers are still authoritative, central-figures. They talk and teach while students listen and passively receive what the teacher says. Regarding writing, the situation is similar. Students write only to the teacher, the person who grades their papers. In this environment, classroom dynamics are monologic and...

Research suggests that faculty perceive greater workload for online teaching. These perceptions have little quantitative support. This study utilized seven online graduate courses, over a three year period to estimate faculty and student workload for interaction via online discussions and electronic mail using average reading and typing speeds. Weekly faculty...

To support continuous improvement in the quality, scale and breadth of online education, the Sloan Consortium invites practitioners to share effective practices. This report synthesizes effective practices submitted by Sloan-C members that have been reviewed and are currently listed in Sloan-C Effective Practices online collection at http://www.sloan-c.org/effective. The synthesis includes...

Higher education administrators and faculty members seek ways in which to advance student learning in online courses, and student affairs professionals seek ways to promote a sense of belonging and connectedness of students to their schools. The present study examined how a set of three classroom community variables were related...

This paper presents longitudinal evaluation results for an online participatory examination process in an information systems course over three semesters. The exam process includes students making up questions, answering other students' questions, grading answers to questions they author, and appealing the grades. The surveys following each exam elicited students' feedback,...

"Social presence," the degree to which participants in computer-mediated communication feel affectively connected one to another, has been shown to be an important factor in student satisfaction and success in online courses. This mixed methods study built on previous research to explore in greater depth the nature of social presence...

Research on distance learning and computer-aided grading has been developed in parallel. Little work has been done in the past to join the two areas to solve the problem of automated learning assessment in virtual classrooms. This paper presents a model for learning assessment using an automated text processing technique...

Recipient of the 2004 Sloan-C Award for Excellence in Online Teaching & Learning Faculty Development, the University of Nebraska Summer Institute for Online Teaching emphasizes pedagogy—planning, instructional design, strategies for building online community, activities/assignments that promote critical thinking, assessment, and course management....

The Western Washington University Integrated Laboratory Network (ILN) is an initiative to provide anytime/anyplace access to scientific instrumentation for use in the classroom, laboratory, and research environments. The ILN provides students with greater opportunities to design and conduct real experiments remotely using advanced analytical instrumentation. This paper describes the use...

Pedagogy, software, and student motivation form an interactive system that either supports the emergence and growth of a vibrant online learning community, or does not. This article briefly reviews some of the research that has been carried out at NJIT and elsewhere over the last 25 years that supports this...

Rogue OWL is a unique, multi-discipline, online writing assistance resource, designed to equalize access for all students, across all digital boundaries. Its design and content is flexible and transferable, and it provides a cost-effective vehicle for addressing a variety of needs at multiple institutions. The Rogue OWL is a 24/7 online...

The paper describes different feedback mechanisms available to instructors during the deployment of online formative assessment exercises....

This case study explores several key design strategies behind the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) program. Since its full-scale launch in 1999, this demanding graduate engineering degree program has achieved a graduation rate of more than 99% and has received major awards for instructional quality...

This paper represents a rough and ready attempt to describe an approach to online teaching that favors empathy over efficiency in the hope of achieving both....

eArmyU.com, 2004 winner of two Sloan-C awards—Excellence in Online Teaching and Programming and Effective Practice for Providing Anytime, Anywhere Online Access to Higher Education for a Highly Mobile Learner Population—is the Army’s state-of-the art online education portal. Through eArmyU, Soldiers can earn a postsecondary certificate or an associates, bachelor or...

Because of growing demand for online courses, staffing and faculty support issues can become major obstacles to growth and instructional quality. In 2004, Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) was awarded an Effective Practices Award at the Sloan-C conference in Orlando, Florida for its Virtual Adjunct Mentoring program. This paper...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

Collaboration is the heart of online learning. Interaction among course participants brings excitement to the online environment and creates knowledge as a group activity. Impediments to active collaboration reduce group, as well as individual, potentialities. Past studies of online discussions have found differences in the style of female and male...

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the academic outcomes of distance-based students in the asynchronous non-traditional pathway with in-residence students in the traditional pathway on examples of like examinations in the Pharm.D. curriculum at the Kansas University School of Pharmacy. This study evaluated the commitment of assuring...

The degree of interaction among participants in distance courses is widely acknowledged to be an indicator of successful learning experiences; interaction has been found to contribute to both achievement and student satisfaction. As an increasing number of distance courses move to a completely asynchronous, online format, providing for better interaction...

Students in higher-education courses are often confronted with complex tasks that require application and integration of newly gained knowledge. Different students require different types and amounts of instructional scaffolding for coping with such challenging tasks. The incorporation of asynchronous online elements into academic courses offers various ways of implementing traditional...

A new type of case study, called the real-time case (RTC), was produced in the fall of 2001 and distributed via the Internet to business classes at four universities in the U.S. and Canada. The real-time case presented the story of one company's growth and development throughout a 14-week semester....

This study examines the relationship between student visibility and learning outcomes in a graduate-level online course. Visibility in this study refers to students’ cognitive, social, and emotive presence [1, 2] in various communication settings, such as posts on the discussion board, contributions in live chats, email messages, online profiles, and...

Early interest in e-learning focused around the possibility of large-scale courses. This led to pronouncements of the demise of the educator, which were based on an infinite lecture hall pedagogy. However, cost-effective models of large-scale e-learning have proven difficult to implement. This paper examines some of the initial reaction to...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of proctored versus un-proctored testing on practice time and learning for a self-study, online course in medical terminology. Participants included 120 college students in a pharmacy curriculum. Subjects were randomized to one of three groups utilizing textbook with proctored assessment,...

Although there are many reasons why students dropout of college courses, those reasons may be unique for students who are enrolled in an online program. Issues of isolation, disconnectedness, and technological problems may be factors that influence a student to leave a course. To understand these factors, an online survey...

WebCampus.Stevens, recent winner of the Sloan-C Award for Excellence in Institute-Wide Online Teaching and Learning Programming, delivers some 160 courses in six online graduate degrees and 23 graduate certificates. Taught by more than 60 mostly full-time faculty, courses have now enrolled more than 4,000 students in 37 US states and...

Online learners can study at convenient times and collaborate with others online, but usually can not come to physical labs. We investigated the use of simulated electronics laboratories to increase access and decrease trips to a physical lab. Students were assigned to either physical labs or to a combination of...

The TALON/nPower learning object suite, developed by Arjuna Multimedia, is a set of 39 repurposeable learning object templates based on styles of teaching and learning that are designed to allow instructors and designers to create substantive learning objects without changing any of the source code. The instructor or designer can...

The value of online learning is analyzed from the perspective of the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS). The first type of value (merit, worth) of online learning is discussed, with the conclusion that online learning is of significant value to various constituencies, including students, faculty, the institution, and society....

As the recipient of the 2003 Sloan-C award for Excellence in Online Teaching, I have been invited to share some of my thoughts regarding effective online pedagogy. I am nothing if not a teacher, and as such, I am honored—both by the recognition that accompanies this wonderful award, and by...

Making a laboratory science course accessible to distance learners requires eliminating certain barriers. This paper describes one semester introductory chemistry courses for science and non-science majors that feature laboratory experiments that students can do at home, using materials readily available from local grocery and hardware stores. Courses using this approach...

On November 15, 2003, The Master of Distance Education (MDE) program at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) received the 2003 Sloan-C award for Most Outstanding Online Teaching and Learning Program. This award was given to the MDE “for an asynchronous, student-centered online graduate program that responds to the...

A new type of case study, called the real-time case (RTC), was produced in the fall of 2001 and distributed via the Internet to business classes at four universities in the US and Canada. The real-time case presented the story of one company's growth and development throughout a 14-week semester....

Concerns about faculty workload in the online environment are a reported deterrent to participation in online teaching. To date, such concerns have been based primarily on anecdotal evidence rather than empirical research. This paper describes a project in which six faculty members teaching courses through the Penn State World Campus...

The University of Central Florida was honored to receive the 2003 Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning Award for Faculty Development. The environment at UCF has doubled in the last ten years with the number of students, faculty, and developing campus locations. Rapid growth in brick and mortar on...

This article presents a discourse analysis method designed to study networked cognitive communication processes in knowledge communities, such as conceptual change, higher order learning and knowledge building. The method is grounded on genetic epistemology and integrates constructivist and socio-constructivist theoretical concepts. The sentence (understood as judgment) is chosen as the...

Moving from traditional face-to-face teaching to teaching online can be a precarious process for instructors. In this qualitative study, I interviewed instructors who were engaged in online teaching, for the first time, in a graduate program at a Canadian university. All instructors had some postsecondary face-to-face teaching experience. In-depth interviews...

Detailed daily records of instructor effort in an established asynchronous online course over a three and one-half year period are analyzed. Student satisfaction data acquired from course evaluation surveys over the same period are also examined. In response to a three-fold increase in enrollment over the period, instructors realized a...

The purpose of this study is to validate an instrument to study role adjustment of students new to an online community of inquiry. The community of inquiry conceptual model for online learning was used...

This study examines how best practices in online instruction are the same as, or different from, best practices in face-to-face (F2F) instruction. The book Effectiveness and Efficiency in Higher Education for Adults ...

This study uses four different “frames” to analyze 17 online discussions that occurred in two doctoral-level classes in educational leadership. Two of the frames were developmental models: King and Kitchener’s ...

This paper reports an analysis of computer conference structures set up for a distance education course in which major components of the teaching and learning involve group discussions and collaboration via asynchronous ...

Online discussions play an important role in student learning. Currently, asynchronous learning courses and some primarily face-to-face courses at New Jersey Institute of Technology require asynchronous online discussions. Does this requirement improve the students’ perceived learning? An exploratory study designed to investigate this issue was conducted in Spring 2002. The...

Community colleges are a vital part of the larger higher education community in the United States and increasingly around the world. The more than 1,100 U.S. community colleges—not to mention the hundreds of like institutions internationally—have evolved into dynamic, comprehensive institutions that are often known for their resourcefulness in using...

Many students who begin postsecondary education drop out before completing a degree. According to the Lumina Foundation, an estimated ...

Rio Salado, one of the Maricopa Community Colleges in the Phoenix metropolitan area, has not only carved a market niche as a leading distance learning provider for working adults, but has experienced double-digit growth...

Community colleges are under persistent pressure to spend more on technology. In lieu of bolting technology onto essential academic and administrative process at additional net cost, savvy community college leaders are planning ...

One of the continuing challenges of education is enabling those who strive to improve teaching, learning, and research to take advantage of the too-rapidly-changing new environment created by telecommunications ...

Certainly, the computer and the internet have opened up opportunities and stimulated unprecedented growth. However, even after the turn of a new century, the Digital Divide has not yet closed and sectors of people are still excluded from enjoying the opportunities and growth that now exist. El Paso Community College,...

The acronym TLC has typically stood for tender loving care. With the influx of technology into the lives of millions, it might appear that TLC is in short supply; however, the League for Innovation...

The invention of the printing press reduced higher education’s learning-resource scarcity. Access to learning increased, and this democratization of education indirectly contributed to the idea of political democracy ...

The DotCom era has educators running faster and faster to keep up with technology that feels more and more elusive. This paper recognizes this chase for what it is—educationally hazardous—and suggests ...

Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) make the process of collaboration more transparent, because a transcript of conference messages can be used to assess individual roles and contributions and the collaborative process itself. This study considers three aspects of ALNs: the design, the quality of the resulting knowledge construction process; and cohesion,...

This paper discusses students’ perceptions of an asynchronous electronic discussion assignment implemented shortly after the technology had been introduced to the university. In addition to the weekly face-to-face ...

Studies show that temporal factors like workload and lack of release time inhibit faculty participation in developing and teaching online courses; however, few studies exist to gauge the time commitment....

This study compares the experiences of students in face-to-face (in class) discussions with threaded discussions and also evaluates the threaded discussions for evidence of higher-order thinking. Students were enrolled ...

What impact does collaboration between faculty and professional course designers have on the student learning experience? As the use of technologies increases, educational institutions have to find ways of identifying...

Traditionally, emotion and cognition have been viewed as polar opposites and this view has been incorporated into theories of learning. One reason for this may be a lack of clarity in defining emotion. In fact there are other perspectives on how emotion and cognition, emotion and learning, are related....

This research investigates the effects of social networks on students’ performance in online education which uses networking as an adjunct mode for enhancing traditional face-to-face education or distance education. Using data ...

On March 24, 1998, a small group of faculty and administrators at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) formed a learning community to engage in a deliberative dialogue about recognizing and documenting outreach scholarship in the university. We chose UniSCOPE, University Scholarship and Criteria for Outreach and Performance Evaluation, as the...

Dissatisfaction with teaching a high enrollment introductory statistics course led to efforts to restructure the course to remedy the perceived problems, including lack of student participation, an excessive drain on departmental resources, failure to take into account wide differences in student learning styles, an inability of students to apply statistics...

The same course in both an online and on-campus environment makes for an extended experimental comparison of learning outcomes, while controlling for two important variables: the instructor and the content of the course Students learn course content through four kinds of encounters—alone, one-to-one, one-to many, and many-to many. The online version...

In 1999, Pace University was awarded a $1,000,000, three-year FIPSE Learning Anytime Anywhere Program (LAAP) Grant. The grant focuses on three areas: online testing, enhanced student support services, and mentoring....

Mercy College has encouraged students to take a more active role in their education through the use of online teaching assistants or “course wizards.” The duties of wizards include tutoring...

Rio Salado College, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, is nationally recognized as a role model for innovation and excellence in online education and as the “college of choice” for adults who...

Those in the field of ALN are confronted with the challenge of keeping up with the rapidly evolving processes, technologies, environments and current findings of the field. As director of...

This paper is a follow-up study to a preliminary investigation of teaching presence in the State University of New York Learning Network (SLN) [1]. In the present study we review...

The Illinois Online Network (ION) is a faculty development partnership between all forty-eight community colleges in the state of Illinois and the University of Illinois. The goals of the ION program are to help faculty to develop and deliver courses in a completely online format, and also to produce online...

To meet institutional requirements for resident education in a core curriculum, the UIC College of Medicine implemented an online educational program called the UIC Online Core Curriculum. The UIC residency is composed of 1,000 physicians in training in 60 programs at 18 training sites. Its size and distribution create substantial...

Exploration of how to assure effective teaching and learning online is extremely important and timely as many institutions seek to maximize the educational benefits from this constantly developing technology. This study categorizes principles gathered from an extensive review of the literature focusing on current best practices for effective teaching and...

A significant increase in the use of computer supported learning (CSL) within schools and universities across the world gives rise to concern about gender-related differences in performance and interaction style ...

One of the most successful applications of networked technology in education has been the development of individualized homework assignments. Such assignments provide immediate feedback to students and discourage copying. However, networked technology also allows students to develop sophisticated schemes designed to beat the system. This paper, supported in part by...

Computer-mediated classrooms coupled with heightened emphasis on removing geographic limitations have led to growing dependence on asynchronous learning networks as a delivery medium. An increasingly robust body of ...

Although the potential of asynchronous discussion to support learning is widely recognized, student engagement remains problematic. Often, for example, students simply refuse to participate. Consequently the rich ...

Research has demonstrated that social presence not only affects outcomes but also student, and possibly instructor, satisfaction with a course. Teacher immediacy behaviors and the presence of others are especially important issues for those involved in delivering online education. This study explored the role of social presence in online learning...

Duke University and East Carolina University through their Schools of Nursing and Physician Assistant Programs are in the third year of the Partnerships for Training Program (PFT). The goal of PFT is to prepare primary care providers to increase access to care in medically underserved and health professional shortage areas....

We are constantly being asked to compare distance education to traditional education. But by striving to make distance education “as good as” face-to-face education what are we overlooking or sacrificing? In this paper we explore these issues by first reviewing background...

Northwest Technical College researched, planned for, and has successfully implemented a unique delivery of its Practical Nursing Program through the use of Internet technology. This Distance Practical Nursing exploratory paper presents a historical overview of the program, assesses job market ...

The Master of Health Professions Education degree offered by the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine recently added an online track to its traditional in class format. The objective is to make the course available to healthcare professionals who might not...

This study has two primary objectives. First, we want to know how students who enroll in online classes differ from their peers in traditional lecture classes. Our second objective involves both exploring what factors influence performance among online students, as well as whether those factors differ for online and lecture...

The research literature on Web-based learning supports the assumption that interaction is important for a successful course, yet questions exist regarding the nature and extent of the interaction and its effects on student performance. Much of the research is based on student perceptions of the quality and quantity of their...

This preliminary study again provides evidence that it is the method and not the media that matters the most in learning effectiveness. The present work examines classroom community in order to determine how sense of community differs between students enrolled in...

Online learning has become a popular method of education. Faculty members may know little about how to assist students in succeeding in a new learning environment, and students may be ill-prepared to tackle the new demands put upon them. Therefore, this...

Among the many differences between asynchronous interactions and traditional classroom communication, the most critical differences involve those that may affect a student’s ability to learn. The efficacy of courses in facilitating instruction and learning is a key concern of all educators...

This case study of a distance education course in children’s literature focuses on the creation of an interpretive community and the importance of that community in online learning. It also refines Michael G. Moore’s work on transactional distance to include the...

This paper presents a tool developed for the purpose of assessing teaching presence in online courses that make use of computer conferencing, and preliminary results from the use of this tool. The method of analysis is based on Garrison, Anderson, and Archer's [1] model of critical thinking and practical inquiry...

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory about the process through which community formed in adult computer-mediated asynchronous distance learning classes. A grounded theory design incorporated ...

The application and use of telelearning technologies in post-secondary education is evolving from peripheral activities to central approaches. Educators are re-discovering collaborative education as they understand how electronic conferencing can support and empower teaching and learning. As students...

Information technologies provide unique opportunities for higher education faculty to rethink the resources that are available to re-envision their pedagogical techniques. One such promise is the ability of the faculty member to invite virtual guest speakers or experts into the graduate...

Online learning is coming of age. 'Traditional' universities are embracing online components to courses, online courses, and even complete online programs. With the advantage of distance and time insensitivity for the ...

The development of networked learning and the increasing development of online courses by both traditional and distance education institutions has raised many questions concerning the costs of online learning relative to both face-to-face teaching and other approaches to distance education. ...

Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN) are often described as "any place, any time" environments for learning [1]. In order for such environments to become feasible and popular on a large scale, they must be based on a public market architecture that is...

As universities and businesses move toward the use of online education and training, there is need to discover how to make this alternative both more attractive and viable for different populations. Our research efforts examined the cluster of opinions held by...

This paper proposes a design framework for constructing a groupware-based learning environment (GBLE) that enables electronic cognitive apprenticeship. The central theme of this framework is that any design of a GBLE must have learning theories as foundations to substantiate the learning...

In this article we study an innovative use of asynchronous learning networks (ALN) to stretch the boundaries of the traditional university campus. An ALN was used to allow traditional on-campus students to take a required course, ECON 300: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, during summer session while they were off campus, working summer...

An investigation was carried out to determine the extent to which evidence of collaborative learning could be identified in students' textual interactions in an online learning environment. The literature on collaborative learning has identified a range of behaviors that characterize successful collaborative learning in face-to-face situations. Evidence of these behaviors...

This article examines the pedagogical role of the teacher in online education. Specifically, the transition from in-class room instruction to online instruction is a complex one involving specialized training in the technical aspects of delivering quality educational materials (or environments) to the students, and specialized training in how to foster...

Educational content on the Internet is rapidly increasing. Educational institutions and businesses are placing more course material online to supplement classroom and business training situations. Prior ...

It is now well known that asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) provide effective mechanisms for facilitating interaction within learning communities in which the learners are separated by distance or ...

This study evaluated the level of participation and perceptions of effectiveness and value among participants in a virtual forum interacting with one another and with Donald Murray, a noted mentor in writing instruction. National Writing Project teacher consultants were invited to participate in a two-week interactive session using Caucus®, a...

My name is Frank Mayadas; I am a Program Director with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Since late 1992, before there even was a commercial internet, the Foundation has had a program in what is now called online learning, through which we have provided over $35 million in grant support...

My interest in learning over networks dates back to 1989. In 1989 there was no commercial Internet. It was hard to get people interested in learning over networks or to even to understand what learning over networks meant or could mean. Fortunately, in 1992 I was joined at the Sloan...

The authors describe relationships among infrastructure, student outcomes, and faculty satisfaction at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The model focuses on a developmental process that progresses from courses with some Web presence to those that are driven by ALN. Faculty receive support for on-line teaching in the form of...

This article describes instructor satisfaction in 14 on-line courses in freshman-level composition and literature, business writing, and English as a Second Language offered in the University of California...

This paper presents the results of interviews with the principal investigators of the current Sloan Center for Asynchronous Learning Environments (SCALE) Efficiency Projects. There are six such projects: Spanish, Microbiology, Economics, Math, Chemistry, and Physics. The paper reviews each project individually, summarizes the results, and then discusses some common lessons...

If the current growth in on-line education continues, teaching on-line will become part of routine faculty workload at many traditional, research-oriented universities. This is...

This case study describes the implementation and continued operation of a large on-campus ALN for a 500-student course in introductory physics. The ALN was used to modify and complement the original course and thus represents an evolution rather than a revolution. A highly positive impact on student success rates was...

"...100% of faculty reported that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the SUNY Learning Network." ...

This paper describes two of the distance educational programs-Turfgrass Management and Geographic Information Systems-offered through the Penn State World Campus during its first year of operation in 1998....

The State University of New York (SUNY) Learning Network (SLN) is the on-line instructional program created for the 64 colleges and nearly 400,000 students of the SUNY. The foundation of the program is freedom from schedule and location constraints for our faculty and students. The primary goals are to bring...

Chemistry 331 is an upper level organic chemistry course for students interested in health related careers with an enrollment of approximately 150 students per semester. It assumes that...

Learning in an ALN mode is modeled by a set of educational processes. The group is modeled by an abstract entity that provides services to the learners via...

This paper discusses a completely on-line graduate professional degree program at Drexel University. The paper provides an overview of the on-line initiative, including background, program development, and a description of the on-line environment. Following this, the paper contains a discussion of results of the degree program and proposes some characterizations...

The University of Wisconsin-Stout Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) project, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, represents an effort to expand the boundaries of the traditional campus. The...

Are there any differences in outcomes between traditional classroom-based university courses and courses delivered via ALN, which feature extensive on-line interaction among students? Under what conditions are...

This paper describes eight ALN courses developed under various Sloan Foundation-funded degree program initiatives at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) Extended Learning Institute (ELI). These chemistry, engineering, mathematics, ...

This paper considers existing processes in Higher Education and the opportunity for using Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) to re-design the curriculum. A curriculum model based upon experiential learning, that explicitly links theory and practice, is promoted as the basis for considering the application of technology. The Computer Supported Experiential Learning...

This case presents and compares the top five motivating and inhibiting factors for faculty participation in Asynchronous Learning Networks (ANL) or distance education (DE) as reported by faculty participators and non-participators, and administrators. While faculty and administrators agreed strongly on what inhibits faculty from participating in ALN/DE programs, there were...

This study investigated the relationship between students' individual study and learning styles with their performances in an online Research Methods class. At the beginning of the semester the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) measured each student's study and learning styles on ten scales. The students' LASSI scores were later...

Researchers, instructional designers and consumers of ALNs must be cautious when interpreting results of media comparison studies. Much of the literature purports to have found no significant difference in learning effectiveness between technology-based and conventional delivery media. This research, though, is largely flawed. In this paper, we first outline the...

In this study a change in teaching strategy to involve a greater emphasis on asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) was implemented and the views of students (n=51) to this change were evaluated through responses to an online questionnaire. In response to Likert-type questions the majority of students demonstrated a positive view...

Recently a large corporation joined with a large southeastern university's College of Business MBA program to create a distance MBA program uniquely suited to the corporation's high level workers' needs to obtain the degree while they continue working. This corporation invested significantly in the design and development of this...

This paper is an investigation into compensation practices for faculty developing and teaching distance learning courses. The research divides itself into two basic lines of inquiry: direct and indirect compensation (including royalties, training, and professional recognition). Also, economic models for distance learning are examined with a view...

This research investigated the effects of applying intelligent agent techniques to an online learning environment. The knowbots (or Knowledge Robots) created for the research were intelligent software agents that automated the repetitive tasks of human facilitators in a series of online workshops. The study specifically captured experimental results of using...

With advanced technology come new legal issues. The age of information has given rise to greater concerns about copyright legalities. As new interpretations emerge from Congress as well as the courts, these thorny matters will be at the forefront. Copyright law ultimately affects anyone interested in higher education. Today the Internet,...

The purpose of this research was to identify various techniques recommended and used by online instructors for keeping online learners on topic during asynchronous discussion and to identify what factors affected selection. A thirty-seven item online questionnaire was developed and completed by 135 online instructors subscribing to an international...

The most obvious factor influencing students’ satisfaction with distance learning is convenience of access. While ALNs clearly can provide convenient access to educational content, how do they measure up in terms of access to the broader range of elements that make up a "complete" educational experience? Within traditional education, a complete...

The theory of experiential learning is briefly reviewed and a model of the learning process is presented. The paper then discusses and characterizes a virtual learning environment and its relationship to experiential learning and learning styles. An approach for designing virtual learning environments is presented taking into account the technology...

At Capella University online courses are offered using an asynchronous learner discussion forum. At the conclusion of each course, learners are requested to complete and electronically submit a course evaluation form. A document analysis of more than 3000 course evaluations from 154 courses conducted during the past 11 quarters was conducted....

The practice of using technology to deliver coursework in higher education has seen a veritable explosion. The use of technology has not only created new opportunities within the traditional classroom but has also served to expand learning experiences beyond the popular notion of "classroom." Indeed, "distance learning," especially utilization of...

For the past five years, Stanford has been involved in developing the capability to offer courses to remote learners over the Internet. This has evolved into a robust operation, which over the past year has offered 180 courses to approximately 4000 distance learners. More recently, the Department of Electrical Engineering...

This paper describes how the Open University, as a large distance education institution, has used the Internet to transform the learning environment for distance students. We review the process involved in understanding the requirements of distance education students and how they can be supported via the Internet. We describe the...

Universities are being pressured from a range of forces to move into delivery of courses via online methods. While the literature is replete with promises for the use of information technology (IT) in the teaching and learning environment of higher education institutions, it is difficult for those institutions to take...

Computer mediated communication (CMC) is used to foster a collaborative learning environment in a number of courses within the Faculty of Business and Law at Deakin University. This paper examines how this technology has been implemented at the undergraduate level in the School of Economics and some key issues arising...

Improved workforce learning is imperative for individual knowledge workers, for companies that depend on knowledge workers, and for the U.S. economy. Meeting this need requires innovative, restructured education, and training organizations; integrated knowledge drawn from currently isolated sources; and widespread replacement...

In Spring 1997, Hunter College offered the first asynchronous learning course in the City University of New York (CUNY), the largest urban university system in the United States enrolling 200,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. This graduate course, entitled Administration and Supervision of the Public Schools - The Principalship,...

Reprinted in the JALN with permission of the Teaching Philosophy; the original article appears in the Teaching Philosophy, Volume 20, 1997: Two Cheers and a Pint of Worry: On-Line Course in Political and Social Philosophy, Eugene Heath, at New Paltz During the past decade there have been numerous efforts to reinvigorate...

This paper argues that the social dimension is important to effectiveness of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) and needs to be taken into account in the design of courses. Evidence from an ethnographic study of the Teaching and Learning Online (TLO) course offered by the Institute of Education Technology at the...

As asynchronous learning becomes the norm throughout academia, changes are taking place in campus information systems. Academic libraries, as the entity responsible for serving the information needs of the university, have little choice but to change dramatically. In fact, academic libraries...

Growing demand among learners for improved accessibility and convenience, lower costs, and direct application of content to work settings is radically changing the environment for higher education in the United States and globally. In this rapidly changing environment, which is increasingly based within the context of a global, knowledge-based economy,...

The best path to effective asynchronous learning network (ALN)-based course design, delivery and evaluation is through a requirements-driven methodology that recognizes the uniqueness of ALN-based learning. The methodology calls for the identification of purposeful and functional requirements, the identification of pre-course, early-course, mid-course and end-course activities, course "packaging" and prototyping,...

This paper examines paradigms used in on-line learning, with a specific emphasis on how to effectively employ asynchronous learning networks for delivery of on-line courses. Recent progress in ALNs is presented, methodologies for getting started in creating an ALN course given,...

We have entered an age of knowledge in which educated people and their ideas, facilitated and augmented by rapidly evolving information technology, have become not only key to our social well-being but a driving force for great change in all social...

New Jersey Institute of Technology has been delivering college courses via an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) system called the Virtual ClassroomTM for a decade, using various media mixes. Currently, two complete undergraduate degree programs are available via a mix of video plus Virtual Classroom, the B.A. in Information Systems and...

Telelearning relates to "making connections among people and resources, via communication technologies, for learning-related purposes". Telelearning as a general term includes asynchronous learning activities; in all cases efficiency is an important construct. Efficiency is defined as the relation between costs and effects/quality. An educational system is said to be "efficient"...

Advances in computer technology and the human-computer interface have created a wealth of new opportunities for the development of computer-based instruction and intelligent tutoring systems. Unfortunately, much of the material currently available amounts to little more than "electronic books" in which learning is still accomplished by reading...

This paper examines the social cost of ALN. This social cost is considered from several vantage points. First, student time is identified as the primary input in instruction. This time investment is not forthcoming automatically - several incentive problems must be resolved to elicit it. The resolution of these incentive...

Reprinted in the JALN with permission of the American Society of Engineering Education; the original article appears in the Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 85, No 3: A Model for On-Line Learning...

The Internet can be a tool for increasing access to education while also maintaining or improving the quality of students'learning. But if information technology is "onto" existing programs,instructional costs increase. Instead, higher...

This paper illustrates some of the problems and successes that the authors encountered while integrating ALN into a writing across the curriculum program and an online writing lab at a large research university. Using transcripts from ALN class discussions, the authors examine students’ networked interactions and analyze the classes’ responses...

This paper is based on a chapter in THE LEARNING REVOLUTION, the challenge of Information Technology in Academia (Diana G.Oblinger and Sean C. Rush, eds.), to be published this year by Anker Publishing Co., Boston, Mass. Over the years small numbers of motivated individuals have studied by themselves, away from university...

This paper presents the results of an investigation of male and female student use of and attitudes about ALN after one year of implementation in a university setting. Results of the study revealed no significant gender differences....