Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Online technology'

The researcher explored the lived experience of adult online college honor students (AOCHS) with the goal of describing critical factors that support academic success. The study addressed a gap in the literature concerning how the technology and virtual context of adult online college education are perceived, interpreted, and employed by the most successful students in undergraduate online college degree programs. Participants described how they perceived their online learning experience, what meaning they attribute to this experience, and what strategies they employ to achieve academic success in the online learning environment. The study was based on Deming’s total quality management philosophy, Nonaka’s theoretical context for knowledge generation, and the community of inquiry (CoI), a conceptual framework for online education. An online questionnaire and individual telephone interviews were used to gather qualitative data, which were analyzed using thematic coding and analytic induction to address the study’s purpose and answer the research questions. Follow-up interview subjects were purposefully selected to provide a heterogeneous sample based on self-reported demographics, priorities, and motivations. Results showed that honor students’ expect that the technologies and user interfaces in online college classes should be as engaging and effective as social media, online entertainment, and Internet commerce technologies that they use in their nonacademic lives. That online instructors should be active and encouraging participants in the learning process. And that students’ personal, academic success is supported by a mature self-image and work ethic, effective time management and workload planning, clear and timely communication with faculty members, positive collaboration with classmates, and fluent use of learning technology.

An online curriculum about biological evolution was designed according to the Promoting Evidentiary Reasoning and Self-regulation Online (PERSON) theoretical framework. PERSON is an attempt to develop online science instruction focused on supporting evidentiary reasoning and self-regulation. An efficacy study was conducted with 80 suburban high school biology students using a design-based research approach to develop a curriculum to promote biological evolution understandings, evidentiary reasoning, and self-regulation. Data sources and instruments included (1) the Biological Evolution Assessment Measurement (BEAM); (2) the modified Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ); (3) discussion forum posts; (4) formative assessments of evidence based reasoning; (5) Prediction, Monitoring, and Reflection forms (PMR); (6) the Online Instruction Questionnaire; and (7) field notes. Findings revealed that BEAM posttest scores were significantly greater than pretest scores for items designed to measure biological evolution content knowledge and evidentiary reasoning. Students tracked in a lower level biology course showed improvement in biological evolution understandings and evidentiary reasoning. It was found that performance on daily evidentiary reasoning tasks strongly predicted BEAM posttest scores. However, findings revealed that students did not meet local standards for performance on items designed to measure evidentiary reasoning. Students expressed a variety of opinions about their learning experiences with the online curriculum. Some students expressed a definite preference for traditional learning environments, while others expressed a definite preference for online learning. Self-regulatory ability did not significantly predict BEAM gain scores. Further, self-regulatory ability was not demonstrably improved as a result of this intervention. Implications for designing science instruction in asynchronous online learning environments to support evidentiary reasoning and self-regulation are discussed.

Emergent popularity and student consumer/educational administrator demand for online technology in counselor education is also increasing the need to research its impact and potential effectiveness/ineffectiveness as a pedagogical tool. Research shows that the trend toward online coursework is likely to increase in the future and also that the new trend is moving away from asynchronous text-based delivery toward virtual environments using video and audio (Robey, 2009).

Counselor educator led preparation programs are experiencing more pressure to join the online bandwagon and yet lag behind other professions in utilizing technologies in education (Karper, Robinson, & Casado-Kehoe, 2005). Although some studies have investigated the use of online technology in counselor education, very few studies have explored using virtual simulated clients in counselor education in order to develop counseling skills (Engen, Finken, Luschei, & Kenney, 1994; Hayes, Taub, Robinson, & Sivo, 2003; Karper et al., 2005).

Furthermore, self-efficacy is a critical component of counseling skill development for counselors-in-training (CITs; Levitt & Jacques, 2005). Therefore, the purpose of this mixed-methods dissertation was to investigate whether online learning technology using synchronous, online, video-based, computer-guided, simulated-client microskills drills in real time influenced microskills development for counselors-in-training.

Further, I used Counselingskills on Demand (COD) online virtual client microskills drills within the framework of Bandura's (1977) social cognitive theory that performance is the best indicator of self-efficacy and explored how online microskills drills influence counseling student microskills performance and developmental process.

Qualitative data analysis suggested that participants were comfortable with online learning, found virtual client microskills drills most beneficial while developing a basic understanding of the difference between microskills and how to use them, and less useful once a basic understanding and ability to use the microskills was established. Overall, study results appeared to indicate that online learning technology using synchronous, online, video-based, computer-guided, simulated-client microskills drills in real time may be beneficial, may assist counseling students in the developmental process of increasing cognitive complexity and self-efficacy, could lead to decreased anxiety when doing counseling, and might help develop microskills understanding and basic proficiency.

This dissertation examines nontraditional online students’ perceptions of Tinto’s four student success conditions: expectations, support, assessment, and engagement. Expectations include those of the student, the faculty and the institution. Support includes academic, social, and financial support. Providing early and meaningful assessment and feedback to students is crucial during their educational career. The fourth success condition in Tinto’s model includes the involvement or engagement of students with their peers (and faculty) in both an academic and social contexts. Nontraditional student perceptions of each of these institutional conditions of success was uncovered through demographic survey, interviews, syllabi and website artifacts.This qualitative study provided a rich, detailed description of the lived experience of the nontraditional online student to add to the paucity of research on this understudied population. The three main themes emerged from the data: (a) nontraditional students identified in an asynchronous environment did not find the success conditions to be consistently present and reported that they would have benefitted from them if they had existed both academically and socially; (b) nontraditional students identified key elements for success, which included flexibility in their schedule and the opportunity to receive a degree from a reputable institution that would lead to career enhancement; (c) students reported developing a strong, positive academic relationship with their advisor. The advisor served as a substitute for faculty-student relationships and was the primary role for providing academic, social and financial support.

As online courses become more established, there has been a clear impetus to build interactivity, personalization, and real-time feedback into courses. Faculty and course designers have cast envious eyes at video and online games that engage and enthrall players for hours and some are experimenting with gamification—a blanket term that covers all manner of attempts to build student intrinsic motivation into online courses. In this study I analyze four cases of gamified online courses at accredited institutions of higher education. I've looked at game elements the course builders are including and whether this might be a means of progress toward educational and societal goals. My conclusion is that there is potential significantly to increase student engagement in the concept of gamifying online courses. I outline areas for future study by suggesting frameworks within which gamification might be further analyzed and assessed.

Multiplayer online video games are an increasingly popular form of entertainment, and many individuals spend a considerable amount of time playing them. One hallmark of these multiplayer games has been the need for collaboration and teamwork for both individual enjoyment and game success. At the same time the needs of a global marketplace have led to the evolution of the geographically separated, but technology linked, distributed team as a critical business function. The elements and functions of these business-oriented distributed teams closely align with the types of groups that often come together to play online video games. A common trait shared by both of these kinds of teams is the role that leadership plays in their success. Given that these games are becoming a pervasive element in our culture, and that they mirror business teams, this study examined the possibility of a link between an individual's performance in multiplayer online video games and that person's leadership style as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The research questions explored in this paper concern the extent to which traditional leadership styles are linked to successful achievement in collaborative online games and whether there are consistent leadership style profiles associated with tiers of game performance rankings. The findings suggest that while there are links between participation in multiplayer online videogames, additional research must be done to tease out the exact nature of those links and to relate them to offline experiences. In addition while the instrumentation and conceptual frameworks that both define and measure online leadership as expressed in these games have yet to be developed, the study suggests there may be value in extending and enhancing existing leadership constructs, concepts and tool sets such as the Sloan Model and the MLQ to derive such measures. The study also provides future researchers with an enhanced understanding of online data collection as well as a sufficient foundation to further examine areas of correlation between leadership and performance in online games toward uncovering a set of empirical measures that create a more accurate picture of the substance of and development pathways for online leadership.

Much research has been done in regards to student programming errors, online education and studio-based learning (SBL) in computer science education. This study furthers this area by bringing together this knowledge and applying it to proactively help students overcome impasses caused by common student programming errors.

This project proposes a pedagogy for proactive online teaching. Studio-Based Learning Online (SBL-Online) consists of three components, the SBL pedagogy, the strategic timing and content of the SBL sessions and the online nature of the implementation environment. The implementation of SBL-Online aims to provide a better quality of online computer programming courses promoting student-student interaction focused on the discussion of problematic curriculum issues.

Data collected prior to the application of SBL-Online provided counts of common student programming errors. This information was used to create the assignments that were later used during the SBL-Online sessions. In regards to its implementation, this project is two-fold; on the one hand it compares online vs. SBL incarnations of the same course. On the other hand it observes and analyzes what goes on during the SBL-Online sessions.

The data collection includes an end-of-semester questionnaire, a modified version of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ), as well as thick data collection extracted from the course management system, student emails and SBL-Online session video recordings. Recordings’ analyses of student interaction during SBL sessions play a very important role within this study.

The SBL-Online just as its face-to-face counterpart SBL, has shown the potential to help novice programmers overcome the limitations unique to introduction to programming courses. In most cases there is evidence on students’ optimistic state of mind before, during and after SBL sessions highlighting the effects of this treatment. On the other hand there is evidence of renouncing and defeatist thoughts from the control group.

This research provides a unique insight into the inner workings and effects of SBL, including the identification of “learning moments,” student-student interaction and the building of camaraderie. SBL-Online impacted student’s behavior, in different areas of the course, such as, attitude towards peers and attitude towards the course.

The advances in information technologies and the Internet significantly promote the prosperous growth of electronic commerce in recent years. Simply surfing the Internet allows consumers to conveniently explore endless product choices and a flood of related product information. As one of the most important sources of product information, Word-of-Mouth (WOM) helps consumers assess product quality, reduces decision risk without physical trials, and thus facilitates locating their best matches. WOM volume on the Internet has been rising fast while the Internet also unprecedentedly enhances the reach of WOM. As a result, online WOM could significantly influence consumer decision-making. More and more firms are embracing and applying online WOM marketing as a complementary strategy for advertising to increase sales. Even so, not much has been known regarding the mechanism underlying the WOM effect on online consumer behavior. A deeper understanding of the economic impact of online WOM is needed to provide practitioners insightful guidance on information systems design and the allocation of firm resources to more effectively develop online WOM marketing strategies.

This dissertation seeks to shed light on online WOM effect from three angles using a three-essay structure. The first essay of this dissertation investigates how a demand side factor (online user-generated WOM) interplays with a supply side factor (product variety) to affect a product's popularity in the online market where product choices are abundant and consumers can easily access product information. Extant research primarily looks into either demand side or supply side justifications for the heterogeneity of consumption pattern. Alternatively, this study highlights that consumers' reliance on online user reviews to choose products is significantly influenced by the quantity of products available.

In addition, this dissertation also explores the differential impact of online WOM created by different types of reviewers on online user choices. While consumers are widely exposed to both online user reviews and professional reviews, those two sources of WOM information are generally believed to influence user choices independently. However, an in-depth mediation analysis conducted in the Bayesian framework shows that professional reviews influence online user choices not only directly but also indirectly through the volume of online user reviews. This study also proposes a more robust hierarchical structure to model the interaction effect between online user reviews and product variety, refining the first essay.

Following this line of inquiry, this dissertation further studies the impact of the distribution of online WOM across retailing and third-party websites on consumers' purchasing decisions. In parallel with the flocking WOM available on the Internet, nowadays consumers are able to reach almost every piece of online WOM information relevant to their interested products. The distribution of WOM information across the Internet may accordingly influence consumers' search costs for product information and affect their final decisions. This research has found empirical evidence that both the dispersion of WOM volume and variation of WOM valence across the Internet significantly influence online retail sales.

The purpose of this research study is to analyze the impact that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have had on institutions of higher learning and explore successful strategies implemented by educational leaders in meeting the challenges of these new learning platforms. As online learning has exploded in recent years—with MOOCs representing the latest evolution of that process—traditional educational methods at brick and mortar colleges and universities have been challenged by the scope and reach of virtual scholarship. With this rapid development of online learning, and MOOCs specifically, educators must learn to adapt and embrace these new cyber-driven educational venues to stay relevant in today’s ever-changing, global learning environment. The insights garnered from this research project can shed light on actions taken by higher education leaders who have addressed the recent massive, evolving shift to virtual learning while still managing to retain the essence of the traditional college experience at their campuses. It is the researcher’s hope that the findings of this study will empower college educators to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of MOOCs on higher learning institutions, and to help them strategize ways to successfully incorporate these virtual learning venues into traditional educational programs at their schools.

This qualitative, phenomenological research study encompasses the lived experiences of 12 higher education leaders who have had involvement with Massive Open Online Courses at their learning institutions as articulated through data collected from 12 semi-structured Interview Questions, framed by 4 overarching Research Questions. The findings of the research project have significant implications for individuals planning to implement and develop Massive Open Online Courses at their learning institutions.