Group items tagged

As online education continues to expand in the United States, Kenneth Heischmidt and Yves Damoiseau conducted a study to better understand the dimensions of quality in online business courses. The authors collected data and studied the dimensions of quality perceived by students in online classes. The results of the study aid online instructors develop courses to meet student expectations, increase satisfaction with the course, and ultimately increase student success. After surveying 260 business students at Southeast Missouri State University enrolled in an online class, 96 responded to the survey. The survey results led to three dimensions of quality in online courses: feedback, format, and content. Students expect timely feedback from an instructor, including prompt grading, access to the course and grades 24/7. The course format itself should be easy to navigate, without group work, and instruction facilitated by the instructor, according the students who participated in the study. Finally, the content of the course must offer clearly explained assignments, supplemental notes provided by the instructor, up-to-date content, and convey more information during class time than found within the textbook. In addition to the three dimensions of quality, the study also revealed, students expecting to receive an A or B in a course were also significantly more satisfied with their online course experience.  The number of participants in the study was small, limiting the results. A large participant pool is needed to test the results on a grander scale. The study focused on business students, but could be adjusted for other departments and programs in the future, increasing access to participants.

The University of Delaware created a video highlighting one faculty member's use of technology within a study abroad program in Panama. Professor Jorge Cubillas works in the Foreign Languages and Literatures department at the University of Delaware. Cubillas uses Facebook and blogs to assist students in reinforcing material learned in class. The intended audience for this video is higher education administrators working with study abroad programs.  Cubillas creates a group within Facebook for the University of Delaware students studying in Panama each semester. Interestingly, Cubillas does not interact with the students using the Facebook group, but rather allows them to feel more comfortable by sharing with just students.  The Facebook group, according Cubillas, creates cohesion within the group and facilitates sharing of information and experiences among the students. Students also contribute to blogs, adding written passages, as well as personal videos, reflecting on their experiences so far. The students' written and oral skills in Spanish improve through their blogs, while also sharing great, personal experiences with the rest of the world.

This research study was carried out by Julia Matuga of Bowling Green University in Ohio, to discover the relationship between self-regulation, goal orientation, and academic achievement of high school students enrolled in online college courses? Many United States secondary schools require their students to take at least one university online course before graduation and to capitalize on funding opportunities, many universities offer high school students access to their online courses. For this study, 43 high achieving high school students applied and were selected to take one online science course at Bowling Green University. The students were examined to record any changes in motivation, goal orientation and self-regulation while they took the online courses. Data collection methods used for the study were pre and post-tests, students application essays, focus group meetings, self-evaluations at the end of the courses and a Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) given at the beginning and the end of the program. 42 students completed the program and all but two of them passed the online course. From the results, they were classified into high achieving, average, and low achieving students. The results revealed that low achieving students recorded the highest self-regulatory scores while the scores for high and average-achieving students fell. The high achieving students had the highest motivation subscale mean scores before and after taking the online courses. The study concluded that while the question of how online learning environment impacts motivation, self-regulation and student achievement is still being investigated, the study is still recommended as a model for higher education online programs seeking to attract high school students. As online programs gain popularity, student learning will need to be supported and this study might offer a foundation for future research.

This is a global quantitative research study conducted by SMART technologies on the outcomes of investing in collaboration technologies. There were 319 participants, selected from the United States, Europe, United Kingdom, and Asia. 100 of the participants were administrators, 158 in teaching and instruction and 58 were IT or media specialists. The participants all worked in higher education, k-12 establishments and other institutions such as ministries. A few were education administrators not affiliated with any school in particular. The study measured participants' performance levels on thirty-two best practices/ elements grouped into six dimensions namely: student collaboration, engagement and learning outcomes; teacher efficiency and retention; assessment for and of learning; flexible/blended learning; holistic system-wide practices; successful implementation. The highest scoring elements were learning through collaboration, learning culture, positive impact through sense of achievement or creativity, problem solving, online information sharing, digital content implementation and knowledge sharing. The lowest recorded scores were for advanced learning modes, remote learners and social development. The study concluded that while technology enables student improvement and better learning outcomes, a strong support system should also be in place to provide training, high quality content, and best practices. This study is valuable to educators who are interested in locating research on the effect of collaborative technology on student learning outcomes.

The article serves two purposes for research on the topic of higher ed information technology: 1) the challenges associated with managing campus IT are universal; the issues are not found only in American higher education and 2) a case study for exploration of solutions for campus IT problems including cost, adoption and oversight, or management. The recency of the publication is important for context on current trends and issues as well as current management strategies. The sources is important because the authors are economics professors at universities in the UK who are working toward an openness in education agenda, an issue that is often met with resistance in the US even though it is commonly regarded as a possible solution for some IT problems. Openness in education has been widely debated in consideration of three key areas: cost, quality, and access. Open education resources (OER) includes free or low cost textbooks, lab manuals, learning objects and courseware. These options offer resources to educators and students at a lower cost than publisher materials and vendor software, however faculty and others question the quality of resources that are offered for free. The myth that "free" does not equal "good" in the eyes of academics prohibits widespread adoption of OER thus limits access to education resources for many. The case study in this paper goes much deeper, to examine the issues relating to creating an openness initiative at a major university and evaluate the strategies used to shift the campus mindset in regards to OER, change behavior for selecting campus and course resources, and open a dialog around OER, both using and creating from and for the OER community. Bonus: excellent lit review on the topic of openness in higher ed.

In this case study, the author, a faculty member of a liberal arts college at a major university, explains how a near disaster influenced significant administrative change. Case studies like these illustrate not only the principles of managing technology but highlight the importance of aligning IT initiatives with administrative needs. When the campus advising office flooded, student records were in jeopardy. Not only were student files in danger of being lost due to water damage, services rendered by the department were affected by the loss of the work space. Digital file management and portability became part of a disaster recovery plan developed after the flood. The case also provides examples of how a shift in business practices opens avenues for further change, such as staff being able to meet with students outside of the office because of digital records being more portable and staffers being able to work from home which helped maintain productivity when the office was closed due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

This case study breaks down IT costs into simple easy to read tables, and the author provides insight and background on the IT budget restructuring project he undertook at his university between 2007-2008. This case is important because it is centered during a financially difficult time in higher education, when IT costs were steadily increasing due to higher demand from all campus users and budget cuts were imminent due to the global financial crisis at the time. Perhaps not a definitive case study, it is worth a read to develop more familiarity with IT portfolio management.

This case study details the definition of an IT problem (too many projects backlogged) and the realization of a larger systemic problem (adopted technology not meeting needs of users) which led to a deep analysis of campus systems, stakeholders, and IT governance. The case is an example of a user community hungry for technology and hopeful that technology will solve their problems and an IT organization willing to support more technology use. The solution was IT governance, a process to more carefully evaluate user needs and proposed solutions and balance that with existing infrastructure and long term strategic planning. Value here is in the title: not often does higher education admit to failure and this is part of my thesis - that failure must be part of the culture in order to manage emerging technology effectively. CIOs and other campus leaders must be willing to acknowledge that something isn't working, admit failure or defeat, and move on. This must be done quickly - in an agile environment. The value here is that this case study illustrates my theory.

The author focuses on the use of blended education at two institutions: Wesleyan University and Bryn Mawr College. Both institutions are Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative (OLI) to enhance courses previously taught solely face-to-face. Wesleyan University is using the OLI modules to tutor less-prepared students in introductory courses. The OLI course modules allow students to gain material at a faster pace than in a traditional classroom alone. Administrators at Wesleyan believe the blended model will reinforce the hands-on teaching practices their liberal arts program promotes.  Bryn Mawr as allowed faculty members to adopt OLI modules at their own initiative. Not only to the OLI modules assist the students in learning material faster, but the program also collects data on the student's learning patterns, personalizing the program through each use. Using personalized learning assistance will allow an elite institution, such as Bryn Mawr, to admit a wide range of students, with confidence less academically prepared students can be successful.  In initial research, students enrolled in blended courses using the OLI module learn as much, if not more, as students in courses only meeting face-to-face. The persistence rates of lower-income students using the OLI module were close to 100 percent in Bryn Mawr's preliminary study. While liberal arts colleges may continue to build their reputations on small classes and personalized attention from faculty members, blended courses are able to enhance the traditional instruction model. Perhaps in the future, more liberal arts colleges will be using their blende technologies as a selling point to prospective students as Wesleyan and Bryn Mawr currently are.

Coursera, one of the largest education companies offering online courses, claims to be content in building their user base without earning profits. Venture capitalists continue to invest in massive open online classes, however, without generating revenue, the investments may begin to wane. For now, elite colleges and universities, in addition to for-profit educational companies, will continue to offer online classes for free, while searching for a margin for profitability. A few sources for revenue have been considered. One of the most promising sources is the payment of licensing fees paid by other institutions to use "courses in a box" or video tutorials complementing currently offered courses. Another possible source of revenue is the sale of high-achieving student data. Corporate employers, such as Facebook and Twitter, can buy information on high-performing students studying specific subjects. A third option for profit generation is charging for credit-baring courses. The American Council on Education is reviewing a variety of courses offered through Coursera to determine if the courses are college credit worthy.  No steady revenue source has been identified in connection with massive open online classes, yet. While different organizations and institutions continue to find a way to profit from highly accessible online education, the user base will continue to increase. Hopefully, in addition to finding a mode of revenue, courses may be offered for college credit and the completion rate of MOOCs will increase. The current completion rate of MOOCs is 10%. 

The article gives a basic explanation of a few useful technologies to be used within an academic setting. First, a case is built for how technology can increase engagement and learning within the classroom, whether on-ground or online. Then the use of the internet, cloud computing, and multimedia are described. The authors highlight audio (podcasts and live chats), video (simulations, films, streamed videos, and screencasts), and blogging as multimedia options to be added to the classroom. In addition to multimedia, classroom learning can occur in a more mobile fashion. Many of the previous methods mentioned are use on desktop, laptops, and tablets. More and more students are utilizing their smartphones to access academic information. BlackBoard and eCollege both offer smartphone applications, which allow students and professors to access their course management sites through their phones. iPads are mentioned, but academic uses for these devices are yet to be determined. Finally, some institutions are offering degrees through Facebook, the social networking site. The Global MBA and The University of Whales in England, both offer MBAs through courses taught using Facebook. The article nicely summarizes a few technologies to be used within the classroom to enhance the students' experience. While the list is limited, and already out of date a few months after publication, the notion of using technology in the classroom to create a more dynamic experience is conveyed. The conclusion is a call for more research and study into making technology more effective within the classroom.