Teaching Online Courses Research Articles

International Experience and Trends in E-Learning Development in World Economy

This paper describes and synthesizes the international experience with e-learning in order to draw lessons for its development in Vietnam’s higher education. The e-learning development policies of selected countries are analyzed to measure the success of such policies against their specific national context. This paper also discusses Vietnam’s experiences in terms of national policy goals, the scope and subject of the policies, the investment resources and their allocation, and their approach to e-learning and massive open online courses (MOOCs) in higher education in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the policies.

Examining How Online Professional Development Impacts Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching Statistics

With online learning becoming a more viable option for teachers to develop their expertise, our report shares one such effort focused on improving the teaching of statistics. We share design principles and learning opportunities in an online course developed specifically to serve as a wide-scale online professional development opportunity for educators, thus deemed as a massive open online course for educators (MOOC-Ed). In this report we focus on a subset of 412 participants who identified themselves as classroom teachers. We use multiple data sources, quantitative and qualitative, to characterize changes in teachers’ beliefs and perspectives about statistics and identify triggers in the course that appear to influence teachers’ sense making about issues related to teaching statistics. Implications about specific course experiences that served as triggers for critical reflection and change are discussed.

Instructor Prompts and Student Engagement in Synchronous Online Nutrition Classes

ABSTRACT The number of online courses in higher education is on the rise. However, empirical evidence elucidating best practices for synchronous online instruction is needed to best implement these courses. The research purposes were to examine synchronous online class sessions to (1) quantify interaction type, frequency, and rate, (2) quantify student engagement frequency, and (3) quantify instructor prompt frequency in three areas in order to investigate relationships with each category of student engagement. A total of 24 previously recorded synchronous sessions including oral and textual chat interactions were transcribed. Every line of student interaction was determined to be either superficial or containing evidence of at least one instance of engagement according to five categories from the Seven Principles and the National Survey for Student Engagement. Every line of instructor interaction was concurrently coded for at least one of the following forms of prompt: social, organizational, or intellectual. Inter-tester reliability of coded interactions from Cohen’s kappa = 0.91. Social prompts were the best predictor of supportive campus environments (r = 0.79); organizational prompts were the best predictor of enriching academic experiences (r = 0.72); and intellectual prompts were the best predictor of instructor interactions, active/collaborative learning, and academic challenge (r= 0.77, r= 0.78, r= 0.54, respectively); with all of these being significant (p< .01). The conclusions are: (a) online synchronous class sessions can be used to promote student engagement across all NSSE categories, (b) online synchronous class sessions can be moderated via differing instructor-prompts to promote student interaction and engagement.

A Study on the Use of Massive Open Online Courses in Otorhinolaryngology After Graduation.

The use of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in medical education and postgraduate education is becoming more and more widespread across the world. A survey study was carried out in Turkey to collect information and raise awareness about the use of MOOCs for educational and training purposes in the field of otorhinolaryngology after graduation. The prepared survey questionnaire was published on the online communication platform of the Turkish Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Association, and volunteers were asked to fill-out the questionnaire by clicking the given link. A total of 210 volunteers participated in the survey study. Most of the volunteers (26.2%) were in the 36-40 age range. At the time of the study 53.8% of the volunteers were working as specialist doctors, 19.5% as residents, 10.5% as professors, 8.1% as associate professors, and 8.1% as assistant professors. Only 19 (9%) respondents ticked "yes" in response to the question "Are you familiar with the MOOC programs?" and only six (2.9%) of these respondents had attended a MOOC program. Evaluation of the correlation between academic title and awareness of MOOC programs showed that the instructors had a significantly higher level of MOOC awareness compared to the specialists and the residents (p=0.032). Results of the survey revealed that the use of MOOC programs in postgraduate otorhinolaryngology education was low and the volunteers were not well-informed about this practice.

Empirical study on the influence of flipped classroom teaching mode on college students' professional help-seeking attitudes

Objective To explore the influence of flipped classroom teaching mode on college students' attitudes towards psychological help-seeking. Methods The small private online course and experiential teaching method were combined to teach the course of mental health. Before and after the course, the Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (Hao Zhihong 2007 Revision) and the Self-Stigma of Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (Vogel et al.) were used to measure the professional help-seeking attitudes and self-stigma of 258 randomly selected subjects. SPSS 22.0 and paired sample t-test were used and related data were analyzed. Results A total of 242 valid scales were collected. The teaching mode of flipped classroom reduced self-stigma (t=2.067, P=0.040) and increased the willingness of professional psychological help-seeking among students (t=2.483, P=0.015). Before the course, there was no significant difference between the high-input group and the low-input group in the attitudes of help-seeking (t=0.515, P=0.607) and self-stigma (t=0.432, P=0.666). After the course, the scores of help-seeking attitudes in the high-input group were significantly higher than those in the low-input group (t=2.401, P=0.018), and the self-stigma scores in high-input group were significantly lower than those in low-input group (t=2.185, P=0.031). Conclusion The teaching mode of flipped classroom helps to reduce self-stigma evaluation and forms a more positive attitude towards seeking help. Attitudes changed significantly in those students who have higher commitment in knowledge learning, self-expression and self-reflection. Key words: Mental health; Flipped Classroom; Professional help-seeking attitude; Self-stigma; Course involvement

Self-efficacy and Satisfaction With Teaching in Online Courses.

Growth of online education has increased the demand for satisfied educators with perceived self-efficacy in online teaching. Teaching self-efficacy is an indicator of the belief that one can make a difference in student learning outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the level of teaching self-efficacy and satisfaction of online nursing faculty. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Faculty satisfaction was measured by the Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure, and self-efficacy for online teaching was measured by the Michigan Nurse Educator's Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching instrument. The sample included 100 faculty in multiple schools of nursing who taught at least 1 online course in RN to BSN or graduate nursing programs. Overall, participants had relatively high levels of online teaching self-efficacy and satisfaction. Teacher self-efficacy can be facilitated through faculty development and increased experience teaching online.

The Servitization of Australian K-12 Educational Settings

Servitization is a notion borrowed from the manufacturing sector, where a tangible product is replaced or supplemented by an intangible service. Servitization is a global phenomenon and found across multiple sectors and settings including finance, transport, and accommodation. In educational settings, servitization sees commercial apps and platforms supplementing or replacing physical textbooks and other aspects of educational practice. With similarities to the rapid ascension seen with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in higher education, many digital products in K-12 settings are currently ‘morphing’ into service-based platforms, some of which require ongoing subscription fees. Often making claims of democratizing education, the analysis of servitization in K-12 settings is approached from a postdigital perspective to ‘hold to account’ any such claims. This paper explores servitization in Australian K-12 settings and any potential impacts on educational practice concerning deliberative democracy. It draws on data from 16 semi-structured interviews from the Apps in Australian Classrooms Project and uses the historical progression of MOOCs as an example of servitization in an educational setting to explore any impacts related to servitization that may be evident in Australian K-12 educational settings.

Using Online Wikis for Assessment Transforms Student Articulation of Learning

Learning objectives guide an academic course with measurable behaviors a strategic result. The process of course mapping may explicate gaps in curriculum content that when offered to the student may appear more manageable when course content is partitioned into modules. Learning objectives for each module can further differentiate deeper understanding of the curriculum. However, students seldom articulate how their learning satisfies the objectives. Teaching online courses presen Learning objectives guide an academic course with measurable behaviors a strategic result. The process of course mapping may explicate gaps in curriculum content that when offered to the student may appear more manageable when course content is partitioned into modules. Learning objectives for each module can further differentiate deeper understanding of the curriculum. However, students seldom articulate how their learning satisfies the objectives. Teaching online courses presents technologies useful for both faculty and student assessment. The use of the wiki technology mechanism as a student assessment tool is useful to demonstrate how students, through self - reflection, identify the intersection between individual learning, module objectives, and clinical practice application. In this paper, the author describes how online education and assessment with a technology such as wiki illuminate how course objectives are met and student learning occurs.

Best Practices for New Online Management Education Instructors to Overcome Resistance to Online Teaching: New Insights

Enrollment in online courses has increased rapidly in the last two decades, and exponentially in the last few years (Seaman, Allen, & Allen, 2018) as part of an e-revolution, especially in business schools (Kumar, Kumar, Palvia, & Verma, 2019), in which access to and use of information technology has become widespread. Instructors are one of the most important variables in online teaching as they function as the source of content for, and facilitators of, the online course. Some faculty, however, are ambivalent about teaching online for a variety of reasons (Mitchell, Parlamis, & Claiborne, 2015), and this ambivalence can be the impetus for the failure of the online course implementation. In addition, although research (“No significant difference”, n.d.) demonstrates that learning in online classes is comparable to learning in on-ground courses, instructors’ attitudes toward online teaching remain divided. In this chapter, I offer a brief review of Mitchell et al. (2015) and its general recommendations for management educators to help overcome their resistance to online teaching. I then expand upon what was previously written by sharing specific recommendations and resources focused on faculty, and for administrators to use with faculty, as they attempt the change to online teaching. To this end, I begin with a discussion of the notion of fit in the context of selecting faculty with a particular set of characteristics that are best suited to teaching online courses. The next portion of the chapter offers a research-derived list of best practices for new online instructors – addressing both hard and soft issues. Next, the discussion continues with a brief review of additional factors pertinent to teaching online but not included in the previous list. This will include topics gleaned both from research and over a decade and a half of personal online and hybrid experience as a management educator.

Usability analysis of on-line educational courses on the platform “Higher school mathematics teacher”

The article addresses the issue of implementing the usability principles of educational internet resources. The paper debates the latest researches on the question concerning the search for the factors that influence the results of online education. The analysis, which we carried out, allowed us to focus on such known six criteria of usability design as Information Quality, System Navigation, System Learnability, Visual Design, Instructional Assessment, and System Interactivity and suggest the existence of the seventh criterion named Responsiveness. The research considers the principles of usability implementation following the example of the open platform of online education “Higher School Mathematics Teacher”. The answers given by 203 respondents during the survey allowed defining the direction of implementing the usability criteria on the platform. We were eager to know the opinion of teachers and students, who became the first users of the platform. The article discusses the criteria implementation while developing online courses on the platform. There was ground to conclude that when designing on-line platform courses, all seven usability subcategories are important.

Using digital technologies to create equal opportunities in higher education in the Russian Federation: COVID-2019 lessons

The article examines the experience of higher education educational organizations of the Russian Federation in the development and implementation of digital tools and services to form equal access to educational content. The Anti-Crisis Measures adopted by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to regulate the higher education sector are being evaluated to ensure that education is accessible and that the learning process is stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic.Over the past few months, studies in higher education on the quality of digital solutions used and their adequacy during the spread of the pandemic of the new COVID-2019 coronavirus infection and the transition mainly to remote forms of educational services show a low degree of readiness to provide equal access to education and reflect the risks of social conflict. It is important to ensure the digital readiness of higher education organizations to provide quality educational services through the introduction of advanced domestic programs and technologies, including those with elements of artificial intelligence; training of teachers and the administrative staff of educational institutions. Particular attention is paid to ensuring access to education in the subjects of the Russian Federation, where students and entrants face difficulties in remotely studying national languages and national culture. The study proposes to consider, among other things, support for the creation and implementation of online educational courses in the languages of national minorities, the expansion of e-library services containing unique cultural and language content, taking into account the specifics of the region’s learners.

Generational Differences in Faculty and Student Comfort With Technology Use.

BackgroundNavigating through online education courses continues to be a struggle for some nursing students. At the same time, integrating technology into online courses can be difficult for nursing faculty.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess faculty technology integration practices, student attitudes about technology use, and generational differences related to faculty and student technology use.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain data for this study.ResultsIntegration of technology into online courses and student attitudes about technology use were not significantly different by generation. Faculty and students from the Baby Boomer and Generation X reported less comfort using technology and higher levels of anxiety using technology than did individuals from Generation Y.ConclusionSignificant generational variations were not noted in relation to technology integration into courses and overall student attitudes about technology in this study, but differences were noted in relation to comfort with use of technology and anxiety when using technology. Student learning outcomes and satisfaction with learning may be influenced by the student’s comfort using technology and faculty’s confidence in integrating and using technology to provide online instruction.

Transformation toward e-learning: experience from the sudden shift to e-courses at COVID-19 time in Central European countries; students’ satisfaction perspective

This study aims to evaluate transforming toward online-learning, concerning students’ satisfaction, social presence and students’ intention to continue with e-learning in Central European countries, taking the case of Hungarian higher education online courses during COVID- 19 measures. This study finds that masters and undergraduate students’ satisfaction and social presence of online learning courses are neutral with little bias to be positive, also satisfaction has the key role in affecting student’s intention to continue with future online-learning.

Roles of massive open online courses in teacher education: examining the massive open online course experiences of preservice computer and instructional technologies teachers about programming

Roles of massive open online courses in teacher education: examining the massive open online course experiences of preservice computer and instructional technologies teachers about programming

Developing Online Sense of Community: Graduate Students’ Experiences and Perceptions

Building a sense of community (SoC) is an important process in the success of distance education and students’ retention. However, developing a community in online learning environments is not an easy task. The purpose of this research study is to explore perceptions of graduate students on SoC and learning after using different collaborative activities with diverse forms of interaction (text, audio, and video) in an online educational research course. Quantitative data from two surveys and qualitative data from individual interviews were collected. Findings indicate that multimodal and scaffolding interactive activities help to support connectedness and learning, and therefore foster online graduate students’ sense of community. The results of this study add to the literature with regard to instructional strategies used to support the development of online sense of community.

A pragmatic controlled trial to improve the appropriate prescription of drugs in adult outpatients: design and rationale of the EDU.RE.DRUG study

Abstract Introduction: Pharmacological intervention is an important component of patient care. However, drugs are often inappropriately used. It is necessary for countries to implement strategies to improve the rational use of drugs, including independent information for healthcare professionals and the public, which must be supported by well-trained staff. The primary objectives of the EDU.RE.DRUG (Effectiveness of informative and/or educational interventions aimed at improving the appropriate use of drugs designed for general practitioners and their patients) study are the retrospective evaluation of rates of appropriate prescribing indicators (APIs) and the assessment of the effectiveness of informative and/or educational interventions addressed to general practitioners (GPs) and their patients, aimed at improving prescribing quality and promoting proper drug use. Methods and analysis: This is a prospective, multicentre, open-label, parallel-arm, controlled, pragmatic trial directed to GPs and their patients in two Italian regions (Campania and Lombardy). The study data are retrieved from administrative databases (Demographic, Pharmacy-refill, and Hospitalization databases) containing healthcare information of all beneficiaries of the National Health Service in the Local Health Units (LHUs) involved. According to LHU, the GPs/patients will be assigned to one of the following four intervention arms: (1) intervention on GPs and patients; (2) intervention on GPs; (3) intervention on patients; and (4) no intervention (control). The intervention designed for GPs consists of reports regarding the status of their patients according to the APIs determined at baseline and in two on-line Continuous Medical Education (CME) courses. The intervention designed for patients consists in flyers and posters distributed in GPs ambulatories and community pharmacies, focusing on correct drug use. A set of indicators (such as potential drug–drug interactions, unnecessary duplicate prescriptions, and inappropriate prescriptions in the elderly), adapted to the Italian setting, has been defined to determine inappropriate prescription at baseline and after the intervention phase. The primary outcome was a composite API. Ethics and dissemination: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Milan on 7th June 2017 (code 15/17). The investigators will communicate trial results to stakeholders, collaborators, and participants via appropriate presentations and publications. Registration details: NCT04030468. EudraCT number 2017-002622-21

COMBINING AHP AND GOAL PROGRAMMING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ASSESSMENT OF E-LEARNING

The Analytical Hierarchy Process is a very common method used in Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) to analyze participative assessments. However, due to the qualitative nature of this methodology, a high percentage of inconsistencies need to be addressed when analyzing user preferences. This work analyzes the efficiency of the Goal Programming model in order to reduce inconsistencies with pairwise comparisons when working with inexpert participants and time limitations. A case study has been carried out that assesses online courses in higher education with the Analytical Hierarchy Process in order to understand the usefulness and feasibility of the method. Evaluation of four e-learning tools (collaboration tools, content tools, tutorial sessions and evaluation tools) used in an online business degree were collected from 72 students through a ‘Saaty-type’ survey, and the model was applied to improve the consistency of these results. This model has been able to minimize the inconsistencies of individual preferences while avoiding the loss of primary information.

Key characteristics in designing massive open online courses (MOOCs) for user acceptance: an application of the extended technology acceptance model

ABSTRACT In spite of the proliferation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in higher education, factors influencing user acceptance of MOOCs are not well understood. This study is intended to investigate key characteristics of user acceptance from interface design (i.e. usability), content quality (i.e. perceived quality), and emotional arousal (i.e. perceived enjoyment) of MOOCs within the framework of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Six hundred and sixty-eight college students were invited to complete a self-reported questionnaire measuring TAM constructs and three hypothesized variables drawn from MOOC characteristics. The results from path analysis showed that all path coefficients were statistically significant. Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly affected students’ behavioral intention to use MOOCs, while both perceived usefulness and behavioral intention yielded a significant influence on perceived effective use of MOOCs. Usability and perceived quality had a strong indirect impact on behavioral intention and perceived effective use through the mediators of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment. This study demonstrated that the extended TAM with MOOC characteristics provides an effective means to understand students’ acceptance of MOOCs.

Social work educators’ perceived barriers to teaching with technology: the impact on preparing students to work with younger clients

ABSTRACT The educational needs of current social work students have transitioned in time from fully face-to-face to hybrid and for some, to fully online instruction. This helps to address students’ need to save time and money, as well as it assists the higher education institutions to provide easier and more efficient access to education. The use of technology in educational instruction has a positive impact on the future social workers who have to address the needs of technologically savvy younger clients. This is due to parallels related to the access and the use of technology, communication preferences, and the wide use of social media platforms. A quantitative non-experimental research design was employed in this research study. Non-parametric statistics were employed. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the perceptions of barriers/challenges to eLearning among US and Spanish social work educators. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to find the differences in the perceptions of barriers/challenges to eLearning across different group characteristics such as age, academic position, and experience teaching online and hybrid courses. There are six main barriers/challenges identified in this article. When not addressed, these barriers could have a negative impact on social work students’ readiness to use technology in their future social work practice.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ УЧЕБНОЙ АВТОНОМИИ СТУДЕНТОВ ПОСРЕДСТВОМ МАССОВЫХ ОТКРЫТЫХ ОНЛАЙН-КУРСОВ В ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОМ ЛИНГВООБРАЗОВАНИИ

Developing students’ educational autonomy is a relevant problem under the conditions of transition of the domestic higher education system to the paradigm “education throughout life”. The article discusses the use of mass open online courses (MOOC) in professional linguistic education as one of the ways to solve this problem. The analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature shows that this issue is still insufficiently investigated. The study focuses on describing the methodology of using MOOC to form three types of educational autonomy strategies among students. In conclusion, relying on the data of a conducted experiment, the authors identify the basic advantages and shortcomings of using MOOC in professional linguistic education, as perceived by teachers and students.