Online Courses In Higher Education Research Articles

A comparison of the level of the ESP language learners' performance and engagement in a synchronous online course and the face-to-face course

Evidence is steadily mounting on the prominence of online and technology-enabled learning in higher education. The present study intended to investigate whether virtual, interactive, real-time, instructor-led (VIRI) online learning has the potential to yield comparable student performance and engagement results to that of a traditional face-to-face (F2F) course. This is of great significance since the study delves into the possibilities of synchronous online learning in environments where resources are scarce and provide valuable insights into how technology can contribute to improving medical education and accessibility to educational resources in Iran and other comparable educational contexts. The participants were 18–30-year-old male (n = 16) and female (n = 24) students of nursing (n = 20) and operating room (n = 20) who enrolled in synchronous online and face-to-face courses as the requisite for the fulfilment of a bachelor's degree. T-tests and descriptive statistics were the study employed T-tests and descriptive statistics to assess variations in both student performance and engagement results. The results revealed that a synchronous course conducted through VIRI classroom technology yields equivalent student performance outcomes to a traditional face-to-face (F2F) learning environment. The findings further showed that while the students did not appear to differ in terms of the levels of expected interest in the course and paying attention in class for the F2F and VIRI courses, they perceived themselves as displaying a different behaviour in the two courses in terms of attending class, participating in class, academic workload and instructor interactions. In fact, the post-semester findings showed that despite the students' earlier expectations, they displayed different behaviour on all six student engagement factors. The findings of this study could have direct implications for the creation, development, and delivery of synchronous online courses in higher education, including medical ones.

Response to Lubin and Reio, “From the Standpoint of Instructional Designers: Critically Investigating the Coordination of ID Contributions to Collaborative Online Course Development”

This response provides a response to the Lubin and Reio article, Response to Lubin and Reio, “From the Standpoint of Instructional Designers: Critically Investigating the Coordination of ID Contributions to Collaborative Online Course Development.” Specifically, it explores persistent gaps in the literature on the relationships between faculty and of instructional designers when designing asynchronous online courses in higher education: (a) lack of the perspectives of faculty and administrators in the research; (b) a lack of a formal definition of collaboration and, along with that, a consideration of the other roles that instructional designers play in higher education; (c) issues regarding the status of faculty and instructional designers in higher education; and (d) copyright ownership issues and their impact on working relationships. The response argues that, until the research explores these issues, the ability of this line of research to effectively advocate for change in the relationships between faculty and instructional designers is limited.

Media richness of instructor messages: how to improve student beliefs and perceptions in online course settings

PurposeThe increasing number of online courses in higher education has provided students with convenience and flexibility. However, some adverse effects also come with online learning, including negatively affecting student beliefs in themselves and their perceptions of the instructor. Both are important factors for academic success. Grounded in media richness theory, this study aims to examine the impact of medium choices by investigating instructor messages on student beliefs and perceptions in an online course.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a survey methodology using validated items to assess university student perceptions following faculty interactions (video versus customized email).FindingsThe authors find that videos and personalized emails, using mass distribution Excel features, help increase student beliefs, including social belongingness and self-efficacy, and improve students' perceptions of the instructor and learning environment.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by establishing that the richness of media of faculty messages can impact student beliefs, which in turn, may help with student success and retention. The activities used in this study are low-effort for the instructor and may have lasting effects on the students. In addition, this study fills a gap in the literature by examining multiple forms of the richness of media and their impact on multiple aspects of students' beliefs and perceptions of the instructor.

Tracking transdisciplinary skills in the design of online courses: A design-based research study

This design-based research (DBR) study was conducted to identify the type of learning activities and assessments that are responsible for fostering transdisciplinary skills (t-skills) in higher education online courses. T-skills are transferable skills that apply across the disciplines and that have been identified as needed for life and career success in the 21st century. The study addressed two major research questions: (1) “To what extent does the intervention - a new outcomes table - aid in tracking transdisciplinary skills in the design of online courses?” and (2) “What design principles guide the development of learning activities and assessments that foster t-skills?” To address the first question, the researchers developed a design intervention, an outcomes mapping protocol, that was used to map t-skills in 75 unique online courses and deployed the learning outcomes feature of the learning management system to generate learning outcomes analytics on t-skills. The new mapping process captured not only the intended disciplinary goals (what was taught) but also the competencies fostered by the learning design (how the curriculum was taught). To address the second question, the researchers asked learners in these 75 courses to select the top skill resulting from the online course they had just completed and to reflect in writing how the learning activities or assessments in that online course had helped them foster the t-skill they selected. We then coded the learners’ feedback into design principles. The theoretical outcomes of this DBR study constitute refined active learning design principles that tie the development of t-skills to active learning methods. The practical outcome of this DBR provides a new instructional design process for instructors, designers, and administrators to effectively map t-skills across any semester-based curriculum.

Promoting interdisciplinary understanding in asynchronous online higher education courses: a learning communities approach

Promoting interdisciplinary understanding in asynchronous online higher education courses: a learning communities approach

Reflections of Adult Learners in Asynchronous Online Degree Programs

The growing prevalence of online higher education courses has attracted millions of students, many of whom fall outside the traditional student demographic. This investigative study aims to close the existing knowledge gap about the experiences and preferences of adult asynchronous learners. The study was conducted as a series of semi-structured interviews with adult students enrolled in free-tuition online asynchronous programs (N = 26). The interviews were then coded using the content analysis technique. The findings suggest that the lack of consistent communication with faculty and university staff is the biggest issue faced by adult students online. Respondents also reported missing the sense of community. Despite that, it is the ability to do work on one’s own schedule and flexibility in choosing the format for learning materials and assignments that are valued the most by adult students. Other findings and their implications are discussed further in the article.

Features of High-Quality Online Courses in Higher Education: A Scoping Review

What are the features of high-quality online courses in higher education? In this scoping review, we explore peer-reviewed scholarship related to the features of online learning in postsecondary contexts. We searched ERIC (EBSCO), Education Research Complete, and SocINDEX with Fulltext to retrieve peer-reviewed literature from 2010-2022 pertaining to features of online learning in higher education. Two reviewers independently conducted the initial title and abstract screening (n = 1,574), full text review (n = 483), and data extraction of the included articles (n = 38). Using thematic content analysis to explore the data extracted from each article, we found that the literature predominately included scholarship related to quality online course design, instructor facilitation in online courses, quality assessment of online courses, and student engagement in online courses. The breadth of these themes included a multiplicity of strategies and approaches to consider when designing online learning experiences. We recommend that administrators, faculty members, and instructors responsible for designing online courses and programs for postsecondary contexts continue to incorporate these considerations to promote high-quality and consistent online offerings. We conclude the review by presenting four high-level considerations to guide these discussions.

Course Recommendation Based on Enhancement of Meta-Path Embedding in Heterogeneous Graph

The main reason students drop out of online courses is often that they lose interest during learning. Moreover, it is not easy for students to choose an appropriate course before actually learning it. Course recommendation is necessary to address this problem. Most existing course recommendation methods depend on the interaction result (e.g., completion rate, grades, etc.). However, the long period required to complete a course, especially large-scale online courses in higher education, can lead to serious sparsity of interaction results. In view of this, we propose a novel course recommendation method named HGE-CRec, which utilizes context formation for heterogeneous graphs to model students and courses. HGE-CRec develops meta-path embedding simulation and meta-path weight fusion to enhance the meta-path embedding set, which can expand the learning space of the prediction model and improve the representation ability of meta-path embedding, thereby avoiding tedious manual setting of the meta-path and improving the effectiveness of the resulting recommendations. Extensive experiments show that the proposed approach has advantages over a number of existing baseline methods.

Using Survival Analysis to Identify Populations of Learners at Risk of Withdrawal: Conceptualization and Impact of Demographics

High dropout rates constitute a major concern for higher education institutions, due to their economic and academic impact. The problem is particularly relevant for institutions offering online courses, where withdrawal ratios are reported to be higher. Both the impact and these high rates motivate the implementation of interventions oriented to reduce course withdrawal and overall institutional dropout. In this paper, we address the identification of populations of learners at risk of withdrawing from higher education online courses. This identification is oriented to design interventions and is carried out using survival analysis. We demonstrate that the method’s longitudinal approach is particularly suited for this purpose and provides a clear view of risk differences among learner populations. Additionally, the method quantifies the impact of underlying factors, either alone or in combination. Our practical implementation used an open dataset provided by The Open University. It includes data from more than 30,000 students enrolled in different courses. We conclude that low-income students and those who report a disability comprise risk groups and are thus feasible intervention targets. The survival curves also reveal differences among courses and show the detrimental effect of early dropout on low-income students, worsened throughout the course for disabled students. Intervention strategies are proposed as a result of these findings. Extending the entire refund period and giving greater academic support to students who report disability are two proposed strategies for reducing course withdrawal.

Supporting engagement and retention of online and blended-learning students: A qualitative study from an Australian University.

Enrolment numbers in online higher education courses have continued to increase over the last decade. The challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have further accelerated the growth in online and blended course offerings. The development of institutional support services, however, does not reflect this growth. Many students are not equipped with the skills or given adequate support to engage and succeed in their courses, leading to student disengagement and attrition. This study investigated the perceptions of students in online and blended subjects, regarding both the academic and institutional support they were provided. The research team collected interview data from 41 online and blended-learning students and then analysed these data using an iterative thematic analysis approach. This article introduces the key findings with two models: one presenting support strategies at multiple levels within this university; the other presenting three key elements of subject-level teacher support, which were identified by the interviewees as the most significant, effective, and relevant support mechanism in this context. The findings will inform higher education institutions who aim to engage and support online and blended students better, through an improved understanding of how support is perceived by this student cohort. This study was conducted at one Australian university; however, the findings are relevant to higher education institutions in other countries that strive to bring about positive experiences and enhance retention rates for online and blended students.

Self-Efficacy in Learning English as a Foreign Language Via Online Courses in Higher Education

Aim/Purpose. Higher education institutions face difficulties and challenges when it comes to distance learning. The purpose of this paper is to examine self-efficacy indicators and student satisfaction during online English classes. Background. E-learning has been very relevant since the Covid-19 era and is still relevant today. It is possible for students to study regardless of their location or time. By measuring students’ self-efficacy, instructors can gain valuable insights into their students’ ability to create social interaction, cope with technology, and acquire knowledge and tools to manage the learning process. Methodology. This study uses mixed methods along with two measurements. Before and after the course, quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Higher education students in Israel participated. A total of 964 students enrolled in English as a foreign language courses at the pre-basic, basic, and advanced levels. Contribution. Analyzing self-efficacy from several angles provides insight into students. What influences students’ confidence and belief in their ability to succeed in online courses. Moreover, how students perceive their own learning and how they cope with challenges. Findings. Compared to the measurement before the course, self-efficacy decreased on average. Most significant decreases occurred in ‘creating social interactions’ and ‘acquirement of knowledge and tools’ to manage the learning process. A slight decrease was observed in the ability to cope with technology. Additionally, self-efficacy and satisfaction with the course were positively correlated. Recommendations for Practitioners. An overview is provided of the most effective tools and techniques for teaching languages in digital format in this paper. This will allow instructors to design and deliver courses in a more effective way. Thus, they will be able to make better informed decisions, resulting in better outcomes for students. Recommendations for Researchers. Distance Learning courses should resemble the common digital environments in everyday life, rather than imitating face-to-face courses mainly in the field of social interaction. Impact on Society. Digital tools should be encouraged that facilitate effective learning processes instead of sticking to traditional methods that characterize face-to-face courses. Using common interfaces in daily use among the general population will enable the implementation of these recommendations. Future Research. Future studies could be helpful if they compared the English courses developed in the CEFR model with those taught face-to-face as well as those taught online. In addition, motivation and self-monitoring should be examined in both synchronous and asynchronous courses as well.

A review of collaborative assessment strategies in online learning

Online collaborative learning is increasingly used in online courses in higher education, but assessing student online collaborative learning presents unique challenges as well as interesting opportunities. Thus, it is critical to gain a clear picture of online group collaboration assessment strategies, including group learning assessment methods and examining the effectiveness, challenges, and opportunities in online education. The present study systematically reviewed 12 empirical studies on online collaborative learning assessment in higher education published in journals from 2011 to 2021. The results show that diverse strategies were used to facilitate group collaboration, including group agreements, project planning, role assignments, problem-based projects, and instructor feedback. The reviewed studies primarily evaluated learners through instructor evaluation, peer evaluation, and self-evaluation methods. The most common strategy was instructor assessment, while self-evaluations were used the least. The findings of this mapping review provide practical examples for future online group collaborative learning assessment research and practice.

CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS E-LEARNING WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ONLINE COURSES PROVIDING COMPANIES AT BANGALORE CITY

Exam preparation, reskilling and certification, casual learning, higher education language, and primary and secondary supplemental education are some of the areasthat make up the online education sector. With a predicted CAGR of 46.48 percent, the market for online primary and secondary supplemental education would increase in value from INR 11.99 billion in 2018 to INR 123.65 billion by 2024. A shift in consumer behaviour toward detailed learning and an increase in demand from tier IIand tier III cities are what are fuelling the growth of this industry. From 2019 to 2024, the market for online reskilling and certification is projected to expand at a CAGR of 36.95 percent, reaching INR 93.81 Bn. The growing skill gap among workers brought on by the growing business environment is driving up the demand for reskilling programmes. The market for online higher education is expected to increase at a CAGR of 40.74 percent from 2019 to 2024 to reach INR 40.63 billion, from an estimated value of INR 5.01 billion in 2018. Because the traditional educational system cannot meet the demands of the growing population, students are turning to online higher education courses. This paper throws light on the importance of online education, and percentage of people relying on online education and their dependency on the various courses and the features of it in particular. Keywords: E-learning, Online, Certifications, Programmes.

A Research Framework And Evaluation Of The Efficiency Of Online Teaching Pedagogy In Individual Skill Development

This essay clarifies the knowledge and abilities needed to instruct online courses in higher education. The introduction of the study included a general review of the problems with online teaching and learning. This study looked at one training strategy for new online educators and evaluated how it affected the quality of their instruction and integration of their subject matter. The conceptual supporting was the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model. Three information sources were utilized in a quantitatively-determined blended techniques plan: (1) the pre-and post-instructional class schedules of the educators; (2) pre-and post-preparing understudy evaluations of showing scores; and (3) the results of a subsequent web-based study. As per the review's discoveries, educators showed (a) measurably huge changes by the way they integrated components into the overhaul of their course schedules and (b) enhancements in their showing abilities as expressed without help from anyone else in the subsequent overview Three information sources were utilized in a quantitatively-determined blended techniques plan: (1) the pre-and post-instructional class prospectuses of the teachers; (2) pre-and post-preparing understudy evaluations of showing scores; and (3) the results of a subsequent web-based study. As per the review's discoveries, educators showed (a) measurably huge changes by the way they integrated components into the overhaul of their course schedules and (b) enhancements in their showing abilities as expressed without anyone else in the subsequent study. Be that as it may, there were no apparent contrasts between the pre-and post-preparing understudy appraisals of their guidance. In general, educators showed exceptionally moderate additions in their capacity to train.

Salient syllabi: Examining design characteristics of science online courses in higher education.

The importance of online learning in higher education settings is growing, not only in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, metrics to evaluate and increase the quality of online instruction are crucial for improving student learning. Whereas instructional quality is traditionally evaluated with course observations or student evaluations, course syllabi offer a novel approach to predict course quality even prior to the first day of classes. This study develops an online course design characteristics rubric for science course syllabi. Utilizing content analysis, inductive coding, and deductive coding, we established four broad high-quality course design categories: course organization, course objectives and alignment, interpersonal interactions, and technology. Additionally, this study exploratively applied the rubric on 11 online course syllabi (N = 635 students) and found that these design categories explained variation in student performance.

Boundaries and boundary crossing in a multidisciplinary online higher education course on forest bioeconomy

ABSTRACT The field of higher education (HE) is characterized by diversity stemming from multiple sources. Diversity results in boundaries that carry the potential to promote personal and professional development for HE students. Boundaries also offer the possibility of learning generic skills and planning and carrying out challenging tasks that require collaborative problem solving in multidisciplinary teams. Drawing upon the theory of boundary crossing, this study aims to identify the kinds of boundaries that HE students experience during a multidisciplinary online course on forest bioeconomy and how they manage these boundaries in terms of boundary crossing while collaboratively solving an ill-defined development challenge set by a working life organization. The data consist of in-depth interviews with student teams (N = 20). The results provide insights into the pedagogical principles through which students’ boundary-crossing processes can be facilitated in HE online learning settings.

Redefining the Quality of Online Courses: From A Smiley Test To A Seven-Star Rating

The past two decades have witnessed an exponential increase of both blended and fully online courses in higher education. Nevertheless, despite the invested efforts in defining and examining quality issues concerning online courses, there seems to be an equal growth in the challenges as well as the boundaries for defining the quality of online courses. According to a large body of literature, it appears that the most common instruments for gauging quality are course evaluations and surveys from the perspectives of instructors, learners, and administrators based on their perceptions, and experiences. In light of the rapidly changing needs of the new generation of “digital” learners, this study aims to redefine the quality of online courses from a comprehensive perspective that would expand the quality standards beyond pedagogical issues to include the hidden aspects of quality such as the instructional design, web design, facilitation and coaching, course presentation, learning experience, as well as service experiences. The study employs a mixed-method research design including, a descriptive-analytic methodology of both quantitative and qualitative approaches, where a triangulated set of data were collected from a diverse sample of Instructional designers, SMEs, and students enrolled in a fully online course at Sultan Qaboos University. The outcomes of this study could be used as a blueprint for designing online courses that respond to learners’ diverse needs.

Status and Development of Online Courses in Higher Education

Status and Development of Online Courses in Higher Education

The Importance of Interactions in Online Instruction: Part 3: Learner–Learner

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, educators grapple with the challenges of creating meaningful content in online courses in higher education. Specifically, designing an online curriculum that increases student motivation, student engagement, and student learning. Learner–Learner (LL) interactions are a key component in not only face-to-face learning, but also online learning. The purpose of this article to share the importance of LL interaction via best practices, examples, and applications in the context of online sexuality education for P–12. However, these ideas for integration of LL interaction best practices and strategies are suitable and can be adjusted for a wide variety of online courses, across all grade levels. The authors share three core practice principles that focus on nurturing LL interactions in online courses: 1) Netiquette expectations, 2) Students’ independent channels of communications, and 3) Content-specific peer feedback.

Statistical modelling of the impact of online courses in higher education on sustainable development

PurposeThe concept of sustainable development (SD) is a popular response to society’s need to preserve and extend the life span of natural resources. One of the 17 goals of the SD is “education quality” (Fourth Goal of Sustainable Development [SDG-4]). Education quality is an important goal because education is a powerful force that can influence social policies and social change. The SDG-4 must be measured in different contexts, and the tools to quantify its effects require exploration. So, this study aims to propose a statistical model to measure the impact of higher education online courses on SD and a structural equation model (SEM) to find constructs or factors that help us explain a sustainability benefits rate. These proposed models integrate the three areas of sustainability: social, economic and environmental.Design/methodology/approachA beta regression model suggests features that include the academic and economic opportunities offered by the institution, the involvement in research activities and the quality of the online courses. A structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis allowed selecting the key variables and constructs that are strongly linked to the SD.FindingsOne of the key findings showed that the benefit provided by online courses in terms of SD is 62.99% higher than that of offline courses in aspects such as transportation, photocopies, printouts, books, food, clothing, enrolment fees and connectivity.Research limitations/implicationsThe SEM model needs large sample sizes to have consistent estimations. Thus, despite the obtained estimations in the proposed SEM model being reliable, the authors consider that a limitation of this study was the required time to collect data corresponding to the estimated sample size.Originality/valueThis study proposes two novel and different ways to estimate the sustainability benefits rate focused on SDG-4, and machine learning tools are implemented to validate and gain robustness in the estimations of the beta model. Additionally, the SEM model allows us to identify new constructs associated with SDG-4.