Open Synchronicity for Online Class Support

2010 ◽  
pp. 187-203
Author(s):  
Clark Shah-Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Web 2.0 Tools ◽  
Teaching Support ◽  
Efficient Communication ◽  
Effective Use

Instant messaging and text chat, online collaborative whiteboards, web conferencing and other synchronous Web 2.0 tools are increasingly finding their way into higher education and are available in both commercially-branded and open source varieties. This chapter describes best practices and challenges in using these new tools, focusing on free and open source software for synchronous course delivery, collaboration, learning activities, and technical support, based on the author’s experience in online teaching and online-teaching support. Synchronous tools can provide immediate and efficient communication for instructors, learners and support staff, fostering community and establishing a heightened sense of social presence. An increasing number of practitioners in the field of distance learning are using synchronous tools to reach their learning and support objectives (Murphy and Rodríguez Manzanares, 2008). Today, free and open-source tools offer similar functionality as costly enterprise systems. This chapter will describe these new open source tools, the types of needs that drive their use, and strategies for effective use and implementation

Synchronous Tools in Support of Teaching and Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 172-191
Author(s):  
Clark Shah-Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Commercial Enterprise ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Blended Course

Instant messaging and text chat, online collaborative whiteboards, web conferencing and other synchronous Web 2.0 tools are increasingly finding their way into higher education and are available in both commercially-branded and open source varieties. This chapter describes excellent practices and challenges in using these tools for synchronous and blended course delivery, collaboration, learning activities, and technical support, based on the author’s experience in online education and online-teaching support. Synchronous tools can provide immediate and efficient communication for instructors, learners and support staff, foster community and establish a heightened sense of social presence. An increasing number of practitioners in the field of distance learning are using synchronous tools to reach their learning and support objectives (Murphy and Rodríguez Manzanares, 2008). Today, institutions have a whole menu of synchronous tools to choose from, ranging from free and open-source software to more costly commercial enterprise systems. These tools enable education and support for teaching and learning to happen across great distances and on all types of mobile and not-so-mobile computer devices. This chapter will describe some of these tools, the types of needs that drive their use, and strategies for effective use and implementation.

Bridging the Social and Teaching Presence Gap in Online Learning

2015 ◽  
pp. 158-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Teaching Presence ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
The Social ◽  
Students Satisfaction

Feelings of disconnection and isolation from teachers and other classmates could have a major negative impact on students' satisfaction and success when learning online. This chapter describes how a variety of Web 2.0 tools have been used to establish and maintain teaching and social presence in online learning. Rather than limiting contact to the virtual world created by well-designed interfaces of learning management system platforms, the creative use of Web conferencing in online teaching not only brings students and teachers together as real human beings but also generates interactions that create more interest and higher engagement. The combined use of synchronous and asynchronous tools, together with mobile devices, has made online learning more flexible, accessible, and credible.

The Identification of Competencies for Online Teaching Success

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Mae Bigatel ◽  
Lawrence C. Ragan ◽  
Shannon Kennan ◽  
Janet May ◽  
Brian F. Redmond
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Online Faculty ◽  
Teaching Behaviors ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Teaching Tasks ◽  
Teaching Success ◽  
Critical Competencies ◽  
Level Of Importance

This exploratory study examined teaching behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs (referred to as tasks) that reflect potential competencies for online teaching success. In this study, teaching tasks are those tasks performed during course delivery. Based on faculty interviews and a review of relevant research, 64 teaching tasks were identified and included in 7-point Likert scale survey instrument. It was distributed to experienced online faculty and staff asking them to rate the level of importance of a list of teaching tasks and resulted in a sample of 197 responses. Of interest was the fact that over half of the teaching tasks had a rating of 6.0 on the 7-point scale and more than half of the tasks that were rated 6.0 or higher did not load into categories using factor analysis. Further examination of the results is required to determine why highly rated teaching tasks did not fall (load onto) into any factor. Results of the importance of the tasks will form the basis of faculty development efforts aimed at providing faculty with professional development in critical competencies to ensure online teaching success.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption on university teaching and learning and competence cultivation: Student evaluation of online learning experiences in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 221258682110070
Author(s):  
Ka Ho Mok ◽  
Weiyan Xiong ◽  
Hamzah Nor Bin Aedy Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Student Evaluation ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Digital Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has forced online teaching and learning to be the primary instruction format in higher education globally. One of the worrying concerns about online learning is whether this method is effective, specifically when compared to face-to-face classes. This descriptive quantitative study investigates how students in higher education institutions in Hong Kong evaluated their online learning experiences during the pandemic, including the factors influencing their digital learning experiences. By analysing the survey responses from 1,227 university students in Hong Kong, this study found that most of the respondents felt dissatisfied with their online learning experiences and effectiveness. Meanwhile, this study confirms that respondents’ household income level and information technology literacy affected their online learning effectiveness. Moreover, this study highlights the significant contributions of the community of inquiry, which places social presence on the promotion of a whole person development that could not be achieved when relying mainly on online learning. Findings encourage university leaders and instructors to search for multiple course delivery modes to nurture students to become caring leaders with the 21st century skills and knowledge set.

Pivoting in a COVID-19 teaching environment: developing interactive teaching approaches and online assessments to improve students’ experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate L. Morgan ◽  
Wei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Accounting Courses ◽  
Online Assessments ◽  
Short Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changes made to course delivery, course materials and assessment approaches required in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced many changes to occur in a very short time. Design/methodology/approach It is a case study of the changes made to content, teaching methods and assessment in a postgraduate introductory financial accounting course of approximately 350 students across two terms. Findings The key findings are that the sudden change from face-to-face to online teaching to address government regulations, social distancing expectations and students’ needs required immediate changes to how content was delivered, how to interact with students (many of who were studying outside of Australia), and how to adapt to online assessments. Many of the innovations the authors describe will continue to be used in the course going forward both in face-to-face and online formats. That is, the need to change resulted in innovations that can be implemented in a post-pandemic environment. Originality/value The key value of this paper is to provide instructors with insights into the innovations the authors made to address the changed circumstances, which can be incorporated into other accounting courses in the future.

Analysis of technological, individual and community factors influencing the use of popular Web 2.0 tools in LIS education

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 977-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chokri Barhoumi
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Web 2.0 Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Factors ◽  
Factors Influencing

Purpose This research paper aims to explore the technological, individual and community factors influencing the use of popular Web 2.0 tools in library and information science (LIS) education to prepare LIS students for Library 2.0. The study was guided by the activity theory (AT) and technology acceptance model (TAM) of Davis as a lens. The study reveals a set of factors concerning the technical tools, subjective perceptions, goals of online discussion, social presence within a community, rules for participation and roles of the participants that affect their online engagement patterns. Design/methodology/approach This study was performed during the 2015 academic year; it used a descriptive analytical research approach for exploring and analysing technological, individual and community factors influencing the use of the popular Web 2.0 tools in LIS education. Findings The results show that at the technological level of the AT, educators in the sample found the WhatsApp instant messaging and Twitter to be the easiest tools to use, selecting those tools at, respectively, 73.2 per cent (standard deviation = 0.450) and 61.1 per cent (standard deviation = 0.490). WhatsApp and Twitter also lead at the individual level of the AT, as the most valuable platforms for sharing information and knowledge. Video, text and photo objects are the most commonly shared items, used by 90.7, 93.5 and 98.9 per cent, respectively. Originality/value This study may be useful to help information science educators to prepare graduates for the emerging Web 2.0 environments and to prepare students for Library 2.0.

Comparative analysis of online legal information sources in Indian environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 251-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Kumar Bhardwaj ◽  
Margam Madhusudhan
Keyword(s):  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Web 2.0 Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Information ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
User Friendly

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the online legal information sources available in law libraries in India. Design/methodology/approach – Evaluation method followed with the help of specially designed checklist for e-resources in the field of law in India. The structured checklist was designed keeping in view of the objectives and e-resources/databases existing in Indian libraries, comprising 189 dichotomous questions and categorized into 12 broad categories. Findings – The study revealed that the study legal information sources are lagging behind in exploiting the full potential of Web 2.0 features. No study legal information source has integrated Web 2.0 tools with contents and provision to contribute the contents by user any time, irrespective of location, except online legal information system (OLIS). Majority of e-resources are lacking search features, general features, Web 2.0 tools, better help features and provision to contribute contents by the users. Besides this, a mobile-based view is not available in majority of sources, and open access resources are lacking user-friendly features. Of the 16 legal information resources, only five have all the four citations search parameters. The study reveals that the OLIS has the maximum features and ranked “excellent”, followed by Manupatra ranked “average”. Half of study online legal information sources are ranked “needs improvement” and 37.5 per cent ranked “below average”. Practical implications – The findings of the study will not only guide the law librarians to subscribe/renew legal databases in their libraries but also improve the legal information literacy among the users for effective use of online legal information sources. It is hoped that the evaluation of online legal information sources will enhance the user’s awareness and increase the use. Originality/value – The findings of the study will not only guide the legal libraries to improve their online legal information sources, particularly, better help features and integrated content with Web 2.0 tools, but also provide guidelines for newly established legal libraries in India.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document