Author : Olivia Morris
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 109 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (9 download)
Book Synopsis Faculty Choice and Student Perception of Web-based Technologies for Interaction in Online Economics Courses by : Olivia Morris
Download or read book Faculty Choice and Student Perception of Web-based Technologies for Interaction in Online Economics Courses written by Olivia Morris and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research investigated faculty choice of web-based technologies for interaction in online economics courses and students' perception of those technologies. The literature review of online interaction has established the importance of learner--learner, learner--instructor and learner--content interaction in distance learning. However, some studies confirmed that students' need for interaction varies and subsequently suggested that an ideal balance of interaction might exist. Results from the two online surveys sent to faculty and student at 2- and 4-year colleges show strong agreement with the theoretical position of Moore, Drouin, Rhode, and Gardner, but revealed some disagreement with some aspects of Anderson's Equivalency Theory. The findings also indicate that both faculty and students reported learner--learner interaction as the least important of the three interactions, and use of the discussion board forum, though effective, should not be increased but tailored to the subject area and needs of the class. A majority of students had full-time jobs and recommended an increased in the use of online multimedia such as movie clips, podcasts, video lectures, and tutorials that could be accessed through mobile/portable technologies such as their iPhones, Kindles, Netbooks, and laptops. Faculty and students perceived interactive homework tools, such as Aplia, to be most suitable for the graphical and numerical aspects of economics, but cautioned about the manner in which they are used. This study concludes that faculty should, in some cases, share with students the rationale for using web-based technologies to promote interaction in online economics classes. Also, interaction should not be predetermined, because the participants of this study ranked the discussion board that promoted learner--learner interaction as least important to their learning. As such, faculty choice of web-based technologies should depend on the needs and interest of the class. Likewise, results show that the participants of this study preferred the technology used for learner-content interaction more than the technology used for learner-instructor interaction. As a result, this study also concludes that any diverse strategies used to arrive at an 'ideal mix' of interaction, must also include students' perception of faculty choice of technologies used to promote the three major forms of interaction. In other words, to arrive at an "ideal mix of interaction" an "ideal mix of technology" is equally necessary. Further research should replicate the survey design in other subject areas to see if a change of subject matter would cause a change of preferences of technologies.