Eighty-nine students were provided with a student-only live-voice space in a Learning Management System (LMS). Would they use it and, if so, would they feel sufficient ownership to create what Havnes (2008) described as "partly self-made niches"? In this study, a substantial proportion of respondents reported that they used the space not…

In this article, Vance Stevens describes how access to what he calls "star performer educators" as either up-­and­-coming in their field, or experienced and polished practitioners, have changed with access to the internet. They are clearly passionate about what they do, and what they do has become second nature. They touch hearts and…

Embryology is integrated into the Clinically Oriented Anatomy course at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. Before 2008, the same instructor presented embryology in 13 face-to-face lectures distributed by organ systems throughout the course. For the 2008 and 2009 offerings of the course, a hybrid embryology…

The current manuscript is a reflective case study that describes the emerging design of the author's first online mathematics course. The case study addresses how expectations associated with teaching in a live setting can raise conflicts in designing online courses. The author reframes the conflicts into questions; explores the questions and…

This paper will describe pedagogical approaches for re-purposing an open educational resource (OER) designed and produced by the Deutsche Welle. This free online program, "Deutsch Interaktiv," consists of authentic digital videos, slideshows and audio texts and gives a contemporary overview of the culture and language in Germany, Austria…

Research on preparing language teachers for blended teaching of summary writing, a mix of on-site and online instruction for college students to grasp the gist of the texts, is scarce in higher education. This study examined the problems encountered and solutions proposed by six language teachers, who altogether instructed 214 college students on…

Offerings of online courses continue to increase in higher education settings, as institutions attempt to meet students' (and faculty members') increasing demands for online access. How do pre-service teachers perceive online education? This paper reports the results of a questionnaire-based survey addressing this issue. The…

Asynchronous online discussion forums are common in blended learning models and are popular with students. A previous report has suggested that participation in these forums may assist student learning in a gross anatomy subject but it was unclear as to whether more academically able students post more often or whether participation led to…

Online distance education creates increased opportunities for continuing education and advanced training for allied health professionals living in underserved and geographically isolated areas. The purpose of this article was to explore attitudes on barriers and benefits of distance education technology among underrepresented minority allied…

Online learning is rapidly becoming one of the most prevalent delivery methods of learning in institutions of higher education. It provides college students, especially adult students, an alternative, convenient, and cost-efficient method to earn their credentials, upgrade their skills and knowledge, and keep or upgrade their employment. But at…

This article describes a qualitative inquiry that explored the phenomenon of online learning on a community college campus within the paradigm of Community of Inquiry (CoI). The learning experience of 15 community college students taking fully online courses was examined in-depth for evidence of social, cognitive, and instructional domains…

Eleven experienced community college faculty members were interviewed to elicit examples of how they improved student learning productivity in their online courses. The 11 faculty members represented eight different states, nine different fields or disciplines, and all were permanent or full-time faculty members at community colleges in the…

Digital media and open educational resources (OER) are said to redraw the boundaries between learners and teachers, by weakening the centralization of expertise and the distribution of subject-matter authority. This paper presents the findings of an ethnographic study of how the use of OER mediates the relations between self-directed learners and…

Research anxiety significantly declined in a diverse sample of 59 MSW students in their first-year hybrid online research course in which the instructor used an array of innovative educational techniques empirically proven to reduce this phenomenon. The pretest/posttest study, the standardized survey instruments used, and a summary of these…

Online course offerings have been growing at a rapid pace in post-secondary education. An ordered probit model is estimated to analyze the effects of online vs. face-to-face course format in achieving specific letter grades. An upper-division agricultural economics course taught over 9 years using both formats is used for the analysis. For a…