Online Master's Degree Program Research Articles

Entering or advancing in the IT labor market: The role of an online graduate degree in computer science

Online graduate degree programs, particularly in technical disciplines, represent a fast-growing market for higher education institutions. Yet, it is unclear how online degree programs fit within students' educational investment decisions and career goals. Based on a foundation of human capital theory, and using data from a 2017 survey of students enrolled in an online master's degree program in computer science at a highly ranked US university, this study explores how motivation for seeking an online graduate degree in computer science varies by student demographics and professional background/preparation. Results show two student markets: one for career mobility, including job advancement and/or career change, and another for skill building without consideration of mobility. Our results also show that while students come from diverse backgrounds, the primary driving factor for seeking the degree is determined by relevant professional experience. Implications for future study and online instructional design are discussed.

An Analysis of Stress Levels of Female Graduate Students in an Online Program

This quantitative study was designed to investigate the differences in stressors and demographic variables of women enrolled in an online master's degree program in education. Participants were women with multiple personal, career, and family responsibilities. Survey data and demographic data were used to identify which stressors were most frequently experienced and whether there was a significant difference between stress scale scores and demographic variables. Seven hundred and fifty women completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale — Revised (Hobson, 1998) and non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated the stressors most common to female graduate students were related to family, finances, and health-related issues. The results also suggested there were significant differences among the demographic variables of age, ethnicity, program start date, number of courses completed, and marital status.For institutions of higher education these findings may offer insight for incorporating student services such as learning communities, flexible financing options, and accelerated programs to allow for increased retention of women in online programs. For women seeking to enroll into an online graduate program, this study may provide insight into assessing their resources for successful completion of an online master's degree

Digital and Global View of Engineering Education Using Remote Practical Competences

This paper reports on two noticeable approaches to digitalizing and globalizing engineering by applying information and communication technologies (ICTs) to engineering education. In the first approach, a new European and interinstitutional online master's degree program was developed and prepared among five different institutions from four different European countries via an online-distributed platform. The program is offered online across five European institutions and is oriented to labor market needs for qualified graduates. In the second approach, a massive open online course was developed and openly delivered to the public. It is devoted uniquely to acquiring practical competences by building and experimenting with electronic circuits online. In both of them, ICTs are intensively adopted in order to deliver theoretical contents to students anywhere and anytime without geographical or time constraints. Similarly, remotely accessed laboratories are adopted in order to allow online experimentation. The development and implementation of both approaches are discussed in this paper. Experiences, comments, and conclusions are provided.

Enhancing Rehabilitation Counselor Skill Development through Experiential Learning in a Distance Education Environment

Research has indicated that beginning Rehabilitation Counselors frequently lack understanding about the process of identifying and developing collaborative relationships with community agencies. Even if they recognize the need, it is often outside of their comfort zone. One reason that counseling students and professionals may be hesitant to engage in this activity is related to a lack of exposure to the process. Incorporation of experiential learning assignments throughout the rehabilitation counseling program is a potent approach to address this issue. The types of experiential learning tasks and projects, incorporated into a large, online Master's Degree program in Rehabilitation Counseling, are discussed. This learning model has applications to many different types of human services education programs that are delivered primarily online.

Do Nonverbal Emotional Cues Matter? Effects of Video Casting in Synchronous Virtual Classrooms

This study examined the effects of an instructor's use of video casting as a nonverbal emotional cue in synchronous discussion sessions on students' social presence, satisfaction, and learning achievement. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of video casting in a synchronous virtual classroom. The research setting was a 100% online master's degree program within a university located in the midwestern United States. Thirty-three students participated in the experiment. The results showed a significant positive effect of the video casting on students' feeling of instructor copresence. No significant effect of video casting was found on either students' satisfaction or learning achievement.

Course Delivery Platform Changes and Instructional Delivery Methods: Student Attitudes and Perceptions

The purposes of this study were to examine students' perceptions and attitudes toward changes in Distance Education (DE) course management systems and to evaluate their instructional delivery preferences. Students (N = 145) enrolled in an online master's degree program on either a full- or part-time basis completed an online survey instrument specifically designed for this study. Results showed a strong preference for distance education, but no significant differences in student perceptions toward changes in Course Management Systems (CMS). The benefit of transparency in course design is discussed along with other findings.

Facilitating Inquiry-Based Science Learning Online in a Virtual University

<p>The authors reviewed their approaches to facilitating inquiry-based science courses from 2005 through 2010 in a fully online master's degree program at Walden University designed to help teachers bring inquiry-based science to their students. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate their interaction-engagement approach in facilitating online courses, which focused on a guided inquiry approach to build understanding of core science concepts using hands-on experimental science investigations.</p>

Best Practices in an Online Master's Degree Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Best Practices in an Online Master's Degree Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders

European Online Master Degree Program for Addressing Labor Market Demands

Demands and needs of labor markets have always been seldom concerned by providers of educational programs. Most of the educational curricula revolve around the theoretical concepts and their evolution without contemplating their purpose of deployments and application. This is common in most of the engineering curricula and the applied science. In this contribution, we present a new European project, Remote-labs Access in Internet-based Performance-Centered Learning Environment for Curriculum Support (RIPLECS) that aims to mitigate these issues by providing an official inter-institutional European master degree program in Information and Communication System (ICS). In order to globalize the master and to, at least, guarantee its accordance with the European education requirements, the program is conducted online across five European institutions and is oriented to labor market needs for qualified graduates, with special focus on realizing real-world experiments in each subject remotely, which tackle many geographical and time constrains. The network architecture of RIPLECS platform enables world-wide distribution of learning resources by utilizing multiple Web servers at several European universities, within a single network topology. The paper discusses the project development stages, implementation and the expected outcomes.

Context‐oriented instructional design for course transformation

AbstractColleagues from Virginia Tech and Mzuzu University personnel worked together to redesign an online master's degree program to fit Malawi's needs.

Application of Multimedia Technologies to Enhance Distance Learning

Educators' use of multimedia enhances the online learning experience by presenting content in a combination of audio, video, graph- ics, and text in various formats to address a range of student learning styles. Many personnel preparation programs in visual impairments have turned to online education to serve students over a larger geographic area. The authors describe how the use of multimedia evolved within an online master's degree program in visual impairments.

Collaborative Inquiry as a Framework for Exploring Transformative Learning Online

Seven adult students in a full-time, online master's degree program in human and organizational transformation at the California Institute of Integral Studies explored the question, “What transformative learning is occurring in my life right now that this online program has stimulated or supported?” A core focus of the program was transformative learning, a process that assists in widening frames of reference and transforming worldviews. Although initially choosing cooperative inquiry as the research methodology, what ultimately emerged was a multidimensional peer inquiry experience more closely fitting the definition of collaborative inquiry that drew heavily on cooperative inquiry and extended epistemology. The students engaged their inquiry question in four action and reflection cycles over 3 months, identifying key individual and group capacities and dynamics that were deep, connected, and transformative.

An online survey of chiropractors' opinions of continuing education

BackgroundContinuing Education (CE) for chiropractors is mandatory for licensure in most North American jurisdictions. Numerous chiropractic colleges have begun collaborating with universities to offer master's degree programs. Distance education master's degree programs may be desirable to allow full-time practicing doctors to further their post-graduate education. The present survey sought to answer three questions. First, what is the level of satisfaction of chiropractors with their continuing education? Second, what is the level of interest of chiropractors in online master's degree programs? Lastly, what is the response rate of chiropractors to an online survey?MethodsAn online survey consisting of 22 multiple choice questions was e-mailed to 1000 chiropractors randomly selected from the mailing list of an online chiropractic newsletter. Upon completion of the questionnaire, participants' answers were saved on a secure site. Data analysis included evaluation of the demographic characteristics of the respondents, their opinions of and patterns of taking CE including online education, preferred learning formats, and their interest in proposed online master's degree programs. A survey response rate was determined.ResultsNearly 86% of respondents felt their previously completed CE courses were either somewhat or extremely satisfactory. Over ninety percent of respondents who had completed online or distance CE coursesfound them to be somewhat or extremelysatisfactory. Almost half the respondents indicated that they most preferred online distance learning, while 34.08% most preferred face-to-face interaction. Fifty-three percent of respondents indicated an interest in starting a master's degree program; however 70.46% of respondents were interested in an online master's degree program that would offer CE credit. A response rate of 35.8% was obtained.ConclusionSatisfaction among chiropractors with CE programs is high. The notion of completing a part-time online master's degree (or online combined with face-to-face interaction) appears to be popular among respondents, with a M.Sc. in Chiropractic Sciences being the most popular of those mentioned. Online surveys are a viable method of obtaining opinion in a cost and time efficient manner; there are some sources of bias involved in this type of research, and numerous steps need to be taken to obtain a suitable response rate.

Leveling the Playing Field: The Development of a Distance Education Program in Rehabilitation Counseling

This article describes the curriculum design and development of an online Master's degree program in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of South Carolina. The use of Bloom's Taxonomy as a method for selecting distance education techniques and teaching methods to ensure equivalency of the educational experience to traditional classroom teaching is described. The author presents tables to demonstrate the cognitive competencies, traditional and distance education methods, and use of synchronous and asynchronous methods in reaching desired educational objectives. This process has resulted in the creation of a program that offers distance education options, traditional classroom options, or a blend of approaches. The menu of options has met the unique learning needs of all students and has offered students with disabilities a level playing field on which to build rehabilitation counseling competencies.

The Virtual Ethnographer: Fieldwork in Distributed Electronic Environments

The venues in which we carry out our fieldwork increasingly intertwine real and virtual activities as participants move materials and interactions online. This change in the nature of the field sites we observe requires an enhancement or even rethinking of traditional methodologies for studying work. This article draws on two studies—one in a distributed corporation and one of an online master's degree program—to outline some of the questions these settings raised and ways in which the ethnographers addressed them in the field. Technology-mediated settings require us to rethink concepts of presence and colocation, just as those we study must rethink them in the course of their own day-to-day interactions.