Immersive Learning Environments at Scale: Constraints and Opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1165-1169
Author(s):  
Robert F. Siegle ◽  
Rod D. Roscoe ◽  
Noah L. Schroeder ◽  
Scotty D. Craig
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Immersive Learning ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Theoretical Paper

The expansion of online education into massive open online courses (MOOCs) and equipment have created a unique opportunity for delivering immersive learning experiences at scale. However, although the inclusivity of the MOOC ecosystem can be commended, many online courses lack key benefits associated with traditional classroom environments: immersive, engaging, and team-driven learning opportunities. Immersive learning environments (ILEs) address these educational gaps but has not been able to operate at the broad scale that MOOCs offer. Importantly, ILEs address opportunities missing from MOOC systems, they add unique learning opportunities that would also be missing in a traditional classroom. The inclusion of this virtual reality technology is pivotal topic for educational research. This theoretical paper will briefly define immersive learning environments and the potential benefits of incorporating immersive learning environments into scalable educational systems. We will also consider developers constraints on creating these online ecosystem and suggested strategies for overcoming them.

Encouraging and Increasing Student Engagement and Participation in an Online Classroom

2016 ◽  
pp. 426-447
Author(s):  
Kathryn Woods
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Online Classroom ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
The Impact

Advances in technology have increased opportunities for students to participate in online courses. While some instructors are beginning their careers teaching only online courses, others are discovering a need to teach sections of courses online after they have enjoyed a long career teaching in a traditional classroom. In either situation, it is important for instructors to recognize that students in online learning environments require the use of different strategies for encouraging engagement and participation in class. In this chapter, the author describes the challenges that students and instructors face specifically in the online learning environment as well as strategies for success, including how to maximize the impact of students' experiences and prior knowledge, using multiple platforms to deliver information, discouraging procrastination, setting clear expectations, encouraging individuality, capitalizing on diversity, and providing and utilizing helpful resources.

The Power of the Human Face in Online Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Human Face ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Personal Level ◽  
Education Courses

The modern student exists in a highly technical and digitally driven educational world. Online delivery of courses and interactions, with the primary purpose of enhancing learning, and access to learning opportunities is becoming almost mainstream. Yet, despite the broad availability of online education courses and systems, the completion rates and levels of student satisfaction with online courses remains comparatively low. Studies have indicated that online students are seeking personal engagement to drive their learning. This project looked at the importance of having a human face at the heart of the online course materials to help develop a more personal level of engagement. The project, carried out between 2016 and 2018, involved a randomized control trial of 84 students, and compared two sets of course materials, for a common course topic, one with human face-based resources, and one without. The results clearly showed a significant increase in student engagement with the human face-based resources, but the learning outcomes, for those who completed, were not significantly different between the two groups.

scholarly journals Library Services for Open Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariann Løkse ◽  
Øystein Lund ◽  
Per Pippin Aspaas
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Resource Center ◽  
Library Support ◽  
Teaching Learning

Mariann Løkse, head of Library Services, and Øystein Lund, head of the Resource Center for Teaching, Learning and Techology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway discuss library support for open education. They share their thoughts on online education in general and during a period of COVID-19 lockdown in particular. They talk us through information literacy, MOOCs, learning outcomes from online courses as compared to traditional classroom lectures, and a range of other aspects of open education. During the discussion, the following web services and online documents are mentioned: iKomp (a MOOC on information literacy, in Norwegian and English); https://www.sevuppt.no/ (a MOOC on pedagogical supervision, in Norwegian); https://doi.org/10.7557/15.5501 (Mariann Løkse's contribution to a collection of articles dedicated to Stein Høydalsvik on his retirement, in Norwegian); https://hdl.handle.net/10037/3823 (the doctoral thesis of Øystein Lund, in Norwegian). First published online June 25, 2020.

DELES Analysis of E-Learning Environments

2017 ◽  
pp. 128-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Keeney ◽  
Kaye Shelton ◽  
Diane Mason ◽  
J. Kenneth Young
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Personal Relevance ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Instructor Support

As online education expands, more data is needed on how to optimize its effectiveness in higher education settings. This chapter highlights a quantitative study that utilized the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES), to test the effects of student-centered learning constructs on student satisfaction in online courses. The sample population consisted of 306 students taking masters-level online courses in education or nursing at a university in Southeast Texas. Descriptive statistics and data were analyzed by correlation analysis and stepwise regression. Results of analyses showed personal relevance and authentic learning had the strongest correlations with student satisfaction, whereas the strongest predictors of student satisfaction were personal relevance and instructor support. The findings of the study described herein can provide beneficial insight regarding the design of effective online learning environments in higher education and improving the quality of the student experience.

E-Service-Learning in Virtual Teamwork

2017 ◽  
pp. 115-149
Author(s):  
Melody S. Rawlings ◽  
Megan S. Downing
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
American Universities ◽  
Virtual Teamwork ◽  
Electronic Service

Service learning opportunities need not be limited to the traditional classroom. Electronic service learning (e-service learning), also known as online service learning, breaks free from geographic restrictions and can take place anywhere students have Internet access. With over 6.7 million students enrolled in online courses through American universities, integrating e-service learning into the online environment can enrich the education of this growing number of online students. Coupled with virtual teamwork, e-service learning provides students with unique leadership opportunities that transcend the traditional classroom. Along with benefits there are also challenges associated with both e-service and virtual teamwork. This chapter focuses on the benefits and challenges of e-service learning in virtual teamwork, sources for e-service opportunities, and instructional design strategies to equip instructors with the tools for implementing this valuable learning experience.

Technology Use in an Online MBA Program

2011 ◽  
pp. 614-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojing Liu ◽  
Seung-hee Lee ◽  
Curtis J. Bonk ◽  
Richard J. Magjuka ◽  
Shijuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Interactive Technologies ◽  
Mba Program ◽  
Synchronous Technology

The applications of advanced communication technology hold promises for high-quality online education. However, there is scant research on the uses of online communication technologies for effective online learning environments. The purpose of this study was to examine several aspects of technology use in a rapidly growing online MBA program in a top ranked university: patterns of technology use, interactivity level of the technology employed, and challenges and issues the instructors encountered when using those technologies. The study concluded that email, course announcements, and asynchronous forums were among the most frequently used technologies by online instructors. Using Roblyer and Ekhaml’s (2000) interaction framework as a guide, technology use was at a low to moderate interactivity level across courses in this program. In general, instructors preferred asynchronous technology over synchronous technology. The challenges, issues, and opportunities of using technology indicated the need to explore the features of interactive technologies more proactively as well as an awareness to incorporate innovative pedagogies into online courses to take advantage of the potential for learner interactivity and engagement online.

scholarly journals The Human Factor: The Promise & Limits of Online Education

Daedalus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-254
Author(s):  
Sandy Baum ◽  
Michael McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Socioeconomic Gaps ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Quality Learning

The idea that online learning might revolutionize higher education, lowering the cost of high-quality learning opportunities for students with limited access to traditional higher education, follows similar hopes for earlier technologies, including radio and television. If such a revolution is to come, it is still far from a reality. Strong evidence indicates that students with weak academic backgrounds and other risk factors struggle most in fully online courses, creating larger socioeconomic gaps in outcomes than those in traditional classroom environments. The central problem appears to be the lack of adequate personal interaction between students and instructors, as well as among students. Hybrid learning models do not exhibit the same problems and there is potential for online learning to develop strategies for overcoming these difficulties. Meanwhile, narrowing gaps in educational opportunities and outcomes requires considerable skilled human interaction.

Encouraging and Increasing Student Engagement and Participation in an Online Classroom

2016 ◽  
pp. 1335-1357
Author(s):  
Kathryn Woods
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Online Classroom ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
The Impact

Advances in technology have increased opportunities for students to participate in online courses. While some instructors are beginning their careers teaching only online courses, others are discovering a need to teach sections of courses online after they have enjoyed a long career teaching in a traditional classroom. In either situation, it is important for instructors to recognize that students in online learning environments require the use of different strategies for encouraging engagement and participation in class. In this chapter, the author describes the challenges that students and instructors face specifically in the online learning environment as well as strategies for success, including how to maximize the impact of students' experiences and prior knowledge, using multiple platforms to deliver information, discouraging procrastination, setting clear expectations, encouraging individuality, capitalizing on diversity, and providing and utilizing helpful resources.

scholarly journals ONLINE TEACHING IN INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING COURSES IN REHABILITATION AND TRAINING - AN EXPERIENCE REPORT

2020 ◽  
pp. 38812-38814
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Four Corners ◽  
Knowledge Area ◽  
Training Courses

We have been practicing and researching Online Education for many years, but we could never imagine that, from one day to the next, or people would be learning teaching by digital technologies so effectively. There is a whole didactic conception and study and learning that involves structure, content, training and that ranges from the initial didactic design appropriate to the characteristics of the specific knowledge area to the evaluations of student learning, performed by a trained multidisciplinary team. There is no denying that online education is an improvement caused by technology, which breaks geographical barriers and is capable of bringing quality education to the four corners of the world. Not only people interested in learning, but professors and professionals from the most diverse areas have discovered the potential of this niche market and invest in creating online courses as their own enterprise and as a way to reach a larger audience. About 30 years of research, including that of the U.S. Department of Education, have found no evidence that online learning is qualitatively inferior to that obtained in a traditional classroom. What is simple to conclude is that, as in the classroom, the quality of learning and the potential of the knowledge acquired depends on the interest and effort of the student.

scholarly journals Teaching Presence in Online Courses: Similar Perceptions but Different Experiences from Multiple Instructor Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Turk ◽  
Ali Ceyhun Muftuoglu ◽  
Sinem Toraman
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Teaching Presence ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
Multiple Case

Online course instructors’ perceptions and perspectives regarding their teaching presence as a key presence in online learning environments significantly influence, if not determine, their online teaching practices, which in turn influence the quality of online students’ learning experiences. Although gaining deeper insights into online course instructors’ perceptions and experiences of teaching presence is quite important and valuable for online education, there is still limited qualitative inquiry into this critical presence across diverse online teaching contexts. The purpose in this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore and understand online course instructors’ perceptions and experiences regarding their own presence in their online courses. We explored the perceptions and experiences of eight course instructors teaching undergraduate and graduate-level online courses at a midwestern U.S. college. Our findings indicated that teaching presence was uniformly considered important and necessary by the instructors although their applications and priorities regarding their teaching presence varied. We discussed our themes that emerged from our interview data and offered several theoretical and practical implications regarding teaching presence in online learning environments.

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