Online education has grown substantially over the years because of the flexibility it has given the student in acquiring an education. For many, higher education is now a reality instead of just a dream. With this educational format, traditional and non-traditional students are taking classes to obtain a degree or pursue lifelong learning. Unfortunately, some students are taking online classes without being equipped with the necessary skills required for successful completion. The purpose of the evaluation was to investigate the readiness factors of students taking online classes. The Readiness for Education At a Distance Indicator (READI) assessment was completed by students registered for online classes at Itawamba Community College in the fall 2007 semester. A sample of 250 students was randomly selected from the population. The instrument used in the study is adapted from larger instruments and has been tested for reliability and validity. The READI assessment results included variables of individual attributes, technical competency (computer and Internet), technical knowledge, reading comprehension, typing speed and proficiency, and learning styles – visual, social, physical, aural, verbal, solitary, and logical. Additionally, institutional educational variables included in the evaluation were ACT scores, online courses completed, total semester hours completed, and cumulative grade point average. Descriptive statistics were given for the variables and the correlational research findings were presented in respect to the research questions. Stepwise Multiple Regression statistical analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between the measurement variables and educational variables. Individual Attributes, Reading Comprehension, and Logical Learning Style were the contributory success factors in the online classroom. The analysis revealed that Reading Comprehension correlated to the ACT score and Verbal Learning Style correlated to online course completed.

The current study investigates the effects of preparing learners for an online debate through a worked example in terms of student perception, participation, level of cognitive skill, and electronic interaction patterns. There has been a change in the focus of distance learning research from comparative media studies to the means to improve the quality of distance education. One of the key elements in this changing impetus are strategies to promote interaction such as the introduction of structure or scaffolding argumentation (McIsaac & Blocher, 1998). One such strategy is the online debate in which students are organized into teams to take a position on an issue and argue on its behalf (Jeong, 2004). The debate is constrained through the addition of rules and specific message headers. Well-designed quality interaction holds the potential to create more satisfied learners and higher quality learning outcomes (Muirhead, 2002), but in the absence of quality, interaction has been found to actually lead to a decrease in satisfaction, participation, and performance (Joung & Keller, 2004; Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems, 2002). One way to ensure quality within interactive exercises such as online debate is to prepare students through a worked example. A worked example models an expert’s work and demonstrates desired behaviors for the learner to study (Atkinson, Derry, Renkl, & Wortham, 2000). Students were randomly assigned to teams to participate in an online debate with half being given access to a worked example before participating. In order to examine the effects of the worked example on students’ perceived satisfaction and level of preparedness, a survey was administered at various points throughout the semester. Additionally, debate transcripts were analyzed for participation, cognitive skill, and interaction patterns. The results demonstrate that students prepared through a worked example participated more frequently, wrote more words or phrases that encouraged the participation of others, and used higher-order thinking skills. The conclusion was that worked examples can be used to model behaviors for students to emulate. The implication being that instructors should consider providing worked examples before engaging students in online debate and future research should examine the efficacy of a worked example in preparing learners for other types of interactive activities.

Community colleges have utilized distance education to reach previously underserved populations. Considering the educational opportunities afforded by increased Internet access and the history of community colleges of providing open access to all individuals, it is no wonder that distance education has grown as a means of extending education in rural areas. Along with taking advantage of these opportunities, community colleges must also be committed to the success of students in the online environment. There is a need to identify individual student characteristics that predict success in the online environment in order to provide appropriate course enrollment advising. This study examines demographic and educational variables of online students at Bevill State Community College, with the goal of identifying the predictive ability of student characteristics on success in online courses. Online learners at Bevill State were mostly females and roughly half had completed an introductory computer course before enrolling in an online class. The average age of the participants was 25.57. These individuals had an average GPA of 3.07 and had completed an average of 4.56 semesters of college. Overall, 71.1% of the participants were successful in the online course in which they were enrolled, having achieved a grade of D or higher. The logistic regression model of five predictor variables was 72% accurate in predicting student success and non-success. Results show that the major factors influencing whether a person is successful in online classes are: age at the time of enrollment, overall GPA before enrollment, and the number of semesters of previous college experience. These findings indicate that students who are older, have more experience in college, and who have had more success in the traditional classroom may be more likely to be successful in the online environment. As online education continues its growth, identifying factors that help to distinguish between those who may be successful and those who may not will help students, advisors, and administrators make informed decisions about course enrollments. Future research should include a variety of methodologies to further explore the variables identified here as well as others that may influence student success in the online environment.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly everyone around the world, and it has led to a unique opportunity to draw new conclusions regarding social behavior. During the international COVID-19 pandemic, many recommendations have been established as potential mitigations to prevent the spread of the virus, perhaps most controversial, mask wearing. The present study aimed to identify the extent to which the degree of social discounting correlates with lower probabilities of mask wearing in individuals. It was hypothesized that the greater the social discounting, the less likely subjects would be to wear masks and conversely, the lower the social discounting the more likely subjects would be to wear masks.