Discussion Boards Research Articles

Reflections on the Adaptation of a Postgraduate Degree in Water Management from In‐person to Remote Delivery

AbstractIn early 2020, the COVID‐19 pandemic spurred the rapid adaptation of university course delivery to an online format. Though in‐person delivery partially resumed in the Fall of 2021, future conditions may favor a return to, or addition of, remote delivery. It is therefore important for instructors, program directors, and institutions to capitalize on this learning opportunity and reflect on adaptation measures’ successes (and failures) to inform future online course design. The reworking of McGill University's Master of Science Program in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) provides a case study to evaluate the adaptation of remote teaching of water resource management. Informed by the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework with a focus on preserving transferable skills, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was used to evaluate the five core program components. This evaluation framework, which can be applied to most university programs, resulted in several widely relevant insights. For example, remote delivery can create opportunities for greater participation of international students as it eliminates the need for translocation costs. Likewise, a larger variety of guest speakers can participate remotely, giving students greater exposure to different water career paths and research perspectives, ultimately strengthening the program. However, several weaknesses pose threats to online learning. The standard in‐person lecture‐style format must therefore be amended to maintain engagement and facilitate student‐to‐student and student‐to‐instructor learning processes. Course components that can enhance the online experience include breakout rooms, discussion boards, frequent journals/feedback forms, online activities, breaks, virtual office hours, and multi‐media presentations.

Interaction Analysis in Online Learning Communities: The Student Leader

I used Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, Nicenet and RCampus in teaching reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar courses to freshman students as a supplement to in-class instruction that depended on the textbook. In each online course, there was a student leader. Student leaders had the highest posts and responses (between 50- 150 posts) and the highest student-student and student-instructor interaction. Student leaders were the first to register. They posted their own threads, short paragraphs, poems and/ or stories on the online discussion board. One posted a daily quote, another posted a weekly poem of hers, and a third posted a daily joke. They could locate information from internet sites. They responded to threads posted by me or by their classmates. They created a warm online climate by responding to their classmates, by sending encouraging messages and thank-you notes, and inviting students to respond to their own posts. Student leaders had a higher proficiency level in EFL, were well-read, had a good writing ability, and many were creative writers. They were more competent and more comfortable with technology than their classmates and above all they were highly motivated and eager to learn. This qualitative study explores a sample of student leaders’ role in their online courses, their technological and linguistic competence, their personality traits, the online course environment, their attitutes and online learning experiences, and the instructor’s role and characteristics. It also provides sample posts and responses and reports results of interviews with a sample of student leaders.

MEET OUR LEADERSHIP STUDENTS: An Online Exercise to Develop Personas Application Manuscript

Using an exploratory multi-case study approach, we examined student perceptions of leadership through analysis of introductory discussion board forums in online undergraduate and graduate leadership courses to formulate leadership student personas. A review of related literature reveals that leadership’s broad application results in a vast array of interests and motivations related to pursuit of a leadership degree. To that end, development of student personas provides leadership program administrators and faculty with a better understanding of their needs and characteristics. In this application paper, we will share qualitative data compiled from four online leadership courses. Our preliminary findings identified data-driven personas that showcase how leadership students with varying backgrounds and aspirations envision knowing our leadership students, as well as recommending future research that can help advance the field of leadership education.

SHL Teacher Development and Critical Language Awareness: From Engaño to Understanding

This paper offers insights from a study of 17 high school Spanish teachers enrolled in an online graduate course on Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) Pedagogy. The study analyzed the semester-long transformation of teacher attitudes as expressed in discussion board posts following a content analysis approach. Findings show an initial lack of respect for student dialects and knowledge of US varieties of Spanish coupled with a desire to help students improve via the teaching of “academic Spanish”. Many participants expressed a feeling of engaño (disillusionment) toward their previous training, wondering why they had not studied the aforementioned topics sooner (Russell and Kuriscak 2015). By creating a context where teachers themselves became more critically language aware, they also became “…cognizant of the naturalness of language variation and its loading of social, political, and economic power structures…” (Beaudrie et al. 2021, p. 587). This paper underscores the transformation that can occur when teachers investigate bilingual ideologies and practices and linguistic characteristics of US varieties of Spanish. The concrete suggestions offered here aim to answer Leeman’s (2015) call for “destabilizing teachers’ ideologies” (p. 114) in the hopes of creating a more equitable learning environment for future language students.

Preferred Self-Care Behaviors of Participants Who Have Completed a Caring Science Online Course

Participant narratives from open discussion boards within a Caring Science, Mindful Practice Massive Open Online Course were analyzed to determine preferred self-care activities, and the degree to which course content supported the creation of self-care goals. Although the course explores different ways to apply Watson's Human Caring Theory, the data collected were focused on self-care activities reported by the course participants. Identifying preferred activities among participants may help facilitate self-care education for those interested in a Caring Science based approach to self-care. The focal points of the data were analyzed to assess whether participants focused on improving work-life or home-life.

Student experiences of facilitated asynchronous online discussion boards: Lessons learned and implications for teaching practice

As an alliance of academics undertaking blended delivery, we have experienced the challenge of tailoring teaching strategies to different learning styles. Our teaching has evolved, moving from traditional didactic delivery to the utilisation of online technology to accommodate both academic and student expectations. The pressure to teach within constrained resources and issues presented from the COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities to optimise educational technology. We identified a gap in genuinely engaged online discussions, observing that pedagogic value was often obscure. This cross-sectional study investigated the opinions and experiences of undergraduate students in four health science online units where asynchronous discussion boards were linked to summative assessment. By assessing discussion posts, students may be motivated to participate further, with student engagement influenced through educator involvement, the discussion purpose and group interactivity. Whilst some students were critical of the value of asynchronous discussion boards, others positively viewed discussions as a platform for peer engagement and information sharing. Discussion boards can provide active learning experiences particularly for online students; however, effective educator involvement and online supportive teaching strategies and practices are crucial to pedagogical success. Based on the key findings from this study we propose implications for practice in a higher education context.

The New Calling

The New Calling

The Participation and Planning of the Instruction Competencies of Teacher Candidates in the Blended Curriculum Development in Education Course

This study aimed to predict the final test scores of teacher candidates through the lesson plan grades, the number of reflections on the discussion board, and the scores obtained from the perception of proficiency in planning the instruction scale in the blended Curriculum Development in Education course and consequently. This study was designed according to a relational survey research design and included 147 teacher candidates. In the study, data were collected through lesson plans, the number of reflections on the discussion board, final test scores, and the perception of proficiency in planning the instruction scale and analyzed using the Multiple Linear Regression analyzes. This study found positive and significant correlations among the final grades of teacher candidates, their lesson plan grades, the number of their reflections on the discussion board, and the perceived proficiency of teacher candidates in the planning the instruction scale. However, only the grades of the teacher candidates obtained from lesson plans significantly predicted the achievement of teacher candidates. It might be inferred that as teacher candidates participated in online discussions, they learned the subjects deeply, prepared better plans, and obtained higher grades in terms of both preparing lesson plans and final test.

교양영어 수업에서 Padlet 활용에 대한 학생들의 학업성취도와 수업동기에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of online discussion board and padlet use on academic achievement and learning motivation of college students. The participants of this study were a total of 144 first-year college students taking college English classes. For the study, pre- and post-tests were conducted and questionnaires were analyzed. As a result, the use of Padlet had an effect on students' academic achievement. In addition, positive responses were shown in both individual and team learning motivation. Also, it was found that the students’ learning comprehension was high. However, it showed somewhat negative results in lowering students' stress and enhancing learning immersion and self-directed learning. As a suggestion based on the results of this study, first, the use of online discussion boards can be an alternative as a way to improve the lack of communication between instructors and learners. Students should be encouraged to participate actively by developing various class activities. Second, special attention should be paid to openness according to students' characteristics. Finally, in order to develop students themselves into autonomous learners, a new class model should be developed.

An ecological perspective of student engagement through digital technology: Practical application and implications

AbstractResearch into how student engagement can be influenced through digital technology has continued to be at the forefront of higher education debates. This is due to the technological advancements and the recent disruptions caused by the Covid‐19 lockdown, which have made it imperative for universities to adopt blended and online learning. Drawing on secondary data analysis of comments posted by 283 post‐graduate students on the Canvas site (a learning management system) used in a UK university, this study investigates how to influence student engagement using digital technology from an ecological perspective. The study contributes to the existing student engagement debate by providing useful planning and pedagogic considerations for influencing all dimensions of student engagement (behavioural, affective, social and cognitive). Academics may need to adopt a compassionate pedagogical stance where students can see the importance of helping their peers as a way of learning. This approach will help to build a community of online users where the discussion board is a rich source of learning materials developed by students for students.

Best practices for online embedded librarians supporting graduate business students

This study was designed to determine the best practices for online embedded librarians utilizing the learning management system and other technology tools with graduate business students. Communication logs of support interactions with an embedded librarian and discussion board posts within the learning management system were analyzed. The number of and primary reason for communication by email, individual instruction meetings, and discussion board views, replies, and questions from January 2021 to August 2021 with a total of 318 students in graduate level business courses with an embedded librarian were analyzed. The primary reason for interaction and support was equally divided between research and citation support. Graduate students preferred to interact with the embedded librarian by email followed by individual instruction meetings. The communication tools within the learning management system were essential to providing support to graduate business students.

Pregnant at the start of the pandemic: a content analysis of COVID-19-related posts on online pregnancy discussion boards

BackgroundA growing body of evidence indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental mental health effects for pregnant women. However, little is known about the specific stressors that increased anxiety for pregnant women at the start of the pandemic. The present study aimed to better understand the concerns of pregnant women during the beginning COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing content posted during the month of March 2020 on online pregnancy message boards hosted on WhatToExpect.com.MethodsAll posts published between March 1–31, 2020 on nine different due-date specific WhatToExpect.com message boards were reviewed for COVID-19 relevance. Posts mentioning COVID-19 or its direct effects (e.g., “quarantine” or “stay-at-home order”) were included in our final sample. Data were coded by three authors according to a codebook developed inductively by all four authors. Posts were analyzed by overall frequency of appearance, by trimester, and temporally across the month of March 2020.ResultsAcross the 5,541 posts included in our final sample, the most common topics were fear of COVID-19 exposure, concerns with labor and delivery, navigating social interactions, and disruptions to prenatal care. The most dominant topics by trimester were disruptions to prenatal care (first trimester), fear of COVID-19 exposure (second trimester), and concerns about labor and delivery (third trimester).ConclusionOur findings add to prior literature by demonstrating the salience of social concerns, which was the third largest COVID-19 topic in our sample. Emotional distress was most salient with regard to restrictions on birthing partners, but was apparent in everything from disruptions to pregnancy announcements, to cancelled baby showers, and limitations on newborn visitors. Given that anxiety during pregnancy is associated with worse maternal–fetal health outcomes, in the early stages of future pandemics healthcare providers should focus not only on strictly health-related concerns expressed by pregnant women, but also more broadly on other sources of anxiety that may be impacting the well-being and mental health of their patients.

Levering internet-based discussion data from gynecological cancer survivors to inform survivorship care: A mixed methods thematic analysis approach.

e24143 Background: Internet and social media platforms offer insight into the experience of survivorship, but the volume of narrative data is often cumbersome for thorough thematic analysis. We present a semi-automated mixed methods approach to analyze web-based discussions and demonstrate its utility on American Cancer Society (ACS) Discussion Board posts from gynecologic cancer survivors. Methods: Posts from the ACS Ovarian Cancer, Uterine Cancer, and Other Gynecological Cancer Discussion Boards were analyzed for psychosocial themes described in the Cancer Survivorship Care Framework. Quantitative analysis was facilitated by verified keywords created for each theme of interest and was completed via custom Python scripts and R packages. Qualitative analysis was expedited by theme keywords and completed on a subset of posts. Results: A total of 125,498 posts made by 6,436 gynecological cancer survivors and caregivers between July 2000 and February 2020 were evaluated. Of all posts, 23,458 were related to psychosocial aspects of survivorship and were analyzed. Quantitative analysis revealed that survivors frequently discussed the role of friends and family in care, fatigue, health insurance issues, and the effect of cancer on loved ones. The most frequently used psychosocial-related words were “family,” “hope,” and “help.” Qualitative analysis demonstrated that survivors frequently discussed coping and caregiver relationships, where survivors sought advice on topics including spousal emotional adjustment, financial toxicity, and confronting mortality. Conclusions: Online platforms offer great opportunity to learn about patient experiences of survivorship care. Candid conversations between survivors may be leveraged to inform survivorship practices and improve future survivorship initiatives. Our novel methodology expedites thematic analysis of such robust narrative data and its translation into survivorship settings.

Not Your Mother's Discussion Board: Creating Engaging Discussion Boards in the Introductory Business Law Course

Not Your Mother's Discussion Board: Creating Engaging Discussion Boards in the Introductory Business Law Course

The need for a personalized, comprehensive resource within the colorectal cancer community.

e24139 Background: Colorectal cancer is the third-most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the United States. In efforts to manage the disease, patients and caregivers turn to a variety of tools and resources for financial assistance, information dissemination, emotional and peer support, and treatment planning, among other critical issues and needs they face. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance (the Alliance) is committed to providing patients and caregivers with a resource solution that encompasses all potential areas of need. Methods: A survey aimed at understanding needs, barriers, and quality improvement opportunity was disseminated via the Alliance's Blue Hope Nation community for two weeks and by email. One hundred sixty-seven colorectal cancer patients and forty caregivers of colorectal cancer patients completed the survey. Results: Patients and caregiver respondents alike report reliance on external tools and resources to manage disease and support information. Of the support methods, patient respondents reported using social media (46.11%); notebooks, journals, and planners (45.41%); online articles (44.91%); the Blue Hope Nation Facebook group (41.32%); cancer discussion boards (35.33%); and spiritual or religious advice (29.94%). Caregiver respondents reported relying on friends and family (57.5%); the Blue Hope Nation Facebook group (47.5%); healthcare websites (47.5%); the Alliance website (42.5%); and spiritual or religious advisors (37.5%). To minimize diagnosis-related stressors, patients reported they look for financial assistance, local peer support and groups, and mental health help. To provide more efficient care and limit stress, the community suggested the need for financial help, communication and support from other patients and caregivers, and informational resources. Conclusions: These survey results are consistent with other published learnings about patient and caregiver reliance on support tools and highlights the myriad resources that patients and caregivers currently use for managing colorectal cancer. The saturation of the market has compelled the Colorectal Cancer Alliance to create a one-stop-shop, personalized resource with tools to organize and effortlessly share customized information treatment plans, and other support mechanisms. Such patient and caregiver-directed resources may enable a better care experience and potentially lead to better physical and mental health outcomes for patients and their caregivers.

Comparing Undergraduate Student Participation in Online Discussion Boards Hosted on Reddit and Canvas

Background Instructors often try to promote student engagement with discussion boards in learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas. Although convenient, alternatives like the social media platform Reddit may be more effective. Method A non-randomized controlled trial compared the use of Canvas and Reddit in two sections of two undergraduate psychology courses ( N = 77). Engagement was measured as the number and word-count of posts and responses and complemented with self-reported data. Results There was no difference between platforms in total number of posts or replies. In one course, the average word count per post was higher in Reddit than Canvas ( r = .44). However, in the other course, the average word count per post ( r = .47) and per reply ( r = .39) was significantly lower in Reddit. Neither course observed a significant difference in students’ perceived value of the discussion board. Conclusion This study provided no consistent evidence that Reddit supports student engagement relative to Canvas, and combined with additional survey data, it is possible that hosting the discussion board on Reddit may even be detrimental. Teaching Implications Given the issues we identified with moving discussion boards to Reddit, and the benefits of using Canvas, we recommend using a traditional LMS like Canvas.

Predicting students' intention to continue online learning post-COVID-19 pandemic: extension of the unified theory of acceptance and usage technology

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to predict the intention to continue online learning post the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among students in the two largest universities of higher learning in Botswana. Furthermore, the purposes of this study are to elucidate the nexus between performance expectancy and continuance intention to establish the effects of efforts expectancy on continuance intention to investigate the relationship between social influence and continuance intention to determine the relationship between facilitating conditions and continuance intention and to examine the relationship between satisfaction and continuance intention using the extended unified theory of acceptance and usage technology (UTAUT) model postulated by Venkatesh et al. (2003).Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the descriptive research design, using a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 509 undergraduate and postgraduate students at Botswana's two major Universities using convenience sampling strategy. An online survey was used to gather primary data due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed correlation and regression analysis in testing the five hypothesized relationships.FindingsUsing the extended theory of UTAUT as a theoretical lens, the study found that: performance expectancy, social influence and satisfaction predict continuance intention of online learning services. These factors have shown to be good predictors of intention in previous research. Expectancy effort had no influence on intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study covered on only university students from two tertiary institutions; therefore, results cannot safely be generalized to the student population in the country. Therefore, future research should consider enlisting more universities to be more representative, focusing on lecturers, which is an important group in fostering online teaching that could have a spill-over effect on the students' continued online learning.Practical implicationsImplications for online technology selection: These findings suggest that although most universities temporarily adopted online teaching as an emergency solution, students appear to have felt that the outcomes delivered by the system improved their performance. This implies that academic institutions need to consider adjusting the curriculum to promote online learning in the future, whether there is pandemic or no pandemic. Implications for teaching and learning: First, the concept of social influence suggests that lecturers can make use of online chat discussion boards and rooms to foster student collaboration and a sense of community. Second, and finally online service providers should foster a close relationship with students to understand their expectations and extend the performance of their applications to satisfy their users.Originality/valueThis study contributes to literature on online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic period by including satisfaction and continuance intention to the original UTAUT model thus extending the practical value of the model. This study extends knowledge on the factors that determine continuance intention by incorporating satisfaction in addition to the four factors of the traditional UTAUT. The study provides evidence for the predominance of satisfaction over the four traditional factors in predicting intention to continue online learning among students.

Improving Online Discussion Boards

Asynchronous online discussion boards are a primary tool for instructors to cultivate social and cognitive presence in an online classroom. This article investigates the undergraduate student experience with remote learning during COVID-19 with the intent to examine the purpose and structure of online discussion boards. Researchers used semi-structured student interviews and student course evaluations to analyze learner perceptions of online class discussions. Though the goals of discussion boards are to provide a space for learner to learner interaction and to enhance critical thinking skills, discussion boards often fall short of these intended outcomes due to discussions feeling repetitive and artificial. Findings indicate that long-held traditional practices can be improved with different strategies; students value opportunities to ask questions and have choice. Reimagining the structure of online discussion boards can increase engagement and deepen learning.

Exploring the Experiences of Doctor of Nursing Practice Students' Use of Flipgrid to Create a Community of Inquiry in a Predominantly Online Program.

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the experiences of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students utilizing Flipgrid, a free, asynchronous online video discussion forum, as an alternative to written journals and discussion boards in a predominately online program. Results suggest greater student engagement, efficiency, and public speaking skills with Flipgrid than with conventional journals and discussion boards. Flipgrid can serve as an active learning strategy to promote a community of inquiry among online DNP students.

Teaching Edith Wharton’s Major Novels and Short Fiction

Teaching Edith Wharton’s Major Novels and Short Fiction