The speed and availability of Internet-capable devices, such as computers, smartphones, gaming consoles, TVs, and tablets have made it possible for our society to be connected, and stay connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. The Internet of Things (IoT) describes a new environment where common objects are uniquely identifiable and accessible…

Published children's literature in the United States overrepresents some identities while underrepresenting others, such as people of color, LGBT people, people with disabilities, people who live below the poverty line (Crisp et al., 2016), and more. Thus, some children may not encounter text representative of their identities. As literature can…

This dissertation documents the qualitative study that was conducted with the Ambassador Pilot Program team at Thanksgiving Point Institute; a non-profit farm, gardens, and museum complex and informal learning institution; from the summer of 2011 to the fall of 2012. The Ambassador team was tasked to develop an employee training program. Over time…

Bullying is a serious issue that exists not only in the United States but in other countries as well. There are significant, often devastating implications for both the bully and the victim. Bullying is a social issue that needs to be researched and addressed. This research focused on the perspectives of teachers, principals, and counselors…

The nursing shortage remains of great concern to the nursing profession and to nursing educators. With the projected need for Registered Nurses high and the attrition rate in nursing programs remaining high, a focus on retention of qualified nursing students may be needed. One way to contribute to enhanced retention is using active learning…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the experiences of instructional designers and professors during the online course development process and to determine if their experiences had an effect on the process itself. To gain an understanding of their experiences, open-ended interviews were conducted, seeking descriptions of…

The purpose of this research was to study a sociocognitive "student/parent/peer authoring community" called Traveling Books (TBks) in kindergarten and second grade in a public elementary school setting. TBks are teacher-made vehicles for involving parents in peer-based literacy environments. The study was based on Epstein's theory that…