For many instructional designers (ID), subject matter experts (SMEs) are viewed as a necessary evil. Depending upon their day job, SMEs can be challenging to work with due to their schedules and responsibilities outside the ID's project. They can be unaware of the eLearning process, learning models and theories, and expensive -- a SME can easily…

Since Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) became a global phenomenon in 2012, there has been constant evolution in the way Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) make sense of them. HEIs embracing MOOCs have dedicated a variety of human resource to this venture. Only in a minority of cases, staff have been appointed exclusively to this role. In all…

This study explored the almost 20-year-old Community of Inquiry (CoI) social presence construct through faculty's perspectives and practices of their online teaching. Social presence has many CoI-identified characteristics, but overall it is the ability of a student to project their persona into the classroom. The preponderance of investigation…

This article draws on a semester design study to evaluate the quality of an online from the point of e-learning. Adobe Connect web conferencing system was used as a delivery platform in an Introductory Programming course. The course content was specifically sequenced and elaborated in terms of elaboration theory (ET). Thirty pre-service computer…

For the last 10 years, online pre-service teacher distance education has increased significantly in Brazil. As a result, research on this educational modality has also increased, in particular, research investigating the different roles students and teachers play in these courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of digital…

Despite the increased attention given to MOOCs over the last four years, learners' voices have been noticeably absent. This virtual ethnographic study was designed to examine the experiences of 12 adult learners with bachelors' and masters' degrees, enrolled in a four-week MOOC on the topic of human trafficking. Through the lenses of self-directed…

The goal of this study was to gain in-depth understanding about nonnative English-speaking students' lived experiences with massive open online courses (MOOCs) in a regular college classroom. Phenomenological methodology was used to examine those experiences in 24 Korean college students. Individual interviews, an open-ended online survey,…

While 'flipped' classrooms have been heralded as a valuable tool for student learning, little is known about the process by which students learn from the out-of-class resources. This study investigates 12 undergraduate students' sense-making activities while watching videos about topics in introductory statistics. Analysis of interview data…

Teaching in blended and online learning environments requires different pedagogical approaches than teaching in face-to-face learning environments. How educators are prepared to teach potentially impacts the quality of instruction provided in blended and online learning courses. Teaching presence is essential to achieving student learning…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate an innovative online doctoral course on the pre-service exploration of the superintendency in order to advocate for effective teaching practices in response to calls from the field. To this end, a review of literature was utilized in order to frame and illustrate the course, bringing forth key concepts,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of motivation in the persistence of adults enrolled in online higher education. Since the 1990s, online courses and programs have proliferated across higher education, with adults (ages 25 and over) currently making up the largest portion of online enrollments. Online courses, however, suffer…

This study addresses a gap in research literature regarding educator's experiences teaching online high school, focusing on strengths, challenges, and professionalism, from an online high school teacher's perspective. In addition, teachers provided their perceived level of professionalism as online high school teachers and provided their…

Associate Professor Dr. M. Murat Erguvan has 28 years of teaching and administrative experience in various countries and positions such as programme coordinator, dean, vice rector for education, research and/or external affairs. He has been with the International Black Sea University (IBSU), in Tbilisi, Georgia, a country located at the…

The purpose of this study was to determine strategies that could be implemented into an online course in order to create and maintain a sense of social presence between students and their professor and students and each other. A mixed methods study utilizing interviews, document analysis, and a survey was used to conduct the research. The study…

Asynchronous online instruction has become increasingly popular in the field of religious studies. However, despite voluminous research on online learning in general and numerous articles on online theological instruction, there has been little discussion of how to effectively design and deliver online undergraduate courses in religious studies.…