Instructional Design | Distance-Educator.com - Part 40 Distance-Educator.com

Archive for the ‘Instructional Design’ Category

Creating a Community of Inquiry in Large-Enrollment Online Courses: An Exploratory Study on the Effect of Protocols within Online Discussions

It can be difficult to foster focused and effective communication in online discussions within large classes. Implementing protocols is a strategy that may help students communicate more effectively, facilitate their learning process, and improve the quality of their work within online discussions. In this exploratory research study, a protocol was developed and improved over two […]

Thinking Skills by Design: Using a Capstone ePortfolio to Promote Reflection, Critical Thinking, and Curriculum Integration

A capstone ePortfolio is a digital space where students can gather and integrate their learning experiences from their undergraduate careers into a meaningful whole, demonstrate their growth as learners, and connect their learning to the world. The process of creating a capstone ePortfolio equips students with the digital composition skills necessary for creating a professional […]

Factors that Contribute to ePortfolio Persistence

This study examined factors that contributed to persistent use, or discontinued use, of ePortfolios beyond the program of study, as perceived by former educational technology students in a graduate program. The related literature points to contemporary research that choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning are growing trends emerging as persistent factors that contribute to ePortfolio […]

Improving the K-12 Online Course Design Review Process: Experts Weigh in on iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses

Within the K-12 online learning environment there are a variety of standards that designers can utilize when creating online courses. To date, the only research-based standards available are proprietary in manner. As such, many jurisdictions have begun adopting online course design standards from the leading advocacy organization, which that have yet to be validated from […]

Factors affecting the quality of online courses in newly established universities in Saudi Arabia: academic staff perspective

In Saudi Arabian higher education institutions, online courses are growing in popularity. The widespread use of online courses is beneficial when it comes to solving certain problems that newer universities needed to deal with. As a result, the quality of these online courses must be kept high, to make sure that the institutions using them […]

On the Recognition of Quality Online Course Design in Promotion and Tenure: A Survey of Higher Ed Institutions in the Western United States

What constitutes excellence in teaching for university faculty when they are expected or required to create quality online courses? This is a question that will increasingly be asked of members of promotion and tenure committees as market pressures demand entire degrees be delivered online. Developing a quality online course is a significant commitment in time […]

Employing the EPEC Hierarchy of Conditions (Version II) To Evaluate the Effectiveness of Using Synchronous Technologies with Multi-Location Student Cohorts in the Tertiary Education Setting

As e-learning maintains its popularity worldwide, and university enrolments continue to rise, online tertiary level coursework is increasingly being designed for groups of distributed learners, as opposed to individual students. Many institutions struggle with incorporating all facets of online learning and teaching capabilities with the range and variety of software tools available to them. This […]

Building Reflective Practice Through an Online Diversity Simulation in an Undergraduate Teacher Education Program

This paper discusses preservice teachers’ perceptions of an online, in-house diversity simulation in an undergraduate teacher education program conducted over a 3-year period. The diversity simulation was a nontraditional capstone experience for 193 preservice teachers in majors ranging from early childhood to secondary education. The diversity simulation included scenarios at the kindergarten, middle school, and […]

A Conceptual Framework for Building UDL in a Special Education Distance Education Course

Online graduate programs have been increasing in number and attendance over the past decade. Ensuring that the quality of teacher preparation programs is maintained in an online learning environment is essential. After reviewing the pedagogies of both special education and online learning, it was determined that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was the best framework […]

A Design Case of Scaffolding Hybrid/Online Student-Centered Learning with Multimedia

Implementing student-centered learning in hybrid/online settings is very challenging due to the physical separation of instructor and students. This article discusses the need for instructors to provide scaffolds and multimedia modules to facilitate knowledge construction in the student-centered learning process. To offer students solid learning supports, four types of scaffolds and multimedia modules were used […]