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1 – 10 of over 89000As online learning becomes more ubiquitous and particularly in consideration of the current need to move classroom based teaching online given Covid-19, it seems opportune to…
Abstract
Purpose
As online learning becomes more ubiquitous and particularly in consideration of the current need to move classroom based teaching online given Covid-19, it seems opportune to address the pedagogical differences between online and face-to-face teaching, so that online delivery moves beyond the paradigms of its face-to-face counterpart, such as the lecture. This paper explores the need for a fit for purpose pedagogical approach for online learning, as opposed to one in which a classroom based pedagogy is applied, often rather clumsily to an online learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The engagement of students in an online learning environment is closely associated with student success. The argument is that students who are actively engaged are more likely to learn and to achieve greater success. Student engagement is facilitated through the design and arrangement of the learning material, and by the presence, attitude and the facilitation of learning by the online teacher or trainer.
Findings
Rather than presenting any research findings this paper simply explores concepts relating to online learning design and online teaching.
Practical implications
The practical implication of this paper are better alignment between teaching/training interventions and learning design.
Originality/value
This paper is a viewpoint paper and is original. This paper has not been submitted elsewhere. 10; 10;This paper would be a valuable resource for those new to online learning or those looking to establish a fit for purpose approach to online learning.
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Allan H.K. Yuen, Liping Deng and Robert Fox
The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of WebCT in support of online and blended learning in the Faculty of Architecture of a Hong Kong university.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of WebCT in support of online and blended learning in the Faculty of Architecture of a Hong Kong university.
Design/methodology/approach
Paper questionnaires are used to collect students' experiences, perceptions and attitudes towards the online course they have undertaken. Focus group interviews are conducted with two groups of students at the end of the semester. In addition, both formal and informal interviews are conducted with the instructor to understand his perceptions and perspectives.
Findings
In general, students prefer to have course management systems (CMS) as a supplement to face‐to‐face lectures rather than as its replacement. They perceive WebCT as mainly a platform for downloading materials and submitting assignments rather than a platform for teaching and learning. Learning fully online is perceived as self‐learning. The traditional lecture is considered more effective and efficient by many students to grasp concepts and principles.
Research limitations/implications
This is an exploratory study at a Hong Kong university. However, it provides initial evidence to shed light on issues concerning the use of CMS in support of online and blended learning.
Practical implications
In order to ensure a more engaging and rewarding online learning experience, teacher's online presence should be strengthened. Other than teacher presence, the cognitive presence could be fostered through engineering the student‐to‐student interaction in co‐located settings.
Originality/value
The paper usefully demonstrates how the blended mode of learning that combines face‐to‐face and online learning has become increasingly popular, while the courses conducted entirely online are comparatively rare at universities in Hong Kong.
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Judith McNamara and Catherine Brown
The purpose of this paper is to examine how online discussion can be used in work‐integrated learning as a vehicle for students to demonstrate their learning in the workplace and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how online discussion can be used in work‐integrated learning as a vehicle for students to demonstrate their learning in the workplace and to facilitate collaborative learning where face‐to‐face classes are not feasible.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper evaluates the use of assessable online discussion in facilitating collaborative learning and scaffolding reflection in work placement subjects. It reviews the literature regarding the use of online discussion, particularly for work placement subjects, and evaluates the use of an online discussion forum in a case study subject in the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) undergraduate law course.
Findings
The paper suggests that assessable online discussion forums are appropriate to facilitate student collaboration and collaborative learning in work placement subjects.
Originality/value
The paper is original in its examination of the assessment of online discussion in a work‐integrated learning context.
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Alina Zapalska and Dallas Brozik
The purpose of this paper is to recognize that individual learning styles must be taken into account in the instructional design template used in online education. The paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recognize that individual learning styles must be taken into account in the instructional design template used in online education. The paper argues that when students' learning styles are identified, it is possible to define an appropriate context of learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies a set of instructional principles for online learning environments that are derived from multiple theories of learning with a consideration of different learning styles. The VARK questionnaire was used to determine learning styles of students who participated in two online courses. The VARK instrument identifies four distinct learning styles: visual (V); aural (A); reading/writing (R) and kinesthetic (K). These four dimensions are used to analyze the appropriateness of online learning structures.
Findings
The paper identifies teaching strategies in online courses while recognizing the four learning styles. The paper concludes that the achievement of online learning can be improved by providing instruction in a manner consistent with each student's learning style. However, it is important to keep in mind that, even if a specific student learns best in a certain way, he or she should be exposed to a variety of learning experiences to become a more versatile online learner.
Originality/value
The new result indicates that students with the auditory learning preference do not select online education as their first choice for learning. The combination of different techniques can make it possible for students with all types of learning styles to be successful in an online course.
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William A. Drago and Richard J. Wagner
It has become evident that students have diverse preferred learning styles and effective instructors must design and deliver courses to meet the needs of those students. This…
Abstract
It has become evident that students have diverse preferred learning styles and effective instructors must design and deliver courses to meet the needs of those students. This study investigates the four physiological learning styles of visual, aural, read‐write and kinesthetic as they apply to online education. Findings suggest that online students are more likely to have stronger visual and read‐write learning styles. Further, read‐write learners and students that were strong across all four learning styles were likely to evaluate course effectiveness lower than other students while aural/readwrite learners and students that were not strong on any learning style were more likely to evaluate course effectiveness higher than other students.
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Stuart Orr and Ray Bantow
Online education has been growing rapidly, but has not had the benefit of the extensive teaching pedagogy development of traditional face‐to‐face teaching. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Online education has been growing rapidly, but has not had the benefit of the extensive teaching pedagogy development of traditional face‐to‐face teaching. This paper aims to provide a review of the current literature and present the results of a survey, conducted to determine the effectiveness of a graduate online subject.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature was reviewed to identify measures of success and quality in online education delivery. These measures were then considered in relation to their application in practice via a case study based around a survey conducted at Deakin University in Australia.
Findings
A total of 16 relevant measures of teaching quality were identified in the literature. Most measures had elements of bias and some were more generally applicable to online learning. The case study suggested that the value of computer mediated learning in an online environment was limited and that a combination of print and computer mediated conferencing performed better in more of the identified quality matrices.
Practice implications
Online learning does not save teaching resources if standards of quality are maintained. It can be used to provide a remote teaching facility, provided it is backed up by resources such as printed study guides. For the subject evaluated, online mediated learning did not the provide the same quality of education.
Originality/value
Whilst some research has been conducted in this area, no substantive grounded theory has been applied to postgraduate or fee‐paying online education regimes. As a result, case studies of such applications can be very helpful in the design of future teaching systems.
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This paper aims to present an alternative and critical view of online learning for and by HRD professionals.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an alternative and critical view of online learning for and by HRD professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is positioned as a conceptual reflection regarding practical implications not frequently considered with regard to implementing online learning systems.
Findings
This paper contends that many of the practical reasons for implementing online learning (accessibility, power equalization, and cost reduction) have fatal flaws.
Research limitations/implications
This paper suggests that researchers broaden their perspectives beyond the assumption that using online learning is the goal to be achieved with regard to teaching and learning HRD. Both traditional and critical perspectives of online learning should be more thoroughly explored through empirical research.
Originality/value
Few conceptual or empirical works challenge the unquestioned hegemony of the appeal of online learning, especially within the field of HRD. This reflection will hopefully serve as a catalyst for research that challenges unquestioned assumptions about online learning as a cutting edge innovation for teaching and learning HRD.
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Sunita Saikia, Yeasmin Sultana and Mei Yuan Law
This research aimed to capture undergraduate students' experiences in the transition from face-to-face (F2F) learning to online learning. This study explored their perceptions…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aimed to capture undergraduate students' experiences in the transition from face-to-face (F2F) learning to online learning. This study explored their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of online learning in their academic lives, challenges encountered and suggestions for enhancing online learning in the post-COVID-19 era.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a concurrent mixed-methods research design and selected 118 undergraduate students using a multistage random sampling technique from four colleges in Assam. Standardized questionnaires and open-ended interview schedules were used.
Findings
Undergraduate students reported a positive attitude and satisfaction with online learning, valuing its adaptability to their schedules, its role as a motivating factor for self-learning, its effect on making them more technically proficient and enhancing their communication skills to articulate their thoughts. However, the challenges identified by the students have the potential to overshadow the promises of online learning. This research provided more constructive suggestions under the themes of “content delivery”, “systemic and infrastructural issues”, “pedagogy” and “capacity building” to enhance their experiences with online learning.
Practical implications
Our research findings would assist educational institutions in adopting innovative approaches for simpler and more efficient online learning experiences post-COVID-19 pandemic. Institutions should prepare themselves and design dual-mode courses for F2F and online learning.
Originality/value
The paper addressed a relevant topic in this era of online learning by examining undergraduate students’ viewpoints that added complementary information to the current body of literature on online learning in rural India. The insights gleaned from their experiences would be beneficial for the development of best practices for online learning in the coming decades.
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Evans Sokro, Theresa Obuobisa-Darko and Bernard Okpattah
This study examines learner satisfaction and success as mechanisms through which online learning quality translates into learners’ continuous intentions of use by extending DeLone…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines learner satisfaction and success as mechanisms through which online learning quality translates into learners’ continuous intentions of use by extending DeLone and McLean’s information system success model. It also examines the moderating effect of perceived supervisory support and learners’ self-regulation on online learning quality in Higher Education Institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were obtained from 540 students in both private and public higher institutions of learning in Ghana. The Partial Least Squares – Structural Equations Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to test the hypothesised relationships.
Findings
The results revealed that system quality emerged as the single most important variable in the DeLone and McLean model, that influences learner success and satisfaction. Further, learner satisfaction has a significant positive effect on learner attitudes, whilst self-regulation was found to moderate the relationship between online learning quality and learner success as well as learner satisfaction.
Originality/value
The study appears to be among the first to explore the inter-relationship among online learning environment quality and learner attitudes and moderating factors perceived supervisory support and self-regulation. The study highlights insightful practical implications for students, faculty and administrators of higher institutions.
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Nancy Bouranta, Evangelos L. Psomas and Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos
Online learning gained ground during the pandemic and has continued to be used in the post-Covid era. Items related to online learning should be included in service quality…
Abstract
Purpose
Online learning gained ground during the pandemic and has continued to be used in the post-Covid era. Items related to online learning should be included in service quality assessment. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of service quality, which includes the online learning dimension, on student satisfaction in higher-education in a blended learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 452 valid questionnaires were collected from business undergraduate students enrolled in public universities in Greece. A modified version of HEdPERF is used to evaluate service quality. Due to the extensive use of online learning, an additional dimension was added to the HEdPERF scale which focuses on online education, a field that has not yet been widely examined. Structural equation modeling is used to examine the relationships between service quality, and student satisfaction.
Findings
The research findings verify the six-structure scale of the HEdPERF instrument (non-academic aspects, academic aspects, reputation, access and programs issues and online learning), providing satisfactory results in terms of reliability and validity tests. Service quality dimensions such as academic aspects, access, program issues and online learning are the influential dimensions of student satisfaction in a blended learning context.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has expanded traditional service quality instruments to include the dimension of service quality of online learning.
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