scholarly journals Motivating factors that affect enrolment and student performance in an ODL engineering programme

Author(s):  
Pushpa Ranjani Dadigamuwa ◽  
Nihal Saman Senanayake

<p>The present study was carried out to determine the motivating factors for enrolling in an engineering study programme in open and distance learning (ODL) and the factors that affect the students’ performance. The study was conducted with two convenient samples of students following distance learning courses in engineering technology, conducted by the Open University of Sri Lanka and leading to the award of diploma or degree in Engineering Technology. One sample consisted of students who failed to qualify for sitting the year-end examination and the other consisted of successful students.</p><p>The study showed that many students opt to follow the programme without knowing the relevance of the study programme for them. Most of the students (53%) had taken the courses believing that they could obtain a recognized degree. The students with secondary education qualifications in the mathematics stream were found to be successful, provided that they had selected the ODL programmes with an understanding of the nature of the ODL system, the percentages being 61 with 4 passes, 75 with 3 passes, and 20 with 2 passes at the General Certificate in Education (Advanced Level) examination.</p><p>All successful students were of the opinion that the course delivery methods should be improved, especially face-to-face teaching, laboratory classes, and assignments.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

Author(s):  
Michael Marmon

Online education has become a ubiquitous and convenient method by which to complete courses at institutions of higher education across the globe. To achieve this level of parity between course delivery methods (online or face-to-face), the instructor or course designer must understand the complex relationship between the technology and instructional design theories being leveraged in these contexts. Within the context of this chapter, these barriers manifest themselves within Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance, a theory which states that the transactional distance between stakeholders (whether it is instructor-learner or learner-learner communication) has the potential to obstruct the path for comprehending the information being presented as well as influencing the level of rapport between students. This chapter examines the obstacles that are present because of Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance and the influence that social presence has on learners in online courses from the perspective of student satisfaction and positive learning outcomes.


Author(s):  
Michael Marmon

Online education has become a ubiquitous and convenient method by which to complete courses at institutions of higher education across the globe. To achieve this level of parity between course delivery methods (online or face-to-face), the instructor or course designer must understand the complex relationship between the technology and instructional design theories being leveraged in these contexts. Within the context of this chapter, these barriers manifest themselves within Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance, a theory which states that the transactional distance between stakeholders (whether it is instructor-learner or learner-learner communication) has the potential to obstruct the path for comprehending the information being presented as well as influencing the level of rapport between students. This chapter examines the obstacles that are present because of Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance and the influence that social presence has on learners in online courses from the perspective of student satisfaction and positive learning outcomes.


Author(s):  
Liugen Zhu ◽  
Edgar Huang ◽  
Joseph Defazio ◽  
Sara Anne Hook

The purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate the impact of three diverse attendance and participation policies in face-to-face and online courses and the effect on students’ final grades in each course. We examined nine different undergraduate courses taught between Fall 2010 and Spring 2015. The results suggest that a more stringent attendance policy significantly impacts student attendance, absences were negatively correlated with course grades, and that course delivery methods were not predictive of either attendance/participation or course grades.  Additional research is needed to determine what other factors might influence attendance and participation and correlation to course grades.


Author(s):  
Aissetou Drame Yaye

The University Abdou Moumouni (UAM) of Niamey in Niger mainly focused on traditional face to face learning, and even the existence of the African Virtual University since the years 1999 did not change the situation. It is only after the official opening at the University of the Francophone Digital Campus in December 2003 that lecturers and students started overseeing and taking advantages of all the benefits of e-Learning and distance learning. The present paper builds on the author’s personal initiatory experience in e-Learning to highlight some specific challenges that traditional universities such as the UAM face in their efforts to introduce e-Learning and distance learning as a new mode of course delivery. The study shows that even though challenges are big, political and institutional support can freshen the perspectives and change opportunities into realities.


Author(s):  
Debra Shapiro

A narrative history of the development of the online Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), from its inception in collaboration with an Illinois public library system, to its current, fully online iteration is given. In addition, course delivery methods, from videoconferencing to Web-based methods, are outlined, and other details of the program are described.


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