It is aimed to examine the interaction experiences of distance education students in e-learning environments where content-integrated social interaction opportunities are offered, and in line with this purpose, the factors affecting students' level of interaction, appreciation, and participation in interactions were examined. The study group of…

This study aims at exploring communication practices between students and supervisors in thesis projects. The study conducted a comparison between face-to-face and mediated communication through the use of emails. The researcher used the autobiographical reflection to document examples of information communicated during the two interactions.…

Sentiment evolution is a key component of interactions in blended learning. Although interactions have attracted considerable attention in online learning contexts, there is scant research on examining sentiment evolution over different interactions in blended learning environments. Thus, in this study, sentiment evolution at different interaction…

The article introduces a systematic comparison of video-based dyadic interviews and focus groups using newly developed tools for evaluating the success of one way of doing focus groups over another. We conducted a series of online discussions using a video conferencing tool, half of which consisted of four-person focus groups and the other half…

Blending learning environments are being adopted by an increasing number of educational institutions in order to offer flexibility to students. Although, blended synchronous learning environments have been around since early 2000s, there has been little research conducted on students' experiences in these environments, specifically in terms of…

In increasingly online higher education environments, instructors must develop positive and community-oriented learning environments, equivalent to, if different from, face-to-face learning experiences. Connectivism and communities of inquiry are complementary theories that facilitate the design and development of online learning and enable online…

Building a sense of community (SoC) is an important process in the success of distance education and students' retention. However, developing a community in online learning environments is not an easy task. The purpose of this research study is to explore perceptions of graduate students on SoC and learning after using different collaborative…

We conducted a comparative study to evaluate the efficacy of synchronous and asynchronous interaction modes when providing feedback for improving academic writing, achievement motivation and critical thinking. The participants undertook an academic writing task, and were given feedback by a mentor using one of three interaction modes:…

The narrative in this paper focuses on a discourse by the authors regarding the ideal method of delivery for online instruction. A research study was conducted with 20 experienced online learners who also happened to have experience with online instructional design. The outcomes of the study provide insight regarding the preferred method of online…

Online learning environments could be well understood as a multifaceted phenomenon affected by different aspects of learner participation including synchronous/asynchronous interactions. The aim of this study was to investigate learners' participation in online courses, synchronous interaction with a conversational virtual agent, their…

What do MPA students value in online education and what do they think would improve online learning experiences in an MPA program? Ironically, few studies have tried to derive more than a couple of factors in a single study. Integrating the key concepts from across the literature, the perceptions about an array of quality factors were identified…

The purpose of this case study was to examine how a professional graduate program in higher education administration developed seminar-style courses in a blended format. Blended courses involved two extended in-person weekend sessions with synchronous online sessions, and other asynchronous coursework in between. This study explored the importance…

This study presents the main advances made in recent years by an innovative teaching group at the University of Almeria, who are attempting to incorporate alternative spaces for teaching--learning interaction. This group is developing a new line of study to obtain the main vectors for creating an accessible 3D virtual campus on the Second Life…

Consequent to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, pedagogic changes were introduced in postgraduate courses in Physiology, where face-to-face teaching was replaced with synchronous virtual mode for leader-centered (seminar, symposium) and participant-centered (journal club, group discussion) academic activities. We hypothesized that the…

History, tradition, academic rigor, and personal attention: these words are found throughout the marketing materials and online descriptions of traditional, in-person graduate programs. But for universities seeking to expand their revenue base, online graduate programs are one option that can be readily implemented. Research shows that by fall…