Browsing by Subject "Online Learning"
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Item Experience, Adoption, and Technology: Exploring the Phenomenological Experiences of Faculty Involved in Online Teaching at One School of Public Health(2012-07-16) Kidd, Terry T.This phenomenological study explored the experiences of public health faculty, who developed and taught online courses, at one particular school of public health from 2006 to 2009. The goal was to explore and document the experiences of faculty involved with this phenomenon. A criterion sample was used to identify and select participants. Five public health faculty participated in the study. Data were analyzed in two ways. Written narratives, observational field notes, and artifact data were analyzed using the inducted grounded analysis technique. Interview data were analyzed using the phenomenological data analysis method, Stevic-Colazzi Keen Method. Findings revealed that the experiences of public health faculty, who develop and teach online courses were similar to those in other subjects and were described as difficult, daunting, painful, and time consuming, leaving the public health faculty feeling frustrated and exhausted. While negative feelings described the experience pertaining to the development of online courses, the experience in the teaching phase was seen as positive, enjoyable, joyful, refreshing, and fun. These experiences were found to be contingent upon instructional and organizational support, availability and quality of resources and faculty development and training. Three overarching themes emerged from the study in relation to the experience. These themes included the rhetoric of fear, transformation, and support. The rhetoric of fear described the participants? sense of being afraid or apprehensive toward developing and teaching online courses. Transformation described the transition participants made as they emerged as online instructors. Support described the structures needed to engage in the activities of developing and teaching online courses. The study also revealed five types of barriers to developing and teaching online courses at this particular school of public health. These barriers included psychological, organizational, technical, instructional, and time barriers. Benefits for developing and teaching online courses were identified. They included availability for students, access and penetration into global markets, instructional innovation, design innovation, and new methods of instructional delivery. This study provides data that can be used by institutions and faculty as they design and implement social, political, and technical infrastructures to support the activities of online teaching.Item Scaffolding and Enhancing Learners? Self-Regulated Learning: Testing the Effects of Online Video-Based Interactive Learning Environment on Learning Outcomes(2013-07-11) Delen, ErhanOnline learning often requires learners to be self-directed and engaged, and I designed an online video-based interactive learning tool to support or scaffold students? self-regulated or self-directed learning aimed at keeping students actively engaged with the content. Using an experimental design, this study investigates the effects of a newly designed online video-based interactive learning environment with embedded supports for self-regulation strategies on students? learning behaviors and outcomes. In addition, correspondence between students? self-regulation strategies in traditional learning environments and observed self-regulated learning behaviors in the video-based interactive learning environment were examined. Lastly, the unique or joint contributions of the embedded supports for self-regulation strategies to students? learning performance were examined. A cross-sectional experimental research design with systematic random assignment of participants to either the control condition (non-interactive video environment) or the experimental condition (interactive video environment) was utilized. Undergraduate and graduate students participated in the study (N = 80). Study results indicate that the newly designed online video-based interactive learning environment was a superior instructional tool than the non-interactive video-based learning environment in terms students? learning performance. In addition, there was correspondence between graduate students? self-reported self-regulation and observed self-regulation, with those high on seeking/learning information and managing their environment/behavior more likely to engage more in interactive note-taking Importantly, these findings suggest that specific self-regulation strategies in traditional education settings may transfer and become enacted as specific learning behaviors in the online learning environment. Finally, the use of embedded self-regulatory functions did not have a significantly unique contribution to students? performance in the interactive learning environment. In other words, although the interactive learning environment succeeded in scaffolding and supporting students? learning process that resulted in superior performance than the non-interactive learning environment, none of the embedded functions appear to uniquely or individually contribute to this superior performance. In sum, students benefited from the online video-based interactive learning environment by using embedded self-regulatory functions. However, use of the embedded self-regulatory functions did not uniquely contribute to learning outcomes. Nonetheless, results support the view that interactivity based on self-regulation strategies supports active and engaged learning, which contributes to superior learning outcomes.Item The relevance of social presence, on cognitive learning, and affective learning, in an asynscronous distance learning environment, as identified by selected community college, students in texas(2009-05-15) Jones, Brenda JolivetteThe distance learning environment is one that involves a complex array of factors that influence a learner?s perspective of presence, satisfaction, and learning. This study was designed to investigate Lee College freshmen and sophomore students? perceptions of social presence. The purpose of the study was to (a) determine whether or not differences in perceptions of social presence exist among participants who differ in gender, age, and total level of education and (b) investigate whether or not there was a relationship between the participants? perceptions of social presence and their online course activities in WEBCT?. This study was conducted using a questionnaire. The data were collected from a convenience sample of 252 freshmen and sophomore level students at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. A response rate of 62% resulted in a final sample of 156. The content validity of the questionnaire was established via expert opinion, and the internal consistency and reliability of the instrument was calculated using Cronbach?s ?. Data screening techniques were employed as the first step in the data analysis process. Frequency counts, central tendencies, and standard deviations were used in the descriptive analysis of the data obtained via the questionnaire. Correlations and one-way ANOVAS were employed to answer research question 1 regarding the participants? perceptions of social presence and their personal characteristics (i.e., gender, age, and their total number of college credits earned). Six conclusions were generated regarding the participants? perceptions of social presence and their gender, age, and total number of college credits earned. Principal factor analysis with Varimax rotation revealed six constructs for research question 2 regarding the online course activities in WEBCT?. Differences in the participants? perceptions of social presence in the six constructs for the online course activities in WEBCT? were obtained. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted to obtain additional information regarding the amount of explained variance added by each of the respective predictors. Cronbach?s alpha was used to assess reliability of the data. Twelve conclusions were generated for research question 2 regarding the participants? perceptions of social presence and the online course activities. Specific human resource development practices were suggested.