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Bias in Online Classes: Evidence from a Field Experiment While online learning environments are increasingly common, relatively little is known about issues of equity in these settings. We test for the presence of race and gender biases among postsecondary students and instructors in online classes by measuring student and instructor responses to discussion comments we […]
Participation in online communities is an increasing need for future language teachers and their professional development. Through such participation, they can experience and develop an awareness of the behaviors required to facilitate their future learners’ participation in online learning. This article investigates participation, interaction patterns, and social presence (SP) levels of pre-service English as a […]
Interactions in online courses have been studied by analyzing Conversational Functions used by participants. Cacciamani, Perrucci Khanlari (2016) developed a coding scheme, named CF4KB, consisting of four Global Conversational Functions (GCF), each articulated in two Specific Conversational Functions (SCF). The aims of the present study were to explore: 1) What are the more frequently SCF […]
Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become ubiquitous tools in support of both classroom and distance education programming. They bring significant advantages that digitize and automate many of the functions and pedagogical activities of traditional campus teaching. At the same time social networks have become ubiquitous tools for communication, entertainment and informal learning by both students […]
Classroom discussion boards are a vital part of the online educational experience, providing a venue for peer to peer and student to faculty interactions. However, institutional feedback from students at a large open enrollment university has shown that excess focus on online discussions may lead to fatigue, resulting in lower student satisfaction, and in turn, […]
From a design perspective, the intentionality of students to engage in surface or deep learning is often experienced through prescribed activities and learning tasks. Educators understand that meaningful learning can be furthered through the structural and organizational design of the online environment that motivates the student towards task completion. However, learning engagement is unique for […]
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between forum quality and student engagement. It was hypothesized when the forum prompt was of expected quality it would be a driver of student engagement and examined the length of the forum prompt in relation to student engagement. The methodology adopted for this study was […]
Fostering reflective deliberation in the online classroom ensures that students reach a high level of achievement in virtual courses. Student peer exchanges were evaluated on a collaborative web site structured around interactive weekly discussions offered across an online, face-to-face, and upper- and lower-division political science courses. Findings indicate that despite differences in mode and level […]
(Distance-Educator.com note: Yik Yak stopped its operation in the Spring of 2017). Yik Yak, a location-based, anonymous social media app, has been gaining negative attention as a platform that often gives voice to bullying, racism and sexism on college campuses across the country. Integrating research on digital anonymity and cyberbullying, this paper analyzes the key […]
This study explored patterns of e-moderating behaviour students performed when they were assigned as peer moderators of asynchronous online discussions in a reciprocal manner. Eighty-four students from an undergraduate blended course were observed during a 7-week-long online discussions. Using quantitative content analysis peer moderators’ interventions were analysed based on Smet, Keer, Wever, and Valcke’s (2010) […]
