This study investigated students’ and instructors’ approaches and preferences to audio and writte... more This study investigated students’ and instructors’ approaches and preferences to audio and written comments in an online undergraduate composition class. A mixed-method design was employed utilizing both a survey instrument and interviews for data collection. Forty-nine students and five instructors participated. Students gave more positive ratings to audio comments than to written comments on global- and middle-level items. However, their impressions on the comprehensibility of audio and written comments at the micro level were mixed. Instructors showed a preference for audio comments over written comments in terms of time investment. In addition, instructor commenting styles and the medium used influenced the time invested in providing comments
Second Life (SL) is a multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) that can be used to enhance students’ ... more Second Life (SL) is a multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) that can be used to enhance students’ learning. It is a virtual environment constructed by SL residents, where students can engage in collaborative learning with other SL residents. In the field of education, SL has been used as a professional tool, a synchronous online system, a virtual environment mimicking real life, a platform for role-playing, a communication tool between teachers and students. This chapter focuses on education-oriented research activities conducted in SL. The authors explain and analyze SL usage in higher education, foreign language instruction as well as investigated its contribution to various learning paradigms, and suggested future research directions.
The purpose of this paper is to report a study that examined the impact of using Clickers technol... more The purpose of this paper is to report a study that examined the impact of using Clickers technology on classroom instruction from both the students’ and the teachers’ perspectives. The students in this study came from six high school Spanish classes, and the teachers were from six different subject areas in the high school and two elementary schools of the same school district. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using survey and interview methods. The findings from the study suggested that the use of Clickers seemed to be able to improve student interest and engagement in class activities as well as students’ scores on assessments.
This article describes the Action Research Fellows project at Towson University. The authors prov... more This article describes the Action Research Fellows project at Towson University. The authors provide background information about the Action Research Fellows project, present the Action Research Fellows model employed at Towson University, and briefly describe four action research fellows’ projects. Finally, the authors share their reflections on the benefits and the challenges in conducting the Action Research Fellows project.
Today’s undergraduate students are unique for having grown up in a digital society. An emerging b... more Today’s undergraduate students are unique for having grown up in a digital society. An emerging body of empirical research has attempted to understand how young people use technology in the academic context. Our research involved 111 students enrolled in 7 courses in the College of Education at a Mid-Atlantic university, and sought to understand college students’ comfort level with, and the perceived benefits of, a variety of technologies for their academic study. Results indicated a significant relationship between the perceived benefit of a particular technology, and college/discipline, skill level, and frequency of use. Implications for the design of technology-supported learning opportunities in preservice teacher education are discussed.
The purpose of this research was to examine online instructors’ perspectives on assessment practi... more The purpose of this research was to examine online instructors’ perspectives on assessment practices within online environments. Nine online instructors from seven institutions were interviewed for this grounded theory qualitative research. Three main aspects emerged from the analysis of the interviews that were involved in online assessment practices: student learning, instructional design, and interaction. The findings from this study suggested that online learning environments are uniquely different from the traditional classrooms, especially the forced nature of discussions and greater emphasis on interactions. In addition, the findings indicated that unique characteristics of online environments along with instructors’ epistemic belief have an impact on course design and delivery.
Providing feedback to students on their writing represents perhaps the most important task of a c... more Providing feedback to students on their writing represents perhaps the most important task of a composition instructor and also possibly the most time-consuming task. In online composition classes, this task becomes more daunting, as there are no opportunities for face-to-face conversations with students. Typically, online instructors provide comments to students in text form. The use of audio comments through MP3 files has become an alternative. The purpose of this case study was to examine students' and instructors' perceptions of audio feedback and written feedback for student papers in online composition classes. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. The results show that instructors had mixed feelings about the use of audio, while students tended to have positive feelings toward it. The findings also reveal that teachers tended to give more global commentary when using audio comments and more local commentary when using written comments. Finally, the findi...
End-users in academe, as well as in professional practice, are increasingly looking toward advanc... more End-users in academe, as well as in professional practice, are increasingly looking toward advances in distance education to improve learning opportunities for students and staff. The Internet has provided one medium for delivering information to global users in a dynamic environment. Unfortunately, the restrictions of the Internet (in terms of server connectivity, bandwidth type, and data processing capabilities, etc.) often limit the flexibility for delivering and working with large multimedia and interactive files. An alternative platform to the Internet is the digital video disk (DVD), which is capable of storing, delivering, and processing large pieces of information almost instantaneously and without the system requirements of the Internet. This presentation will demonstrate the application of an electronic performance support system (EPSS), delivered via DVD, to wilderness planning using the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) system.
The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study examining the relationships bet... more The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study examining the relationships between community and student success in online learning. The study was conducted on undergraduate students enrolled in online courses at an accredited university on the east coast of the U.S. Results of the study indicate a strong correlation between learner interaction and engagement, sense of community, and success in online learning.
Cognitive psychology is a pervasive influence in teaching and learning research, theory, and prac... more Cognitive psychology is a pervasive influence in teaching and learning research, theory, and practice (see overview by Winn, 2004) and has shaped designs for technologymediated teaching and learning environments (see, for example, Koenig & Atkinson, 2009; Rieber, 2009; van Merrienboer, Sweller, & Paas, 1998). As online learning environments (OLEs) have evolved, they have generated a predictable but important debate: To what extent are empirically-derived, cognitive principles applicable to online learning environments? Do ...
This study investigated students’ and instructors’ approaches and preferences to audio and writte... more This study investigated students’ and instructors’ approaches and preferences to audio and written comments in an online undergraduate composition class. A mixed-method design was employed utilizing both a survey instrument and interviews for data collection. Forty-nine students and five instructors participated. Students gave more positive ratings to audio comments than to written comments on global- and middle-level items. However, their impressions on the comprehensibility of audio and written comments at the micro level were mixed. Instructors showed a preference for audio comments over written comments in terms of time investment. In addition, instructor commenting styles and the medium used influenced the time invested in providing comments
Second Life (SL) is a multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) that can be used to enhance students’ ... more Second Life (SL) is a multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) that can be used to enhance students’ learning. It is a virtual environment constructed by SL residents, where students can engage in collaborative learning with other SL residents. In the field of education, SL has been used as a professional tool, a synchronous online system, a virtual environment mimicking real life, a platform for role-playing, a communication tool between teachers and students. This chapter focuses on education-oriented research activities conducted in SL. The authors explain and analyze SL usage in higher education, foreign language instruction as well as investigated its contribution to various learning paradigms, and suggested future research directions.
The purpose of this paper is to report a study that examined the impact of using Clickers technol... more The purpose of this paper is to report a study that examined the impact of using Clickers technology on classroom instruction from both the students’ and the teachers’ perspectives. The students in this study came from six high school Spanish classes, and the teachers were from six different subject areas in the high school and two elementary schools of the same school district. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using survey and interview methods. The findings from the study suggested that the use of Clickers seemed to be able to improve student interest and engagement in class activities as well as students’ scores on assessments.
This article describes the Action Research Fellows project at Towson University. The authors prov... more This article describes the Action Research Fellows project at Towson University. The authors provide background information about the Action Research Fellows project, present the Action Research Fellows model employed at Towson University, and briefly describe four action research fellows’ projects. Finally, the authors share their reflections on the benefits and the challenges in conducting the Action Research Fellows project.
Today’s undergraduate students are unique for having grown up in a digital society. An emerging b... more Today’s undergraduate students are unique for having grown up in a digital society. An emerging body of empirical research has attempted to understand how young people use technology in the academic context. Our research involved 111 students enrolled in 7 courses in the College of Education at a Mid-Atlantic university, and sought to understand college students’ comfort level with, and the perceived benefits of, a variety of technologies for their academic study. Results indicated a significant relationship between the perceived benefit of a particular technology, and college/discipline, skill level, and frequency of use. Implications for the design of technology-supported learning opportunities in preservice teacher education are discussed.
The purpose of this research was to examine online instructors’ perspectives on assessment practi... more The purpose of this research was to examine online instructors’ perspectives on assessment practices within online environments. Nine online instructors from seven institutions were interviewed for this grounded theory qualitative research. Three main aspects emerged from the analysis of the interviews that were involved in online assessment practices: student learning, instructional design, and interaction. The findings from this study suggested that online learning environments are uniquely different from the traditional classrooms, especially the forced nature of discussions and greater emphasis on interactions. In addition, the findings indicated that unique characteristics of online environments along with instructors’ epistemic belief have an impact on course design and delivery.
Providing feedback to students on their writing represents perhaps the most important task of a c... more Providing feedback to students on their writing represents perhaps the most important task of a composition instructor and also possibly the most time-consuming task. In online composition classes, this task becomes more daunting, as there are no opportunities for face-to-face conversations with students. Typically, online instructors provide comments to students in text form. The use of audio comments through MP3 files has become an alternative. The purpose of this case study was to examine students' and instructors' perceptions of audio feedback and written feedback for student papers in online composition classes. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. The results show that instructors had mixed feelings about the use of audio, while students tended to have positive feelings toward it. The findings also reveal that teachers tended to give more global commentary when using audio comments and more local commentary when using written comments. Finally, the findi...
End-users in academe, as well as in professional practice, are increasingly looking toward advanc... more End-users in academe, as well as in professional practice, are increasingly looking toward advances in distance education to improve learning opportunities for students and staff. The Internet has provided one medium for delivering information to global users in a dynamic environment. Unfortunately, the restrictions of the Internet (in terms of server connectivity, bandwidth type, and data processing capabilities, etc.) often limit the flexibility for delivering and working with large multimedia and interactive files. An alternative platform to the Internet is the digital video disk (DVD), which is capable of storing, delivering, and processing large pieces of information almost instantaneously and without the system requirements of the Internet. This presentation will demonstrate the application of an electronic performance support system (EPSS), delivered via DVD, to wilderness planning using the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) system.
The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study examining the relationships bet... more The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study examining the relationships between community and student success in online learning. The study was conducted on undergraduate students enrolled in online courses at an accredited university on the east coast of the U.S. Results of the study indicate a strong correlation between learner interaction and engagement, sense of community, and success in online learning.
Cognitive psychology is a pervasive influence in teaching and learning research, theory, and prac... more Cognitive psychology is a pervasive influence in teaching and learning research, theory, and practice (see overview by Winn, 2004) and has shaped designs for technologymediated teaching and learning environments (see, for example, Koenig & Atkinson, 2009; Rieber, 2009; van Merrienboer, Sweller, & Paas, 1998). As online learning environments (OLEs) have evolved, they have generated a predictable but important debate: To what extent are empirically-derived, cognitive principles applicable to online learning environments? Do ...
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