This study investigates student engagement in asynchronous forums in distance learning by focusing on the interactions of 204 students across four classes. It aims to understand interaction evolution and influencing factors over the course of each class. Data analysis reveals an initial high involvement that declines markedly over time for each…

Online asynchronous courses require close attention to course design to ensure there are strategies in place to foster social presence to build stronger senses of community and to motivate students to engage (content, peers and instructors). Judicious use of social media may serve this purpose. Since its inception, social media, Twitter in…

Online learning has grown productive and vital for delivering asynchronous instruction to undergraduate medical students. We explored the factors that affect the learning of undergraduate medical students in an online asynchronous Forensic Medicine course through focus group discussions. These factors were identified in three components of…

This study examines the effects of synchronous and non-synchronous online engagement on the academic performance of accounting students at a New Zealand university based on their choice of course delivery format -- either distance learning or face-to-face learning with online components (F2F+). We track accounting students as they complete three…

The trend to shift courses online is accelerating. Some students are gravitating toward asynchronous online classes; however, many still prefer in-person educational experiences. These students often are less engaged when taking online courses, and their willingness to pay for online courses is frequently less than for in-person courses. There is…

This article describes how to design an entangled literacy model, which blends verbal skills with multimodal features of visual, auditory, and other sensory cues to enable students to experience online classes with authentic and comprehensible material; paying attention to modes of communication in online classes also helps approximate…

Research suggests that student engagement is a multi-faceted construct yet remains essential for student success in higher education. College students' actions, attitudes, and thoughts may serve as indicators for various levels of learning and development. Since online learning slowly emerged as a viable option in higher education, research has…

The author describes how using free internet extensions allowed for the continuation of a media-based honors course during the COVID-19 crisis.

This study investigates the effectiveness of video-based learning compared to traditional text-based methods in distance education for software courses. The research was based on two samples of students (n[subscript 1] = 32, n[subscript 2] = 30) enrolled in the "Fundamentals of PSPP" distance course at the N.B. School of Design and…

Online professional learning approaches are positioned as a key way to support the knowledge and practice of the early childhood workforce. Within the research literature, however, limited attention has been given to early childhood teachers' perceptions of, and experiences with, online learning programs, particularly those using asynchronous…

Background: Online learning and teaching were globally popularized due to the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic has made both synchronous and asynchronous online learning inevitable in regions privileged with the technological affordance. Aims: This study was designed to examine and compare the effectiveness of both learning modes through the…

Higher education students are attending online classes more now than ever in history. Many institutions have temporarily converted their traditional face-to-face to online classroom settings. This raises many challenges as it relates to having to rely on Computer Mediated Communication (CMC). A virtual learning survey was sent out to all First…

While online learning holds many benefits for graduate students, lack of student interaction often found in asynchronous content delivery may negatively impact student engagement. This study examined student perceptions of online lecture-embedded interactive activities that promoted student active engagement through quizzes and gamification. From…

Create-Rank-Compete (CRC) is a teaching method designed to promote learner-to-learner, learner-to-material, and learner-to-instructor engagement through asynchronous and synchronous online interactions. The CRC method is rooted in the constructivism theory of learning; by design, it is a Bruner's spiral that supports metacognitive skill…

Computer-supported collaborative argumentation is an online activity that can engage students in deep discussion and analysis of complex problems. Given the potentially confrontational nature of argumentation, using polite language becomes a strategic approach to prevent breakdowns in group communication and nurture productive dialogues. This…