The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework is becoming increasingly popular for designing instruction in the university setting. The use of the UDL framework ensures that online learning environments are inclusive and equitable for students with a variety of learning needs and preferences. This article focuses on the third UDL principle:…

This study addresses the necessity of comprehending the remote learning environment for improving online course design and delivery. The primary objective is to investigate the impact of teaching, cognitive, and social presence, along with learner motivation from the Community of Inquiry framework, on students' learning satisfaction in both…

Background: Online learning has become a popular form of education. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning was mainly associated with higher education, with an incremental growth at the K-12 level. The pandemic changed this situation rapidly. Online instruction has been increasingly integrated into secondary schools and has significantly…

With continued growth in online learning, motivation remains a key factor in persistence and achievement. Online mathematics students struggle with self-regulation and self-efficacy. As reported by Ryan and Deci (Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guilford Press, 2017,…

Online-only course design has to balance students' needs to experience (1) competence and (2) autonomy as it may affect their motivation. Lecture units can provide structured guidance by being made accessible in a fixed order, or support students' autonomy by providing free access to all lecture units. Online-only courses with lecture units…

This dissertation implements self-determination theory to examine learning environments conducive to student motivation in higher education. Specifically, this work is concerned with measuring the satisfaction and frustration of students' three basic psychological needs (BPNs), the need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (ARC). To do so,…

In February 2020, the author was offered a position as a postdoctoral teaching fellow at a large land-grant college in the American West. A couple weeks later, COVID-19 hit in full force. As the newly hired postdoctoral teaching fellow, the author's department chair tasked the author with a challenging assignment -- to develop an asynchronous…

This article proposes a gamification approach that aims to motivate students in online discussions. While some efforts have been made in gamification for teaching and learning, insufficient attention has been paid to gamification grounded in "both" theories and evidence from empirical studies. After identifying five motivational needs of…

The current study aims to clarify the autonomy levels of the students taught English Composition through asynchronous distance education which refers to the separation of learners and instructors both in terms of place and time. The data collection process was conducted at a public university in Georgia, USA. 40 students taking online English…

This qualitative case study explored how course context, such as course design, facilitation, and community, supports students' basic psychological needs and thus shapes their situational motivation to participate in asynchronous online discussions in different course contexts. Three upper-level undergraduate courses in different disciplines were…

There has been an unquestionable upsurge in distance education in recent years. Given this, it is extremely important to understand the experience of online courses from students' perspectives. The purpose of the current qualitative study is to understand student attitudes about distance education in a specific context, namely that of a…

This study explored the use of the Web-based virtual environment, Adobe Connect Pro, in a postgraduate online teacher education programme at the University of Waikato. It applied the tenets of Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance (Moore, 1997) in examining the efficacy of using the virtual classroom to promote quality dialogue and explored how…