This multiple case study provides a description and explanation of what, why and how instructional strategies have the potential to promote learning-centered synchronous dialogue online, specifically in the synchronous web-based course system (SWBCS), Elluminate Live! This research was guided by the theory of transactional distance, specifically the dialogue component. Qualitative data collection techniques were employed, including, interviews, observations, researcher's reflective journal, surveys and Delphi. Three cases were examined, consisting of the instructor, their students and the synchronous sessions during the course. Data were analyzed iteratively to garner themes. Member checks were conducted to maintain an active corroboration on the interpretation of data between the researcher and those who provided the data. This study suggests that instructors can promote learning-centered dialogue in the SWBCS by: (a) building social presence, (b) facilitating discussions, (c) providing feedback, (d) assigning group work, (e) respecting diverse talents and perspectives, and (f) emphasizing time on task. The main tools used to implement these strategies in the SWBCS were the duplex audio (VOIP), direct messaging (text chat) and whiteboard. Unique aspects of promoting dialogue in the SWBCS are that it can allow for: (a) relief of communicative anxiety, (b) convenient, inexpensive invitation of guest speakers, (c) facilitation of multiple threads of discussion and (d) extended opportunities to offer office hours. The main tools used to implement these strategies in the SWBCS were the duplex audio (VOIP), direct messaging (text chat) and whiteboard. Two of the three instructors and a majority of the students whom were interviewed perceived the SWBCS effective for implementing instructional strategies that promote dialogue. Further research may examine a greater variety of content areas, more in depth questions of why particular instructional strategies are implemented using the SWBCS or the relationship between dialogue, structure and learner autonomy in the SWBCS.

To satisfy demand for online learning opportunities at the high school level, 3 school districts in the northeast United States established a consortium to share resources to develop and deliver online courses. High school teachers who volunteered to develop courses for the consortium attempted the task without previous training in online course design and facilitation. High school students enrolled in the courses often did not successfully complete them, which obstructed the mission of the consortium. The purpose of this qualitative single critical case study was to explore teachers' experiences with and perceptions of designing and developing online courses without accompanying professional development. The iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses (v2) and technological, pedagogical, content knowledge (TPACK) served as the conceptual frameworks for the study. Five teachers who developed and facilitated an online course for the consortium, without companion professional development, volunteered to be interviewed. Data were reduced using NVivo software and analyzed using a priori codes based on NACOL standards then open-coded for emerging themes. Results indicated that other than content expertise, teachers did not believe they had sufficient competencies in any of the areas identified in the iNACOL standards. Based on these results, an online professional development course for teachers was designed to provide introductory training and to model elements of quality online course design using the Moodle learning management system. Positive social change may be achieved if teachers have the knowledge and skills required to develop high-caliber, innovative, and convenient education opportunities that encourage students' course completion which leads to learning and academic success.

Nursing programs have embraced distance learning in their curricula, but discussion is ongoing about course assignments and grading criteria to increase examination scores in nursing distance learning courses. Because course examinations are a predictor of success on the postgraduate licensing examination (NCLEX-RN), the purpose of this study was to determine whether differences existed in student examination scores between nursing distance learning courses with and without points aligned to assignments. The theoretical framework was Knowles's theory of andragogy, which highlights adults' motivation and self-direction to succeed. The quantitative causal comparative study included a convenience sample of 164 students to compare archival data of 4 examination scores between 2 nursing distance-learning courses. Data analysis included an independent-groups one-tailed t test. No significant differences were found between the 2 courses, suggesting that students do not achieve higher examination scores with course points aligned with course assignments. Nursing administrators and faculty in nursing programs with a distance learning component will benefit from the findings of this study. Findings may be used to draft, revise, and implement assignment criteria and point alignment for nursing distance learning courses. Social change will occur when nursing distance learning faculty use problem-solving and critical thinking assignments, including case studies, discussion boards, group assignments, concept mapping and NCLEX-RN style testing in each nursing distance learning course. Because point alignment to course assignments do not significantly improve examination scores, implementation of problem-solving and critical thinking assignments is necessary to promote student learning and examination success.

U.S. military members and their families relocate from one duty station to another on average once every 3 years. Children in military families change schools often, introducing potential problems such as struggling to make new friends, having trouble adjusting to new teaching styles, and losing academic credits due to the transition from one school to the next. Homeschooling that incorporates online resources can provide instructional continuity, social interaction opportunities, and submission of required periodic assessments. The primary purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of military parents involved in homeschooling their children using online resources. The research questions were designed to explore these experiences and to create recommendations for other military families. A conceptual framework based on a constructivist learning approach and change theory informed this study. Data were collected from 9 parents with many years of experience homeschooling. The parents were interviewed via phone, e-mail, and Skype. Data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and hierarchical coding. Parent participants chose homeschooling due to dissatisfaction with available schools, family location, and flexibility. Online resources were described as making it easier and more engaging for students to learn and as simplifying the parents' instructional and management tasks. These alternative methods replaced or augmented traditional educational methods. Parent participants encouraged other parents to reach out and seek help early in the process. This study promotes positive social change by providing resources for alternative ways children can be educated while one or more military parent is serving and defending the United States of America.

The failure rate for students enrolled in the online sections of a gateway course, Introduction to Computers, was 15% higher than for students enrolled in the face-to-face sections at a rural community college in the southeastern United States. The computer course is required by all of the college's programs of study to obtain an associate degree. Failure to complete the gateway course increases attrition, time to graduate, and educational expenses. Guided by Bruner's constructivist theory, which maintains that students are active learners who construct their knowledge, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of students and teachers that might explain the gap in performance in the online sections, and to use the results of this study to identify strategies to improve online student performance. This qualitative study incorporated semistructured interviews with a randomly selected sample of 8 online students who completed the course and with the 2 online instructors. Perceptions of the students and instructors were coded to identify and analyze emerging themes. The findings revealed that online students procrastinated and had difficulty completing assignments. Suggested strategies to meet challenges were better preparation for online learning and study skills including time management. This study included developing a 3-day professional development project to enhance online instructional techniques and learning strategies to promote student time management skills, grades, and course completion. This study and project promote positive social change by providing a deeper understanding of strategies that could improve student performance. The study findings will be beneficial to teachers, students, and course administrators.

O MOOC surge em 2008 como um novo modelo de curso na modalidade EAD que, em certo sentido, retoma o antigo modelo dos cursos por correspondência, nos quais existia pouca ou nenhuma interação entre aprendiz e professor. São cursos online com grande quantidade de alunos, por isso denominados MOOC, do inglês, Massive Open Online Course. Esses cursos estão apoiados exclusivamente em tecnologias da Web e na maioria das vezes não exigem pré-requisitos e não fornecem certificados. Outro fator comum a esses cursos é o alto número de desistências, por volta de 95%. A maior parte dos cursos do tipo MOOC disponíveis hoje, apresentam um formato tradicional, no qual o aprendiz fica em condição quase passiva, já que as interações praticamente ficam restritas à controle de visualização de vídeos, com comandos do tipo para, voltar ou continuar. Nesse contexto, o desafio deste trabalho é melhorar o entendimento sobre os modelos de MOOC, examinando as causas de desistência relativas ao conteúdo e formato de apresentação para essa modalidade de EAD, além de propor um curso de Geometria, nessa modalidade, para o ensino básico, empregando ferramentas interativas, como o iGeom, software de Geometria Interativa (GI), e outras mídias, como áudios e vídeos. Nesse curso busca-se uma abordagem motivadora, comparando-o a um curso de controle. Esse modelo foi testado com um público formado por adultos e adolescentes, sendo 37,9% composto de adolescentes provenientes de escolas públicas, apresentando bons resultados. Na análise dos dados obtidos, encontrou-se indícios de que, comparado com o curso de controle, um maior número de alunos permaneceu no curso por mais tempo, possivelmente, pela realização de atividades interativas. / The MOOC emerged in 2008 as a course model in the distance learning area which, in certain way, resumes the old model of courses based on exchanging letters, in which there is the absence of interaction between learner and teacher. They are online courses with a great number of studentes enrolled, and for this reason are called MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). These courses are supported exclusively by the Web technologies and most of the times they do not require a prerequisite and do not provide any certificate. Another common factor is their high dropout rate, around 95%. The majority of MOOC courses available nowadays are organized in a traditional format, in which learners are in a passive situation, since the interaction is practically based on videos, only allowing commands as PAUSE, BACK and CONTINUE. In this context, the challenge of this work is to improve the understanding on the e-learnig models, particularly the MOOC, in addition to examine the causes of dropout related to content and presentation format. In order to do so, the MOOC model is examined and a course in this modality, about Geometry to elementary school, is proposed. In this course is used interactive tools such as the iGeom, an Interactive Geometry (IG) software, beyond other medias, as audios and videos. The purpose of this course, is to study the learner motivation, comparing it with a control course. This course model was tested with an audience of adults and teenagers, in which 37,9% of them were teenagers from public schools, and the course produced good results. In the analysis of the results, we found evidence that, compared with the control course, a greater number of students remained on course for longer, possibly by the presence of interactive activities.

The purpose of this study is to explore the viability of an international distance English-language program in the development of language and cultural proficiency. Students participated in tests at the beginning and at the end of the course to determine how well they developed both language and cultural proficiencies. The measures included (a) the computer-administered Oral Proficiency Interview (OPIc) from theAmerican Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), (b) ACTFL-aligned assessments of reading, listening, grammar, and vocabulary skills, and (c) the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). In addition, course activities surveys provided additional information about student perceptions of course activities. Participants in this study came from various countries as they prepared to attend a U.S. university in Hawaii.The distance learning program fostered language proficiency through various learning activities, with an emphasis on synchronous dialogue over video chat technologies. In addition to English-language proficiency, the program sought to help students learn to effectively communicate with students from other cultures. Cross-cultural proficiency was fostered through cross-cultural dialogue with tutors, teachers, and other students. Students showed improvement in speaking, listening, vocabulary, and grammar. However, on average, students did not show an improvement in reading proficiency. Students reported that dialogue with tutors and teachers was among the most helpful activities in learning English. Students showed some improvement in cultural proficiency. However, this improvement was not universal across all measures of cultural proficiency. Students reported that certain activities—particularly dialogue with tutors and other students—as helpful in developing cross-cultural proficiencies.This study also investigated the relationship between language proficiency and cultural proficiency. Results were mixed. With a few exceptions, cultural proficiency did not predict a student’s language proficiency at the beginning of the course, during the course, or at the end of the course.

Using advanced technologies can help increase the availability of educational offerings; however, the steps taken in this direction must be appropriate for the target population and the specific content taught. As such, understanding factors that lead to health educators' intentions and behavior related to computer-mediated instruction for continuing education is an important step in developing and marketing appropriate computer-mediated instruction programs (Hoffman & Novak, 1994). Using the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1988) this study explored the relationships between health educators' perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norms related to computer-mediated continuing education programs and their intentions to use, and previous experience with, computer-mediated education. Employing a cross sectional survey design, data were collected from 504 members of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) (40% response rate) using an online survey instrument. Logistic regression was used to investigate the associations between attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention related to using computer-mediated continuing education programs and a proxy measure representing their computer-mediated continuing education behavior. Perceived behavioral control and attitudes were found to have significant associations with computer-mediated continuing education behavior, with intention partially mediating the association with perceived behavioral control and fully mediating the association with attitudes. When studying a subset of the group composed of respondents with a positive intention toward computer-mediated continuing education programs, respondent characteristics and barriers identified as distinguishing between individuals with positive and negative behaviors included perceived behavioral control, presence of a license or certification, a lack of programs, a lack of relevant topics for programs, and a lack of technical support for programs. These results suggest that for health education and health promotion professionals to engage in computer-mediated continuing education programs, more programs, especially ones that address topics relevant to their current functioning, need to be created and made readily available. Also, ensuring that appropriate technical support is available to assist participants, and informing potential participants of the availability of this technical assistance, may encourage more health educators and health promotion professionals to follow through on their intentions to participate in computer-mediated programs.

With the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and subsequent high-stakes tests, including the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), literacy has become top priority in the field of education (Florida Department of Education [FDOE], no date a; NCLB, 2002). Though social studies was not mentioned in NCLB, nor is it tested by the FCAT, social studies teachers are expected to teach literacy skills in their classrooms. Social studies teachers' accountability for literacy enhancement is evidenced by the fact that some states, including Florida, now require social studies teachers to complete a course in reading integration to qualify for teaching certification in that state (Stilwell, 1999). Integrating reading into the content areas is commonly referred to as content area reading. By using content area reading, social studies teachers implement teaching strategies, methods, and techniques that foster their students' comprehension of the texts and other materials used in their course (Alvermann & Phelps, 2002; Billmeyer & Barton, 2002; Tovani, 2000). Though there are many benefits to content area reading, social studies teachers have resisted implementing content area reading for decades (Carnine, 2000; Daisey & Shroyer, 1993; Jacobs & Wade, 1981; Moore, 1983; Nourie & Lenski, 1998; Ratekin, Simpson, Alvermann, & Dishner, 1985; Richardson, Anders, Tidwell, & Lloyd, 1991; Stewart & O'Brien, 1989; Vaughan, 1977). Furthermore, research suggests that content area reading courses are often associated with heightened resistance to implementing content area reading (Nourie & Lenski, 1998; Stewart & O'Brien, 1989). In order for a content area reading course to impact the classroom practices social studies teacher in the intended ways, the course instructor must be sensitive to the process of change that the student is engaged in and recognize the causes of resistance to change. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is a framework that provides tools by which the process of change and resistance to change can be evaluated and better understood. This study was designed to examine the characteristics surrounding the process of change as social studies teachers learned about and implemented content area reading into the social studies curriculum.

A need exists to gain a better understanding of how the online learning environment found in higher education is perceived by students of color. The research completed for this dissertation explored student participation in the online learning environment in higher education by examining the observations and perceptions of students of color. Along the way, the process of the research journey drew attention to the lack of inclusion of students of color in the literature and data collected about online learning, and pointed to the existence of the digital divide and its impact on graduate students of color and their participation in online learning. In this study, no significant relationships were found in the examination of the nature of the relationship between ethnicity and the variables of gender, age, and self-reported computer experience. The online learning environment was not conclusively found to be an environment where opinions or critiques could be expressed more easily than in a face to face classroom, and the importance to students of having the opportunity to challenge white norms in the online learning environment was not found to be significant. Advice is offered from students and instructors of color providing examples of ways in which an online course environment may more fully consider the voices and experiences of persons of color.