From “Sage on the Stage” to Facilitator of Learning

This chapter explores through phenomenological methodology the experiences of nursing faculty who transitioned from live to online teaching. These experiences are further examined through the theory of transformative learning to determine whether participants were able to transform their teaching identity from traditional classroom teacher (sage on the stage) to facilitators of learning. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 16 full-time nursing faculty at 4 state universities. Findings revealed that most faculty were originally hesitant to teach online and had multiple misconceptions regarding teaching methods and online student communication. With one exception, professional development for online teaching was limited. Most participants described transforming their teaching methods and philosophies as they gained more experience. Results implicate that faculty development should focus not only on educational principles and technology but also ways to connect with students and develop course content that helps maintain faculty identities.

No Adult Left Behind

With an aging population and the increasing role of virtual technologies in education, educators and educational institutions need to be informed about contemporary and predicted demographics regarding older adults as learners as well as what is currently understood about learning later in life. Although recently increasing, there has been a lack of attention paid to this demographic group. A literature review reveals that “older” students are often those age 25 to 30, while the fastest growing segment of the population is much older. Truly “older” learners can and should be accommodated in the virtual environments that are becoming more and more common in higher and continuing education. The purpose of this chapter is to offer guidance for adult learning professionals tasked with accommodating older adults in virtual environments.

Building Collaborative Virtual Communities in a University Department of Early Childhood Education for Wikipedia Article Authoring

Collaborative and student-centered learning are endorsed by modern educational approaches and (to a certain degree) are applied to educational environments. Early childhood education puts emphasis on such issues. Wiki environments provide the infrastructure for supporting collaborative learning and student-centered learning tasks. Consequently, wiki activities are gradually becoming part of teacher education curriculum. This chapter discusses issues regarding the incorporation of wikis in teacher education curriculum. The most recent corresponding approaches are categorized according to different views, and the most important findings are discussed. An approach aiming to create collaborative virtual communities for Wikipedia article authoring is also presented. The approach has been applied to a university department of early childhood education. To support communication among participants, face-to-face, e-mail communication, and tools encompassed in an open source Learning Management System were employed. Preliminary results are presented showing a positive response of the pre-service early childhood teachers. Lastly, conclusions and future research directions are outlined.

Communication and Collaboration Strategies for an Effective Online Professor

Online classes in higher education bring unique challenges to faculty. This chapter identifies best practices for effectively communicating and collaborating with students online. The information presented was gained via “crowd science” qualitative methodology, in which online faculty responded via email and a blog post requesting best practices for effectively communicating and collaborating with peers and students online. Faculty were from diverse backgrounds and teaching experiences. Data are presented in concert with recent research in the field of effective online learning and communication with students. The current literature in tandem with the data provides an effective collection of practices to provide online instructors with a guide to successfully facilitate online classes.

Killing the “Quit Point”

This article seeks to find a solution for one of the largest causes of student attrition: writing in general, and more specifically, research writing. The population of freshman, transfer, and non-traditional students that can be found in freshman composition classes is an at-risk group that deserves special attention, and this article offers ways to improve the attrition numbers both through the use of technology as well as changing the way we view student improvement and progression regarding their writing ability. Colleges and Universities need to do more to help students be successful as college students, and this paper presents suggestions to do just that.

Tone and Attitude in E-Mail Communications and the Online Classroom

In the online classroom, e-mail has emerged as a predominant communication method between students and faculty. As such, despite many benefits of e-mail, including ease of use, familiarity of the technology, and rapid response times, there are numerous challenges faculty face when sending and receiving e-mail correspondence with students. This chapter addresses several of the challenges presented to faculty, including lack of cues such as body language, inflection, and other sensory stimuli. The author of the chapter discusses ways to overcome these challenges including appropriate tone and attitude in the faculty member’s e-mails, which help mitigate the challenges the medium presents. The chapter concludes with discussion supporting use of electronic communication for students and faculty, especially when written effectively and purposefully.

If You Build It, They Will Come

Students attending traditional or online universities will benefit from membership in a virtual club. This chapter provides specific information about tools used to create, administer, and motivate participation in virtual college clubs. To enhance the club experience, suggestions are offered for creating interactive clubrooms, utilizing specific social media tools, and providing unique club events all as a virtual experience. A case study is included to demonstrate how students of a major online university participate in virtual club events. Results of this case study indicate a correlation between students who can easily access club tools and events and participation. Further, students who participate in events report greater satisfaction with their overall university experience.

Connecting Communication to Curriculum and Pedagogy in Online Environments

This chapter relies on the analysis of communicative patterns, discursive sequences, and instructional strategies featured in an entirely online graduate level course featuring a combination of compulsory and optional chat sessions. Findings emphasize the use of communication dynamics to promote social presence and socially-mediated learning in online learning communities, which, for the purpose of this research project, are represented by the required synchronous discussions used in class. Recommendations focus on employing a flexible pedagogy that takes into account student characteristics, appropriate instructional and technological tools and strategies, course cadence or pace, creating and maintaining an online learning community, as well as clear and engaging communication. Further considerations relate to ensuring the identification of specific purposes for online chat sessions, their integration into the entire set of instructional strategies and resources, clear procedures for online discussion topic selection, and the associated grading policy.

Using the International Negotiation Modules Project (INMP) to Build a Learning Community

This chapter profiles a program that uses online simulation to internationalize the community college curriculum. For the past two decades the International Negotiation Modules Project (INMP) has had a particular effect on the construction of knowledge for community college students who often need non-traditional approaches to learning for their success. Through active learning and collaborative work on cross-disciplinary concepts, the simulation enhances overall student comprehension. In the process, the INMP helps to build a cohesive learning community that begins with student teams, continues with classroom learning, and transcends to multi-college classroom dialogue. This chapter explores how unique interactions inherent in INMP reinforce student engagement that, in turn, enhances overall student success.

Making Sense of Building Online Learning Communities

The last decade has brought an increase in online courses in the educational setting. Online enrollment has increased from 1.98 million in 2003 to 2.35 million in 2004 (Allen & Seaman, 2005). While students, higher universities, and faculty are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of online learning environments, there is an increasing concern over the support in distance education, teaching methods, and a social disconnectedness of students from the course. This chapter explores how these factors can impede a successful online learning experience and can cause dissatisfaction and higher dropout rates among students in distance learning programs. Carr (2000) found higher dropout rates for distance education (10-20%) over traditional programs. Higher institution’s online faculty are now faced with the task of creating a virtual community of learners, meeting both academic and social needs of students.