Northern Michigan University online campus: A case of digital transformation in higher education

2021 ◽  
pp. 204388692110569
Author(s):  
Madison N Ngafeeson
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Northern Michigan

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) online campus, fondly known as the “Global Campus,” is now 5 years old. Launched in 2016, this online and distance education initiative had as its mission to create academic programs that meet students’ learning and service needs “at the same high standard we do for on-campus students” (NMU). This was a kind of organic final step in the journey of digital transformation that began sixteen years before. Nonetheless, how does NMU make a pivot from 117 years of traditional face-to-face learning model to create value and compete in the digital education space? Worse still, when the Covid-19 global pandemic hits in March 2020 and the campus is forced to shut down (mandating all face-to-face teaching and learning, and to transition to online delivery within just two business days and a weekend); how does the university handle this new set of challenges as its online model gets tested in real-time? The story of NMU’s evolution to online education is told by intrinsic and extrinsic factors including declining enrollments due to changing local economics and regional demographics, an old business model now compounded by a global pandemic. This mix of factors would seem to present NMU with both an opportunity to refine its online model and some new challenges to overcome. This evolution also speaks to the importance of having an overarching digital strategy that can drive true digital transformation.

Massive Online Open Course Assisted Mechatronics Learning

2015 ◽  
pp. 245-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Xing
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Modalities ◽  
Learning Content ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
Massive Online Open Course ◽  
Face To Face Learning

Massive open online courses (MOOCs), also known as kind of free and accessible online education environment, have been deeply appeals to people and broadly covered in different medium. Nowadays, it seems MOOCs are everywhere. Originally, MOOCs are designed to offer learning content to the participants who do not have an adequate educational infrastructure, or where cost has become a barrier to educational access. However, as the MOOCs become more popular, an important question need to be asked: how do traditional face-to-face learning students benefit from MOOC environments as well? This chapter introduces MOOCs as an assistant platform to rebuild the course structure in order to tie education more closely to work. The major advantage of this hybrid teaching and learning model is that it is flexible as it allows students to work through materials at their own pace and at a time that is most convenient to them. Although the successful integration of such different teaching and learning modalities is a big challenge, the presented case study and the preliminary experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid methodology.

scholarly journals Teaching Mathematics during the COVID-19 Lockdown in a Context of Historical Disadvantage

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Brantina Chirinda ◽  
Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu ◽  
Erica Spangenberg
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Education System ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Education Community ◽  
South African Education

The COVID-19 global pandemic widely affected education across the world and engendered unprecedented scenarios that required expeditious responses. In South Africa, the pandemic came on top of pre-existing inequalities in the education system. Using a qualitative research method of exploratory and descriptive nature, this study engaged a social justice framework to explore the teaching and learning of mathematics during the COVID-19 lockdown in a context of historical disadvantage. A sample of twenty-three Grade 12 mathematics teachers at various public secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa was used in the study. The teachers were selected through purposive sampling. A Google-generated open-ended questionnaire and follow-up telephonic interviews were used to collect data. Data were analysed thematically in five steps. The findings revealed that the WhatsApp platform is a valuable tool that can support the teaching and learning of mathematics beyond the classroom in the contexts of historical disadvantage. The findings also provided insights into how mathematics teachers became learners themselves during emergency remote teaching (ERT) as they had to adapt to digital teaching, find solutions to unfamiliar problems and acquire knowledge from a larger mathematics education community around the globe. The article discusses these findings and teachers’ challenges of transitioning from traditional face-to-face classrooms to ERT and how they were addressed. At the time of publishing the article, most learners in South Africa had started going to school on a rotational basis. Nonetheless, the study reported in this article is of importance as ERT in the context of historical disadvantage has foregrounded issues of inequality in the South African education system that must be dealt with urgently.

scholarly journals Shape-shifting connections, relationships and Pacific education in the uncharted waters of a global pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 168-174
Author(s):  
Cherie Chu-Fuluifaga
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Face To Face Learning

The importance of maintaining connections and relationships across tertiary education for students is discussed as a way of examining the nature of Pacific education in challenging times, particularly in terms of fractured face-to-face learning. Universities have been thrust into an unpredictable time of remote/distance/online learning in a short period of time. The process has been unsettling and challenging for people across the world. As Pacific students and staff experience the unchartered waters of Covid-19 and global disturbances, they are searching out ways to build purposeful connections, shape-shifting and ways to maintain communities of academic togetherness while harnessing the tools of their knowledge trajectories in research. This article will focus on four key principles: valuing personal and academic connections beyond the textbook; discovering heart-warming methods of connection; and connecting for growth and wellbeing.

scholarly journals Faculty’s and Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakaryia Almahasees ◽  
Khaled Mohsen ◽  
Mohammad Omar Amin
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Data Privacy ◽  
Privacy And Security ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Challenges ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Method Of Instruction ◽  
Self Learning

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted teaching in a vriety of institutions. It has tested the readiness of academic institutions to deal with such abrupt crisis. Online learning has become the main method of instruction during the pandemic in Jordan. After 4 months of online education, two online surveys were distributed to investigate faculty’s and Students’ perception of the learning process that took place over that period of time with no face to face education. In this regard, the study aimed to identify both faculty’s and students’ perceptions of online learning, utilizing two surveys one distributed to 50 faculty members and another 280 students were selected randomly to explore the effectiveness, challenges, and advantages of online education in Jordan. The analysis showed that the common online platforms in Jordan were Zoom, Microsoft Teams offering online interactive classes, and WhatsApp in communication with students outside the class. The study found that both faculty and students agreed that online education is useful during the current pandemic. At the same time, its efficacy is less effective than face-to-face learning and teaching. Faculty and students indicated that online learning challenges lie in adapting to online education, especially for deaf and hard of hearing students, lack of interaction and motivation, technical and Internet issues, data privacy, and security. They also agreed on the advantages of online learning. The benefits were mainly self-learning, low costs, convenience, and flexibility. Even though online learning works as a temporary alternative due to COVID-19, it could not substitute face-to-face learning. The study recommends that blended learning would help in providing a rigorous learning environment.

scholarly journals Distance Learning in Greece during Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. p69
Author(s):  
Apostolou George ◽  
Papatsimpas Achilleas ◽  
Gounas Athanasios ◽  
Gkouna Ourania
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Statistical Hypothesis ◽  
Hypothesis Tests ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Future ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Restrictive Measures

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reaction of Greeks to this new educational reality due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Since the first restrictive measures were implemented in March 2020in Greece, distance learning has become a dynamic part of people’s daily lives with the prospect of remain in gas such in the future. A total of N=170 students, parents, teachers, civil servants, private sector employees who were involved in the distance learning process either as instructors or as students in the period of Covid-19 pandemic in Greece, were selected with the use of snowball sampling. A questionnaire using demographic and satisfaction related variables was completed by the respondents, namely citizens across Greece, based on a Likert scale questionnaire which is a useful and multidimensional instrument, to assess satisfaction within the time frame from July 7, 2020 to October 20, 2020; the period when there occurred a loosening in the restrictive measures between the two lockdowns in Greece. It was investigated how the demographic factors, specifically gender, age, occupation, and place of residence, influence the attitude of the respondents towards synchronous and asynchronous distance learning as well as their intention to continue using online education services in the future after the lifting of the restrictive measures. Additionally, the customers’ preferences concerning the most enjoyable distance learning experience were examined, so that they will be available to the distance learning program designers. Descriptive statistical analysis and non-parametric statistical hypothesis tests were conducted in SPSS and R. Most of the respondents had not participated in online courses before the Covid-19 outbreak, 46 % did participate in e-learning courses before the Covid-19 lockdown while 54 % did not and 34.1% respondents prefer face-to-face learning, while 15.9% prefer e-learning. Also, 50% respondents prefer a combination of face-to-face learning and e-learning. Hypothesis tests showed that there are statistically significant differences between users’ preferences as well as regarding their demographic characteristics. Undergraduate and postgraduate university students continue to participate in online learning courses and are willing to invest financial resources and time in this new educational process (?2(4)=10.440, p=0.034), unlike high school students who prefer face-to-face learning (p=0.042). The present study will lead to practical implications, such as the formation of e-learning programs which aim for the best user experience and the best learning outcomes. Also, private educational organizations can include the results in the key elements to implementing a strategic marketing mix.

Historical Review of Distance and Online Education from 1700s to 2021 in the United States: Instructional Design and Pivotal Pedagogy in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Betts ◽  
Brian Delaney ◽  
Tamara Galoyan ◽  
William Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
The United States ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Education Leaders ◽  
Higher Education Leaders

In March 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted education worldwide. In the United States, the pandemic forced colleges and universities across the nation to adopt quickly emergency remote teaching and learning. The ability to pivot instruction seamlessly and effectively across learning formats (e.g., face-to-face, hybrid, online) while supporting student engagement, learning, and completion in an authentic and high-quality manner challenged higher education leaders. This historical review of the literature examines distance and online education from the 1700s to 2021 to identify how external and internal pressures and opportunities have impacted and influenced the evolution of educational formats pre-COVID-19, and how they will continue to evolve post pandemic. This historical review also explores how instructional design and pedagogy have been and continue to be influenced by technological advancements, emerging research from the Learning Sciences and Mind (psychology), Brain (neuroscience), and Education (pedagogy) science.

The Future of Tourism, Hospitality and Events Teaching and Training

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Lade ◽  
Paul Strickland ◽  
Elspeth Frew ◽  
Paul Willard ◽  
Sandra Cherro Osorio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Potential Application ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

This chapter examines the ways in which teaching and training in tourism, hospitality and events have evolved and adapted to the contemporary demands of academia and industry. It explores the development of education in tourism, hospitality and events, the contemporary factors which influence teaching and learning, and discusses the rise of Massive Open Online Courses with a particular focus on their potential application within tourism, hospitality and events curriculum. The chapter concludes by providing an overview of Open Badges and their importance in education. At the time of writing, the world has been confronted by the Covid-19 global pandemic which has caused great disruption at all levels. The impact of Covid-19 is briefly addressed in this chapter as the enforcement of social distancing measures has led to a significant increase globally in online education.

scholarly journals Innovative practices in ODL — the experience of Open University Malaysia

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiam Chooi Chea ◽  
Lim Tick Meng ◽  
Phang Siew Nooi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Open University ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning

With the advancements in communications technology brought about by the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web, attention has been drawn to Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as a mode for teaching and learning. In Malaysia, the establishment of ODL universities such as Open University Malaysia (OUM) has expanded the role of ICT in learning and knowledge generation. By leveraging on Internet technology, ODL universities are able to transmit education across the country and even globally. ODL sets about making quality e-learning and e-content more accessible to both facilitators and learners. Utilising this method, new opportunities are continuously created to make higher education more accessible to those who seek to improve and upgrade themselves. This paper examines OUM's practice of using the innovative technology of online learning and teaching to make higher education easily accessible to those that seek it. With greater advancements in technology, the future of higher education may lie more with ODL than with traditional face-to-face learning.

scholarly journals Online interaction in higher education: Is there evidence of diminishing returns?

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonatan Castaño-Muñoz ◽  
Teresa Sancho-Vinuesa ◽  
Josep M. Duart
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Optimum Level ◽  
Online Interaction ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Diminishing Returns ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Interaction Intensity

<p>Online interaction is considered to be a key aspect of effective e-learning and improved academic achievement. However, few studies have examined how effectiveness varies with the degree of interaction intensity. Using data for 17,090 students from three Catalan universities, in this paper we study the productivity associated with five different levels of interaction intensity in learning. We also compare the results obtained for fully online education with those for face-to-face learning. The analyses show that interaction in online education has diminishing returns, while in face-to-face learning it does not do so in a pure way. These results have implications for determining the optimum level of interaction that should be sought when designing courses and educational policies.</p>

scholarly journals What do College Learners Think of Synchronous Learning?

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 82-98
Author(s):  
Gentjana Taraj
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Internet Skills ◽  
Synchronous Learning ◽  
College Learners ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Traditional Mode ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Academic Year

Advancements in educational technology and improvements in the internet’s connectivity has increased the interest of universities in e-learning worldwide. Unlike many institutions around the world, the traditional form of teaching in Albania before the Covid-19 pandemic was face-to-face where both lectures and seminars were attended physically in the classroom. However, the Covid-19 pandemic imposed on them the necessity to move from auditoriums to e-learning immediately without any preparation. This paper aims to investigate the Albanian learners’ attitudes and perceptions of synchronous e-learning during the second semester of the 2019 – 2020 academic year. A survey consisting of 15 questions was distributed to a total of 168 undergraduate and graduate learners in 2 public universities in Albania. Results from the study showed that the learners preferred face-to-face learning over synchronous learning. The lack of motivation, low level of interaction with their instructors and peers, and the feeling of isolation were their main concerns. Meanwhile, the learners appreciated the fact that e-learning helped them to improve their computer and internet skills. It is also less expensive and more comfortable than the traditional mode of teaching and learning.

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