How social are social media technologies (SMTs)? A linguistic analysis of university students' experiences of using SMTs for learning
This study investigated how 20 university students described their collective and individual learning experiences using social media technologies (SMTs). Data consisted of transcribed focus group discussions, which were analysed for students' use of first person singular and plural pronouns as well as for the kinds of verbs they used to describe their learning. Findings indicate that none of the participants used first person plural pronouns more frequently than first person singular pronouns to describe their learning experiences. Students also used possessive, stative and passive verbs in addition to verbs denoting more ...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Instructor scaffolding for interaction and students' academic engagement in online learning: Mediating role of perceived online class goal structures
Publication date: April 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 21 Author(s): Moon-Heum Cho , YoonJung Cho The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between instructor scaffolding for interaction and students' academic engagement in an online learning environment mediated by perceived class goal structures. Path analysis was used to explore the relationships among the variables. The data from 158 college students revealed that online instructors' scaffolding for interaction had a significantly positive influence on students' behavioral and emotional engagement and negative influence on b...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Print vs. electronic readings in college courses: Cost-efficiency and perceived learning
We report surveys of 101 students in two undergraduate college courses about their use of required readings accessed via a university-administered electronic reserve system. About two-thirds of respondents printed at least some readings, although nearly half of the total pages were read online. Most students who printed incurred substantially lower total costs (in terms of both direct printing expense and time opportunity costs) than the projected price of a printed and bound coursepack with all of the readings—thus suggesting electronic provision to be cost-efficient for most students. Respondents reported an overall pr...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Academic advising via Facebook: Examining student help seeking
This study focuses on how six university students used and understood an electronic social network to seek help from an academic advisor. Results indicate that participants used the social network site to seek prescriptive academic advising help and acquire information about university academic matters. Findings indicate that participants considered use of the electronic social network beneficial for seeking help and were receptive to interacting with higher education personnel electronically. (Source: The Internet and Higher Education)
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
College students' skills of online argumentation: The role of scaffolding and their conceptions
Publication date: April 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 21 Author(s): Pei-Shan Tsai , Chin-Chung Tsai Previous studies have suggested that students perform better in certain qualities of the argumentation skills with scaffolding. Moreover, many researchers have proposed that students' conceptions may be related to the progress of learning activity. To investigate the effects of scaffolding and students' conceptions, two studies were conducted in an online argumentation environment, namely iArgue. The result of study 1 indicated that providing scaffolding may improve only students' argumentation ...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Exploring college students' cognitive processing patterns during a collaborative problem-solving teaching activity integrating Facebook discussion and simulation tools
This study used a quantitative content analysis (QCA) to code the online discussions and to explore the represented cognitive levels. Next, a lag sequential analysis (LSA) was conducted to analyze the coding results of the QCA to assess the behavioral patterns during the discussion process. The results indicate that students' network troubleshooting abilities improved over the course of the study. The learners' discussion patterns and cognitive levels during the activity are analyzed and discussed here. Differences in sequential cognitive processing patterns were found between the “discussion-centered” and “manipulat...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
The experience of three flipped classrooms in an urban university: an exploration of design principles
Publication date: July 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 22 Author(s): Min Kyu Kim , So Mi Kim , Otto Khera , Joan Getman As a response to the call for technology enhanced, student-centered learning environments, the flipped classroom approach has drawn much attention from both the research and practice communities. Despite over fifteen years of flipped classroom implementation, design principles have been minimally elaborated upon in relation to diverse disciplinary contexts. Focusing on this gap, we engaged in a mixed methods study that examined three instances of the flipped classroom across ...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Critical success factors for the continuation of e-learning initiatives
Publication date: July 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 22 Author(s): Tanya J. McGill , Jane E. Klobas , Stefano Renzi This paper systematically examines conditions associated with continuation of e-learning initiatives in universities. Conditions associated with institutional, developer, instructor, student and technology issues were identified from a review of the literature. Authors of 64 empirical papers describing e-learning initiatives (20 of which had not continued) published in the peer-reviewed literature rated and explained the role of each condition in continuation of their initiative...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Using digital storytelling to externalise personal knowledge of research processes: The case of a Knowledge Audio repository
Publication date: July 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 22 Author(s): Patient Rambe , Shepherd Mlambo While articulation gap describes skill deficiencies displayed by university entrants emerging from underperforming schools, the high attrition and articulation gap at postgraduate levels demonstrate inadequacies of the entry-level intervention programmes implemented to address these challenges. Since inadequate socialization into postgraduate research and limited supervisor support contribute to the articulation gap and attrition rates at South African universities, digital storytelling (DST) pot...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Psychological characteristics in cognitive presence of communities of inquiry: A linguistic analysis of online discussions
Publication date: July 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 22 Author(s): Srecko Joksimovic , Dragan Gasevic , Vitomir Kovanovic , Olusola Adesope , Marek Hatala Benefits of social interaction for learning have widely been recognized in educational research and practice. The existing body of research knowledge in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) offers numerous practical approaches that can enhance educational experience in online group activities. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model is one of the best-researched frameworks that comprehensively explains different dimensions of onl...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Using online tools for communication and collaboration: Understanding educators' experiences in an online course
Publication date: October 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 23 Author(s): Erica C. Boling , Erica Holan , Brent Horbatt , Mary Hough , Jennifer Jean-Louis , Chesta Khurana , Hindi Krinsky , Christina Spiezio This case study explored educators' experiences in an online course to better understand how course design and pedagogical delivery can support student learning. Using the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (Collins et al., 1987) as a theoretical lens, researchers investigated the following: 1) What methods of instruction assisted educators in learning how to use technology to support online...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
New exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis insights into the community of inquiry survey
This study has the aim of investigating the factor structure of an adapted version of the Community of Inquiry survey developed by Arbaugh et al. (2008). For this purpose, both exploratory and confirmatory analyses were employed in addition to a parallel analysis using two different samples. The results indicated a three-factor structure as well as high reliability indices for each subpart of the survey. More specifically, the three factors identified appear to correspond to three presences: teaching, cognitive, and social presences. Moreover, results of the study did not reveal any substantial changes that need to be made...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Effects of role assignment in concept mapping mediated small group learning
This study addressed this research gap by assigning the roles of cognitive leader, metacognitive leader, and socio-emotional leader to students in concept mapping mediated small group learning. The study demonstrated the design and implementation of the role-based approach in an online learning environment. The evaluation results evidenced the feasibility of the role-based approach and its usefulness in improving socio-emotional experiences in small group learning. The insignificant effects of the approach on cognitive and metacognitive aspects of group interaction indicated the need to investigate the strategies for role ...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Communication patterns in massively open online courses
Publication date: October 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 23 Author(s): Nabeel Gillani , Rebecca Eynon Despite the hype and speculation about the role massively open online courses (MOOCs) may play in higher education, empirical research that explores the realities of interacting and learning in MOOCs is in its infancy. MOOCs have evolved from previous incarnations of online learning but are distinguished in their global reach and semi-synchronicity. Thus, it is important to understand the ways that learners from around the world interact in these settings. In this paper, we ask three questions:...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Reconceptualizing the community of inquiry framework: An exploratory analysis
Publication date: October 2014 Source:The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 23 Author(s): Peter Shea , Suzanne Hayes , Sedef Uzuner-Smith , Mary Gozza-Cohen , Jason Vickers , Temi Bidjerano Constructs requiring additional conceptualization within the Community of Inquiry framework for online learning include the self- and co-regulatory processes students bring to online learning. This paper extends previous efforts to advance the framework by addressing this gap. Quantitative content analysis and social network analysis were used with online discussions in a doctoral course to identify qualities of the discou...
Source: The Internet and Higher Education - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
