Successful Design and Management of Asynchronous Discussion Forums in Online Higher Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreea Cervatiuc
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Asynchronous Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Learning Modules ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Effective Organization ◽  
Online Instructor

This chapter focuses on asynchronous discussion forums in online higher education. Drawing on recent research and her experience as the program coordinator of an online Master of Education and developer and instructor of online courses, the author of this chapter identifies and explains some principles for the successful design and management of asynchronous discussion forums, such as the relevance of the course topics, flexible, accountable, active, collaborative, and focused learning and the ideal role of the online instructor. The author also proposes a framework for the effective organization of learning modules in asynchronous online courses.

The Role of the Online Instructor as a Guide on the Side

2011 ◽  
pp. 224-241
Author(s):  
Margaret Mazzolini ◽  
Sarah Maddison
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Asynchronous Discussion ◽  
Pedagogical Issues ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Prior Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Online Experience ◽  
Online Instructor ◽  
Student Instructor

We present research results and advice on the role of the online instructor in relation to a particular example of technology-supported learning and teaching — the use of asynchronous discussion forums. Pedagogical issues and studies discussed here are based on six years of designing, coordinating, and teaching into Swinburne Astronomy Online (SAO), an online international program. We discuss some implementation issues associated with the use of asynchronous forums and the induction of instructors, plus the role of the online instructor as a “guide on the side.” As an example of issues involved in maintaining a constructive online learning environment, we discuss strategies used to accommodate students with varying degrees of prior learning. We also summarise results of our research on student-instructor interactions, plus feedback on students’ and instructors’ perceptions of the online experience. The results of this research are used to inform the induction and mentoring of instructors in SAO.

4. The Autopsy of Quality in Online Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Acevedo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Quality Matters ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Digital Nature

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to critically and philosophically explore the role of and impetus for quality assurance regimes in online education and their most salient manifestation, the Quality Matters program. The author argues that online courses are particularly vulnerable to autopsic quality examinations under neoliberal rationality as a result of their corporeal, digital nature. This essay will also consider the implications for faculty and others who must abide by and perform quality in online higher education and will consider ways in which those facing the incursion of quality assurance in online education can resist its threats and coercions, leveraging the promise of the liberatory aspects of distance 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.

A Practitioner Guide on Backward Design Application for Online Aviation Training in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 725-768
Author(s):  
Felix Brito ◽  
Monica Surrency
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Backward Design ◽  
Aviation Training ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Skilled Workforce

The aviation industry experienced a significant growth over the years. Such growth was supported by a highly knowledgeable workforce, which presented various skills, including problem-solving and decision-making. The need for a highly skilled workforce led an aviation-focused university located in southeast USA to provide students with learning opportunities to hone those skills to succeed in the industry. This chapter explains the process through which those learning opportunities are created. It presents a practitioner's guide on how that university is designing online courses for the aviation industry. The entire design and development process and the theories supporting it, such as Backward Design and authentic learning, are thoroughly discussed. The chapter also presents several challenges negatively impacting the successful design of those courses and how those challenges can be mitigated so instructionally-sound online courses are created.

A Practitioner Guide on Backward Design Application for Online Aviation Training in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 221-264
Author(s):  
Felix Brito ◽  
Monica Surrency
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Backward Design ◽  
Aviation Training ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Skilled Workforce

The aviation industry experienced a significant growth over the years. Such growth was supported by a highly knowledgeable workforce, which presented various skills, including problem-solving and decision-making. The need for a highly skilled workforce led an aviation-focused university located in southeast USA to provide students with learning opportunities to hone those skills to succeed in the industry. This chapter explains the process through which those learning opportunities are created. It presents a practitioner's guide on how that university is designing online courses for the aviation industry. The entire design and development process and the theories supporting it, such as Backward Design and authentic learning, are thoroughly discussed. The chapter also presents several challenges negatively impacting the successful design of those courses and how those challenges can be mitigated so instructionally-sound online courses are created.

Building Empathy in Online Courses

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Fuller
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Education Faculty ◽  
Higher Education Faculty ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Online Higher Education

This research study examined the empathetic practices of effective higher education faculty from seven universities that offer online programs. Using a phenomenological approach with a purposeful sample of fourteen faculty interviews identified eight common themes of practice that faculty employ to promote empathy in the online higher education arena.

scholarly journals The Role of Library Councils in Canadian Higher Education: An Exploratory Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-158
Author(s):  
Eva Revitt ◽  
Sean Luyk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Canadian Higher Education ◽  
Governance Practice ◽  
And Function ◽  
The University ◽  
Role And Function

Scholarship exploring the makeup, function, and efficacy of collegial governance structures within the context of Canadian higher education is limited and primarily focused on the board or the senate. This paper expands that scholarship by focusing on the governance structures of the university library. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of library councils in Canadian universities and to examine their composition, role, and function as evidenced in their governing documents. Using Karl Mannheim’s document method to analyze the terms of reference of 23 library councils, findings reveal that, overwhelmingly, library councils function as information-sharing and discussion forums rather than decision-making bodies. The paper concludes with a review of progressive language and governance practice as gathered from the document analysis.

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 Examining Higher Education Instructor Perceptions of Roles and Competencies in Online Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Martin ◽  
Swapna Kumar ◽  
Liane She
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Lifelong Learner ◽  
Online Instructor

Online instructors adopt various roles and perform various competencies in the design and delivery of online courses. In this study, online instructor roles are categorized into eight types including Subject Matter Expert, Course Designer and Developer, Course Facilitator, Course Manager, Advisor/Mentor, Assessor/Evaluator, Technology Expert, and Lifelong Learner. Through survey-based research with 141 online instructors, this study examines competencies that online instructors perform based on various roles. When rating competencies, overall categorical means for all the roles were rated above 4.00, which showed that they used all these roles. The highest rated items and lowest rated items are discussed in addition to the connection between research and practice in online teaching. Online instructors who participate in training and who collaborate with instructional designers rated the frequency with which they perform the competencies to be higher. This study has implications for online instructors, instructional designers, and administrators who design and deliver online learning and offer professional development for online instructors.

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