Online Instructors as Distance Education Experts

2015 ◽  
pp. 167-189
Author(s):  
Libi Shen
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology Standards ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Online Teachers ◽  
National Educational Technology Standards

An expert is a person with content knowledge and professional skills in a field. Are online teachers distance education experts? What are the main behavioral, cognitive, and emotional characteristics of distance education instructors? What competencies should online instructors possess in order to be distance education experts? In this chapter, the researcher examines National Educational Technology Standards for teachers, National Standards for Quality Online Teaching, and empirical research on teachers' roles and competencies to seek a definition for online instructors as distance education experts. Several issues related to online teachers' competencies and technology standards are discussed. Future research studies are recommended.

Online Instructors as Distance Education Experts

2016 ◽  
pp. 1712-1735
Author(s):  
Libi Shen
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology Standards ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Online Teachers ◽  
National Educational Technology Standards

An expert is a person with content knowledge and professional skills in a field. Are online teachers distance education experts? What are the main behavioral, cognitive, and emotional characteristics of distance education instructors? What competencies should online instructors possess in order to be distance education experts? In this chapter, the researcher examines National Educational Technology Standards for teachers, National Standards for Quality Online Teaching, and empirical research on teachers' roles and competencies to seek a definition for online instructors as distance education experts. Several issues related to online teachers' competencies and technology standards are discussed. Future research studies are recommended.

Research on the Effects of Media and Pedagogy in Distance Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 904-913
Author(s):  
Lou Yiping
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Media Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Media Influence ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Effects Of Media

Do media influence learning? This is a historical debate in the field of educational technology, which started when Clark (1983, 1994) argued that media are “mere vehicles” and it is the content and pedagogical methods that are the “active ingredients” influencing student learning. Others (e.g., Kozma, 1994; Cobb, 1997) disagreed and argued that special media attributes can make certain types of learning more effective or cognitively efficient. In this chapter, I will first review the key arguments for and against media effects in distance education (DE). I will then review several meta-analyses that attempted to analyze the effects of media and pedagogy based on quantitative syntheses of the empirical research in DE. Finally, I will discuss directions for future research.

Research on the Effects of Media and Pedagogy in Distance Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 1766-1773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lou Yiping
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Media Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Media Influence ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Effects Of Media

Do media influence learning? This is a historical debate in the field of educational technology, which started when Clark (1983, 1994) argued that media are “mere vehicles” and it is the content and pedagogical methods that are the “active ingredients” influencing student learning. Others (e.g., Kozma, 1994; Cobb, 1997) disagreed and argued that special media attributes can make certain types of learning more effective or cognitively efficient. In this chapter, I will first review the key arguments for and against media effects in distance education (DE). I will then review several meta-analyses that attempted to analyze the effects of media and pedagogy based on quantitative syntheses of the empirical research in DE. Finally, I will discuss directions for future research.

scholarly journals Online Teaching With M-Learning Tools in the Midst of Covid-19: A Reflection Through Action Research

10.28945/4761 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minh Q. Huynh ◽  
Eraj Khatiwada
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Frame Work

Aim/Purpose: In the midst of COVID-19, classes are transitioned online. Instructors and students scramble for ways to adapt to this change. This paper shares an experience of one instructor in how he has gone through the adaptation. Background: This section provides a contextual background of online teaching. The instructor made use of M-learning to support his online teaching and adopted the UTAUT model to guide his interpretation of the phenomenon. Methodology: The methodology used in this study is action research through participant-observation. The instructor was able to look at his own practice in teaching and reflect on it through the lens of the UTAUT conceptual frame-work. Contribution: The results helped the instructor improve his practice and better under-stand his educational situations. From the narrative, others can adapt and use various apps and platforms as well as follow the processes to teach online. Findings: This study shares an experience of how one instructor had figured out ways to use M-learning tools to make the online teaching and learning more feasible and engaging. It points out ways that the instructor could connect meaningfully with his students through the various apps and plat-forms. Recommendations for Practitioners: The social aspects of learning are indispensable whether it takes place in person or online. Students need opportunities to connect socially; there-fore, instructors should try to optimize technology use to create such opportunities for conducive learning. Recommendations for Researchers: Quantitative studies using surveys or quasi-experiment methods should be the next step. Validated inventories with measures can be adopted and used in these studies. Statistical analysis can be applied to derive more objective findings. Impact on Society: Online teaching emerges as a solution for the delivery of education in the midst of COVID-19, but more studies are needed to overcome obstacles and barriers to both instructors and students. Future Research: Future studies should look at the obstacles that instructors encounter and the barriers with technology access and inequalities that students face in online classes. NOTE: This Proceedings paper was revised and published in the journal Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 18, 173-193. Click DOWNLOAD PDF to download the published paper.

Conclusions and Recommendations

2011 ◽  
pp. 268-293
Author(s):  
Sorin Walter Gudea
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Direct Application ◽  
Online Teachers ◽  
Online Curriculum ◽  
Positive Effect

This chapter concludes the discussion of the online teaching experience by making a few suggestions and offering advice presumably valuable to school administrators, online teachers, online curriculum and course developers as well as to educational technology professionals. It discusses ways to influence teachers to teach online—a direct application of the theory presented in the previous chapter. The intent of the chapter is to help these constituencies adjust to and be able to exert a positive effect on online education and online teaching in particular.

scholarly journals The H.E.R.O.s of Online Education: What makes students succeed despite the odds?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charmaine Bissessar ◽  
Debra Black ◽  
Mehraz Boolaky
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Online Instructors

The study of psychological capital (PsyCap) is prevalent in organizations globally and is part of the movement towards attaining positive organizational behavior. This concept is slowly being transferred to the education realm with teachers becoming more mindful of students’ inner H. E. R. O. (Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism). Little research, however, has been conducted upon the PsyCap of university students in fully online programs. The purpose of this study was to determine what aspects of students’ psychological capital lead to success despite adversity. An exploratory qualitative methodology was used to interview five participants from the United States, Canada, Africa, France, and Serbia in order to determine whether or not PsyCap influenced their drive to complete their online graduate programs of study at the University of Liverpool. This convenience sample yielded compelling results for future research and indicated similarities in hope and efficacy as well as differences in gender regarding participant resilience and approach to challenges. Further research is needed to determine whether gender does play a critical role in online students’ PsyCap, especially resilience. Another revealing result was that the participants credited their online instructors for motivating and discouraging them based on their feedback, grading, and overall communication. This points to a possible relationship between the students’ PsyCap and the three online teaching presences in communities of inquiry (cognitive, teaching, and social).

scholarly journals Online Teaching With M-Learning Tools in the Midst of Covid-19: A Reflection Through Action Research

10.28945/4806 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 173-193
Author(s):  
Minh Q. Huynh ◽  
Eraj Khatiwada
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Frame Work

Aim/Purpose: In the midst of COVID-19, classes are transitioned online. Instructors and students scramble for ways to adapt to this change. This paper shares an experience of one instructor in how he has gone through the adaptation. Background: This section provides a contextual background of online teaching. The instructor made use of M-learning to support his online teaching and adopted the UTAUT model to guide his interpretation of the phenomenon. Methodology: The methodology used in this study is action research through participant-observation. The instructor was able to look at his own practice in teaching and reflect on it through the lens of the UTAUT conceptual frame-work. Contribution: The results helped the instructor improve his practice and better under-stand his educational situations. From the narrative, others can adapt and use various apps and platforms as well as follow the processes to teach online. Findings: This study shares an experience of how one instructor had figured out ways to use M-learning tools to make the online teaching and learning more feasible and engaging. It points out ways that the instructor could connect meaningfully with his students through the various apps and plat-forms. Recommendations for Practitioners: The social aspects of learning are indispensable whether it takes place in person or online. Students need opportunities to connect socially; there-fore, instructors should try to optimize technology use to create such opportunities for conducive learning. Recommendations for Researchers: Quantitative studies using surveys or quasi-experiment methods should be the next step. Validated inventories with measures can be adopted and used in these studies. Statistical analysis can be applied to derive more objective findings. Impact on Society: Online teaching emerges as a solution for the delivery of education in the midst of COVID-19, but more studies are needed to overcome obstacles and barriers to both instructors and students. Future Research: Future studies should look at the obstacles that instructors encounter and the barriers with technology access and inequalities that students face in online classes.

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