scholarly journals Switching Gears

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-43
Author(s):  
Claudia Moessenlechner ◽  
Regina Obexer ◽  
Maria Pammer ◽  
Julia Waldegger
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Student Interaction ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Training And Support

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic turned into an urgent priority for higher education institutions in that they had to move to remote teaching within a matter of weeks. This paper presents the results of a quantitative survey looking at the challenges university faculty were facing when moving their course(s) online during the first semester of the COVID-19 crisis.The survey looks specifically at course design and formats used in online teaching during the crisis and compares differences occurring between disciplines (STEM and management education). The outcomes overall mirror a sense of achievement due to the successful delivery of online courses with little preparation. Difficulties lecturers identified were related to promoting student interaction and engagement, technical issues, the effort required to plan and prepare online learning materials, and challenges with regard to online assessment. Having access to training and support in various forms was highlighted as an important success factor.

scholarly journals Experiencing the shift: How postsecondary contract and continuing faculty moved to online course delivery

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Patricia Danyluk ◽  
Amy Burns
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Faculty Position ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Additional Work

The shift to online learning that occurred in March of 2020, created an unprecedented period of intense work for faculty and sessional instructors at the post-secondary level. This shift necessitated courses be adapted under short timelines, new technology be integrated into course design and teaching strategies and assessment methods be adapted for an online environment (Van Nuland et al., 2020). This study examines how sessional instructors, referred to in this chapter as contract faculty, and continuing full-time faculty members delivering the same online courses experienced this shift. While the demands of a continuing faculty position call for balancing of teaching, research and service responsibilities, contract instructors have their own unique stressors (Karram Stephenson et al., 2020). Contract faculty lack job security, are paid by the course and often receive their teaching assignments with short notice. By examining their perspectives on delivering the same courses online, we learn that the shift to online teaching resulted in additional work in order to adapt courses to the online environment, with faculty describing the challenges of balancing the additional work with other responsibilities of their position. Concerns of participants focused on a perceived inability to develop relationships with students in an online environment.

scholarly journals Faculty development needs assessment for online teaching

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 5063
Author(s):  
Ayman Z. Elsamanoudy ◽  
Rasha Abou-Kamer ◽  
Fatma M. Ghoneim ◽  
Sherif El-Saadany ◽  
Mona A. Soliman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Faculty Development ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Software Tools ◽  
Response Scale ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Almost All

Background: Academic staff members, who are responsible for teaching and training, should be aware of the principle of online course design, development, and implementation. The aim of this study is to evaluate instructors’ skills and needs for conducting distance learning healthcare courses, including the level of assistance they need to implement and use online and software tools in online courses.Methods: The current study applied online faculty survey used by the Center for Teaching Excellence, University of South Carolina to assess the faculty’s instructional technology needs for training and support. The survey asked faculty staff about a broad number of classroom and online technologies, with a helpful response scale that reveals not only what the faculty is already using, but also what the instructors want to use and what they need help with.Results: The results of this study revealed a significant need of faculty staff members for the training and development of their skills in almost all tools used for conducting online courses. The female responder was higher than males. Regarding the use of software, although the majority of participating staff members in this study use almost all software tools required for conducting online healthcare courses, they expressed a need for help in developing new ideas to use the software effectively.Conclusions: From this study, it could be concluded that it is essential to organize comprehensive faculty development training courses for staff members to help them in conducting their online courses or converting their face-to-face courses to blended courses effectively.

scholarly journals Award-Winning Faculty Online Teaching Practices: Roles and Competencies

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Martin ◽  
Kiran Budhrani ◽  
Swapna Kumar ◽  
Albert Ritzhaupt
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Online Faculty ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
Critical Competencies

Given the explosive growth of online learning in institutions of higher education, we are in dire need of guidelines for instructing new and continuing online instructors on how best to teach in online spaces.  The purpose of this study was to identify the roles of the online instructor and categorize critical competencies for online teaching based on a review of research, and the perspectives of award-winning online faculty. We interviewed eight award-winning online faculty members from across the United States. Based on interviews, it was found that online instructors were assuming five different roles: Facilitator, Course Designer, Course Delivery, Subject Matter Expert, and Mentor.  Participants’ common tasks when designing and teaching an online course fell in two areas, either Course Design or Teaching. This research has clear implications not only for the literature research base, but for our institutions as well as we continue to offer increasing numbers of effective online courses and programs to our students.

scholarly journals Factors for Success and Course Completion in Massive Open Online Courses through the Lens of Participant Types

Open Praxis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Isa Bingol ◽  
Engin Kursun ◽  
Halil Kayaduman
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Course Completion ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Instructor Effectiveness

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors for success and course completion through the lens of participants in a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) system implemented in Turkey. Thirty-two participants were selected on the basis of purposive sampling among 5000 enrolled users from 10 MOOCs, who were then classified into 3 types –lurking, moderately active, memorably active– based on their participation rate in the course activities. The data were collected via the use of two semi-structured interviews. According to the findings, the factors for success in MOOCs to the participants were divided into three categories: instructor effectiveness, course design, and personal factors. As to the factors for course completion, the categories identified were the instructor, course design, personal factors, technical issues, and affordability/clarity. The findings regarding success and course completion were discussed in detail and recommendations were provided to enhance participation in MOOCs.

The Analysis and Design of Internet Course Teaching System for Operation System

2012 ◽  
Vol 239-240 ◽  
pp. 1637-1640
Author(s):  
Qi Jun Du
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Operation System ◽  
Analysis And Design ◽  
Teaching Learning

Based on the design theory of internet course teaching, combined with the course of operation system, some key technology has been introduced, such as the development process of teaching, network system, the curriculum and various network elements: learners, teaching objective, contents of teaching, learning environment, teaching strategies, evaluation, etc. Some construction of network course building should be noted, which all has strong and practical significance for others. With the rapid development of Internet and the gradual perfection of the modern education technology, the education philosophy and approaches have been keeping innovated. The Internet-based courses have aroused many people’s concern. Compared with traditional courses, it is much more flexible, efficient, interactive, and convenient. It can also meet the need of individual-tailored service. With regards to the target learners, forms of the contents, course arrangement and studying methods, online education is incomparably superior. Thus the application of online teaching is one of the most effective ways to improve the teaching level. Based on the online courses teaching design theories, combined with the course of the computer operation system, the paper introduces the key technologies related to online course design and development, which is suggestive to other online courses studies.

scholarly journals Factors for Sustainable Online Learning in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5038
Author(s):  
Amanda Chu ◽  
Connie Liu ◽  
Mike So ◽  
Benson Lam
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Short Period

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected educational institutions and instructors in an unprecedented way. The majority of educational establishments were forced to take their courses online within a very short period of time, and both instructors and students had to learn to navigate the digital array of courses without much training. Our study examined factors that affect students’ attitude toward online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is different from other online learning studies where online courses are mostly a method of choice, with suitable support from institutions and expectation from instructors and students, rather than a contingency. Under this specific environment, we utilized an online survey to collect students’ feedback from eleven universities across Hong Kong. Using partial least squares for analysis on the 400 valid samples we received, we found that peer interactions and course design have the most salient impact on students’ attitude, whereas interactions with instructors has no effect at all on students’ attitude. Furthermore, we also provide suggestions on using the existing technologies purchased during COVID-19 for a more sustainable learning environment going forward.

scholarly journals Leveraging Course Quality Checklist to Improve Online Courses

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitesh Kathuria ◽  
David Wayne Becker
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Universal Design For Learning ◽  
Course Quality ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Compliance Requirements ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Quality Checklist

Designing high quality, interactive online courses in a technologically rich environment can be a daunting task even for experienced faculty. This process becomes more difficult when faculty are teaching multiple classes, juggling service and research/creative scholarship. In order to help faculty focus on key aspects of online teaching and course design, we developed a checklist with links to institutional resources which help faculty meet several best practices for online teaching. Use of checklists and rubrics to meet quality assurance standards is common (e.g. - OLC OSCQR Course Design Review Scorecard, 2018; Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, 2018), however they vary significantly with the time required to review a course (Baldwin, Ching, & Hsu, 2018). Our goal was to create a checklist that helps faculty design basic elements of the course and expedite the self-review process.  Given the current COVID-19 situation, when instructors were suddenly asked to teach remotely, this Course Quality Checklist will help faculty self-review their existing or new online course via multiple lenses such as course orientation, policies, organization, alignment, as well as Universal Design for Learning and interaction. Faculty may use this checklist to create a clear and consistent structure within their course. The checklist also links to several online, just-in-time resources (e.g. course templates, design and pedagogy training, and standards for interaction and accessibility). This will ensure they meet essential standards, save time, reduce cognitive load, and meet specific compliance requirements. 

scholarly journals Reflecting on Best Practices for Online Learning in a Post-COVID-19 World

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Schrenk ◽  
Kelly Alves ◽  
Brianne Schrenk ◽  
Drew Van Dam
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Training And Support ◽  
To Receive

When the novel coronavirus 2019 caused many schools to immediately go online in March 2020, many instructors had significant training and experience teaching residentially but little to no experience teaching online courses. All classes were immediately converted to online, and some schools are still uncertain as to when they will return to full traditional classroom settings. Regardless of online experience, all instructors were needed to learn to adapt to online teaching immediately. This change created a need for all faculty members to receive the training and support necessary to make the online process as smooth and effective as possible. In this Best Practices perspective, we identified useful and successful practices to help students learn in the online courses. With the knowledge of data driven support and awareness of effective online teaching strategies, instructors can make the most of online teaching sessions.

scholarly journals A comparison of student engagement in the online vs. face-to-face environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Brielmaier ◽  
Ying-Ying Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Face

Enhancing student engagement has been a goal of increasing importance in higher education.  This may be especially valuable in online courses, where face-to-face interactions and synchronous activities are often minimal or nonexistent. Students are thought to be engaged when they view course activities as meaningful, persist in the face of difficulties or obstacles, and wish to learn to achieve mastery of the material (Bomia et al., 1997; Schlecty, 1994). Given the importance of student engagement for effective teaching, it is important for instructors and course designers to understand the factors that foster engagement within the learning environment.The present study sought to measure and compare student satisfaction and engagement in online vs. face-to-face sections of Physiological Psychology taught in Spring and Fall 2015. An end of semester survey, adapted from the literature (Dixson, 2010; Ouimet & Smallwood, 2005), included 18 questions relevant to learner satisfaction, motivation and engagement.  The preliminary data analysis was based on Spring 2015 data collected from 56 students total (22 online, 34 face-to-face).  The findings indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the online and face-to-face sections for student learning satisfaction and overall engagement levels. Results suggest that online teaching and learning can be comparable to the face-to-face environment on these parameters. More complete analysis of the data from the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2015 semesters, as well as a discussion of implications for course design, will be presented.  Faculty and course designers will learn about strategies for measuring and promoting student engagement within their own courses.

scholarly journals The Lived Experience of Online Educators: Insights from Construction Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Willy Sher ◽  
Anthony Williams ◽  
Maria Northcote
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Construction Management ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Conflicting Demands

Academics in higher education institutions often experience the conflicting demands of teaching, research and administration. With the growth of online education these staff are frequently required to design, develop, teach, facilitate and, in some cases, administer online courses. Cumulatively these additional tasks challenge academics, not only in terms of the personal professional development but also in accommodating the range of tasks expected of them. This paper reports the findings of a study which investigated the lived experience of construction management academics teaching at universities in Australia. The study adopted a lived experience research approach that enabled the lives of construction management academics to be investigated through the collection of a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data. The study provides empirical evidence of a range of challenges facing those delivering online courses. Recommendations for online teachers and online course designers emerged from this study with application to both faculty-based and institution-wide practices. The findings are relevant to those in the higher education sector who are involved in online teaching, course design for online delivery and professional development related to online initiatives.

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