Improving the Online Dissertation Writing Process

Author(s):  
Libi Shen ◽  
Irene Linlin Chen

Online doctoral programs have been developed rapidly over the years due to the advance of technology, and educators are seeking a new educational paradigm and innovative instructional strategies for online doctoral programs. This study presents cases of doctoral learners and dissertation mentors in online dissertation courses. The goal of this case study is to raise awareness for the need of an interactive mentor-mentee relationship in online higher education and to provide pointers and guidance for both mentors and mentees in navigating the maze of ill-structured learning. The findings of this study imply that social presence in distance education affects doctoral learners’ learning, course satisfaction, and faculty-student relationships in the dissertation writing process. This case study has implications for instructional designers and educators in infusing faculty-student interactions with technological support.

2021 ◽  
pp. 136754942110086
Author(s):  
Siao Yuong Fong

There is a long history of television and film research that highlights the essential roles audiences play in everyday production decisions. Based largely on Western media industries, these studies’ investigations of producer–audience relationships have revolved predominantly around the market concerns of liberal media models. So how do producer–audience relationships work when it comes to illiberal contexts of media production? Using Singapore as a case study, this article argues that existing approaches to producer–audience relations largely based on liberal media industries like Hollywood are insufficient for thinking through audience power in everyday media production in illiberal contexts. Drawing on insights from affect theory, I examine the materials gathered during an immersive ethnography of the writing process of a Singaporean television drama and propose conceptualizing audiences as an ‘affective superaddressee’, as a productive way to think about the work that situational audiences do in everyday media production in illiberal contexts.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Xianhui Wang

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Over the past decade 3D collaborative virtual learning has gained increasing attention from researchers and practitioners in educational technology. Learners experience of presence in collaborative activities and social interactions among learners are identified as key constructs for the social dimensions of 3D collaborative virtual learning. 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments (CVLEs) are beginning to be used to support learning in a variety of disciplines, including social skills learning for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This case study explores 11 youth with ASD's experience of embodied social presence and reciprocal social interaction while learning social competence in a 3D CVLE-iSocial. The findings describe youth with ASD's 1) levels of embodied presence, embodied copresence, and embodied social presence; and 2) verbal and nonverbal reciprocal social interactions across the variety of Naturalistic Practice activities in iSocial. In addition, the results of this case study inform future design by indicating associations of design features of iSocial 3D CVLE with youth with ASD's experience of embodied social presence and characteristics of reciprocal social interaction.


Author(s):  
Julie A. Delello ◽  
Annamary L. Consalvo

This chapter describes a mixed-method, multiple case study that examined ways in which synchronous educational Twitter chats were used, first, to enhance graduate and undergraduate university student learning, second, to build professional networks, and third, to provide a loosely regulated means to achieving self-determined professional development goals. Findings suggest that while difficult at the onset, participation in Twitter educational chats was an enhancement to students' overall course learning experience. Specifically, university students' use of chats for educators helped them achieve social presence in this virtual environment, as well as to better understand the connections between positive student-teacher relationships and K12 student learning. Included are recommendations for use of Twitter synchronous educational chats in the college classroom as well as future directions in research.


Author(s):  
David J. Mulder

Learning online can be isolating for students. Some students may prefer to be anonymous—on the outset, at least—until they feel comfortable participating in the course. Many instructors value interaction between students or between the student and the instructor, and without a sense of “presence” in the online classroom, some students will be reticent to participate. It is thus incumbent on instructors and instructional designers to create courses that foster interaction between users to develop this sense of being “a real person” online. This chapter examines the concept of social presence, articulates reasons high social presence is a desirable feature in an online course, and provides examples instructors and designers might draw upon for developing social presence in their own courses.


Author(s):  
Mark Notess

Contextual Design is a methodology for developing information systems from a rich understanding of customer work practice. This chapter considers how Contextual Design can be applied to educational software development and how Contextual Design might interact with Instructional Systems Design (ISD). Following a brief overview of ISD, I describe Contextual Design and provide a detailed case study of its application to educational software development — to the design of an online tool for music listening and analysis in undergraduate and graduate music education. I conclude with some reflections on the relevance of Contextual Design to instructional designers.


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