When digitally marketing an online educational program, degree or course, an institution must realize the target market which it is trying to reach. However, the demographics of the online student is extremely diverse, making marketing efforts difficult. With such a demographically diverse online student population to attract, it is important to understand what attributes make current online students satisfied or dissatisfied with the online education experience. Once these attributes are understood, organizations can effectively formulate digital marketing strategy to attract future students. While the efforts to understand satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the online student have been numerous, these studies have mainly centered upon secular organizations. Therefore, to contribute to the literature, this study identifies which attributes make online students satisfied or dissatisfied within the faith-based online educational environment. The results of the study may help organizations and educational institutions with a faith-based mission be more effective in their digital marketing efforts to attract and enroll online students. While the efforts to understand satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the online student have been numerous, these studies have mainly centered upon secular organizations. Therefore, to contribute to the literature, this study identifies which attributes make online students satisfied or dissatisfied within the faith-based online educational environment. The results of the study may help organizations and educational institutions with a faith-based mission be more effective in their digital marketing efforts to attract and enroll online students.

Abstract is available to download.

Participation in, and acceptance of, distance education has reached an all-time high. Yet many academics, policy makers, and laypeople remain concerned that distance education can adversely affect one's social development. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test that concern by comparing the social intelligence of distance undergraduates with the social intelligence of traditional undergraduates at different class ranks (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) while limiting the ages of the participants (n = 190) to 18-24. Social intelligence, an operationally defined measure of the construct often referred to as social development has been a popular focus of research in the last few decades, and the benefits of social intelligence are numerous. This study used Bandura's social learning theory and Goleman's theory of social intelligence as the theoretical framework. A 2-way ANOVA was used to measure the main effect of class rank, the main effect of learning environment (traditional vs. distance), and the interaction between these variables on social intelligence. There was no statistically significant difference in the level of social intelligence between distance and traditional undergraduates, there was a statistically significant difference in the level of social intelligence among undergraduate class ranks, and there was no significant difference between learning environments in social intelligence across levels of class rank. The results of this study can provide meaningful insights to course architects, educators, parents, and students who all have an interest, even if just exploratory, in distance education and its social implications by addressing concerns that distance learning environments might impede social intelligence development of undergraduates.

This study investigated the relationship between digital literacy and academic performance in the context of an online learning high school program aimed at students from underprivileged groups. The study proposed that digital literacy should be understood as a construct of several variables that create a progression from basic--though indispensable--physical conditions of access to technology, to complex skills and attitudes that permit a student to succeed in an online learning situation. Using path analysis as a methodological tool, the study tested a three-stage model that measured the chain of effects of the variables that integrate the digital literacy construct both among them, and on academic performance as the overall dependent variable of the study. The model organized the variables in three stages: conditions of access to technology; general digital skills (that included motivation, knowledge and skills to use digital technology, as well as frequency and diversity of usage practices of technology); and context-specific skills required to successfully use technology in a particular domain (in this particular case, online distance learning). The study found that in the particular online learning context of this investigation, better conditions of access to technology had a mediated and strong positive effect on academic performance by increasing the use of Internet for social and entertainment purposes, which in turn led to a higher use of the learning platform software and to better digital and academic skills. These skills had a positive effect on academic performance through independent learning as a mediating variable. A second finding--that runs in part in an opposite direction--was that better conditions of access increased the use of social networks, which had both a positive effect on independent learning in terms of increasing familiarity with the Internet and computer resources, and a negative effect, perhaps simply because the time one spends with social media may diminish the time one has available for learning. / text

Poster presentation from the Living the Future 8 Conference, April 23-24, 2012, University of Arizona Libraries, Tucson, AZ. / The Online Research Lab and the Information Research Strategies for Graduate Students and Researchers courses were created to address the needs of undergraduate and graduate-level students from across the University when the Libraries moved to an online instruction model. These one-credit courses have been successfully delivered to hundreds of students since their creation. In this time, the courses have gone through several reiterations and evaluations, and continue to be improved upon. Quantitative and qualitative data have shown that these credit courses are an effective and popular way to teach information literacy. This poster session will describe the courses and their creation, and present assessment data showing the effectiveness of the ORL course.

As a result of the increasing demand for tertiary education in many developing countries, institutions are seeking ways to increase educational access in difficult economic times. This paper describes the development of the University of the West Indies Open Campus as the mechanism for online distance education delivery to students across sixteen islands in the Caribbean region. The shift from the use of print based distance education to online education was examined from the perspectives of the administration, the instructors and the students in order to determine which factors were important for a successful transition. Factors examined included institutional context, vision, curriculum, organizational structure, finances, leadership, stakeholder attitudes towards online courses, staff training, student support and programme quality. The study also examined whether online education could promote a regional cultural identity. The research design used was a qualitative single case study with multiple data sources including archival records, semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Research findings indicate that implementing online education requires a deep understanding of the institutional context, clear vision, effective leadership, understanding attitudes towards online education and the provision of effective student support mechanisms. Context and aspects of culture (specifically communication) emerged as important factors that strongly influenced the transition, both pedagogically and in terms of the organizational culture and structure required to support online education. A lack of communication resulted in staff resistance both internally and externally. Communication was also the major stumbling block in the pedagogical changes required for online teaching and learning. Both students and instructors found teaching and learning online more difficult than in traditional classes as a result of the differences in communication modes between online classes and the wider culture. Students in online classes specifically desired the immediate feedback available in face-to-face classes and indicated a strong preference for blended learning. The study presents some suggestions for successful transitions and provides support for institutions preparing to use online education as a mode of distance education delivery, especially in the Caribbean context.

As a result of the increasing demand for tertiary education in many developing countries, institutions are seeking ways to increase educational access in difficult economic times. This paper describes the development of the University of the West Indies Open Campus as the mechanism for online distance education delivery to students across sixteen islands in the Caribbean region. The shift from the use of print based distance education to online education was examined from the perspectives of the administration, the instructors and the students in order to determine which factors were important for a successful transition. Factors examined included institutional context, vision, curriculum, organizational structure, finances, leadership, stakeholder attitudes towards online courses, staff training, student support and programme quality. The study also examined whether online education could promote a regional cultural identity. The research design used was a qualitative single case study with multiple data sources including archival records, semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Research findings indicate that implementing online education requires a deep understanding of the institutional context, clear vision, effective leadership, understanding attitudes towards online education and the provision of effective student support mechanisms. Context and aspects of culture (specifically communication) emerged as important factors that strongly influenced the transition, both pedagogically and in terms of the organizational culture and structure required to support online education. A lack of communication resulted in staff resistance both internally and externally. Communication was also the major stumbling block in the pedagogical changes required for online teaching and learning. Both students and instructors found teaching and learning online more difficult than in traditional classes as a result of the differences in communication modes between online classes and the wider culture. Students in online classes specifically desired the immediate feedback available in face-to-face classes and indicated a strong preference for blended learning. The study presents some suggestions for successful transitions and provides support for institutions preparing to use online education as a mode of distance education delivery, especially in the Caribbean context.

Organizational forms can become institutionalized in the sense that their existence and application is taken-for-granted and perceived as legitimate by stakeholders. Over time, new organizational forms can emerge that challenge perceived legitimacy of the established form. From this perspective, this dissertation examined institutionalization in the context of online business degree programs (OBDP) in higher education. Specifically, this dissertation examined OBDP as an emerging institutionalized form in relation to its cognitive legitimacy (taken-for-grantedness) and sociopolitical legitimacy (appropriateness) from the perspectives of four key stakeholder groups (students, faculty, academic administrators, and business practitioners). Survey results suggest that OBDPs are perceived as cognitively legitimate across each of the groups studied and socio-politically legitimate in each the four groups studied except for faculty. Furthermore, a conjoint experiment was conducted to determine the influence that four program related characteristics (accreditation, reputation, placement after graduation, and physical linkage) have on the legitimacy perceptions of OBDPs. Conjoint results indicate that each of the factors studied were significant predictors of legitimacy with accreditation being the most significant across each of the four groups. These findings provide a novel test of institutional theory as well as contributing to practice by offering strategic guidance to business schools either currently offering ODBPs or those planning to develop an online version of an existing program.

Online learning is increasingly prevalent in education and one area which stands to benefit from this approach is work based learning. This area is characterised by time-poor students and a requirement for flexibility in time and location. Online learning could be considered a solution to these issues, providing greater flexibility than campus based offerings, but it is not a panacea. Online learning suffers from a range of issues, particularly in retention, generally seeing attrition rates between 10% and 20% higher than traditional education. This research investigates an emerging method for delivering online education to work based learners and how it compares to traditional methods with respect to engagement. The method is named bite sized learning, and the core principle is that lessons are delivered in very short, bite sized chunks. These chunks are delivered on a daily basis, comprised of content, guidance and practical tasks. Each chunk also includes a requirement for social interaction with a learning peer group. This work takes an action research approach, combined with grounded theory and mixed methods. The author proposes the use of a methodology "stack", utilising each of these approaches, which will be shown to enable rigorous evaluation and development of an emerging educational method. The mixed methods employed comprise learning analytics and qualitative course evaluation survey data. To begin the work, a series of identical bite sized courses are quantitatively analysed in order to propose a reliable measure of engagement for bite sized learning. This concludes that a measure of daily participants produces the most effective results. Using the methodology "stack," the body of this research takes a 3 stage practice-based approach. A set of live bite sized learning courses are studied, via the "stack", producing an evaluation, an experiment and a resulting theory for bite sized learning. The evaluation reveals current patterns of engagement within bite sized learning, and enables the development of an early theory. The results of this inform the development of an experiment, intended to test the effect of the daily format versus a simpler form of bite sized learning, delivering all content at the beginning. These experimental results, allied with further qualitative data, allow further development and refinement of a bite sized learning theory. It is discovered that bite sized learning does offer a number of unique advantages to work based learners when compared to traditional methods. It does also, however, come with difficulties. The advantages include increased participation, as well as an increase in discipline and priority around online learning. The difficulties centre around participation in social tasks and on daily participation. Both reduce flexibility, but hold the advantages of increased priority and increased learning for some. The research concludes with the presentation of a three path theoretical model of bite sized learning, each level suited to a particular context and course aim. The paths develop in sequence, and educators may choose the path which best suits their own teaching environment. The resulting paths force a choice between emphasising flexibility, involvement or learning, and advice is offered on how to choose the ideal model based on the learners involved.

The submitted master thesis called Linear Algebra Education at Secondary School consists of a theoretical and an experimental part. The theoretical one deals with the identification of those linear algebra themes, which appear in the secondary school mathematics curriculum. It follows up with a more detailed look into those topics and proposes ways for further extension of secondary level linear algebra education. The main topics, which are identified in the thesis, are vectors and vector spaces, inner and dot product, systems of linear equations and matrices. The main section of this thesis is the experimental part, which incorporates the conclusions of the first one to design and later realise an online educational course of linear algebra as a part of the Talnet project, which took place in the winter semester of the academic year 2015/2016. The end of this thesis contains assessment of the results of this course.