Due to several factors including advances in technology and the global pandemic, online and virtual professional development (OPD) opportunities have rapidly increased in demand and number. Uncertainty has surfaced as to whether the quality of the content of OPD is as high as the quality of content of in-person professional development in-person.…

The discourse-based interview (DBI) allows researchers to explore writers' tacit knowledge. This article describes how we taught and learned to adapt a DBI-based interviewing process through the reflections of both the professor and two graduate students in a graduate-level course, Field Methods in Technical Communication. By participating in a…

In this study, we test the effect of in-class student peer review on student learning outcomes using a quasiexperimental design. We provide an assessment of peer review in a quantitative research methods course, which is a traditionally difficult and technical course. Data were collected from 170 students enrolled in four sections of a…

While online course offerings have steadily risen over the last decade and it is estimated that 32% of college students have taken an online course (Allen & Seaman, 2013), the process of preparing students for blended and online courses has varied and is inconsistent across institutions. Attrition rates for online courses have been…

Extension Online is an Internet-based online course platform that enables the Texas AgriLife Extension Service's Family Development and Resource Management (FDRM) unit to reach tens of thousands of users across the U.S. annually with research-based information. This article introduces readers to Extension Online by describing the history of its…

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy published free online lessons that help students take action to prevent unplanned pregnancy and complete their education. From the fall of 2012 to the spring of 2014, approximately 2,800 students took the online lessons and participated in pre- and post-lesson evaluation surveys at four…

Instructors are continually looking for means to improve outcomes for students in online courses. This article examines the instructional design of courses to determine if consistent components implemented in a recently established online master's degree program can produce significant student outcomes. The authors detail the construction and…

In a North Texas school district, students taking online courses in a variety of subject areas were not successfully completing courses at the district's expected levels. The district pays for courses and student support while remaining financially responsible to the community and programmatically to students' online success. Students'…

The purpose of the present study is to describe faculty development activities at one university and to show how these activities were reviewed for relevance to students. As a means to validate faculty development activities and make adjustments for future development activities, a survey of students was undertaken. A survey was completed by…

The mission of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is to ensure all students have access to world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success. "National Standards for Quality Online Courses" is designed to provide states, districts, online programs, and…

Some U.S. universities use Web-based formats to offer most of the course work required to become a certified teacher of the deaf. Yet little research exists on how students judge the content and delivery of such courses compared to on-campus instruction. Parton (2005) described previous research concerning this topic as descriptive rather than…

The purpose of this study was to develop a survey based on the findings in existing research regarding students' perceptions and preferences related to online course delivery. Researchers have found that the following areas are important for student satisfaction with online instruction, interaction among students, quality and timely interaction…

School districts have two basic routes to incorporate online courses: Develop their own online curriculum or buy into an existing virtual school program. Decision makers might consider six strategic questions before moving ahead with their plans to build their own online course offerings. These questions deal with sizing up of existing providers,…