Influence is a critical competency for success in the workplace. Past research has shown that two oral communication skills (listening and oral expression) are associated with interpersonal influence. This exploratory study examines the effectiveness of two pedagogies (leaderless group discussion [LGD] and oral presentation with a question and…

In this study, we work towards a strategy to measure and enhance the quality of interactions in discussion forums at scale. We present a machine learning (ML) model which identifies the phase of cognitive presence exhibited by a student's post and suggest future applications of such a model to help online students develop higher-order thinking. We…

Supporting collaborative discourse with discussion forums in a typical Learning Management System (LMS) remains challenging. This article reports on a design case of an "unLMS" approach, which aimed to devise a networked learning environment not based on an LMS for collaborative discourse in an online course. To support such discourse,…

This study employed interviews and document analysis to achieve a better understanding of the design and facilitation strategies used by online instructors in a department of educational technology at a large university in the U.S. Some distinctions were found with the literature about what strategies and activities can be used in online…

Interactive learning is vital to schooled learning because it encourages and enables the exploration and application of knowledge. The difficulty of providing for this learning-based interaction among students who never meet in person has been a continuing concern in online education. This paper describes six different interactive structures…

Our first-semester organic chemistry class focused on structured group work to enable active learning in class. When Smith College switched to online learning after spring break, the class was adapted to fit into an online learning model while retaining active learning. Using feedback from students, we implemented two tracks, one focused on…

The purpose of the study was to examine the impacts of course activities on student perceptions of engagement and learning in online courses. Using eight interactive course activities as indicators of course interactivity, we conducted a latent profile analysis to cluster students into different groups. Based on students' perceptions, we observed…

With the recent surge of online language learning, it is important to explore the different possible modalities of online learning and the factors that could influence the success of those modalities in language learning. This study found differences in (1) motivation, (2) anxiety, (3) perception of the learning community, and (4) oral proficiency…

In this study, the use of the mobile instant messaging (MIM) tool "GroupMe" was explored in the higher education context. The tool was used to facilitate online course discussions, small group work, and other course communications in face-to-face and online sections of two graduate educational technology courses. Over 900 postings were…

Even though existing studies have shown the positive effects of social network sites (SNSs) on learning behaviors and outcomes, how SNS can cause learners to develop negative perceptions about their learning activities is still understudied. Here we report a one-of-a-kind study that examines the negative impact of privacy concern on students'…

We analyze teachers' written feedback to students in an online learning environment, specifically a setting in which high school students in Uruguay are learning English as a foreign language with both a classroom teacher and a remote teacher. We explored which factors are associated with greater student participation. How complex should teachers'…

The increasing prevalence of students' use of Google Translate has been the catalyst for re-developing the language classroom. Through progressive adaptations, Google Translate has been integrated to help support meaningful language learning, academic rigor and intellectual curiosity. Five key steps form the foundation of the ADAPT approach:…

"To learn about X, observe what happens to the system when X is removed." What happens to the higher education student experience when, during a pandemic, so many of the avenues for building a sense of belonging are radically and fundamentally disrupted? How should we respond as individuals, a collective and a sector, to redress this?…

This study aims to establish a Heutagogy approach for teacher professional education in Indonesia as an attempt to improve teacher competencies. This study will identify key elements of a Heutagogy approach derived from previous Heutagogy practices. The methods to collect data for developing the Heutagogy approach in this study employs a…

This study explores and characterizes learners' participation patterns in MOOC forums, as well as the factors that correlate with learners' participation. Educational data mining and learning analytics methods were used to retrieve and analyze the learners' interpersonal interaction data, which had accumulated in the Coursera log files. The…