scholarly journals Webs of activity in online course design and teaching

2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Peruski ◽  
Punya Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Work Activities ◽  
Collaborative Activities ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

In this study, we followed three faculty members’ experiences with designing and teaching online courses for the first time. In order to complete the activity, the faculty members had to work collaboratively with others across the university. Activity theory provided a framework within which to study faculty members’ collaborative activities with members of different activity systems that had different goals, tools, divisions of labor and accountabilities. In concordance with activity theory, such differences led to contradictions, disturbances, and transformations in thinking and work activities. The results of the study have implications for individuals and systems undertaking technology integration in teaching.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000211520

Facilitation of Web-Based Courses Designed for Adult Learners

2011 ◽  
pp. 918-921
Author(s):  
Bonnie McCall Ordonez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Online Course ◽  
University Faculty ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Professional Students ◽  
College And University

Web-based courses have currently surpassed all other forms of distance education in the higher education field. One of the main reasons in growth is the demand from adult and professional students looking for a convenient yet quality education (Kearsley, 2000). College and university faculty members are a key component in the development and delivery of online courses. Many studies have been conducted on effective course design, and student achievement and outcomes (Kearsley, 2000, p. 46), but less research is available on the instructional techniques necessary to facilitate an online course.

scholarly journals Faculty Perspectives on Narrowing the Success Gap Between Online and Onsite Learning

2019 ◽  
pp. 128-142
Author(s):  
Abour H. Cherif ◽  
Farahnaz Movahedzadeh ◽  
Gerald Adams ◽  
Margaret Martyn ◽  
Jennifer D. Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Blended Courses ◽  
University Level ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time ◽  
And Training

With growth in enrollment in online courses at the university level, the quality of those courses is coming under increased scrutiny. This study surveyed faculty with experience in online, onsite, and blended courses to identify factors most likely to impede student success in online courses as well as strategies to improve online courses. The most common responses for why students might find online courses more challenging focus in the areas time management, student-teacher interaction, and motivation. The strategies for improving student success in online courses fall into the categories of assignments, teaching strategies, and training for both faculty and students. Steps for students to take before enrolling in an online course and tips for faculty who want to teach online courses for the first time are also included as appendices.

The Balancing Act

2020 ◽  
pp. 58-79
Author(s):  
Justin A. Sentz
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Local Version ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Training Module ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Faculty Fellow ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

Upon hearing a multitude of complaints from faculty members about the required training module prior to teaching online courses at Great Plains University for the first time, the instructional designers at GPU's North Central Campus decided to work with a faculty fellow to create a local version of the training. Before discussing specific modifications to the training module, the group delved into the interpersonal aspects of the relationship between instructional designers and faculty members in higher education. They suspected that these relationship dynamics had something to do with the shortcomings of the existing training module, and they wanted to ensure that they addressed them in the new version of the training. The result was a set of recommendations sent to the Provost at NCC that aligned the modifications to the training intervention to the performance problems in the institution, while simultaneously accounting for the interpersonal aspects identified in their discussions.

scholarly journals ON THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN ONLINE COURSE DISCUSSIONS

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Swan ◽  
Li Fang Shih
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Quantitative Results

“Social presence,” the degree to which participants in computer-mediated communication feel affectively connected one to another, has been shown to be an important factor in student satisfaction and success in online courses. This mixed methods study built on previous research to explore in greater depth the nature of social presence and how it develops in online course discussions. The study combined quantitative analyses of survey results from students enrolled in four online graduate courses, and qualitative comparisons of students with the highest and lowest perceptions of social presence. Quantitative results revealed significant correlations between perceived social presence and satisfaction with online discussions, and teased apart the respective influences of the perceived presence of instructors and peers. The findings indicate that the perceived presence of instructors may be a more influential factor in determining student satisfaction than the perceived presence of peers. Correlations with other course and learner characteristics suggest that course design may also significantly affect the development of social presence. Qualitative findings support the quantitative results. In addition, they provide evidence that students perceiving the highest social presence also projected themselves more into online discussions,and reveal meaningful differences in perceptions of the usefulness and purpose of online discussion between students perceiving high and low social presence.

scholarly journals 9. Quality Matters: A Faculty-Centred Program to Assure Quality in Online Course Design

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Shattuck
Keyword(s):  
Review Process ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Quality Assurance Program ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Online Course Design ◽  
Quality Matters

One of the dilemmas faced by today’s faculty is assuring quality in online courses. As one solution to that dilemma, Quality Matters (QM), a program of MarylandOnline, built a rubric of design standards informed by existing research literature and best practices. The rubric was implemented within a faculty-centred, peer review process in which colleagues share their expertise to facilitate course design improvements and to achieve an established level of quality in online course design. This article will describe the basic tenets and processes of QM as an inter-institutional quality assurance program for online learning.

scholarly journals Experience with Online Delivery of an Engineering Technical Elective Course

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Wallace ◽  
Harpreet Dhariwal
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
Elective Course ◽  
On Line ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time

MIE 515, Alternative Energy Systems, an engineering technical elective course open to senior undergraduates and graduate students, was delivered as an on line course for Fall 2011. This is the first time an undergraduate engineering course at the University of Toronto has been offered online. The course is also one of five pilot online courses across the University. The move online is being accomplished in two steps. For Fall 2011, a small lecture section of 25 students was used as a setting for video capture and the remaining 110 students accessed the course lectures online asynchronously. A live tutorial was offered once a week. All students were physically present for the midterm examination and the final examination. For Fall 2012, the course will be delivered entirely online, with the exception of student physical presence for the two examinations. Pedagogical and technical lessons learned during this transition year will be presented. The benefits and drawbacks of online delivery will be discussed from the perspective gained this year and compared with our expectations. Student feedback will also be presented and discussed.

How Social Design Influences Student Retention and Self-Motivation in Online Learning Environments

2013 ◽  
pp. 26-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek E. Baird ◽  
Mercedes Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Social Design ◽  
Student Collaboration ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collaborative Activities

Investigating the social structure that works in online courses helps us design for and facilitate student collaboration. The integration of social technologies, and collaborative activities into the course design has a positive influence on student retention in online courses. In this chapter, the authors present an exploratory study of computer-mediated groups that utilized this collaborative-based model to participate in online and/or blended learning courses. Participants were put into groups and observed as they constructed new knowledge using both online dialogue (synchronous and asynchronous), and social media technologies (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, wiki) as tools to support and facilitate their learning in the program.

Examining Design Pattern Strategies as a Means to Achieve Social Presence in the Online Classroom

2015 ◽  
pp. 22-49
Author(s):  
Araminta Matthews ◽  
Robert M. Kitchin Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Design Pattern ◽  
Design Patterns ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Design Learning ◽  
Potential Benefits

Design patterns have received much attention across multiple design domains where social interaction is a central goal because they have great potential for capturing and sharing design knowledge. Design patterns, design pattern language, and design pattern libraries demonstrate potential benefits to novice and expert online course designers. Trends affecting the growth of online courses and resultant pitfalls negatively affecting students and instructors indicate the need for social presence design. A literature review addresses the importance of social interaction, differentiated design, learning-oriented social networking, and Web design structures in an effort to assuage the experience of isolation reported by the majority of online students. The authors argue that design patterns are a method of overcoming many of these apparent obstacles to quality online course design and learning engagement. Additionally, they present example design patterns to solve specific social interacting problems.

Preparing Part-Time Instructors for Success in Online Course Development and Teaching

2019 ◽  
pp. 250-297
Author(s):  
Dan Piedra
Keyword(s):  
Continuing Education ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Course Development ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Online Course Development

Part-time instructors are at the heart of each continuing education operation throughout the world. They bring a wealth of industry experience which adds real-life undertones to classes. However, many lack foundational training in areas of instructional strategies and adult education theory, learning management systems (LMS) and their use in online courses, and course design and development. This chapter will provide an overview of how McMaster University's Centre for Continuing Education has addressed all three of the above areas with a view towards better equipping their part-time instructors in providing a better-quality learning experience. Central to the above is the use of online training and a thorough and highly structured approach to online course development.

Online Nurse Education

2008 ◽  
pp. 1024-1031
Author(s):  
Jane Klobas ◽  
Ciro Sementina ◽  
Stefano Renzi
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Collaboration ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Market Segments ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Online Distance Learning ◽  
Online Distance ◽  
Collaborative Activities

In many countries, healthcare professionals are required to participate annually in compulsory continuing medical education (CME). The effort involved in providing wide-scale training led the Italian Ministry of Health to support pilot courses using online distance learning. This article reports the results of a short survey which aimed to gauge the potential of online CME for nurses in Italy. Most of the 152 respondents, all of whom had completed an online course, supported the inclusion of some form of collaborative learning. Three possible market segments for online learning emerged from the study: nurses who prefer to study alone, those who would appreciate collaborative activities well-integrated into course design, and those who would prefer courses that include online collaboration of any kind. The authors conclude that online learning is a suitable mode for enabling participation in CME for accreditation, but caution that further research is required to confirm that the preferences of nurses who have experienced online distance learning are shared by those who have not.

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