scholarly journals Using Academic Social Networks to Enhance the Student Experience in Online Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffani Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Affinity Groups ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Academic Social Networks

Online universities utilize academic social networks to build connections among students, faculty, and alumni through affinity groups. This study explored how students interact in academic social networks, who they collaborate with, why they use academic social networks, and how this influences their educational experience. This qualitative, interpretive, phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of six online higher education students reporting active participation in an academic social network. Three core themes emerged from data analysis: (a) acceptance and belonging; (b) self-validation; and (c) drawing from multiple perspectives describing how academic social networking communities are formed, why students are using them, and what this means to online higher education. The essence of academic social networking as it relates to self-actualization is discussed, with insights for educational leaders regarding the use of academic social networking and affinity groups in online higher education.

scholarly journals Online Higher Education: Beyond the Hype Cycle

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 135-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. McPherson ◽  
Lawrence S. Bacow
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
College Level ◽  
Hype Cycle ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
Selective Schools ◽  
Start Ups

When two Silicon Valley start-ups, Coursera and Udacity, embarked in 2012 on a bold effort to supply college-level courses for free over the Internet to learners worldwide, the notion of the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) captured the nation's attention. Although MOOCs are an interesting experiment with a role to play in the future of higher education, they are a surprisingly small part of the online higher education scene. We believe that online education, at least online education that begins to take full advantage of the interactivity offered by the web, is still in its infancy. We begin by sketching out the several faces of online learning—asynchronous, partially asynchronous, the flipped classroom, and others—as well as how the use of online education differs across the spectrum of higher education. We consider how the growth of online education will affect cost and convenience, student learning, and the role of faculty and administrators. We argue that spread of online education through higher education is likely to be slower than many commenters expect. We hope that online education will bring substantial benefits. But less-attractive outcomes are also possible if, for instance, legislators use the existence of online education as an excuse for sharp cuts in higher education budgets that lead to lower-quality education for many students, at the same time that richer, more-selective schools are using online education as one more weapon in the arms race dynamic that is driving costs higher.

Exploring Assessment of Critical Thinking Learning Outcomes in Online Higher Education

2014 ◽  
pp. 1191-1202
Author(s):  
Bernice Bain
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Online Higher Education

Online education has grown to more than 6 million students with an average age of 33 years old (Kolowich, 2012; Selingo, 2012; Sheehy, 2012). Research indicates online programs are part of many institutions' strategic planning initiatives. Institutions are undergoing increased scrutiny from accrediting bodies, employers, and adult learners. To remain competitive and valid in this changing environment, a significant issue for leaders of online higher education institutions is how to effectively assess online cognitive learning outcomes, such as critical thinking. Adding to the challenge of online assessment of critical thinking is the contextual nature of critical thinking and two differing approaches to assessment. Leaders of online higher education institutions should seek a critical thinking assessment that is based on a theoretical framework of Transformative Learning and Adult Learning Theories. This is explored in this chapter.

The Attitude Towards and the Use of Social Networking in European Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69
Author(s):  
Silvia Gaftandzhieva ◽  
Rositsa Doneva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Statistical Software ◽  
European Higher Education

Nowadays, social networking is becoming a more and more powerful tool for students for communication, sharing of information and discussions on various topics. The study presented in this article investigates the extent to which teachers from different European countries use social networking sites in their teaching practice for different purposes and what their attitude is towards the use of social networking in higher education in general. The study is intended to seek clarity on the issues, whether the use of social networks is related to teacher information about social networking sites; their participation in interest groups and research for the use of social networks in education; and whether the results obtained from the survey vary according to the country. For this purpose, the statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics is used. On the other hand, the study explores specific areas of the use of social networking in higher education, with an emphasis on their efficacy.

The possibilities and perils of academic social networking sites

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann E Williams ◽  
Melissa A. Woodacre
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Academic Social Networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: the first aim is theoretical – to review extant literature on academic social networks, while considering current limitations and potential avenues for future research; the second objective is practical – to introduce an illustrative comparison guide that researchers can use to identify and distinguish between the functionalities of popular academic social networking sites (ASNSs), including Academia.edu, Mendeley.com, ResearchGate.net, Zotero.org, and Google Scholar. Design/methodology/approach – The review of research is descriptive and conceptual. Findings – The overarching outcomes of the review suggest that research on academic social networks falls into two primary arenas – promises (i.e. potential benefits to the academic community) and perils (i.e. reservations expressed by scholars). The authors recommend that a greater focus on the unique characteristics and utilities of specific sites and a more robust understanding of scholars’ use preferences and practices is warranted in future and ongoing research. Originality/value – This is the first review of ASNSs to provide comparative descriptions for scholars to utilize when making decisions about adoption, use, and research.

scholarly journals Evaluating Quality in Fully Online U.S. University Courses: A Comparison of University of Maryland University College and Troy University

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Aldridge ◽  
Mark L. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Online Course ◽  
University Of Maryland ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
University College ◽  
Periodic Evaluation ◽  
Student Discussion

A key component of quality assurance in online higher education is the periodic evaluation of fully online courses, by both internal and external reviewers, against standards developed by the offering institution. These standards can address a variety of quality areas including but not limited to: the organization and structure of the online course; the extent to which technology is used to foster learning and student engagement; and the use of available communication features to stimulate student discussion and interaction. In this paper the online evaluation processes and criteria of the two largest U.S. state universities involved in online education – University of Maryland University College and Troy University – are compared. It will be shown that the two institutions arrived independently at very similar quality standards for online courses, and that these standards are congruent with those developed and promulgated by nationwide higher education accreditation agencies in the U.S.

scholarly journals USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN PREPARATION OF FUTURE TEACHERS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Kobysia ◽  
Evgeniy Semenov
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
State Pedagogical ◽  
Youth Activity

The article considers the possibility of using social networks in the process of learning, identifies the advantages and disadvantages of their application in the educational process, analyzes the real state of student registration in social networks, the frequency of their communication with social networking means, determines the number of social networks in which students are registered, priority devices for work with social services, popularity of social networks among students of the Vinnitsa State Pedagogical University named after Mikhail Kotsyubinsky, and also, the proportion of students using social networking with the educational purpose whom teachers offered to use social networks to support the learning process and the proportion of students who are proposing to introduce social networks into the learning process has been established. The analysis of the obtained data makes it possible to determine the level of activity of students and teachers in the issue of the introduction of social networks and mobile devices in the process of knowledge acquisition and skills development by modern applicants of higher education, and also indicates the level of youth activity in the issue of reforming educational technologies, the introduction of modern methods of organizing the educational process and his support. The results of the study underline the active attitude of young people to the reform of higher education, but prove that the students themselves are not always willing to actively engage in educational initiatives, some of them prefer passive communication and photo viewing. Based on the data obtained from the questionnaire, it can be concluded that social networks are not used for educational purposes systematically. Students, for the most part, consider social networks as an opportunity to seek information, that is, as a peculiar search engine. Only one per cent of respondents consider social networks as an opportunity to create an educational community for communication with like-minded people.

Faculty Participation in Online Higher Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 2000-2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Participation ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Student Demand ◽  
Education Report

In the past decade, enrollments in distance education, and specifically online education, have grown dramatically in the United States. According to the 2009 Sloan Report (), enrollments in online courses increased from 9.6% of total postsecondary enrollments in 2002 to 25.3% in 2009. Unfortunately, a number of barriers exist that may result in an inability of higher education institutions to provide quality online education programming in sufficient scale to meet the expected student demand. The Managing Online Education report () identifies the resistance of faculty towards teaching in an online environment as foremost among ten factors that “impede institutional efforts to expand online education programs” (p. 1). An understanding of the factors that both motivate and discourage faculty member participation in online education programs is critical if institutions are to leverage their existing faculty to meet the current and future demand for online education. This case study first presents a number of motivating and inhibiting factors and then discusses how St. Bonaventure University leveraged these factors in an attempt to boost faculty participation in online education.

Utilizing Social Networking Sites for Communication in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 186-206
Author(s):  
Jodi Whitehurst ◽  
Jim Vander Putten
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Coping Mechanism ◽  
Education Data ◽  
Representational Space ◽  
Collaboration Tools

This chapter first analyzes the need for communication and collaboration tools to connect units of higher education. It then examines a popular social networking site, Facebook, as a possible platform of communication. This chapter also discusses findings from a phenomenological study that explored rhetorical roles employed by participants on Facebook and then connects findings to current research concerning communication and collaboration in higher education. Data indicated that messages on Facebook were used for cooperation and coordination, but not necessarily collaboration. It also indicated that while participants were audience-minded, they were not necessarily audience-aware, and participants used audience shaping as a coping mechanism. Finally, composers' inclinations to exercise authority over their personal, representational space (Facebook wall) led the researchers to conclude that use of Facebook in higher education may best be achieved by creating a Facebook page or group for specific communicative purposes.

scholarly journals The Influence of Social Networking on Lifestyle: A Higher Education Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 94-100
Author(s):  
D Veerasamy
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
The World

Social networks have become a way of life for many people who use them to connect and communicate with the world at large. Social media is defined as any tool or service that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations. Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites (SNSs) and has a total of 55 million active users worldwide with an average of 250000 new registrations per day. After Yahoo, MySpace and Google, Facebook is also the fourth most popular SNS in South Africa. The purpose of the paper was to determine whether social networks have an influence on higher education students’ lifestyles and behaviour. This research was descriptive and quantitative in nature. The sample comprised 386 students studying at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The results indicated that the majority of the respondents preferred Facebook as their social network of choice. More than half of the respondents indicated that they access their preferred social network five times or more per day. The majority of the respondents agreed that social networks allow for global interaction and that maintaining relationships has become easier with social networking,

A Novel Methodology for Cloud of Things based Secure Higher Education Framework using Zero Knowledge Proof System

2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Business Process ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Service Oriented Architecture ◽  
Hadamard Matrix ◽  
Zero Knowledge ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Service Oriented ◽  
Zero Knowledge Proof

The cutting-edge technology, namely Cloud of Things (CoT) has shaped the existing business process into a new orientation in terms of performance, usability, and reliability. Among different business processes, online education is one of the prime areas where CoT can be used to make it more agile in the context of performance and usability. In this endeavor, a novel methodology has been proposed for an online higher education framework based on CoT. The proposed framework is made agile using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). Furthermore, in order to make the proposed framework more reliable, a Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKPF) system has been introduced here. The proposed ZKPF algorithm is based on the Hadamard matrix. Experimental results have shown to lay bare the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

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