published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Web-based instruction provides a new medium for the presentation of instructional activities. In the development of web-based instruction, the designer must realize that the instructional media are merely vehicles for the exchange of ideas. The medium has the capability of addressing individual preferences and styles of learning through its structure and the use of multiple forms of media. Through careful design and adherence to the objectives of instruction and to learners' needs, web-based instruction can provide a successful environment for a variety of learners. In web-based instruction, the design should not be transferred just from one medium to another, but the experience should be redefined with the capabilities of the new medium utilized. Instructional designers must capitalize on the new opportunities that the web provides to learners--to access information from remote locations, to interact with the instruction, to access the instruction at their own pace, to visualize the instruction, and to see the complex relationships in the instruction (Alexander, 1995). Factors in the hypermedia environment, such as visualization, as well as individual student characteristics, such as goal orientation, achievement, and perception, must be taken into account, so the design of web-based instruction enhances the educational opportunities of the learners. ThermoNet was envisioned as a comprehensive supplement for introductory mechanical engineering students. Utilizing many forms of visual media, such as animations, graphics, and video, students would have unlimited access to an interactive web-based environment. This study had four objectives: (1) to determine what students’ characteristics predicted achievement in thermodynamics, (2) to determine what student characteristics predicted the amount of time students spent engaged in ThermoNet, (3) to determine what characteristics impacted students' perceptions of ThermoNet, and (4) to explain the benefits of a web-based instructional environment. The results of this study reveal that web-based instruction may not have a direct impact on students, but the students' goal orientation and preferred mode of learning may impact their achievement. Also, these student characteristics may impact the learner's perception of web-based instruction. More importantly, the results divulge important insights into how web-based instruction can be designed to be a successful learning environment. / text

Contemporary e-learning research often addresses a singular instructional topic, learning strategy, or authoring tool. Technological advancements and evolving delivery methods are changing the e-learning practitioner experience more rapidly than ever before, and the need for a holistic illustration of the modern-day practitioner experience has never been greater. This Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) of the e-learning creation experience consists of Affinity Production Interviews, interviews, and an online survey of e-learning practitioners working with adult audiences. The result of the study is an e-learning creation experience system driven by participants’ stories. The system is comprised of twelve affinities including leadership, policy, the instructional systems design process, the client relationship, emotions, and more. Exercising the system reveals conditions that influence the ultimate outcome of the system: e-learning success. / text

Learner-controlled e-learning has become a preferred medium for the delivery of organizational training. While e-learning offers organizations and trainees many advantages, it also comes with several potential disadvantages. The aim of this study was to explore the relative efficacy of learner- and program-controlled e-learning for content that differs in its complexity. This study also explored cognitive load as a differential mediator of the interaction between learner control and training content complexity for predicting cognitive and behavioral learning outcomes. Finally, learning goal orientation was explored as a motivational individual difference that helps learners cope with complex, learner-controlled e-learning environments. Results suggest that while there is little difference between learners in learner- and program-controlled e-learning environments for content that is relatively simple in nature, complex, learner-controlled e-learning environments are detrimental to cognitive learning relative to complex, program-controlled environments. Moreover, the results suggest that this interaction is differentially mediated by cognitive load, suggesting that complex, learner-controlled environments induce high cognitive demands onto learners which ultimately inhibit cognitive learning. Finally, learning goal orientation was identified as more facilitative individual difference in learner-controlled e-learning environments relative to program-controlled and simple training environments. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

First, this study was conducted to determine the effects of MVRC on the spelling development of second-graders. Second, this study sought to determine if spelling trajectories vary by gender, English Language Learner (ELL) enrollment and/or Special Education (SPED) enrollment. Lastly, students' spelling tests were evaluated with two different spelling scoring methods: traditional standardized scoring, correct and incorrect, and Curriculum-Based Measurement-spelling (CBM), correct letter sequences, to determine which method was more sensitive to growth from pre-test to post-test. Students were pre-tested and post-tested with two measures from the Woodcock-Johnson IV Achievement, Test 3: Spelling and Test 16: Spelling of Sounds. Participants included 159 students, 83 students were enrolled in the experimental condition and 76 students were enrolled in the comparison condition. Using a multilevel model for repeated measures, the researcher estimated the between group-model analyses for Test 3: Spelling and Test 16: Spelling. Students who participated in the experimental condition, receiving MVRC, had significantly different spelling scores than their peers in the comparison group. For Test 3: Spelling, the experimental group increased on average by 1.786 words compared to the comparison group. For Test 16: Spelling of Sounds, the experimental group increased on average by 1.741 words compared to the comparison group. Student spelling trajectories did vary by gender, ELL enrollment, and SPED enrollment. However, these differences were not found to be significant. Neither traditional scoring norCBM-spelling scoring was found to be the more sensitive scoring method for growth for both tests. Instead, CBM-spelling was more sensitive for Test 3: Spelling, while traditional scoring was more sensitive for Test 16: Spelling of Sounds.