Classroom Preferences

2010 ◽  
pp. 1268-1279
Author(s):  
Chuleeporn Changchit ◽  
Tim Klaus

Advances in technology have enabled instructors to design online courses that better meet the needs of students. Online courses generally are adaptations of traditional courses; some courses are more suitable for such online instruction. As the trend of online course offerings continues, universities must understand factors that lead to students’ preferences since online courses can be costly to develop and implement and inappropriate online coursescan lead to lower student retention rates. This study focuses on students’ perceptions of online courses. The results identify issues that affect students’ perceptions and this study concludes by suggesting ways for universities to design online programs that better suit the desires of students.

Author(s):  
Chuleeporn Changchit ◽  
Tim Klaus

Advances in communication technologies, such as widespread use of the Internet, have opened new avenues for continuing higher education. These advances have allowed educators to provide for and satisfy individual variations in learning. Generally, online courses are adaptations of traditional courses; some courses are more suitable than others for such online instruction. As the trend to offer online courses continues, understanding the factors that lead to students’ preference can be useful. Online courses can be costly to develop and to implement, and inappropriately designating courses for online participation can lead to lower student retention rates. This study focuses on students’ perceptions of online courses. The results identify issues that affect students’ perceptions, and this study concludes by suggesting ways for universities to design online programs that better suit the desires of students.


2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Dietz-Uhler ◽  
Amy Fisher ◽  
Andrea Han

Although the issue of student retention is a campus-wide one, it is of special interest in online distance learning courses, where retention rates are reported to be lower than in face-to-face classes. Among the explanations and theories of retention rates in online courses, one that struck us as most useful is a structural one, namely, course design. The question we raise is, can online course designs promote student retention? In this article, we report on how we used Quality Matters to design and revise online courses in psychology and statistics. Quality Matters, a research-based initiative, advocates the use of eight general review standards to review online courses. In our psychology and statistics courses, our retention rate across multiple offerings of both courses is approximately 95%.


Author(s):  
Sophia Palahicky ◽  
Adrianna Andrews-Brown

Student orientation programs can enhance new student self-esteem, which is in turn a significant positive predictor of personal, social, and academic achievement (Hickman, Bartholomae, & McKenry, 2000). Furthermore, these programs can help students develop the basic technical skills they will need to be active learners. According to Dixson (2010), research into effective online instruction supports the argument that “online instruction can be as effective as traditional instruction, [and] to do so, online courses need cooperative/collaborative (active) learning, and strong instructor presence.” Likewise, online orientation programs for new students must provide opportunities for active engagement and strong facilitator presence to be effective. This chapter presents a case study that describes the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the online orientation modules for new students at a Canadian postsecondary institution that offers primarily blended and online programs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 200-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charity Bryan

The proliferation of online courses and programs has impacted kinesiology programs across the country. The process of providing online instruction, while popular with students, is often daunting to the kinesiology programs that must navigate this process. Recommendations for transitioning courses and programs from face-to-face to online are offered from both the faculty and administrative perspective. Maintaining academic rigor in online kinesiology courses and program is also essential to the dialogue and for ensuring success. Many kinesiology courses and programs are well suited for online delivery and demand for these programs is high. Kinesiology faculty and administrators should understand both the facilitators and barriers to online implementation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dat-Dao Nguyen ◽  
Yue Jeff Zhang

This study investigates to what extent student attitudes toward acceptance of online instruction and Distance Learning are affected by determinants such as demographics, learning environment, learning domains, delivery methods, and web-based instructional technology. Logistic Regression and Discriminant Analysis use statistically significant determinants to predict student preference on future online classes. Factor Analysis provides an exploratory model of online learning acceptance having three factors; namely, Communication/Feedback, Course Outcome, and Effort Required. Practical implications of findings and insights on field observations are offered. Overall, students agreed that they had learned sufficient knowledge from an online course. Students satisfied with their recent learning outcome tend to take more online courses in the future.


Author(s):  
Cindy S. York ◽  
Dazhi Yang ◽  
Melissa Dark

This article briefly reviews two important goals in online education: interaction and presence. These are important goals in online education because they are linked to learning and motiva-tion to learn. The article provides guidelines and an extended example of how to design an online course in information security in a manner that will enhance interaction and presence. This article’s contribution is to provide guidelines with a corresponding extended and concrete example for those who are tasked with designing and delivering online courses. Although the guidelines and example were targeted to the field of information security, they can be readily adopted by other disciplines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 84-90
Author(s):  
Hung Nguyen Quoc Luu

Online learning is a revolutionary trend of educational technology today. Particularly, online learning has become the donminent alternative to traditional learning during the Covid-19 pandemic and in the new normal. Various studies have shown that online learning has varying effectiveness at all levels and types of education; however, it is worth noting that many learners are still struggling to accept the mode of online learning, and learner retention has been suggested as one of the greatest weaknesses in online education. The current study used a questionnaire with open-ended questions to examine online learners’ perceptions of online learning as well as to understand reasons for their retention in online courses. The results revealed that most of the learners, especially young learners still preferred traditional face-to-face learning to online learning due to various problems they experienced while doing online learning, such as lack of facilities and necessary interactions. However, the retention rates are relatively modest, indicating the perceived quality of online programs at a center of foreign languages in Vietnam.


Author(s):  
Ruth Gannon Cook ◽  
Roy Sutton

Criteria may vary across public, private, and for profit universities for online courses around the world, but despite differences, there seem to be some successful lessons that could be shared across universities with respect to certain factors that increased student online course completion rates among certain universities’ courses. This study looked at an associate dean’s search for strategic factors that could contribute to increased online course completion rates at his university and more effectively address problems on a timely basis to improve those course completion rates. The associate dean’s collaboration with a researcher led to their conducting representative model research that revealed best practices and assessments from a number of universities and provided insights into which factors could be applied to online courses at his university. Future research could look at whether there was a substantial increase in student retention in the online courses implementing these factors to see if there may be best practices that could be generalized to other universities around the world.


Author(s):  
Belinda Davis Lazarus

Increasingly, K-12 schools are delivering instruction via Internet courses that allow students to access course content and complete assignments from home. Although a decade ago, online courses for public school students were not available, a growing number of countries have discovered that online instruction offers schools the opportunity to provide a wider variety of courses and experiences for students with a variety of skills and abilities. In fact, the Governor of Michigan just signed legislation that will require all high school students to take at least one online course prior to graduation (Carnevale, 2006; Moser, 2006). Educators have learned to adapt courses for online instruction and several universities are partnering with public schools to share expertise in the virtual education arena.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Sorensen ◽  
Judy Donovan

Online learning has continued to grow in recent years. However, retaining students in online courses and programs has posed a challenge. Whether the university is public, private, offers both face-to-face and online programs, or is 100% online, retaining students in online programs can be an issue. This study reflects the widespread desire at a large online for-profit university to improve student retention rates. The goal of the research was to provide further insight into why students may decide to drop out of online programs. Participants consisted of former undergraduate students at the university in the College of Education who dropped out without providing a specific reason for doing so. The study used a non-experimental mixed methods approach collecting data from university databases, an online survey, interviews, and classroom walk-throughs. Data analysis employed techniques such as frequency calculations, a MANOVA, and qualitative content analysis. Results from the MANOVA revealed statistically significant results when examining student GPA and last course grade. Furthermore, data collected from the online survey, interviews, and classroom walk-throughs revealed common reasons for why students may drop out of online programs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document