Envisioning the Rural Virtual College Classroom

2022 ◽  
pp. 257-271
Author(s):  
Pamela B. June
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
Academic Life ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Rural College ◽  
Rural Student ◽  
Synchronous Online

This chapter addresses intersecting challenges faced by rural college students as online learning becomes more widespread. The chapter begins by discussing the ways in which geography—specifically access to campuses and broadband—can impact rural student inclusivity. It then discusses the multifaceted challenges of rural students, whose disproportionate rates of class disparity and mental health issues can amount to personal crises during the semester. Because the boundaries between personal and academic life are less clear when taking classes from home, students may find that online learning is more difficult than traditional face-to-face classes. Therefore, the chapter offers some suggestions for professors related to simplicity and transparency. It then describes creative, flexible, and empathetic ways of approaching course construction in synchronous online courses. Finally, it offers broader suggestions for decision makers in order to maximize equity and inclusivity moving forward, as synchronous online learning becomes more normalized.

Anonymous Online Learning in Korea and Integrating Anonymous Learning Elements

2021 ◽  
pp. 984-1000
Author(s):  
Alan Cromlish
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Specific Teaching ◽  
Collaborative Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Issues

This paper explores anonymous online learning as a tool to overcome specific teaching and learning issues within Korean post-secondary institutions. The chapter utilizes a survey of a small group of ESL students at a single Korean university to better understand student preferences and opinions about non-traditional learning options and opportunities in Korea. While many students in Korea have not been exposed to online learning, the students surveyed expressed interest in learning online and they were especially interested in collaborative learning opportunities. As more online classes and online learning opportunities start to become available in South Korea, this study explores anonymous online learning as an effective tool to overcome some significant and distinct teaching and learning challenges at Korean post-secondary institutions. The anonymous online learning suggestions and approaches in the paper can be implemented within fully online courses and blended classes but they can also be used as stand-alone online components of traditional face to face and ESL courses.

Preparing Online Learning Readiness with Learner-Content Interaction

2016 ◽  
pp. 586-614
Author(s):  
Juhong Christie Liu ◽  
Elaine Roberts Kaye
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Readiness ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Regulated Learning ◽  
Content Interaction ◽  
Online Learning Readiness ◽  
Synchronous Online

Online learning readiness is fundamental to student successful participation, presence, and interaction in online courses. Effective facilitation of these key components depends on sound instructional design. In self-directed online environments, learner-content interaction and scaffolding self-regulated learning have been found of primary importance to generate meaningful learning. To provide a solution to the challenges of interoperability of various functions in synchronous online learning environments, this chapter presents a case study about the design and development of a self-paced orientation to help students acquire online learning readiness. Learner-content interaction is strategically utilized in the design to scaffold self-regulated learning. The results of the case study demonstrate that this orientation positively prepares students to be ready for learning in a synchronous online environment. The approach can be of practical use to individuals and groups.

Fostering Collaboration in CSCL

2009 ◽  
pp. 335-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Persico ◽  
Francesca Pozzi ◽  
Luigi Sarti
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Learning Communities ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social

Some collaborative learning strategies widely used in face-to-face settings can also be adapted to online contexts. They allow us to master the complex relations between members of large, heterogeneous online learning communities. The authors build on their experience in the application of some of the most well-known strategies and techniques used in online courses, such as jigsaw, peer review, role-play, case study, and brainstorming. The use of these strategies in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments and the related models describing the social structure of the learning community is discussed in the attempt to highlight their strengths and weaknesses and investigate the conditions for their applicability. The aim is to inform the design and the management of online learning communities.

scholarly journals What’s in a Name? The Experience of the Other in Online Classrooms

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Adams
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Virtual Learning Environments ◽  
The Other ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Classrooms

Educational research has explored the potentials and problems inherent in student anonymity and pseudonymity in virtual learning environments. But few studies have attended to onymity, that is, the use of ones own and others given names in online courses. In part, this lack of attention is due to the taken-for-granted nature of using our names in everyday, “face-to-face” classrooms as well as in online learning situations. This research explores the experiential significance of student names in online classrooms. Specifically, the paper reports on one relational thematic that surfaced in a phenomenological study investigating experiences of teaching and learning online. 

scholarly journals Online learning during COVID-19 produced equivalent or better student course performance as compared with pre-pandemic: empirical evidence from a school-wide comparative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meixun Zheng ◽  
Daniel Bender ◽  
Cindy Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Dental School ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
Didactic Instruction ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic forced dental schools to close their campuses and move didactic instruction online. The abrupt transition to online learning, however, has raised several issues that have not been resolved. While several studies have investigated dental students’ attitude towards online learning during the pandemic, mixed results have been reported. Additionally, little research has been conducted to identify and understand factors, especially pedagogical factors, that impacted students’ acceptance of online learning during campus closure. Furthermore, how online learning during the pandemic impacted students’ learning performance has not been empirically investigated. In March 2020, the dental school studied here moved didactic instruction online in response to government issued stay-at-home orders. This first-of-its-kind comparative study examined students’ perceived effectiveness of online courses during summer quarter 2020, explored pedagogical factors impacting their acceptance of online courses, and empirically evaluated the impact of online learning on students’ course performance, during the pandemic. Method The study employed a quasi-experimental design. Participants were 482 pre-doctoral students in a U.S dental school. Students’ perceived effectiveness of online courses during the pandemic was assessed with a survey. Students’ course grades for online courses during summer quarter 2020 were compared with that of a control group who received face-to-face instruction for the same courses before the pandemic in summer quarter 2019. Results Survey results revealed that most online courses were well accepted by the students, and 80 % of them wanted to continue with some online instruction post pandemic. Regression analyses revealed that students’ perceived engagement with faculty and classmates predicted their perceived effectiveness of the online course. More notably, Chi Square tests demonstrated that in 16 out of the 17 courses compared, the online cohort during summer quarter 2020 was equally or more likely to get an A course grade than the analogous face-to-face cohort during summer quarter 2019. Conclusions This is the first empirical study in dental education to demonstrate that online courses during the pandemic could achieve equivalent or better student course performance than the same pre-pandemic in-person courses. The findings fill in gaps in literature and may inform online learning design moving forward.

scholarly journals THE COSTS AND COSTING OF NETWORKED LEARNING

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greville Rumble
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Networked Learning ◽  
Face To Face

The development of networked learning and the increasing development of online courses by both traditional and distance education institutions has raised many questions concerning the costs of online learning relative to both face-to-face teaching and other approaches to distance education. Additionally, attention has turned to the problem of costing networked learning, though as yet little progress has been made. This paper discusses both the emerging evidence on the costs of networked learning, relative to other forms of education, and its costing.

scholarly journals Face-to-Face and Online Instructional Delivery Formats: a Mixed-Methods Study of Teacher Self-Efficacy in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Colin William Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Instructional Delivery ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Face To Face

The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions in South Korea to administer Spring 2020 semesters online. This mixed-methods study examined instructor/professor competence for the instructional delivery formats of Face-to-Face and online teaching. Quantitatively, the researcher measured teacher competence for Face-to-Face and online instruction by measuring the Teacher Self-Efficacy levels of non-Korean instructors/professors in South Korean higher education institutions. The qualitative questions assessed the advantages and drawbacks of each instructional delivery format. Findings indicate that instructors/professors are significantly more effective teaching Face-to-Face courses than online courses. However, instructors/professors with online learning experience were significantly more effective teaching online courses than those without online learning experience. It is recommended that all instructors/professors engage in professional development geared towards equipping educators with the tools needed to succeed in the online education environment.

scholarly journals Student Initiative Empowers Engagement for Learning Online

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Houston Heflin ◽  
Suzanne Macaluso
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Amount Of Information

Assessing the degree to which students engage and learn from their online courses will be important as online courses are becoming more ubiquitous. This study sought to capture student perceptions of their independence as learners, their level of engagement, their effort exerted, and the amount of information they learned in online courses. The study was conducted over three years with 455 students who completed a self-assessment at the end of an intensive summer online course. Results showed an equal number of students agreeing and disagreeing that online courses help students learn the same amount of information encountered in a face-to-face course. The majority of students reported they were more independent (84.4%), were more engaged (54.5%) and exerted more effort (57.4%), in their online course than a typical face-to-face class. Recommendations are made for faculty creating online courses who have the opportunity to coach students on how to succeed in the online learning environment.

The Pedagogy of Social Development in Online Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 1620-1627
Author(s):  
Robert H. Woods ◽  
Jason D. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Affective Learning ◽  
Optimal Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
The Face

Optimal learning outcomes, whether in face-to-face or online settings, are inextricably intertwined with the establishment of social networks among participants engaged in a collaborative enterprise. Students who feel socially connected to other students and faculty are more likely to persist in coursework and report higher levels of learning than those who report being less connected (McDonald, 2002; Rovai, 2002; Tinto, 1987; Wegerif, 1998). But in the online setting, creating and maintaining a learning community is somewhat more challenging than in the face-to-face-setting. For despite advances in audio and video streaming technologies, online learning remains primarily a largely textual and asynchronous environment. The challenge in this setting might be stated as follows: “How do we adapt a series of threaded texts to make them build a socially interactive, diverse network of learners who experience a positive sense of community?” There are numerous pedagogical strategies that may be used to build highly interactive and socially rich educational environments. In this article, the researchers propose a model of “communal scaffolding,” which serves as a framework for a variety of online and off-line activities that can positively enhance the social dynamics on online courses toward the goal of increased cognitive and affective learning.

Students' Perceptions of Teaching and Social Presence

2016 ◽  
pp. 1532-1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bowers ◽  
Poonam Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Traditional Classrooms ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Major Factors

Online learning has grown dramatically over the past few years and has become an integral part of most of the higher education institutions' overall strategy. While this explosive growth has created exciting opportunities for both institutions and students, high dropout rates in online learning environments continues to be a major concern for all institutions. Research has identified lack of social and teacher presence in online courses as major factors leading to student attrition. While it is easy to establish these presences in traditional classrooms, developing them in an online environment could be challenging due to absence of any face-to-face contact. The purpose of this preliminary study is to compare students' perceptions of social and teacher presences in online and traditional classroom. Thirty-four students enrolled in an online section and 29 students enrolled in a face-to-face section of an undergraduate course participated in the study. The results indicate that students' perceived stronger teacher and social presences in the online section compared to the face-to-face section. Implications of these results for practice and research are discussed.

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