Since MIT launched the first OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative in 2002, responses from the academic community have ranged from exuberance to angst. Some institutions have been reluctant to adopt a program of open publishing because of concerns about long-term funding and possible adverse effects on paid enrollment. Money is an issue, forcing some organizations that initially created OCW programs to furlough them due to funding challenges. This study examined the cost of converting online distance learning courses to OCW, the impact of opening these courses on paid enrollments, and the long-term sustainability of OCW through the generation of new paid enrollments. As part of this study, Brigham Young University's Independent Study Program (BYU IS) converted three university and three high school courses to OCW. BYU IS provided an option for OCW users to pay regular tuition and enroll in the online course for credit. The average ongoing cost to convert BYU IS courses to OCW was $284.12 per university course and $1,172.71 per high school course. The six opened courses generated 13,795 visits and 445 total paid enrollments in four months. The profit margin on the paid enrollments OCW generated was calculated to be 3.81% for open publishing to be financially self-sustaining at BYU Independent Study.

In 2010, Brigham Young University Independent Study (BYU IS) sponsored a development project for the creation of a second-year high school Russian language learning course. The objectives of the course were to implement the five standards for foreign language learning as constituted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. The design project is an attempt to implement these principles in an independent distance learning course, with particular emphasis on encouraging meaningful communicative learning in authentic, real-world tasks and contexts. The product of the design is a course deliverable completely online through BrainHoney, a course management system utilized by BYU IS for its courses. The product consists of eleven homogeneous lessons, each with instructional content preparing learners to communicate in a specified context that reflect real-world situations. This paper discusses the obstacles of designing a distance education language learning course, especially facilitating communication in real contexts and the design objective and products geared towards overcoming these obstacles.

This study systematically examined and described the self-initiated learning projects of 20 inmates from the Central Facility of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. The research questions which guided this study were: (a) what are the characteristics of the learning projects; (b) as perceived by the inmates, what is the impact of the prison environment on self-initiated learning; and (c) what meaning does the experience of self-initiated learning have for the inmates both while incarcerated as well as after release? The study design was naturalistic. The sample for this study was randomly selected from the target population by a random selection technique. The respondents in the sample were interviewed by the investigator who designed and used a 29 item semi-structured interview schedule. Other data collection methods included fieldnotes of the investigator's observations before, during, and after the interviews. The data were analyzed using Spradley’s (l980) ethnographic analysis technique consisting of domains, taxonomies, components, and themes. The study yielded the following major findings or themes relevant to the three research questions. The vast majority of the self-initiated learning projects were growth and development with regard to employment, religion, academic education, and personal development. The main reason for beginning the learning projects was to improve the respondents' attitudes concerning their morals, beliefs, and values. The learning format used in the majority of the learning projects was oral communication. The learning projects were facilitated by the policies, practices, and procedures of the prison. The major problems encountered were the insensitivity of the inmates, inadequate study facilities, and limited resources. Finally, the major institutional and expected community benefits were the job skills acquired and the attitudinal changes concerning the respondents' past criminal involvement. The study concluded the following: Self-initiated learning projects abound in prison as meaningful learning activities for the inmates which tend to supplement the institutionally sponsored programs. Se1f-initiated learning projects have benefit and value for inmates while they are incarcerated and an expected benefit and T value for inmates after they are released. Finally, self-initiated learning projects in the prison setting are not generally conducted in a positive and supportive environment. Implications for future research are also noted. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

Ways in which educational structures can initiate and facilitate older learners' self-directed learning projects are described in this study. The research was guided by questions related to the ways that educational organizations can facilitate the learning process for older learners. This study involved two distinct phases of research. In the first phase, a survey was administered to approximately 100 older learners at four organizations for senior citizens; the four organizations were Hillcrest Center for 55+, Golden Learning Opportunities and Workshop, Tulsa Senior Services, and Retired Senior Volunteer Program. The survey enabled the researcher to identify the 10 most frequented sites for gathering information related to the learning projects of senior citizens in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The survey respondents were volunteer participants from classes, social occasions, and other learning opportunities offered by the organizations. The survey produced three sites where older learners pursued learning activities. Phase two involved ethnographic techniques in order to identify and describe at each three sites specific educational structures that facilitated older learners' self-directed learning projects. The descriptions from each of the identified sites involved three data-collection techniques. The data-collection techniques used included interviews, observation, and artifact collection. The focus of this phase was to describe the educational structures that facilitated the development of learning projects endemic to each site as identified by the older learners. Notes taken during interviews and observations were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Interviews were also transcribed. The transcripts were transferred to a conceptually clustered matrix for each site. Analyses of the administrator interviews, participant interviews, educational opportunity observations, and artifact collection at each site revealed patterns and trends that represent the educational structures that appeal to older learners as they pursue learning projects. The findings indicate that four patterns or trends were common to each site. These four patterns included accessible materials, service-minded staff, entertainment, and teacher-directed learning style.

The goals of higher education often entail the development of students' character. Rarely, however, are these character development goals connected to the unique design and delivery of distance education programs. Additionally, the research literature that explores the character development aspects of distance education is sparse. Thus the purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how character development may occur in a distance context. Taking a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, I examined instructor and student perceptions of character development in a fantasy literature independent study course. Findings indicate that students perceived development of traits and strengths in the following areas: moral character (moral desires, moral discernment, and moral courage); relational character (improved relationships, open-mindedness, the sharing of learning with others, and improved communication); spiritual character (humility, faith, hope, and charity); and performance character (self-discipline and self-directedness in learning, analytical and deep approach to learning, imagination and creativity, appreciation of literature, motivation to continue education, and self-confidence). Participants also perceived a variety of corresponding approaches, methods, factors, and influences for bringing about such character development, such as (a) the applicability of literary themes and character attributes and experiences to their lives; (b) the conversational nature of the instruction (an invitational and deep learning approach, preparation for reading and analyzing the literature, offering choices to enhance engagement and relevance, asking questions that promote analysis and personal connections with the literature, affording multiple opportunities to write, and providing timely, encouraging, and helpful feedback); (c) a trusting, respectful, and friendly relationship between the student and instructor (obtained through the instructional conversation and the instructor's personal and engaging writing style, personalizing contacts, being helpful and showing concern, and being sincere and honest); (d) the independent study context (flexibility in time and location and a more independent learning experience); and (e) the students' readiness and agency (choices, initiative, and effort). Students also perceived interrelationships among these elements. The study offers possible implications for character development in the context of distance education, as well as directions for future research.

In developing training for new technologies, designers encounter many options in an effort to increase system knowledge and produce effective system usage. Technological advancements do, however, provide the opportunity for more dynamic and interactive training methods. Moreover, technology may require the acquisition of time-sensitive skills. Many technologies have automatic shut-off or low-power functions, like the shutting off the backlight of a cell phone after 30 seconds. These system functions may lead to errors for novice users or for infrequent tasks. To develop effective training for time-sensitive tasks, the learner needs instruction on how to accurately perform the task at a particular pace. One potentially fruitful avenue of exploration is to provide the learning goal during training through the pace of the training materials. This presentation pace is the rate at which training tasks are presented to the learner during training; this pace may be fixed or self-regulated. The goal of the current study was to examine the role of presentation in learning a complex technology using four types of pacing for younger adults (Experiment 1) and older adults (Experiment 2). The results of this study show there seems to be a benefit of self-paced training for younger adults and older adults. These findings provide insight into future studies investigating the underlying mechanisms related to the benefits of self-paced training. Additionally, the findings have implications for the development of training paradigms for time-sensitive technologies.

This project developed criteria for evaluating projects for independent study students through a review of the literature and a survey of teachers. The criteria are largely student directed and multi-disciplinary, they engage higher level thinking skills and incorporates a variety of resources including technology.

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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Self-directed learning (SDL) is the essential mechanism of lifelong learning which, in turn, is required for medical professionals to maintain competency due to advancing technology and constantly evolving disease care and contexts. Yet, Nigerian medical schools do not actively strive to develop self-directed learning skills in medical students, neither is it implemented in the College of Health Sciences, University of Uyo (COHUU). - Aim of study : The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of self-directed learning behaviour amongst final year students, and the perceptions of faculty leadership towards SDL in a Nigerian medical school. - Methodology: A mixed method research method was used for the study. A survey design, in which students completed a self-rating scale for self-directed learning as a means of quantitatively assessing their self-directed learning behaviour, was employed. A focus group discussion involving selected faculty leaders provided the qualitative data for this study. - Results: The medical students displayed moderate self-directed learning behaviour, based on the score on the Self-rating Scale for Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL). Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the faculty leadership perceived SDL as essentially self-motivated learning by students in a task-sharing partnership with and guided by, their teachers. Faculty expressed concerns over a possible misunderstanding of what SDL implies for students. They furthermore considered their students’ SDL behaviour to be low. Faculty was willing to implement a COHUU model for achieving SDL. - Conclusion: This study suggests the baseline SDL behaviour of medical students at University of Uyo to be low to moderate, based on both the perceptions of Faculty leadership and the SRSSDL. Faculty are willing to implement a COHUU model for achieving SDL.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics