scholarly journals Blended Learning and Sense of Community: A Comparative Analysis with Traditional and Fully Online Graduate Courses

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred P. Rovai ◽  
Hope Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Faculty Training ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Loss Of Face ◽  
Face To Face

<P>Blended learning is a hybrid of classroom and online learning that includes some of the conveniences of online courses without the complete loss of face-to-face contact. The present study used a causal-comparative design to examine the relationship of sense of community between traditional classroom, blended, and fully online higher education learning environments. Evidence is provided to suggest that blended courses produce a stronger sense of community among students than either traditional or fully online courses.</P> <P><B>Keywords:</B> Blended learning, sense of community, higher education, online learning, computer-mediated communication, faculty training</P>

scholarly journals A Skype-Buddy Model for Blended Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 340-357
Author(s):  
Carmen E. Macharaschwili ◽  
Linda Skidmore Coggin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Buddy System ◽  
Education Degree ◽  
Virtual Face

Universities are challenged with providing quality educational experiences that meet students' needs for engagement and collaboration. The availability of computer-mediated communication tools provides opportunities for such needs to be met as well as allows students the opportunity to complete higher education degree requirements in virtual environments This chapter discusses how Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was used in a unique Skype-Buddy system to provide virtual face-to-face participation in traditional doctoral classrooms. Students' and professors' satisfaction, benefits, challenges, and surprises in this system are examined. Results and recommendations from this study are applicable in undergraduate and secondary level classrooms.

scholarly journals A Skype-Buddy Model for Blended Learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 369-386
Author(s):  
Carmen E. Macharaschwili ◽  
Linda Skidmore Coggin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Buddy System ◽  
Education Degree ◽  
Virtual Face

Universities are challenged with providing quality educational experiences that meet students’ needs for engagement and collaboration. The availability of computer-mediated communication tools provides opportunities for such needs to be met as well as allows students the opportunity to complete higher education degree requirements in virtual environments This chapter discusses how Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was used in a unique Skype-Buddy system to provide virtual face-to-face participation in traditional doctoral classrooms. Students’ and professors’ satisfaction, benefits, challenges, and surprises in this system are examined. Results and recommendations from this study are applicable in undergraduate and secondary level classrooms.

Implementing and Promoting Blended Learning in Higher Education Institutions

2010 ◽  
pp. 70-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Peer Editing ◽  
Academic Reading ◽  
Face To Face Learning

With the rapid development of the Internet, blended learning (online learning plus face-to-face learning) has become a model that more and more higher education institutions are intending to adopt. This chapter first compares various forms and expressions of blended learning adopted by different institutions around the world, and then reports on how blended learning has been implemented and promoted in the English Department at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) using a variety of approaches. Here, a number of projects have been carried out over the past seven years, focusing on the conversion of traditional face-to-face modules into partly face-to-face, partly online modules. In addressing these developments, the Blackboard online learning management system, which has been adopted as the main platform for the delivery of blended learning at HKIEd, is first examined. Then the design of a series of subject-specific Web sites to supplement the Blackboard system and facilitate blended learning is introduced. Finally, the implementation of innovative Wikibook projects is illustrated and discussed. Such Wikibook projects, where students are required to work in groups to write an academic textbook collaboratively online, are highly effective in promoting not only autonomous yet collaborative online academic reading and writing, but also online peer editing. This adds a new dimension to blended learning. Feedback from students shows that they greatly enjoyed the experience of collaborative academic writing through the Wikibook projects, and found that the wiki technology made peer editing much more efficient and effective. All the evidence suggests that blended learning has great potential as a vehicle for teaching and learning and is a notable current trend in higher education.

scholarly journals Face-to-Face and Online Instructional Delivery Formats: a Mixed-Methods Study of Teacher Self-Efficacy in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Colin William Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Instructional Delivery ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Face To Face

The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions in South Korea to administer Spring 2020 semesters online. This mixed-methods study examined instructor/professor competence for the instructional delivery formats of Face-to-Face and online teaching. Quantitatively, the researcher measured teacher competence for Face-to-Face and online instruction by measuring the Teacher Self-Efficacy levels of non-Korean instructors/professors in South Korean higher education institutions. The qualitative questions assessed the advantages and drawbacks of each instructional delivery format. Findings indicate that instructors/professors are significantly more effective teaching Face-to-Face courses than online courses. However, instructors/professors with online learning experience were significantly more effective teaching online courses than those without online learning experience. It is recommended that all instructors/professors engage in professional development geared towards equipping educators with the tools needed to succeed in the online education environment.

scholarly journals Student Empowerment In An Online Program

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Brown ◽  
Peter Kiriakidis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Online Student ◽  
Computer Mediated

Given that online higher education is a competitive marketplace, this paper discusses how to ensure online student success. Within the online learning environment, the following may create the vitality of the online institution: (a) The online learning environment; (b) The role of the instructor; (c) Learning Communities; (d) Computer-mediated Communication Technologies; and (e) Policy and practice. These factors may be managed by the institution of higher education, the faculty member, or the learner; however, a commitment is needed by all stakeholders in the program.

scholarly journals Analysis of Dynamic Resource Access Patterns in Online Courses

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Hecking ◽  
Sabrina Ziebarth ◽  
Heinz Ulrich Hoppe
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Resource Access ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Master Level ◽  
Resource Networks ◽  
Online Learning Resources ◽  
Access Patterns

This paper presents an analysis of resource access patterns in two recently conducted online courses. One of these is an master level university lecture taught in form of a blended learning course with a wide range of online learning activities and materials, including collaborative wikis, self-tests and thematic videos. The other course on psychological aspects of computer mediated communication has been offered in the form of a MOOC. The specialty of this course was that master level students from two different universities could participate in the MOOC as a regular university class and receive credits for successful completion.In both courses, online learning resources such as videos, scientific literature and wikis played a central role. In this context, the motivation for our research was to investigate characteristic patterns of resource usage of the learners. To gain deeper insights into the usage of learning materials we have extracted dynamic bipartite student - resource networks based on event logs of resource access. These networks have been analyzed using methods adapted from social network analysis. In particular we detect bipartite clusters of students and resources in those networks and propose a method to identify patterns and traces of their evolution over time.

Teaching Generation Z Students in the Technology-Driven World

2019 ◽  
pp. 52-66
Author(s):  
Muhammad Haseeb
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Faculty Professional Development ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Generation Z ◽  
Traditional Courses

Today, higher education is experiencing significant changes in its recruitment, retention, graduation, and accreditation. Faculty professional development is considered a key for the success of Generation Z students. As a result, faculty are interested to modify their teaching environment. More and more faculty are flipping their traditional courses and offering either hybrid or online courses. Blended learning means that students receive instruction in both face-to-face and online environments. Embedded within the concept is an assumption that blended teaching environments also give students some control over the pace, flow, or focus of their learning activities. Also, blended learning prepares students for full online courses. Research indicates that empowering students to have organization in their education leads to many positive outcomes, including that students do better in inequality of access situations, are able to personalize their learning and achieve regardless of ability, and build dispositional skills, such as executive functioning, perseverance, self-awareness, and tolerance for uncertainty, that many believe are necessary to thrive in current and future societies. This chapter explains current practices and the potential of digital learning initiatives to teach Generation Z in the technology-driven world.

Synchronous Text Chat (EduTexting) as an Online Learning Tool

2015 ◽  
pp. 108-125
Author(s):  
Tina L. Heafner ◽  
Michelle Plaisance
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Text Chat ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
Individual Use ◽  
K 12

The increasing popularity and accessibility of affordable computer-mediated communication is rapidly changing the way in which we, as a society, interact and conduct business. This phenomenon is pervasive in all market sectors, including virtual K-12 education. This chapter examines collective and individual use of synchronous text chat to explore learner and instructor social and cognitive presence as well as their attitudes toward online learning. This mode of communication unilaterally enriches the observational learning experience for all participants. Overall, four meaningful social and cognitive functions of synchronous text chat in online learning contexts emerge: a) enhancing enjoyment, b) engagement and noticing, c) achieving community and providing interactive immediacy, and d) bridging of theory to practice. In the spirit of 21st century technological development, the authors coin this use of SMS (synchronous texting) in academic settings EduTexting. They argue for its application and appropriateness in K-12 online courses.

scholarly journals Computer-Mediated Communication: A vehicle for learning

2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda D. Grooms
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Effective Delivery ◽  
The University

<p>The axiom of humanity’s basic need to communicate provides the impetus to explore the nature and quality of computer-mediated communication as a vehicle for learning in higher education. This exploratory study examined the experiential communication perceptions of online doctoral students during the infancy of their program. Eighty-five students were electronically queried through a 32 item open-ended questionnaire within a 13 day time frame. Preliminary findings supported the experience of Seagren and Watwood (1996) at the Lincoln Campus of the University of Nebraska, that “more information widens learning opportunities, but without interaction, learning is not enhanced” (p. 514). The overarching implications stress that faculty development and instructional planning are essential for the effective delivery of online courses, and even more so when collaborative learning is used. Facilitating group communication and interaction are areas beckoning attention as we continue to effectively organize the online classroom of this new millennium.</p> <p><B>Key Words:</B> Computer-mediated communication, online instructional pedagogy, virtual classroom, online learning, higher education, interaction, immediacy</P>

scholarly journals A blended learning model supported by MOOC/SPOC, Zoom, and Canvas in a project-based academic writing course

2021 ◽  
pp. 179-197
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Yunjie Chen
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Management Platform ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Blended Online Learning

Blended learning has played an important role in teaching English as a second or foreign language around the world. However, little research has been conducted on blended learning that is entirely online owing to the coronavirus pandemic. We aim at exploring the model of blending Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and Small Private Online Courses (SPOC), Zoom conferencing, and the Canvas course management platform. The new approach of blended online learning incorporates the pre-class autonomous learning of knowledge in MOOC/SPOC, in-class internalization of knowledge through case studies and discussions on Zoom, and after-class application of knowledge to the completion of a research project. A questionnaire and interviews were conducted to explore learners’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the model. Learners have a positive attitude about the new approach of blended online learning, but still hope that the in-class activities can be implemented face-to-face offline. The model will contribute to teaching and learning with the blended approach against the current coronavirus pandemic.

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