BSU Research and Teaching Talk

Teaching & Learning in

Online Learning

Environments

Patrick R. Lowenthal Boise State University

@plowenthal

slides @ patricklowenthal.com

Overview

Scholarship Teaching Q&A


my.Scholarship


Guiding Questions

• Can he publish?

• Can he conduct high quality research?

• Can he eventually make tenure?

• Can he improve the department’s

reputation?

• Can he collaborate with others?


Background


Refereed

Publications24


Notable Journals

Internet and Higher Education 1.015 impact factor SSCI (JCR)

Distance Education 0.974 impact factor SSCI (JCR)

Review of Higher Education1.324 impact factor SSCI (JCR)


Acceptance RatesJournal Acceptance

RatePrestige Rating

Distance Education 21-30%

4 of 59

Internet and Higher Education 21-30%

29 of 59

TechTrends 35% 14 of 59

Journal of Online Learning and Teaching

45% 38 of 59

EDUCAUSE Quarterly 25% n/a


Non-Refereed

Publications31


Other Measures of Impact


Other Measures of Impact

Articles Visits

Horton Hears a Tweet. EDUCAUSE Quarterly 7,830

Death to the Digital Dropbox: Rethinking Student Privacy and Public Performance. EDUCAUSE Quarterly

7,068

Situational qualities Exhibited by exceptional presenters. ECAR Research Bulletin

1,906

Remake / remodel: Using eportfolios and a system of gates to improve student assessment and program evaluation. International Journal of ePortfolio

1,306

Defeating the Kobayashi Maru: Supporting Student Retention by Balancing the Needs of the Many and the One. EDUCAUSE Quarterly

1,654

Online faculty development and storytelling: An unlikely solution to improving teacher quality. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching

1,046

Digital campfires: Innovations in helping faculty explore the online learning wildness. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching

789

Intentional web presence: Ten SEO strategies every academic should know. EDUCAUSE Review Online

781


First

Author%55


Different

co-authors25



Quotes• “I use this a lot by the way… One fellow ID called it a

brilliant idea!”

• “Patrick has the unique ability to dive into research questions and elucidate them more clearly for all parties. I have collaborated with Patrick on a number of articles and presentations. On my own work, Patrick helped me see many areas for improvement. He delved into my areas of research (literacy) and found connections that I had not seen. Conversely, Patrick brought me in on a few pieces on which he was working (he is obviously great at collaborating) and readily integrated my ideas and used my constructive criticism.”

• “There is no question that I like writing with you – if I could just find the time to do it – you inspire me, your enthusiasm is infectious”



brilliant idea!”





brilliant idea!”




Sole

Author%20

Focus of My Scholarship

Research

Practice

Theory


Research Focus


Labels???

• Online Teaching and Learning

• (Social & Teaching) Presence

• Computer-mediated Communication

• (instructional) Discourse



Labels???

• Communicating w/ Emerging Technologies in 21st Learning Environments

• Online Teaching and Learning

• (Social and Teaching) Presence

• Computer-mediated Communication

• (instructional) Discourse

Why does connecting matter?


Theory of Social Presence

For more info:The evolution and influence of social presence theory on online learning

Social presence is the degree of salience (i.e., quality or state of being there) between two communicators using a communication medium.

http://patricklowenthal.com/the-evolution-and-influence-of-social-presence-theory-on-online-learning/

It’s a quality of a communication medium.

Some media (e.g., video) have higher social presence than other media (e.g., audio)

Media w/ high social presence are sociable, warm, and personal; media w/ low social presence are as less personal.

What does all this mean?










Community of Inquiry (CoI)


Types of Questions

• What does social presence look like?

• How do we establish social presence in online learning environments?

• What are the best strategies to establish social presence?

• How do we measure social presence?

• What is instructor social presence?


1st Example

The Changing Nature of Online Communities of Inquiry: An Analysis of How Discourse and Time Shapes Students' Perceptions of Presence• Investigate how students’ perceptions of each of

the elements of the CoI framework differ across different discourse communities (specifically, business, education, computer science, and humanities) in accelerated online programs

• 406 students were surveyed using the CoIQ

• No statistical difference across discourse communities


1st Example

The Changing Nature of Online Communities of Inquiry: An Analysis of How Discourse and Time Shapes Students' Perceptions of Presence• Investigate how students’ perceptions of each of

the elements of the CoI framework differ across different discourse communities (specifically, business, education, computer science, and humanities) in an accelerated online programs

• 406 students were surveyed using the CoIQ

• No statistical difference across discourse communities


2nd Example

Investigating Instructor Social Presence in Accelerated Online Courses• A mixed methods exploratory methodology

utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods was used to explore how instructors establish their social presence in accelerated online courses.

• The course discussions from three courses were analyzed using content analysis and constant comparative analysis.


2nd Example

Investigating Instructor Social Presence in Accelerated Online Courses• A mixed methods exploratory methodology

utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods was used to explore how instructors establish their social presence in accelerated online courses.

• The course discussions from three courses were analyzed using content analysis and constant comparative analysis.


3rd ExampleInvestigating Students' Perceptions of Instructional Strategies to Establish Social Presence Multi-phased mixed methods study:

• Phase One: Sought feedback on different instructional strategies (e.g., Twitter)

• Phase Two: Constructed a survey to investigate students’ perceptions of the tools, technologies, and instructional strategies used to establish and maintain social presence in online courses. Administered this survey to four sections of courses.

• Phase Three: Conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of the students from phase 2.


3rd ExampleInvestigating Students' Perceptions of Instructional Strategies to Establish Social Presence Multi-phased mixed methods study:

• Phase One: Sought feedback on different instructional strategies (e.g., Twitter)

• Phase Two: Constructed a survey to investigate students’ perceptions of the tools, technologies, and instructional strategies used to establish and maintain social presence in online courses. Administered this survey to four sections of courses.

• Phase Three: Conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of the students from phase 2.


4th ExampleSocial Presence: What is it? How do we measure it?• A mixed-methods exploratory study;

employed both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the question: How does social presence manifest in an asynchronous, online graduate-education course?

• In order to explore social presence in a specific situated asynchronous learning environment in great detail, I analyzed the online threaded discussions using word count, content analysis, and constant comparison analysis


4th ExampleSocial Presence: What is it? How do we measure it?• A mixed-methods exploratory study;

employed both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the question: How does social presence manifest in an asynchronous, online graduate-education course?

• In order to explore social presence in a specific situated asynchronous learning environment in great detail, I analyzed the online threaded discussions using word count, content analysis, and constant comparison analysis


Future Scholarship


Future Scholarship

• Investigate student perceptions of social presence indicators developed by Rourke et al.

• An analysis of MOOCs for aspects of social presence• Literature review of social presence• Investigate social learning strategies in self-paced

learning• Students’ perceptions of video feedback• Teaching presence and open educational resources• Building presence with mobile devices• Instructors perceptions of social presence• An analysis of popular definitions of social presence


Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future Scholarship





Future ScholarshipAECT Proposals• Lessons from the field: An analysis of online instructors

lessons learned about teaching online• Educational Technology Professionals Perceptions of Open

Access Journals• Getting Graphic about Infographics: An analysis of popular

infographics• Visions of the alternative dissertation in educational

technology: Perspectives of the community• Orienting Online Students During the First Week of Class

and Beyond• Design is Design is Design: What We’ve Learned from

Designers about Preparing Instructional Designers• In search of quality: An analysis of MOOC course structure

and design This might be my favorite. Which one do you like?























































Collaborate• Dr. Chareen Snelson

• Dr. Kerry Rice

• Dr. Youngkyun Baek

• Dr. Yu-Hui Ching

• Dr. Chris Haskell

• Dr. Yu-Chang Hsu

• Dr. Jui-long Hung

• Dr. Ross Perkins

• Dr. Barbara Schroeder

• Dr. Dazhi Yang

• Dr. Lee Ann Tysselingslides @ patricklowenthal.com


my.Teaching


Guiding Questions

• What experience does he have teaching

online?

• Would he be happy only teaching online?

• Will he need a lot of mentoring?

• What courses can he teach?

• Will students like him?


Values


Philosophy

• You can learn more from a wrong answer than a right one

• Online learning can be better than F2F• Face-to-face isn’t the gold standard• Just because you can doesn’t mean you

should• Students’ need choice• Instructors’ need to remain flexible• Students’ need feedback• Formal education is social and emotional

Social Presence Strategies

Bio strategies

Orientation strategies

Reconnecting strategies

Feedback strategies

Discussion strategies

Small group strategies

Organic interaction strategies

Teacher Bios

For more info:Intentional Web Presence: 10 SEO Strategies Every Academic Needs to Know

Sharing Scholarship

Sharing Teaching Philosophy

http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/intentional-web-presence-10-seo-strategies-every-academic-needs-know

Digital Bios

For more info:From Pixel on a Screen to Real Person in Your Students’ Lives: Establishing Social Presence using Digital Storytelling

Digital Stories

http://patricklowenthal.com/establishing-social-presence-using-digital-storytelling/

http://youtu.be/VL0QkVu5t6w

http://www.augustcouncil.com/~jdunlap/JoniDunlapSOR.mov

Orientation Strategies

Detailed Announcements & Emails


Orientation StrategiesOrientation Videos

Feedback StrategiesVideo Feedback

Reconnecting StrategiesSoundtrack of your life

For more info:Hot for teacher: Using digital music to enhance student’s experience in online courses

http://patricklowenthal.com/hot-for-teacher-using-digital-music-to-enhance-students-experience-in-online-courses/

Organic Interaction Strategies

For more info:Tweeting the night away: Using Twitter to enhance social presence

Social Media

http://patricklowenthal.com/tweeting-the-night-away-using-twitter-to-enhance-social-presence/


Evidence


Regis Evaluations


Regis Comments• “…incredibly patient!”• “…very knowledgeable”• “…incredible”• “… instructor made it a very relaxed

atmosphere”• “…went above and beyond to make sure

everyone understood”• “…very organized & focused on how to relate

the course material to teaching” • “…the best instructor I've had yet in the step

program”


UCD Evaluations


BSU Evaluations


BSU Comments• “one of my favorite classes…the class challenged

me…”• “…was amazing. When I felt like I was struggling…

he took the time to help me…and gave me great feedback”

• “did an outstanding job…was very responsive to the students and their needs…was genuine and honest with…I would definitely take another course with Mr. Lowenthal…”

• “…was very prompt in response to questions, concerns and feedback for submitted assignments. I would highly recommend him to future students and believe he is a true asset to the BSU staff. I would also take any course he would teach”

• “…Video updates were helpful for keeping close…contact”

• “…a very personable instructor who obviously loves his subject and takes time to help students.”


BSU Comments• “…knowledgeable and focused…truly cares about

his students”• “a great instructor…always took time for his

students…was well-informed on the subject and always willing to help. I would definitely take another class with him...”

• “a great online instructor, he is organized and interactive.”

• “Awesome! I have had about 7 professors so far…Patrick will stand out to me as one of my favorites. He would create special videos for me just to answer my questions about fireworks. This was so helpful!! There were times that I knew he spent a lot of time figuring out things that I was asking. He is such a great teacher. Before I took this class I heard so many wonderful things about him and everyone was right."


Teaching Interests


Preferred Courses• 502 Internet for Educators• 504 Theoretical Foundations of Educational

Technology• 506 Graphic Design for Learning• 511 Interactive Courseware Development• 512 Online Course Design• 513 Multimedia• 522 Online Teaching for Adult Learners• 523 Advance Online Teaching• 602 Emerging Trends in Ed Tech• 652 Qualitative Research Methods• 663 Adv. Qualitative Research Methods• 672 Design-based Research


Topics Courses• Social presence and online learning• History of Distance Education• Digital Storytelling in the Classroom• Learning in Synchronous Environments• Rapid Development Authoring Tools (captivate, articulate

storyline)

• Academic Writing• Delivering Effective Online Presentations• Mixed Methods Research• Researching in Online Environments• Designing and Delivering Professional Development• Data Visualization• Creative Design of Instructional Materials


&Q A


Documents

BSU Research and Teaching Talk