Individuals with Autism (ASD) and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) exhibit poor post-secondary education employment outcomes compared to their disabled and non-disabled peers (Shattuck et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2015). In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic school closures, students with ASD and/or IDD in post-secondary…

Virtual reality (VR) as an emerging technology has extreme potential to revolutionize online higher education for adult students through immersive and engaging learning experiences. Lower cost and advancing research in VR technology and immersive simulation software offers unique opportunities for adult students to engage in a virtual learning…

As online education continues to grow as a method to deliver education at the college and university level, research on online education has shifted from studying the technology and its ability to deliver course content to trying to better understand what encourages a positive online experience for instructors and students. The marked difference…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of virtual office hours in the online classroom on engagement and course completion among criminology students at Arizona State University. The study relied on an action research mixed-method design. The goal of the interventions was to increase the engagement of all members of the class. The…

This descriptive qualitative study investigates perceptions of students regarding the use of SocialSim, a tool designed to deliver simulation in a virtual environment using social media as a platform to facilitate inteprofessional education. There have been exponential changes in U.S. healthcare system in recent years, prompting the need for…

This qualitative study investigates tutor and student interaction in an online multiliteracy center (the Hub) at a major public research university. This study addresses a gap in the current literature on how writing centers transition to multiliteracy centers and prepare their tutors for consulting with students around aspects of design. There is…

The majority of database system development projects end in failure. Reasons that include, the system not being developed on time, the system was developed over budget, and the system developed did not meet the planned project's criteria. These failures are compounded by the use of virtual teams which includes problems with team formation, the…

An understanding of the impact of user avatar alteration in relation to social presence is needed to fully realize the potential of Second Life for higher education usages, which the research literature reveals as an environment that provides increased social presence. Prior studies focused primarily on the impact of system design attributes on…

In spite of the growing popularity of virtual worlds for gaming, recreation, and education, few studies have explored the efficacy of 3D immersive virtual worlds in post-secondary instruction; even fewer discuss the ability of virtual worlds to help young adults develop creative thinking. This study investigated the effect of virtual world…

Use of 3D (three-dimensional) avatars in a synchronous virtual world for educational purposes has only been adopted for about a decade. Universities are offering synchronous, avatar-based virtual courses for credit - within 3D worlds (Luo & Kemp, 2008). Faculty and students immerse themselves, via avatars, in virtual worlds and communicate…

A recent phenomenon in higher education is the emergence of the virtual university. Some observers have attributed its emergence to globalization and technological innovation. This dissertation study is about one particular instance of the virtual university phenomenon, the African Virtual University (AVU). The AVU initiative was launched with…

In this mixed methods study the potential for developmental readers to experience optimal experience (flow) within the multi-user virtual environment, "Second Life," was examined. In an educational context, "Second Life" provided a space for constructivist learning, socialization, exploration, discovery and creativity. The communicative, social…

This quantitative survey study examines the willingness of online students to adopt an immersive virtual environment as a classroom tool and compares this with their feelings about more traditional learning modes including our ANGEL learning management system and the Elluminate live Web conferencing tool. I surveyed 1,108 graduate students in…

The purpose of this study was to determine what effects synchronous instruction has on students in an asynchronous online art course. Action research was selected as the research method as it allows the researcher to study his or her own classroom in order to improve their own instruction. Data was collected for a period of one month from five…

Many online classrooms today are designed based on learner-centered principles. Implicit with this design perspective is the goal to create and facilitate a virtual learning community in which students learn from and share with each other through discussion-based computer conferencing. In the current literature, little has been shared on what…