Group items tagged

«Interaction is crucial to student satisfaction in online courses. Adding synchronous components (virtual classroom technologies) to online courses can facilitate interaction. In this study, interaction within a synchronous virtual classroom was investigated by surveying 21 graduate students in an instructional technology program in the southeastern United States. The students were asked about learner-learner, learner-instructor, learner-content, and learner-interface interactions. During an interview, the instructor was asked about strategies to promote these different forms of interaction. In addition, the academic, social, and technical aspects of interactions were examined in three course archives using Schullo's (2005) schema. Participants reported that the Wimba interface was easy to use and that various features, such as text chat and the webcam, facilitated interaction among the students and with the instructor in the virtual classroom. The importance of students' ability to receive immediate feedback and their experience as presenters was highlighted across the various kinds of interaction. The instructor's teaching style and visual presence were instrumental in engaging students with the content. The results suggest that student interaction, and hence learning, was aided by the live communication that occurred through the virtual classroom. This study has implications for those who are considering adopting virtual classroom technologies for their online or blended teaching.»

«E-learning has become an increasingly important teaching and learning mode in educational institutions and corporate training. The evaluation of e-learning, however, is essential for the quality assurance of e-learning courses. This paper constructs a four-phase evaluation model for e-learning courses, which includes planning, development, process, and product evaluation, called the PDPP evaluation model. Planning evaluation includes market demand, feasibility, target student group, course objectives, and finance. Development evaluation includes instructional design, course material design, course Web site design, flexibility, student-student interaction, teacher/tutor support, technical support, and assessment. Process evaluation includes technical support, Web site utilization, learning interaction, learning evaluation, learning support, and flexibility. Product evaluation includes student satisfaction, teaching effectiveness, learning effectiveness, and sustainability. Using the PDPP model as a research framework, a purely e-learning course on Research Methods in Distance Education, developed by the School of Professional and Continuing Education at the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE) and jointly offered with the School of Distance Learning for Medical Education of Peking University (SDLME, PKU) was used as a case study.»

«With the growth of online courses and programs in higher education, considerable concerns emerge about student feelings of isolation and disconnectedness in the online learning environment. A research study was conducted to develop and validate an instrument that can be used to measure perceptions of connectedness of students enrolled in online programs or certification programs in higher education. The instrument consists of 25 items and has four scales: (a) community, (b) comfort, (c) facilitation, and (d) interaction and collaboration. One hundred and forty-six online learners who were enrolled in courses at a Turkish university completed the online questionnaire. Results of a factor and reliability analysis confirmed that the instrument is a valid and reliable measure of students' perceived connectedness in an online certificate program.»

« La réflexion prend appui sur une étude menée au Québec dont le but était d'éclairer le processus d'apprentissage du métier enseignant en documentant, chez les stagiaires, la construction de schèmes par des ajustements aux caractéristiques des situations en classe. L'article propose ensuite une analyse secondaire d'un extrait de ce corpus, en convoquant des concepts théoriques dont la focale porte sur les effets des interactions avec les formateurs sur le processus d'apprentissage des stagiaires. L'objectif de cette analyse secondaire est de chercher des voies de compréhension nouvelles de l'apprentissage du métier d'enseignant. »

« Les étudiants sont par ailleurs attachés aux formes traditionnelles de l'enseignement, quand elles leur donnent ce qu'ils attendent : une interaction avec un enseignant et, éventuellement, avec des pairs. Voilà de quoi conforter la position de tous ceux qui croient qu'on construit les savoirs et sa pensée en échangeant bien plus qu'en avalant des pages de textes. D'où l'importance des forums animés dans les cours en ligne. »

« L'exposé magistral est sur la sellette depuis quelques années. On lui oppose des méthodes pédagogiques où l'étudiant réalise des activités d'apprentissage qui le font s'engager dans un processus plus actif que le cycle de lecture, écoute et prise de notes. Il reste cependant bien des auteurs pour défendre l'exposé magistral. Entre les deux, des chercheurs identifient des approches mitoyennes plus efficaces que l'exposé traditionnel. Bienvenue dans le monde de l'exposé magistral 2.0. Voici un survol de trois variantes de l'enseignement magistral dont on a prouvé qu'elles étaient plus efficaces que l'exposé traditionnel précédé de lectures. Chacune de ces méthodes a été testée dans des devis expérimentaux rigoureux, s'inscrivant dans le courant de l'evidence-based teaching. »