Browsing by Author "Giles, Inez"

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    Collaboration in Developing On-Line Learning Between Two Different Countries: a Case Study
    Abdull Kareem, Omar (Virginia Tech, 2000-05-10)
    Collaboration between institutions in distance learning has been practiced for decades at first domestically and now expanding to an international level. Many higher education institutions are also trying to globalize their learning environments through the internationalization process, especially through the curriculum. A review of the extant literature, however, revealed that collaboration efforts are characterized more by infusion of content from one country to another. Collaboration between two different countries, however, is much more meaningful if both parties are equally involved in co-designing, sharing, and implementing such learning experiences. Such a two-way collaboration process is a missing gap in the literature, which the present study has addressed. This study examined the process of developing a two-way collaborative learning experience between one of the universities in the United States of America and a university in a developing Asian country. The global question that guided this research was: What is involved in the process of developing and designing on-line learning between two different countries; and What are the challenges faced during the process? The research design was a qualitative case study of a process, based on Miles and Huberman's (1994) classification. A micro monitoring process, complemented by interviews with key individuals, was conducted to collect the data. Different sources of data (Yin, 1984) or triangulation (Krathwohl, 1997) was a strategy used to increase the validity of the study. Through the micro monitoring process, all documents such as e-mails, meeting notes, and personal notes were collected and analyzed. Categorization and coding procedures followed Coffey and Artkinson (1996): that is, coding as a "mixture of data reduction and data complication." All the data (from interviews and the micro monitoring process) were reported, analyzed, and interpreted from two different but complementary voices: the voice of reporter and the voice of analyst. The voice of reporter revealed a chronology of events and description whereas the analyst interpreted the meaning of the reporter's descriptive portion. Analysis revealed three major phases that evolved in the process of collaboration: initiation, pre-development, and development. Each phase consisted of several specific activities. The major challenges faced during the process evolved around technical matters. Cultural differences, technical expertise, institutional procedures, financial, and time differences were also a challenge to the process. This study besides confirming some practices also broadened and deepened the concept of collaboration and internationalizing the curriculum. Moreover, this study was able to recommend the follow up development of a process framework for developing and co-designing a collaborative on-line learning experience that involves two different countries.
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    An Examination of Dropout in the Online, Computer-conferenced Classroom
    Giles, Inez (Virginia Tech, 1999-03-03)
    Three questions guided this research study: a) Is Goal Accomplishment Style, as measured by Atman's Goal Orientation Index (GOI), related to persistence and dropout in an online, computer-conferenced class? b) Is there a relationship between other selected variables (Demographic, Personal, Institutional, and Participative) and student persistence or dropout in the online, computer-conferenced environment? And, c) Can a relationship between goal accomplishment style and the other selected student variables be identified and related to persistence and dropout in an online computer-conferenced class? The data sources for this study were students registered in twenty online, computer-conferenced courses at a mid-sized university specializing in delivering courses, both in the traditional face-to-face mode and at a distance, to working adults. Using logistic regression, this study investigated the relationship among twenty-five selected independent variables in an attempt to better understand the variables and their influence on the dichotomous dependent variable, persistence/dropout in the online classroom. The independent variables were culled from traditional classroom dropout research and adapted for use in the online environment. In addition, variables specific to the online environment were developed. The purpose of the logistic regression was to identify the most parsimonious set of variables predicting student persistence and dropout. At the end of the semester, qualitative interviews were conducted with six dropout students. The interviews were conducted in an attempt to add depth to the depth provided by the quantitative results. During the interviews the students were asked specifically about their perceptions of interactivity and collaboration in the online classroom. Using both qualitative and quantitative analyses, a more complete picture of why students participate in or dropout of online, computer-conferenced classes was developed. Three variables were identified as significant predictors of persistence/dropout, predicting persistence correctly between 98 to 100 percent of the cases. These variables included whether or not a student would recommend another online class, whether or not the student submitted assignments in a timely manner, and Acting, one of the three categories of Atman's Goal Orientation Index. Dropouts, however, proved to be more difficult to predict. (The models predictive strength regarding dropouts ranged from only to 0% to 45%.) The qualitative interviews identified the fact that the dropout students were really hybrid in that they appeared as dropouts on the institution's master list but who were persisters in other classes. Four of the six "dropout" students interviewed were taking two courses during the semester. During the interviews, the students said they found it difficult to balance the requirements of family, home, work and school while taking two classes, especially during the shortened summer semester. Almost all (95 per cent) of the study participants indicated they would be taking online courses in the future. Enrollments in online courses at the institution are increasing dramatically. Institutions must begin to examine the true nature and definition of dropouts, especially with respect to adult working students in the online environment.
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    Examination of the Relationship Between Instructor Presence and the Learning Experience in an Asynchronous Online Environment
    Kassinger, Frances Duggan (Virginia Tech, 2004-11-30)
    This study identifies and assesses a more specific relationship between the online instructor presence and the online learner's experience than is currently offered in previous studies. Guided by three questions, the study asked: (a) What is the relationship between the online instructor communication style and the learning experience, as defined by the adult learner's cognitive achievement, ratings of the overall course experience, and perceptions of the instructor's performance; (b) What is the relationship between the strength (contact frequency with the learner) of that communication style (facilitating or non-facilitating) and the learning experience; and (c) What is the relationship between selected learner demographic variables (previous subject experience on the job and previous experience with the vendor's online learning environment) and the learning experience. The study included an examination of ex post facto data that depicted the interactions between 89 students and 9 instructors in 358 asynchronous, professional development class discussions. The examination revealed the presence and frequency of select instructor behaviors more acutely define the communication style and strength of the online instructor's relationship to the professional adult's online learning experience. The study's additional findings support earlier research that suggests prior learner experience relates positively to online learning outcomes. These findings contribute to the larger body of knowledge related to online instruction.