Utilizing Question and Answer Discussion Forums to Enhance Learning in University Health Courses

This chapter examines the contributions of Moodle's Q&A discussion forum platforms to optimizing cooperative and collaborative learning, validity of assessment of discussion forum posts, and achievement of course outcomes. The author studied: (1) How appropriate is the Q&A variant of online discussion forums in facilitating individual and collaborative learning? (2) How may course facilitators equitably grade online learning individual and collaborative learning activities using Q&A discussion forums? (3) Do learners' performance in Q&A category of online discussion forums predict performance in other assignments in online courses? (4) How well do learning activities in Q&A forums achieve courses' learning outcomes compared with other learning approaches? Survey and data analysis conducted by the author at HBMSU, UAE revealed that Moodle's Q&A discussion forum compares favorably with other teaching approaches in facilitating cooperative and collaborative learning, predicting overall learning achievement as well as improving validity of assessments.

How Prior Learning Assessment Fits Into Today's Education Landscape

As defined by the American Council on Education (ACE), prior learning is learning gained outside the college classroom in a variety of settings and through formal and non-formal means, including workplace training, military training and service, independent study, professional certifications, civic activities, or volunteer service. These learning experiences may be equivalent to college-level skills and knowledge and warrant academic credit. Although this definition was coined many years ago, the definition and purpose of prior learning assessment are more pertinent given the changing educational landscape. Today, the proliferation of online and digital learning has opened endless opportunities for learners. With a few clicks on any device, learners can find an immediate solution to their knowledge gap. This increased learning that is occurring outside the walls of formal education increases the need on the assessment process; hence, the growing emphasis on prior learning assessment.

Weaving Innovative Threads Together

In the United States, institutions of higher education have been under mounting pressure to improve. In part, this is due to increasingly high-priced academies producing graduates who possess skill levels that are out of sync with employer and societal needs. Added to this is the fact that the United States spends more than other countries to educate its citizens but continues to perform more poorly on comparative measures of literacy, math, reading, and science. To stay globally competitive, changes need to be made. Competency-based education has re-emerged and taken root as one way in which to educate students more effectively. By focusing on demonstrable learning outcomes and discipline-specific performance, competency-based education is changing the fabric of higher education. Based upon experiences garnered from the University of Wisconsin Flexible Option, this chapter presents some of the challenges encountered when developing this type of program within a longstanding traditional educational system.

New Degrees of Opportunity at OC@KU

Today's learners need flexible, cost-efficient ways to increase knowledge, enhance skills, or complete a college degree. The rising cost of college tuition coupled with the demands of work/life balance challenge many individuals seeking advanced education. As such, higher education administrators need to identify new approaches to learning and higher education that address these barriers. This chapter addresses the question: How do institutions of higher education address the needs of flexible, cost-efficient education for today's adult learners?

Inclusivity Instead of Exclusivity

Higher education has been perceived as exclusive to those who have the means to purchase the coursework. Many students globally have been alienated from advancing their education, not because of a lack of access, but due to financial barriers. Online education has already transformed the delivery and accessibility of courses for traditional credit toward degrees. MOOCs have been proposed to help bring education to global audiences at little or no cost, creating an inclusive environment for education and skill development. MOOC offerings by colleges provide a method that is disrupting the ways to receive academic credit. Using third-partner vendors to certify knowledge in a similar manner to assessment processes for advanced placement, credit for work experience, and prior learning, MOOC completion is being accepted for college credit. This chapter reviews the extant model, programs, and available outcomes for the MOOC credit acceptance process.

Fostering Effective Learning Community in the Online Classroom

Online learning communities are an important aspect of successful virtual learning experiences. They bring opportunities for peer collaboration and sharing of ideas in a globally based classroom unrestricted by time and space. At the same time, online learning community participants may face some challenges of effective communication and collaboration as compared to traditional face-to-face learning environments. The author discusses issues, concerns, and potential solutions with regard to online learning communities in the areas of discussion participation, group work on assignments, faculty concerns, and miscellaneous issues such as technology access. Maximizing the potential of online learning communities will facilitate higher-order learning in the technologically mediated twenty-first century classroom.

Designing Interaction in Online Courses

Online learning is an ever-growing opportunity for colleges and universities with 9 out of 10 deans identifying the need to increase online offerings over the next 10 years. Enrolling students into online programs is only half of a successful program as students must complete the program in order for it to be considered a success. Students report their successful completion is related to establishing community within the course and designing interactive activities is one way to address this need. This chapter builds a case for interaction within online courses and provides tools and strategies faculty may adopt to improve overall quality and successful completion of online courses.

Open Educational Resources for Higher Education

This chapter offers insights into, the benefits, and the problems behind the use of MOOC courses in the higher education arena. For the last two decades, the education world has been obsessed with the use of technology, particularly with respect to course development and delivery, which has changed the way courses are created and taught. In addition, higher education institutions are now open to knowledge sharing and the role open online programs can play in the new ecosystem is worth looking at. The emergence of open online programs strengthens innovation as co-creation, co-operation, and joint ventures among institutions are now made possible. Nevertheless, more and more research is beginning to highlight the concerns of the development of free open courses. In some cases, such developments are seen as a growth, but in other cases, a threat. This chapter analyses the current situation and suggests ways to better utilize the development.

Open Educational Resource

To meet the needs of millennial learners, instructors in higher education must evolve their teaching methodology to include social learning, interaction (learner-instructor, learner-learner, and learner-content) personalization and universal design. In order to innovate current teaching practices, novel methods must be shared, demonstrated, and reflected upon among collaborating educators. One way to transform teaching methodologies to improve outcomes among twenty-first century learners is professional development. The open educational environment is an ideal venue for facilitating this transformation in teaching philosophy and pedagogy. To this end, Teaching Online 101 (TO 101) was developed as an open educational course available to anyone that desires to improve teaching and learning by examining their current practice, familiarizing themselves with learner-centric and interactive strategies and thus adapting their approach to twenty-first century learners in online and hybrid environments.

Open by Degrees

This chapter focuses on the history, development, and perceived value of The Open University UK's BA/BSc (Hons) Open degree (hereafter referred to as “OUUK Open degree”) over the past half-century in the context of changing external pressures and addressing debates around the coherence and acceptance of such a personalized program of study. It touches on the changing views of “openness” over time, from the origins of The Open University's “open entry” policy, through to ideas around flexibility of study, open education, and personalized learning. The chapter concludes with recommendations for other higher education institutions wishing to introduce a multidisciplinary open degree into their portfolio of curriculum.