Synchronous Online Courses Research Articles

Learning and Satisfaction in Webinar, Online, and Face-to-Face Instruction: A Meta-Analysis

Kirkpatrick’s four-level training evaluation model assumes that a positive correlation exists between satisfaction and learning. Several studies have investigated levels of satisfaction and learning in synchronous online courses, asynchronous online learning management systems, and synchronous face-to-face classroom instruction. The goal of the present meta-analysis was to cumulate these effect sizes and test the predictive validity of Kirkpatrick’s assumption. In this connection, particular attention was given to a prototypical form of synchronous online courses – so called “webinars”. The following two research questions were addressed: (a) Compared to asynchronous online and face-to-face instruction, how effective are webinars in promoting student learning and satisfaction? (b) What is the association between satisfaction and learning in webinar, asynchronous online and face-to-face instruction? The results showed that webinars were descriptively more effective in promoting student knowledge than asynchronous online (Hedges’ g = 0.29) and face-to-face instruction (g = 0.06). Satisfaction was negligibly higher in webinars compared to asynchronous online instruction (g = 0.12) but was lower in webinars to face-to-face instruction (g = -0.33). Learning and satisfaction were negatively associated in all three conditions, indicating no empirical support for Kirkpatrick’s assumption in the context of webinar, asynchronous online and face-to-face instruction.

Synchronous Online Learning: Tips and Tricks from 9 Years of Experience

At 4:30pm, several times a week, Dr. Wills puts on a pair of headphones and welcomes students as they enter the virtual classroom door to her synchronous online course. Students engage in hands on problem solving and group discussions. Dr. Wills uses various strategies to ensure that the student’s thinking is visible and that students can voice their ideas through audio or chat box. Leave with several slide templates as well as tips and tricks from this 9 year veteran on how to take your Face-2-face course or asynchronous course to synchronous! ***This workshop is presented in synchronous form. No technology experience is needed. Please make sure that you can hear and that you are in a location to speak out loud.**** Link: https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/6dc5e17f78d34bf795af78e0cd0cb139 Tiny URL link: https://tinyurl.com/y2vt4y7r

Student engagement with course content and peers in synchronous online courses discussions

As higher education institutions in United States offer online courses to growing audiences, there is increasing desire to understand how best to engage students with both course content and their peers. This case study examines the effects of assigning chat roles and facilitating self and group reflection on student-content and student-student interaction outcomes in four synchronous chats conducted in an online introductory-level sustainability course. We also considered what occurred within group reflections to inform how they are structured in the future. We found that assigning roles increased the proportion of critical student-student interactions. Self-reflections had no effect on either interaction type. Groups completing group reflections had a greater proportion of critical student-content interactions in the third chat and critical student-student interactions in the fourth chat than the groups that did not complete the group reflections. Based on our results, we plan to keep roles and group reflections going forward, and eliminate self-reflections. Furthermore, to increase the effectiveness of the group reflections, we propose some ideas to increase student ability to convert their ideas into change during subsequent chats.

Developing pedagogies for a synchronous online course on teaching pre-university mathematics

Online education is widely heralded as cost-effective and convenient, but there is a recognized need to research appropriate pedagogies for synchronous online (SOL) teaching. Prior research suggests that course design, including formative assessment, is critical in achieving accessible and flexible learning episodes. We harness a well-tested theoretical framework to analyse the development of pedagogies for SOL mathematics teacher education in a course designed to induct English early career teachers into pre-university teaching. The lenses of ‘teaching-’, ‘social-’, ‘learner-’ and ‘cognitive-presence’ reveal opportunities for improving provision. We show participants’ learning of mathematics content knowledge can then appear comparable to that achieved face-to-face, but it is more challenging to design for the growth of mathematics pedagogical knowledge in an SOL environment. Many digital tools work well in this medium, but the use of physical tools requires significant development before teacher engagement compares with that achieved face-to-face. However, some approaches developed to address challenges within an SOL course appear to have benefits also for face-to-face learning.

Exploring the Effects of Mobile-Based Audience Response System on EFL Students’ Learning and Engagement in a Fully Synchronous Online Course

Innovative technologies, such as the Audience Response System (ARS) provide an opportunity to steer students into active engagement and meaningful discussions. Many previous studies on the use of ARS, mainly in large traditional classes, have accentuated the positive impact in terms of increased students’ learning and engagement through the incorporation of ARS into classroom practices. However, in synchronous online courses, wherein the lack of visual contact tends to stifle active engagement, the impact of using ARS is certainly worthy of investigation. Thus, in this mixed method study, online English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ perceptions concerning the use of mobile-based ARS (M-ARS) and its impact on enhancing their engagement, interactivity, and learning attainment were examined via a questionnaire whereas challenges pertaining to the use of M-ARS were solicited via semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the implementation of M-ARS in online teaching correlate significantly with EFL students’ engagement and learning experience whereas qualitative analysis revealed some important points with regard to integrating M-ARS into online classrooms. Directions and suggestions for future research are offered.

Teaching strategies to promote imagination and creativity through student choice

High-agency learning activities empower students to take more active roles in their own learning, directed by their interests, curiosities, and choices. Educators, particularly K-12, have long asserted that student choice of learning activities encourages a greater degree of personal engagement with instructional content, leading to more confident, interested, imaginative, and creative students (e.g., Kohn, 1993; Ronan, 2015). However, implementing these strategies at the college level often proves challenging as course instructors merge learner engagement strategies, such as student choice, while still sufficiently addressing course objectives and content. Additionally, creating supportive classroom environments that promote “open-ended” assignments at times are met with student resistance. This session is designed to provide ideas and tips to instructors wishing to employ student choice to enhance active learning, imagination, and creativity in their courses. Presenters will share best practices for implementing student choice in learning activities and assignments, primarily using examples from asynchronous and synchronous online courses across various disciplines at George Mason University. We also will encourage participants to reflect on how learning activities and assignments in their own courses might be adapted to include student choice to promote imagination and creativity in university-level learning across course delivery formats.ReferencesKohn, A. (1993). Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide. The Phi Delta Kappan, 75(1), 8–20. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20405017Ronan, A. (2015, March 20). 7 Ways to Hack Your Classroom to Include Student Choice. Retrieved March 16, 2016, from http://www.edudemic.com/7-ways-to-hack-your-classroom/

Creating Dynamic Learning Communities in Synchronous Online Courses: One Approach from the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL)

The ability to convert face-to-face curricula into rigorous and equally rich online experiences is a topic of much investigation. In this paper, we report on the conversion of a face-to-face research mentor training curriculum into a synchronous, online course. Graduate students and postdoc participants from the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) reported high satisfaction with the online training and increased confidence in their mentoring. Both quantitative and qualitative data indicate that the synchronous environment was successful in creating a strong sense of community among the participants. Specific pedagogical approaches for cultivating learning communities online as well as implications for scaling up such efforts are discussed.

Professional Identity Development Among Graduate Library and Information Studies Online Learners: A Mixed Methods Study

ABSTRACTThis study explores how factors relating to fully online Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) students' connectedness with peers and faculty may impact their professional identity development as library and information studies professionals. Participants include students enrolled in a fully online MLIS degree program in the southeastern United States, with a smaller, specialized cohort of diverse learners preparing for careers in community college librarianship. Findings suggest professional identity is largely developed through work experience in the field. Connectedness to peers and faculty, significant predictors of professional identity, is promoted by both synchronous online course meetings and cohort membership.

The VIRI (Virtual, Interactive, Real-Time, Instructor-Led) Classroom: The Impact of Blended Synchronous Online Courses on Student Performance, Engagement, and Satisfaction

Previous research on blended course offerings focuses on the addition of asynchronous online content to an existing course. While some explore synchronous communication, few control for differences between treatment groups. This study investigates the impact of teaching a blended course, using a virtual, interactive, real-time, instructor-led (VIRI) classroom, on student engagement, performance, and satisfaction. We use an experimental design with both a control group and a treatment group. Up to 90 students in a large urban university are randomly assigned by the registrar into two sections of an introductory marketing course. Using a pre- and post-semester questionnaire, the study measures student engagement, performance, and satisfaction. There are no statistical differences in student performance between the control and treatment groups. The only student engagement factor with a statistically significant difference between groups is student interest in their courses. Compared with the control group, the treatment group appears to be more interested (+10%) in their courses at the end of the semester. Finally, fewer than 2 in 10 students express dissatisfaction with their participation in a VIRI course. Blended course offerings are increasing in importance in marketing and business education. The study provides guidance for fine-tuning the features of those course offerings by demonstrating how a VIRI classroom leverages the capabilities of technology without compromising learning outcomes.

Private Turns: A Student’s Off-screen Behaviors during Synchronous Online Japanese Instruction

Although distance language education has been widely adopted in university learning, very few researchers to date have looked at off-screen behaviors of second/foreign language learners in their physical environment while they engage in synchronous (real-time) online courses. This study, in contrast, focused on one focal student’s off-screen behaviors while she sat in front of the computer in her physical environment during university-level synchronous Japanese class. The class was mediated by audio-based conferencing software ( Wimba ) where class participants’ behaviors in their physical environments were not observable to others. The primary data consist of two types of video recordings that were synchronized in a picture-in-picture format: focal student’s off-screen behaviors in her private environment and archived online classes with instructor and seven classmates (~20 hours). Drawing on conversation analysis, the study showed unique characteristics of interactional norms developed by the student in her physical environment in contrast to those observed in a controlled online environment. The focal student’s off-screen behavior suggested that she gained significant affordances from the course format; namely, opportunities to freely take her private turns by vocalizing the language off-screen without being heard. The study illustrates the potential of computer-based learning to promote increased learner agency and autonomy.

Development of a synchronous online microscopic anatomy course using virtual microscopy

The use of virtual microscopy has become a well established and accepted tool for microscopic anatomy instruction. This tool has been tested for its educational effectiveness and it has shown to be as effective as traditional microscopes.The popularity of distance education (DE) courses continues to increase as more students become comfortable with this method of teaching and as more courses are offered. Using the Wimba Collaboration Suite videoconferencing software, we are combining the technologies of virtual microscopy with synchronous videoconferencing to create an online microscopic anatomy course. Our institution has offered a traditional comprehensive microscopic anatomy course for decades. This course includes both lectures and traditional laboratories using microscopes. With online technologies, it is possible to offer the same course, including the laboratory exercises, as a DE course. Synchronous online courses allow many of the benefits of face to face instruction where the instructor can ask questions to check for understanding or the class can have a discussion. The combination of technologies allows this course to be offered to a much wider audience, including participants that are unable to attend campus.Grant Funding Source: Not available

Web Accessibility Theory and Practice: An Introduction for University Faculty

This study sought to examine instructor immediacy and presence in an online learning environment in relation to student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. It found a statistically significant positive relationship between instructor immediacy and presence. It also found that the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence is a statistically significant predictor of student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. However, it did not find instructor immediacy to be a significant individual predictor of the aforementioned variables, whereas it did find instructor presence to be a significant individual predictor. The study also showed that students in synchronous online courses reported significantly higher instructor immediacy and presence. Implications for researchers and practitioners of online instruction are discussed at the conclusion of the paper.

Synchronous Online Learning Experiences: The perspectives of international students from Taiwan

Online learning is growing in higher education contexts around the world, but very few research‐based studies have addressed the cultural aspects of online teaching and learning. In this study, we focused on international students from Taiwan and examined their perspectives of taking a synchronous online course in the US. Specifically, we were interested in their adjustment from learning in a physical classroom to learning in a synchronous online environment, their opinions of synchronous online courses, their interactions in synchronous online courses, and what could be done to accommodate their needs in synchronous online courses. Results showed that although their learning behaviors did not change dramatically in the synchronous online course, the Taiwanese students prefer traditional face‐to‐face courses rather than synchronous online courses. The study also showed that the instructional design of the course interacts with cultural issues, and that the instructional design is more important than the technological aspects. Several recommendations to accommodate the needs of international students in synchronous courses were drawn from the findings. Expériences d'apprentissage en ligne: les points de vue des étudiants étrangers de Taiwan L'apprentissage en ligne se développe dans l'enseignement supérieur dans le monde entier mais très peu d'études fondées sur la recherche ont porté sur les aspects culturels de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage en ligne. Nous avons fait porter cette étude sur des étudiants étrangers de Taiwan et examiné leurs points de vue par rapport au cours en ligne synchrone qu'ils suivaient aux Etats Unis. Ce qui nous intéressait plus particulièrement, c'était leur façon de s'adapter au passage d'un apprentissage dans une classe physique à l'apprentissage dans un environnement synchrone en ligne, leurs points de vue sur les cours synchrones en ligne, les interactions au sein des cours synchrones en ligne et ce qu'on pourrait faire pour répondre à leurs besoins au sein des cours synchrones en ligne. Les résultats recueillis ont montré que même si leurs conduites d'apprentissage ne changeaient pas de façon spectaculaire dans le cours synchrone en ligne, les étudiants de Taiwan préfèrent les cours traditionnels en face à face plutôt que les cours synchrones en ligne. Cette étude a aussi montré que la conception pédagogique du cours soulève des problèmes d'ordre culturel et que la conception pédagogique est plus importante que les aspects technologiques. Ces découvertes ont permis de formuler plusieurs recommandations pour répondre aux besoins des étudiants étrangers dans un cours synchrone. Synchrone Online‐Lernerfahrungen: Die Sichtweise internationaler Studenten aus Taiwan Online‐Lernen wächst in höheren Bildungskontexten rund um die Welt, trotzdem haben nur sehr wenige forschungsbasierte Studien die kulturellen Aspekte von Online‐Lehre und ‐Lernen angesprochen. In dieser Studie zielten wir auf internationale Studenten aus Taiwan und prüften ihre Perspektiven, einen synchronen Online‐Kurs in den Vereinigten Staaten zu belegen, Ausdrücklich waren wir an ihrer Anpassung von Lernen in einem physischen Klassenzimmer und an eine synchrone Online‐Umgebung, ihren Meinungen zu synchronen Online‐Kursen und ihren Interaktionen in synchronen Online‐Kursen interessiert. Auch ihren Bedarf in synchronen Online‐Kursen untergebracht zu werden, wollten wir kennen lernen. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass, obwohl sich ihr Lernverhalten im synchronen Online‐Kurs nicht dramatisch änderte, die taiwanesischen Studenten traditionelle direkte (face‐to‐face) Kurse statt synchroner Online‐Kurse bevorzugen. Die Studie zeigte auch, dass der Unterrichtsentwurf des Kurses mit kulturellen Angelegenheiten interagiert und dass der Unterrichtsentwurf wichtiger als die technologischen Aspekte ist. Mehrere Empfehlungen, die Bedürfnisse internationaler Studenten in synchronen Kursen zu berücksichtigen, wurden auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse angefügt. Experiencias de aprendizaje síncrono en línea: los puntos de vista de los estudiantes extranjeros de Taiwan El aprendizaje en línea está creciendo en entornos de enseñanza superior en el mundo entero pero pocos estudios basados en investigación han hecho hincapié en los aspectos culturales de la enseñanza/aprendizaje en línea. Hemos puesto énfasis en los estudiantes extranjeros de Taiwan, examinando sus puntos de vista acerca del curso sincrónico en línea que estaban siguiendo en los Estados Unidos. Lo que nos interesaba más específicamente eran sus maneras de adaptarse al tránsito de un aprendizaje en aulas físicas al aprendizaje dentro de un entorno sincrónico en línea, las interacciones dentro de clases sincrónicas en línea y lo que se podría hacer para responder a sus necesidades propias dentro de los cursos sincrónicos en línea. Los resultados han mostrado que aunque sus conductas de aprendizaje no cambiaban de manera espectacular dentro de los cursos sincrónicos en línea, los estudiantes taiwaneses prefieren los cursos tradicionales presenciales a los cursos sincrónicos en línea. El presente estudio también enseñó que el diseño pedagógico del curso plantea problemas de carácter cultural y que el diseño pedagógico es más importante que los aspectos tecnológicos. Esos resultados han llevado a la formulación de algunas recomendaciones para responder a las necesidades de los estudiantes internacionales dentro de los cursos sincrónicos.