Getting Started

Author(s):  
Maria Elena Corbeil ◽  
Joseph Rene Corbeil

Podcasting is an excellent way to engage students and to supplement the instructional materials used in face-to-face and online courses and in Mobile-Assisted Language Learning programs. A well-produced weekly podcast can enhance course content, learning activities, and student-teacher interactions, while enabling students to take their learning materials with them wherever they go, thus reinforcing and supporting language acquisition. While there are many resources that delineate how to create a podcast, few address the instructional, technological, and production factors that must be considered for the effective use of podcasting in instruction. This chapter includes a brief review of the literature that addresses the use of podcasts in language learning programs, and offers a simple guide for creating your first podcast, lessons learned, and the results of a student survey on the use of podcasts.

Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Etter ◽  
Lisa T. Byrnes

Online learning is the fastest growing segment in the educational marketplace (Conhaim, 2003). As the number of online courses increases and distance learning programs grow in popularity, questions of quality and comparability of online courses with traditional methods naturally arise (Schulman & Sims, 1999). While online learning is the fastest growing educational segment, partly in thanks to on-campus students who choose to take courses online, there are still debates about not only the quality of the course content, but the quality of the technology used as well. According to Bowman (2003), in “the history of higher education, online classes are relatively new, and it is yet to be determined how to take full advantage of the technology” (p. 73). Traditional face-to-face courses, which may have been proven successful in terms of evaluations and outcomes assessments, are increasingly being converted to online courses. A study by Smith, Ferguson, and Caris (2000) concluded: “Contrary to intuition, current Web-based online college courses are not an alienating, mass-produced product. They are a laborintensive, highly text-based, intellectually challenging forum which elicits deeper thinking on the part of the students” (p. 67). Converting a traditional classroom course that is intellectually challenging and that elicits deeper thinking into an online course that can do the same can be a harrowing task. The process of converting a face-to-face course into an online course without compromising the course’s integrity and quality is a difficult burden to overcome. The burden of the conversion process can be eased, however, through the use of course maps.


Author(s):  
Christina M. Tschida ◽  
Elizabeth M. Hodge ◽  
Steven W. Schmidt

The rapid expansion of distance education in higher education has left a high demand for faculty willing to design and teach online courses, often with little or no training. The path from face-to-face to online courses is not an easy one and can be filled with frustration and doubt for many faculty. Professional development often focuses on technology tools rather than pedagogical issues of online learning or course content. This chapter focuses on research that examines the experience of several faculty from the college of education at a state university in the Southeast United States, as they learned to teach online. It presents their negotiations of issues of online platform and pedagogy and their efforts to find professional development to meet their needs. The implications for institutions of higher learning are important as distance education continues to increase and more and more faculty are asked (or told) to transfer their courses online.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Krasny ◽  
Bryce DuBois ◽  
Mechthild Adameit ◽  
Ronnie Atiogbe ◽  
Lukman Baih ◽  
...  

Social support and face-to-face learning may enhance outcomes for students who face barriers in accessing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). In this study, we investigated how self-identified volunteer leaders guide and foster interactions among small groups of students who face technical and conceptual barriers in accessing MOOC content. Several months prior to the start of the MOOC (Environmental Education: Trans-disciplinary Approaches to Addressing Wicked Problems), we asked for volunteers among the registered students to lead groups for participants whose primary language was other than English and where limited Internet access, culture, or other barriers curtailed access to and understanding of course materials and pedagogy. Based on a survey and open-ended interviews (n=10), we found that group leaders were instrumental in overcoming barriers related to language, content, cultural ways of learning, access, and time. They also fostered cooperative learning strategies, which helped students acquire course content, and encouraged collaborative group projects leading to their groups adopting some features of online knowledge communities. We propose the term social learning MOOC (slMOOC) to capture a growing trend of incorporating collaborative learning strategies in xMOOCs. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-202
Author(s):  
Gillian McLellan ◽  
Eva Kartchava ◽  
Michael Rodgers

Newcomers to Canada with low proficiency in English or French often face challenges in the workforce (Kustec, 2012). While language classes provide workplace language training, not all newcomers are able to attend face-to-face classes (Shaffir & Satzewich 2010), suggesting a need for outside the classroom, occupation-specific language training. The use of technology has been shown to be advantageous for second language (L2) learning (Stockwell, 2007), especially when used outside the classroom (i.e., mobile-assisted language learning), as mobile technology affords learners greater control and flexibility over their own learning (Yang, 2013). This paper reports on a study investigating the development of a blended curriculum for L2 learners employed in customer service. A technology-mediated module was designed and developed within a task-based language teaching framework to provide workplace-linguistic support on mobile devices, enabling learners to access the language instruction they needed, when they needed it. The module contents and usability were assessed by high-beginner English proficiency newcomers employed in customer service (n=4) and their volunteer teachers (n=4). Results confirm the overall benefits of using language learning technology in providing instruction that meets participant language needs, ensuring opportunities for individualized training. Implications for designing, implementing, and researching technology-mediated modules are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
M'hammed Abdous

Unlike the traditional “lone ranger” method for online course design—a method that hinges on individual faculty efforts, expertise, and knowledge—a team-based approach (TBA) harnesses the collective intelligence of several experts to design effective online learning experiences. Using learning design (LD) as a conceptual framework, this article describes the experience of a public institution in using a team-based approach to produce a large number of online courses for degree programs. After establishing the relevance of a team-based approach, the author discusses the premises that underpin the model, in terms of process, faculty relationship, and quality assurance. Building on these premises, a cyclical backward design process is described which is intended to (1) clarify course-learning outcomes and align course content, (2) determine acceptable evidence of students' learning, and (3) plan the learning experience. The article is concluded with a few insights and lessons learned from the institutional experience.


Author(s):  
Petek Askar ◽  
Oktay Dönmez ◽  
Gonca Kizilkaya ◽  
Volkan Çevik ◽  
Kerem Gültekin

This research studies on the evaluation of online courses are usually conducted for investigating the differences between face-to-face and Web-based environments with respect to achievement. Most of the findings indicated “no significant difference” (Russell, 1999). However, only looking at achievement as a quality measure is reducing the complex phenomena into a single variable. Therefore, an analysis of the system with its components is needed. A study on students’ frustrations with a Web-based distance education course (Hara & Kling, 1999) showed that there were two foci of frustration among students in the course. The first focus was technological problems; students without access to technical support were especially frustrated. The second focus involved the course content and the instructor’s practices in managing communications with students. Students were frustrated because of a lack of immediate feedback from the instructor and ambiguous instructions on the Web and via e-mail.


Author(s):  
Terry T. Kidd ◽  
Holim Song

This study assessed the perceptions of adult learners in online distance learning programs regarding the instructional quality of Web-based courses via WebCT. The results showed an overall positive perception regarding the instructional quality of online courses delivered via WebCT (M = 3.51, SD = 1.1362). The mean obtained for students’ perceptions regarding the instructional quality items ranged from 3.7 to 3.37. The visual appeal of Web site and appropriateness of the course materials received the highest rating (M = 3.625). Clarity and purpose in introduction to content components earned the lowest ratings (M = 3.37). These results were closely correlated to students’ responses regarding the important aspects of instructional quality of online courses. The most important aspect indicated by students was the idea of having online course content and materials relevant to the course. The results of the study also indicated other perceived aspects that affect students’ views of the instructional quality of an online course, including interaction, design, convenience, feedback, and usability.


2016 ◽  
pp. 236-257
Author(s):  
Christina M. Tschida ◽  
Elizabeth M. Hodge ◽  
Steven W. Schmidt

The rapid expansion of distance education in higher education has left a high demand for faculty willing to design and teach online courses, often with little or no training. The path from face-to-face to online courses is not an easy one and can be filled with frustration and doubt for many faculty. Professional development often focuses on technology tools rather than pedagogical issues of online learning or course content. This chapter focuses on research that examines the experience of several faculty from the college of education at a state university in the Southeast United States, as they learned to teach online. It presents their negotiations of issues of online platform and pedagogy and their efforts to find professional development to meet their needs. The implications for institutions of higher learning are important as distance education continues to increase and more and more faculty are asked (or told) to transfer their courses online.


Author(s):  
Michael A. Sletten

Learning a second language is challenging for anyone worldwide. When trying to learn a second language in a remote area of the world or under circumstances that do not allow for face-to-face learning, it becomes even more challenging. With the invention and development of mobile devices such as phones and tablets, it becomes much easier to accomplish through mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). Mobile-assisted language learning allows for a user to learn a new language using their mobile device, which is a ubiquitous form of learning. Mobile-assisted language learning is not without risk or vulnerabilities, however. It is imperative that users receive security awareness training, so they can operate their mobile phone in a secure manner. It is also critical that the mobile phones, wireless networks, learning management systems, and computer networks are also secured against various types of viruses, malware, and attacks. Without certain security measures being installed and configured on these devices and systems, the potential for security breaches present themselves.


Author(s):  
Matthias Then ◽  
Benjamin Wallenborn ◽  
Birgit R. Ianniello ◽  
Duc Binh Vu ◽  
Michael Fuchs ◽  
...  

This paper is concerned with an essential topic in e-learning - course content authoring. Besides supporting the concept of Competence-Based Learning (CBL) our solution is aiming to make effective use of an open integration architecture fostering the interoperability of hybrid e-learning solutions. Modern scenarios ask for interoperable software solutions to seamlessly integrate existing e-learning infrastructures and legacy tools with innovative technologies while being cognitively efficient to handle. In this way, prospective users are enabled to use them seamlessly without learning overheads. At the same time, methods of Learning Design (LD) in combination with CBL are getting more and more important to produce and maintain easy to facilitate solutions. Our approach of developing a competence-based course-authoring and assignment-support software bridges the gaps between Moodle and established legacy infrastructures by embedding existing legacy tools via Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). The underlying conceptual architecture for this integration approach and its components will be introduced; furthermore a Moodle plugin will be outlined, which enables Moodle for LD- and CBL-support including corresponding data exchange with our course authoring tool. The paper concludes with an outlook on future plans for our research and development.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document