Magister Educationis - MEd / This Research sets out to understand the participation experiences of a selected group of adult learners at one of the partner institutionsof the online Intercontinental Masters in Adult Learning and Global Change. The study offers an understanding of adult learners' experiences of success and persistence in relation to online study within a higher education context, and also offers insights into what may costitute successful learning communities. In relation to literature, , the student perceptions obtained via the study largely affirm what 'successiful' can mean to a group of postgraduate adult learners in an online learning environment. This stidy also contributes to the ongoing conversation in terms of the unique experiences of students in one particular cohort of the programme. / South Africa

<p>This Research sets out to understand the participation experiences of a selected group of adult learners at one of the partner institutionsof the online Intercontinental Masters in Adult Learning and Global Change. The study offers an understanding of adult learners' experiences of success and persistence in relation to online study within a higher education context, and also offers insights into what may costitute successful learning communities. In relation to literature, , the student perceptions obtained via the study largely affirm what 'successiful' can mean to a group of postgraduate adult learners in an online learning environment. This stidy also contributes to the ongoing conversation in terms of the unique experiences of students in one particular cohort of the programme.</p>

<p>This Research sets out to understand the participation experiences of a selected group of adult learners at one of the partner institutionsof the online Intercontinental Masters in Adult Learning and Global Change. The study offers an understanding of adult learners' experiences of success and persistence in relation to online study within a higher education context, and also offers insights into what may costitute successful learning communities. In relation to literature, , the student perceptions obtained via the study largely affirm what 'successiful' can mean to a group of postgraduate adult learners in an online learning environment. This stidy also contributes to the ongoing conversation in terms of the unique experiences of students in one particular cohort of the programme.</p>

Conferencia organizado por la Oficina Internacional UPC en el marco de la Feria Internacional UPC 2018, realizado el 4 de abril de 2018 en el campus Villa, Lima, Perú. / Conferencia Internacional “Online Education in the 21st Century” por invitados de la Carrera de Psicología en auditorio del Campus Villa, con la participación de John Darland , Heather Curtin and Yoon Nam ; representantes de The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

This research has examined the role of teacher presence in online education. The research has been guided by two research questions: 1) are there challenges to consistently establishing teacher presence in online courses?; and 2) can the role of teacher presence be assumed, in part, by the learning medium? The Community of Inquiry framework as outlined by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) has framed the discussion about the role of teacher presence in online education. Three research projects are presented to explore the research questions. The first study is a case study that examines twelve online instructors’ engagement and experience teaching online over a year at the University of Saskatchewan. The next study builds on that study by exploring teacher engagement and satisfaction of 28 online instructors at the University of Regina using survey techniques. Together the studies suggest that teacher engagement in online courses might be affected by the culture of the university. The third study addresses the second question by creating the NECSUS social computing environment, which assumes some functions of teacher presence. The NECSUS system has been tested in a graduate level ethics courses and demonstrates that it has the potential to support a community of inquiry. This is further demonstrated by the presentation of a NECSUS-like system design that could be modified to support a non-formal learning community for a commercial online education course for snowmobile safety. The outcome of this research suggests that the Community of Inquiry framework can inform the design of learning environments and that assume some responsibilities traditionally assumed by the instructor.

Abstract is available to download.

The purpose of this study was to compare the Alabama Praxis II test score outcomes between students who received degrees online versus traditional students at an Alabama regional institution of higher learning. A random sample consisted of 50 online graduate students and 50 on campus graduate students. The following 2 graduate master’s degree programs were selected for this study: the Master’s of Education (M.Ed.) degree in School Counseling and the Master’s of Science in Continuing Education (M.S.C.E.) degree in Guidance Counseling. A summarization of the research questions for this study include the following: Is there a significant difference between online and traditional graduate students based on the Alabama Praxis II test scores; is there a significant difference between online and traditional graduate students based on gender, ethnicity, and age; and is there a meaningful relationship among age, GRE (Graduate Record Exam) score, and the Alabama Praxis II test score between online and traditional graduate students at a small four-year regional university in Alabama? The t-test performed on question one revealed a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups, and the online students earned higher scores than the campus students on the Praxis II test. The t-test was also used to answer part of question 2. When comparing African-American campus students to Caucasian campus students, the t-test revealed a statistically significant difference with Caucasians scoring higher between the two groups. An ANOVA was also used for question two to determine if there was a statistically significant difference of Praxis II test scores between campus age groups and online age groups. There were no significant differences in Praxis II test scores when students were grouped by age. One possible explanation for this finding is because the study only consisted of graduate students. In conclusion, this researcher found evidence that online students scored higher on the Alabama Praxis II examination than traditional, on-campus students. This research was limited to a small university in west Alabama, and the researcher recommends that further research be conducted to include other institutions with a larger sample and greater distribution of demographic variables.

The purpose of this research study was to examine the graphical redesign of an online Psychology course and determine the impact of that redesign on student engagement in the course, and students’ perceptions of the course, and the impact of the redesign elements on their learning. It also examined whether this redesign impacted students’ performance in the course. The results from this study could provide insights for instructors, instructional designers, and graphic designers on how the inclusion of such graphics affects student engagement and learning. In addition, how the students view their own engagement and learning with the addition of purposeful graphics can impact their interaction with and attitudes toward the course and instructor. Research has shown that there is a significant relationship between course structure and perceived student learning (Gray & DiLoreto, 2016). There is also a positive correlation between student perceptions of learning achievement and their achievement (Kuhn & Rundle-Thiele, 2009). This positive correlation exists even when studies indicate that students often overestimate their own perception of their achievement compared to their performance (Clayson, 2005). While the results showed very few significant differences in the engagement measures used in this study or the students’ overall grades, the students’ perception of the impact of the graphics used in the redesign was overwhelmingly positive with the majority of students stating that they felt that the graphics and multimedia made the course more engaging, that action icons helped organize the course information and made directions more clear, and that UCF branded graphics made them feel more connected to the university.

No description available.

MOOCs have become a popular topic in the educational field since 2008. This report reviews the literature from 2008 to March 2014 on the development of MOOCs with a focus on learners’ experience. By looking into the topics researchers have been investigating, this review identifies eight themes on this topic: (1) Platforms and Technology, (2) Instructional Materials and Assessment, (3) Instructors, (4) Participants’ demographics, (5) Motivation and Engagement Patterns, (6) Self-directed Learning and Learner Interaction, (7) Blended Education, and (8) Completion rates. The review also indicates that MOOC course design (pedagogies, technical support, assessment and instructors) and learner characteristics (motivation, engagement levels, self-directed learning and digital literacy) influence learners’ experience. Possible future research questions are also proposed in this report. / text