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Distributed learning is becoming an increasingly common method of further education in post-secondary institutions and programs across Canada and internationally. Academic libraries are not immune to this trend, and many are reviewing and revising their teaching methodology. All learners require information literacy instruction that is relevant, engaging, and embedded in curriculum; in a distributed learning environment, however, the design and delivery of that instruction may need to be adapted to respond to the challenges of instruction to distributed learners. Through a literature review of distributed learning models in academic libraries and consultation with faculty and librarians at the University of Saskatchewan, this research will assist in determining distributed learning models and instructional design best suited for the provision of information literacy instruction within this environment. Although this research focused on academic libraries, this session will be relevant to anyone who is interested in providing instruction outside of a classroom. / Slides from a presentation at the Saskatchewan Library Association annual conference in Saskatoon, SK, in May 2013. Notes from the presentation are included on the slides which were not part of the original presentation.

With the increasing popularity of and demand for online learning in higher education (Konetes, 2011) comes a need to examine students’ perceptions about classroom climate in these environments. Using the Instructional Beliefs Model (IBM) as a theoretical framework, this dissertation proposes the online learning climate (OLCS) scale for doing so. Informed by both organizational and instructional communication, as well as education, the scale consists of several variables related to instructor role(s) and behaviors, student characteristics, and course-specific structural issues to explain how students perceive climate within a computer-mediated classroom. Ultimately, this three-phase study consisted of: (a) constructing the OLCS, (b) establishing factor structure, as well as concurrent and convergent validity, and (c) establishing the scale’s discriminant validity, confirming its factorial structure, and testing three theoretical models.

An important technique for learning, feedback has been described as responses to students’ behaviors, tasks, assignments, and outcomes. In this study, the researcher used a new kind of feedback message called an Emotional Motivational Feedback Message (EMFEM). EMFEM is a feedback message which includes motivational strategies and emotional content for motivating and encouraging students to learn more and to focus on a specific topic. EMFEM is based on Visser and Keller’s (1990) motivational message design, which was influenced by Keller’s (1987) ARCS theory and emotional content strategies. Because EMFEM is primarily used in text-based, online learning environments, it is limited in its ways of adding emotional content to feedback messages. Therefore, three main strategies were used in this study to include EMFEM: using the meaning of the words; formatting the words by using colored, bold, underlined text; and adding emoticons. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of EMFEM in online learning environments. This exploratory research was conducted using mixed method single case study design (Creswell, 2005; Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Yin, 2009) and guided by the following question: How effective are emotional motivational feedback messages in an online learning environment? Participants were 15 undergraduate students enrolled for an instructional technology course in a large state university located in an urban region in the southeastern part of the United States during fall 2013. The researcher used multiple data collection strategies, including a course interest survey, an instructional technology attitudes survey, open-ended questionnaires, a research journal, forum/discussion postings, emails, reflection papers and warm-up surveys. The findings showed that, in an online course using EMFEM, (a) students’ motivation increased; (b) students’ attitudes toward IT increased; (c) students liked the EMFEM and the style of the instructor’s teaching; (d) students had a closer and friendlier relationship with the instructor; (e) students were satisfied with the course; (f) students started to use more emotional content; (g) students enjoyed having personalized EMFEM and requested to have EMFEM; and (h) students reported positive overall experiences by the end of the course.

Scholars suggest that when students use information and communication technology to complete and present identity texts about their own cultural background, such as self-authored literature, artwork, and multi-media texts, they learn about themselves and others and they can improve literacy skills and proficiency with technology (Chow & Cummins, 2003; Cummins, 2006). In this exploratory case study five middle-school students attending a diverse inner city school, and each representing a different demographic, were asked to complete an identity text project. In question was whether they would consume or critically deconstruct the negative hegemonic discourses they might encounter in the process. Results indicated that student response to these discourses was inconsistent, that students minoritized as black were especially vulnerable to them, and that student-led constructivist projects like this should be preceded by effective inclusive schooling and media literacy pedagogy to help ensure student engagement with multi-literacies is enhanced as intended.

This case study examined the spread of ideas in a Gr. 5/6 classroom in which the teacher was attempting to foster a knowledge building community. The goal of the research was to explore the relationship between the social network of the classroom (in terms of face-to-face and computer-mediated interactions), the teacher’s role, and the spread of ideas. Further, the thesis examined how social network tools may help teachers better understand the pedagogical implications of Scardamalia and Bereiter’s (1991) Teacher A, B, C models. Analyses of videotaped lessons revealed the teacher used a complex mix of traditional instructional methods and knowledge building strategies while trying to shift the locus of control of learning to students. Critical teacher-driven processes included the class-wide adoption of knowledge building vocabulary and practices, and efforts to foster higher levels of student-student discourse. Analyses of online interactions provided strong evidence of highly interconnected student-student online networks, with the note reading network being especially dense. Longitudinal studies revealed these network established themselves early in the unit, and persisted during the course of the inquiry. There was evidence that idea improvement was present in addition to idea spread. In face-to-face classroom communication, the teacher’s role was more central, particularly in "Knowledge Building Talk" sessions. However, here too, the teacher made efforts to shift the locus of control. Overall the analyses suggest that social network tools are potentially useful for helping teachers make the difficult transition from "Teacher A" and "Teacher B" strategies, in which the locus of control is with the teacher, to "Teacher C" strategies, in which strategic cognitive processes are turned over to students. This dissertation proposes that movement toward Teacher C practices may be illustrated, in part, by a shift in classroom network topologies from that of a star-shaped network, centered on the teacher, to a highly interconnected student-student network. Finally, the thesis recounts a number of ways in which the use of social network tools uncovered discourse patterns of which the teacher was unaware, including gender differences in reading, building-on, and contribution patterns.

Scholars suggest that when students use information and communication technology to complete and present identity texts about their own cultural background, such as self-authored literature, artwork, and multi-media texts, they learn about themselves and others and they can improve literacy skills and proficiency with technology (Chow & Cummins, 2003; Cummins, 2006). In this exploratory case study five middle-school students attending a diverse inner city school, and each representing a different demographic, were asked to complete an identity text project. In question was whether they would consume or critically deconstruct the negative hegemonic discourses they might encounter in the process. Results indicated that student response to these discourses was inconsistent, that students minoritized as black were especially vulnerable to them, and that student-led constructivist projects like this should be preceded by effective inclusive schooling and media literacy pedagogy to help ensure student engagement with multi-literacies is enhanced as intended.

This thesis reports the outcomes of an investigation into students’ experience of Problem-based learning (PBL) in virtual space. PBL is increasingly being used in many fields including engineering education. At the same time many engineering education providers are turning to online distance education. Unfortunately there is a dearth of research into what constitutes an effective learning experience for adult learners who undertake PBL instruction through online distance education. Research was therefore focussed on discovering the qualitatively different ways that students experience PBL in virtual space. Data was collected in an electronic environment from a course, which adopted the PBL strategy and was delivered entirely in virtual space. Students in this course were asked to respond to open-ended questions designed to elicit their learning experience in the course. Data was analysed using the phenomenographical approach. This interpretative research method concentrated on mapping the qualitative differences in students’ interpretations of their experience in the course. Five qualitatively different ways of experiencing were discovered: Conception 1: ‘A necessary evil for program progression’; Conception 2: ‘Developing skills to understand, evaluate, and solve technical Engineering and Surveying problems’; Conception 3: ‘Developing skills to work effectively in teams in virtual space’; Conception 4: ‘A unique approach to learning how to learn’; Conception 5: ‘Enhancing personal growth’. Each conception reveals variation in how students attend to learning by PBL in virtual space. Results indicate that the design of students’ online learning experience was responsible for making students aware of deeper ways of experiencing PBL in virtual space. Results also suggest that the quality and quantity of interaction with the team facilitator may have a significant impact on the student experience in virtual PBL courses. The outcomes imply pedagogical strategies can be devised for shifting students’ focus as they engage in the virtual PBL experience to effectively manage the student learning experience and thereby ensure that they gain maximum benefit. The results from this research hold important ramifications for graduates with respect to their ease of transition into professional work as well as their later professional competence in terms of problem solving, ability to transfer basic knowledge to real-life engineering scenarios, ability to adapt to changes and apply knowledge in unusual situations, ability to think critically and creatively, and a commitment to continuous life-long learning and self-improvement.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / Education in NSW reflects world-wide trends that promise changed practices through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), to assist students attain capabilities expected of an educated population in contemporary society. Most recently, the use of the Internet has become a major priority for NSW government schools, with the expectation that students will increasingly participate in online learning activities. As educators grapple to find evidence of changed practices and extended or enhanced learning experiences for students, attention has turned to new forms of activity that have emerged within the online environment. This thesis explores the implementation of online projects as one such emergent form. The study focuses on the experiences of students and the practices of classes, with a view to asking how the online projects reconstruct the learning environments and activities of classes, how they contribute to the learning achievement of students and to the effective use of Internet technologies in K-12 school settings. A collective case study approach was used to reveal multiple views of online projects implemented in five NSW schools. Particular value is attached to the viewpoints of students and to professional dialogues with teachers that contributed insights into what was occurring in the classes and what was achieved as a result. Meanings have been drawn from each case to build a better understanding of the phenomenon of online projects as a whole. The study draws on social constructivist and project-based theoretical perspectives, with their widely accepted claims to benefits for students of authentic, learner-centred, participatory learning. The thesis argues that online projects can stimulate and support learning activities that produce these known benefits, while recognising constraints that exist in every-day classes. The online projects present a disruptive force within classes, changing the nature of activities and forcing a shift in the roles of both teachers and students, and of the technology itself, making it subservient to the learning intentions. Findings for students relate both to participation and learning effects. Strength of student engagement and the value of authentic learning activities emerged as notable features of the online project experience. Rather than accepting these claims as sufficient outcome of the projects, this thesis identifies attributes that promote student engagement. It examines what constitutes authentic activity for school students, especially younger ones, and how a sense of authenticity is established in learning tasks. It particularly explores the contribution of online presentation of the projects to the benefits and constraints identified. The study has significant implications for education systems and teachers, and for the design and implementation of online projects as part an effective online learning provision for schools. In the highly conflicted area of investment in ICT and the search for purposeful learning uses of the Internet, online projects present a teaching and learning approach that can deliver some of the much-acclaimed potential – primarily because they promote changes in practice that are concerned with much more than just the use of the technology.