Instructional Design | Distance-Educator.com - Part 41 Distance-Educator.com

Archive for the ‘Instructional Design’ Category

Enhance Students’ Learning in Business Statistics Class Using Video Tutorials

As a supplement to traditional classroom instruction, online video tutorials were created and made available as just-in-time support to enhance undergraduate business students’ academic performance in a required introductory business statistics course. The study showed the availability of video tutorials enriched students’ learning experiences and enhanced their academic performance. The results suggest that the learning […]

An e-Learning Team’s Life On and Offline: A Collaborative Self- Ethnography in Postgraduate Education Development

This paper primarily discusses the methodology of a case study into interactions and working practices of an learning team, on and offline. Although several ethnographies have been published on online learning, there are apparently none involving communities developing courses. This is a unique insight, bringing a new view of course and staff development. The e-learning team develops courses […]

The Effects of Lecture Diversity on Germane Load

An important aspect of MOOCs is the way students interact with video lectures. Instruction provided through video lectures should focus on ways to increase germane cognitive load, which directly contributes to learning. One approach that may lead to an increase of germane load may be to use video lectures with diverse forms of media, including […]

The Virtual Professor and Online Teaching, Administration and Research: Issues for Globally Dispersed Business Faculty

Changes in the manner in which universities are delivering education are revolutionary. Learning spaces are changing, online learning is increasing, the demand for more flexible learning continues to grow, and the skill set for academics is expanding. Recruitment and retention of academic staff to work in this type of context creates a range of challenges […]

Effective e-learning? Multi-tasking, distractions and boundary management by graduate students in an online environment

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale study that documented the use of information technology for learning by a small group of postgraduate students. Our findings support current knowledge about characteristics displayed by effective e-learners, but also highlight a less researched but potentially important issue in developing e-learning expertise: the ability of students to […]

Common Challenges for Instructors in Large Online Courses: Strategies to Mitigate Student and Instructor Frustration

Teaching in the online classroom is becoming commonplace for instructors as universities seek to grow enrollments and tap into unexplored markets. Many instructors, however, are often unprepared for the nuances of distance education and apprehensive about making the transition to online learning. This article aims to discuss common challenges for instructors of high-enrollment online courses […]

Conversational Agents Improve Peer Learning through Building on Prior Knowledge

Research in computer-supported collaborative learning has indicated that conversational agents can be pedagogically beneficial when used to scaffold students’ online discussions. In this study, we investigate the impact of an agile conversational agent that triggers student dialogue by making interventions based on the academically productive talk framework. An experimental activity in the context of a […]

Are They Thinking Differently: A Cross-Cultural Study on the Relationship of Thinking Styles and Emerging Roles in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Numerous studies have recognized collaboration as an effective way of learning. When collaboration involves students from different cultural backgrounds, a question arises: Will cultural differences influence the manner in which roles are adopted within collaborative learning? In this study, a correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between cultural factors and emerging roles among […]

Design of a computer-based learning environment to support diagnostic problem solving towards expertise development

Learning through problem solving is a pedagogical approach that situates learning in problem-solving contexts. As a form of constructivist learning, problem solving has received increased attention in complex and ill-structured domains such as scientific inquiry and medical education. However, effective learning in problem-solving contexts is difficult to realize because problem-solving tasks often involve complex processes […]

Online Instructors’ Use of Scaffolding Strategies to Promote Interactions: A Scale Development Study

A great deal of research has documented that interactions among students or between students and instructors are key to student success in an online learning setting. However, very little research has been statistically and systematically conducted to examine online instructors’ conscious and effortful use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions in online courses. The purpose […]