<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to study perceptions of faculty and administrators at institutions of higher education on copyright ownership of faculty-created digital course content. The central question for this study was: Who had copyright ownership rights of faculty-created digital content and in what manner was copyright ownership developed, implemented, and asserted at institutions of higher education. The five research questions were: (a) How were copyright ownership policies of faculty-created digital content developed and implemented at institutions of higher education?; (b) How were faculty involved in the development of copyright ownership agreements?; (c) What institutional policy and contractual documents contained specific language on copyright ownership rights of faculty-created digital content?; (d) How were institutional assertions of copyright ownership of faculty-created digital content allocated and managed?; (e) How were copyright ownership issues of faculty-created digital content resolved? A descriptive study approach was used to study administrator and faculty perceptions on copyright ownership at five institution types within the State of Texas and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. A total of 100 random faculty and administrator participants were sent the online survey link via e-mail. The online survey included closed-ended and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results from the closed-ended and open- ended questions. In summary, the findings showed that within the participating respondent groups: (a) Most faculty were not involved in the development of copyright ownership policies; (b) Institutions asserted copyright ownership through some institutional document/policy and not through contractual agreements; and, (c) Copyright ownership issues did not arise between the institution and faculty. With the portability of digital content, and the need to utilize and develop said content within the university setting, more faculty and administrators should be aware of, and be involved in copyright ownership policies. The field of study of copyright ownership in accordance to faculty and administrator digitally created content was limited, and more studies should be conducted with a larger population. </p><p>

<p> Adult online learners represent the largest demographic in higher education. Academic leaders increasingly use non-designer instructors (NDIs) to meet demands. NDIs have little control over course design, part of teaching presence valued by learners. This quantitative, predictive correlational study investigated 1) to what frequency online learners&rsquo; perceptions of their NDIs&rsquo; teaching presence predicted learners&rsquo; cognitive presence; and 2) to what frequency did learners&rsquo; use of instructional media resources moderate that predictive relationship, while enrolled in online courses in a private, non-profit university in the western United States. Using The Community of Inquiry (COI) survey, this study measured learners&rsquo; perceptions of presence as they related to online students&rsquo; learning and use of instructional media. Multiple regression analyses tested both hypotheses (<i>n</i> = 128). The first null hypothesis was rejected revealing NDIs&rsquo; teaching presence significantly predicted 52% of the variance of learners&rsquo; cognitive presence, <i>R</i>² = .524, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, <i>f</i>² = 1.08. These findings expand scientific knowledge to the instructional context of NDIs and confirm prior research that found a similar role for teaching presence on cognitive presence. The study failed to reject the null hypothesis for research question two. Frequencies of instructional media use showed a nonsignificant effect on the predictive role of teaching presence on cognitive presence. Further research could examine the unique contributions of the course design sub-factor of teaching presence in the context of courses taught by NDIs. </p><p>

<p> There are currently five sources on news and information in the United States. The Internet is slowly taking over as the number one source of news and information for students who are currently attending college. With the popularity of social media, the Millennial generation college student is turning away from the traditional news media. One of the primary challenges for educational leaders in journalism courses is to understand what types of news today&rsquo;s generation finds favorable, why are they so attracted to the non-traditional news sources, and what changes can be implemented into the classrooms. </p><p>

<p> This study explored factors thought to affect college students&rsquo; selection and experience of instructional materials by utilizing general procedures of Giorgi&rsquo;s (2012) descriptive phenomenological psychological method and Spradley&rsquo;s (1979) approach to interpretation. Twenty-five undergraduate students were asked to study finite mathematics materials after selecting from four sets of options, with the same content but different visual designs and formats. The entire process was observed, and students were interviewed about their experience. As a result of the analyses, students were found to select instructional materials that met their expectations, and such expectations had been defined or impacted by their various previous experiences. For example, students who believed that instructional materials should effectively deliver content selected materials based on the ease of navigation. Meanwhile, students who believed that instructional materials should attract them and engage them into learning selected materials based on the attractiveness of the materials. Students made decisions regarding which materials met their expectations almost immediately after looking at the materials. In addition, opinions regarding which materials allowed easier navigation or which materials appeared to be attractive were diverse. Furthermore, many students felt that the number of words was different in the materials although every word on the four materials was the same. One student even thought that the tone of the language was different in different materials. Students&rsquo; difference in perception regarding the content of the materials across different visual designs suggests that the affective perception of the visual design was powerful enough to influence students&rsquo; cognitive perception of the content. Overall, students&rsquo; difference in visual perceptions suggests that instructional content should be displayed in multiple different forms to comply with students&rsquo; diverse visual needs.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating technology into a sophomore level baccalaureate nursing class and to explore students&rsquo; perceptions on the use of technology in the classroom in relation to their perceived learning and their perceived interaction with classmates. This study evaluated the use of technology in a baccalaureate nursing classroom and determined the effectiveness of the intervention. The participants in the study included three sections of students enrolled in sophomore level nursing courses, in a small Catholic university, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A within-subjects study utilizing a quantitative design was utilized to complete the research. Data were collected from post-tests given to classes after traditional lectures as well as from post-tests given in lectures with the intervention of technology. The purpose of the post-tests was to gauge retention of the presented material in each of the classes. The scores on these tests were compared to determine if there were statistically significant changes between the assessment quiz scores on the lectures with technological intervention as compared to lectures without technological interventions. A survey was distributed to all students at the end of the study to gather total study sample information on student perceptions of the use of technology. While the quantitative study results were inconclusive as to the effectiveness of incorporating technology in the classroom, it did show positive findings concerning students&rsquo; perception of using technology in the classroom and their sense of connectedness with classmates. The relevance of this study was to evaluate the need to adapt teaching methods that increase student engagement, and may result in positive assessment outcomes based on retention of information.</p><p>

<p> The accelerated growth of 1:1 educational computing initiatives has challenged digital equity with a three-tiered, socioeconomic digital divide: (a) access, (b) higher order uses, and (c) user empowerment and personalization. As the access gap has been closing, the exponential increase of 1:1 devices threatens to widen the second and third digital divides. Using critical theory, specifically, critical theory of technology and critical pedagogy, and a qualitative case study design, this research explored the experiences of a middle school categorized under California criteria as &ldquo;socioeconomically disadvantaged&rdquo;. This study contributes to critical theory on technology within an educational setting, as well as provides voice to the experiences of teachers and students with economic disadvantages experiencing the phenomena of 1:1 computing.</p><p> Using observational, interview, and school document data, this study asked the question: To what extent do 1:1 technology integration uses and associated pedagogical practices foster <i>Margins of Maneuver</i> in an eighth grade comprised of a student population that is predominantly economically disadvantaged? Probing two key markers of Margins of Maneuver, student agency and participation, the study found: (a) a technology-enhanced learning culture; (b) a teacher shift to facilitator roles; (c) instances of engaged, experiential, and inquiry learning and higher order technology uses; (d) in-progress efforts to strengthen student voice and self-identity. Accompanying the progress in narrowing economically based digital divides, the data also demonstrated some tension with the <i>knowledge economy. </i> Nevertheless, sufficient margins existed, associated with one-to-one uses and practices, to result in micro-resistances characterized by assertion of student agency and democratization potential.</p><p>

<p> This correlational-predictive study investigated the relationship between teacher perceptions of technology use and observed classroom technology integration level using the <i>Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey</i> (TUPS) and the <i>Technology Integration Matrix- Observation</i> (TIM-O) instruments, developed by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT) at USF. Anonymized data were obtained from FCIT that included 51 teachers from a Florida school district who completed the TUPS and were observed using the TIM-O. Linear regression was used to determine the overall relationship between perceptions and technology integration, as well as the overall predictive value of teacher perceptions on technology integration level. Both were found to be statistically significant; a low-moderate relationship existed between the TUPS and the TIM-O, and the TUPS was found to be a predictor of the TIM-O level. In addition, multiple regression was used to determine the relationship between each of the seven areas of the TUPS and the TIM-O level, as well as the predictive ability of each of the TUPS domains on the TIM-O level. Although none of the domains had a statistically significant relationship or predictive value, several subgroups had significant findings in the domains of confidence and comfort, and skills and usefulness. This study supports previous research in teacher perceptions and beliefs and furthers the research by including predictive relationships. Administrators, professional developers, and support staff can use these findings to target teacher professional learning opportunities in technology integration.</p><p>

D.Ed. / Although media have been used in the classroom for centuries the imporance and the difficulties of the selection of a medium have only been recognised since the 1960' s. Since then, the proliferation of media and their increasing invasion of the classroom have drawn attention to the need to reconcile the medium and a particular teaching objective. This new consciousness, together with a desire to approach the problem systematically has led to comparative studies of the various media!and to a classification of their similarities and differences. Then media taxonomies were drawn up, and models for media selection were extrapolated from these in an effort to provide both practical and theoretical guidelines. These efforts have not yet provided satisfactory solutions, firstly because there is no concensus regarding the concept "media" and secondly because they have tended to concentrate on media per se, while it is the media-attributes, the properties of each medium, which determine how information will be corrnnunicated. Finally, most of those selection models lack a sound pedagogical basis. The large number of determinant factors capable of influencing the final choice of a medium makes media selection a complex matter. These determinants include teaching objectives, learning content, learning tasks, leamer attributes, learning environment, media attributes and application of the medium. All these can act both independently and in concert in selection further compounding the problem. Existing literature has been examined with one particular determinant in mind, viz, media attributes. Definitions and taxonomies were analysed in an effort to determine what the properties of media are and how they should be classified. A media classification system based on the results of that analysis is put forward, with each attribute being examined separately. It is quite obvious from existing literature that media selection must take account of the interaction between the various determinants. Since this study is limited to one determinant - media attributes - further research into the role played in media selection by each of the other determinants is imperative. Two recent attempts at defining and describing the interaction between the determinants, are Aptitude-Treatment Interaction and Trait-Treatment Interaction. They have not, as yet, produced many positive results, but they gave rise to the Symbol System approach. This approach advances a theory relating media's most basic modes of presentation - their symbol systems - to common thought processes and to learning. Each medium, using symbol systems, may have its oWn specific effects on how the knowledge is extracted and on how meanings are arrived at'. This approach holds great promise for the future, but certain questions remain unanswered in the meantime. It is not yet understood, for instance, how a child's symbolic capabilities and preferences interact with his way of handling the symbolic nature of media's messages, nor in what specific ways they affect his cognitive abilities. Today's teacher, in urgent need of practical guidelines, cannot wait for answers. This study attempting to fill that need and contains an open media selection model which is based on all the determinants identified and which is founded on pedagogical considerations.

<p> Close reading is an enigmatic term with a simple definition: special attention to texts. Key shifts in the Common Core State Standards have led to a renewed interest about close reading instruction among researchers and practitioners of K-12 education. Close reading is particularly salient in secondary settings, where calls to raise text difficulty and increase literacy instruction in the disciplines have placed new demands on middle and high school teachers. But even though close reading is now widespread in secondary classrooms, there is very little research to date on close reading instruction. As such we still do not know how these practices will affect students&rsquo; reading skills and motivation.</p><p> In this dissertation, I offer three article-length contributions to the research base on secondary close reading instruction. First, I synthesize practice-based research on close reading instruction with the aim of identifying best practices for close reading in secondary classrooms. I then present two empirical articles that address gaps in the research literature on adolescent close reading instruction.</p><p> In chapter 1, previously published in <i>Adolescent Literacies: A Handbook of Practice-Based Research</i>, P. David Pearson and I offer a vision for a 21^st-century close reading pedagogy. This vision was influenced by a historical account of close reading&rsquo;s place in adolescent classrooms over the past 75 years and a review of research on secondary close reading instruction. We argue that a 21^st-century close reading pedagogy must encompass considerations of the reader and his or her sociocultural contexts, accept digital and everyday texts as candidates for close readings, and include purposes for reading beyond knowledge building. In light of these goals, we suggest five principles of adolescent close reading instruction: background knowledge, authentic reading and writing, metadiscursive awareness, critical literacy, and dialogically organized discussion.</p><p> In chapter 2, I draw on the principles of close reading instruction outlined in chapter 1 to co-design tests of close reading instruction with a high school chemistry teacher. In this formative experiment, I tested the effect of background knowledge activation on amount and types of questions written about a scientific article; I also tested whether allowing students to choose texts to read about a scientific issue affected the amount of information written on that topic and their motivation to read. In a challenge to Common-Core-era recommendations that background knowledge should be held at bay when closely reading texts, I found that students who had their background knowledge activated with pre-reading activities prior to closely reading an article wrote more argument-generating questions than students who did not engage in pre-reading activities. I also argue that students who were able to choose a text to read closely about a scientific topic online recorded as much accurate information about that topic as students who were assigned a text to read by their teacher.</p><p> In chapter 3, I explore an understudied area of close reading instruction: students&rsquo; everyday digital close reading practices. This article is an ethnographic case study of students&rsquo; out-of-school digital close readings and their teachers&rsquo; approach to digital close reading instruction in the classroom. By comparing these two realms through the lens of cultural historical activity theory, I am able to surface tensions and synergies that may lead to recommendations for close reading instruction that leverages students&rsquo; existing funds of knowledge about digital literacies. Specifically, I found that when teachers designed digital close reading instruction in the service of promoting student-directed learning, it aligned well with students&rsquo; goals when they performed everyday close readings of digital texts at home. </p><p> Together, these three chapters suggest new directions for adolescent close reading instruction and research. In chapter 4, I synthesize across the three articles to highlight common themes and conclude with ideas for future research and lingering questions about the nature of close reading. </p><p>

<p> Teaching at an online school is so different from classroom teaching that traditional training includes few of the skills necessary to be a successful online teacher. New teachers to an online environment face a steep learning curve in how they&rsquo;ll use the instructional technology, prioritize their time, and establish relationships with their students. The literature has advice for these teachers about effective online practices, but there has been little research to establish which strategies are most effective in motivating students. This pre-experimental study, conducted at an online 6th-12th grade hybrid school, investigated the practices used more often by the most effective teachers. Teacher effectiveness was measured by the number of assignments their students had not completed on time. Recognizing that the effectiveness of different practices will vary from student to student, the research analysis included two covariates, measured by surveys: the academic identity and motivational resilience of the students, and the students&rsquo; self-reported preferences for motivational strategies. More effective teachers were found to make videos more frequently, both of the teacher for motivational purposes and recorded by the teacher to help students move through the curriculum. Quick grading turnaround and updating a blog were also more common with all effective teachers. Distinct differences between middle and high school students came out during data analysis, which then became a major point of study: according to the data, more effective middle school teachers emphasized individual contact with students, but the less effective high school teachers spent more time on individualized contact. The surveys used in this study could be modified and implemented at any online school to help teachers discover and then prioritize the most effective strategies for keeping students engaged.</p><p>