Browsing by Author "Calvin, Jennifer"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING IN A WEB-ENHANCED COURSE
    (2005-09-27T17:34:37Z) Stein, David S.; Calvin, Jennifer
    Web based courses are being offered at more and more colleges and universities. In many instances, students do not have a choice whether to enroll in an online course. However, little research has looked at the experiences of these students as they learn in an online environment. This qualitative study used in depth interviews with volunteers from a web-enhanced course to examine the experience of learning online from the students’ perspective. Particular attention was paid to the impact of course structure and interaction and dialog among the students and instructor. The study found that lack of experience with the technology, frequency of feedback, language barriers, group size and subject matter all impacted students’ learning in this webenhanced course.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Role Of Community In Online Learning
    (Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Stein, David S.; Wheaton, Joe E.; Calvin, Jennifer; Overtoom, Christine
    This project examined learners’ perceptions of the learning community construct, whether learners’ online and face-to-face interactions led to the development of learning communities and whether the process of building community was different in face-to-face and web-based courses. Courses requiring learners to interact on a personal level early in the course were more likely to develop into learning communities. The degree of distance within the course did not make a difference in whether these learning communities developed. Rather, a sense of trust and of shared hardship as they worked through the course assignments were seen as more important by these learners. In situations where communications were considered inappropriate, developing communities were derailed or development never began. A definition of community emerged from the data that identified characteristics of shared learning goals, exchanging ideas, assisting each other, and an element of trust among the learners within the community.