eLearning Certificate's List: EDER 719.28 ICT Innovations in the Post-secondary Context

Cooperative Learning Group Activities for College Courses is a compilation of cooperative learning activities suitable for use in college level courses. The book is composed of six major sections. The first section is a foreword on how to use this guide. Section two is a brief overview of the elements of cooperative learning and how they can be applied. The next two sections are organizational activities for instructors and preparatory activities for participants prior to using the fifth, main section, containing over 100 customizable activity structures for a variety of objectives and learning outcomes. It includes a template for developing cooperative learning activities, as well as sample group activities.

The authors provide an explanation of a literature review and a form and frame of reference for organizing references for a literature review. There are several aspects of a literature review that can be streamlined with proper organization of the reference information. A review of why a literature review is needed is provide. Problems a writer of a literature review may encounter is also discussed. The form is divided into sections with questions and helpful hints on what should be included in each section.

Notar, C. E. & Cole, V. (2010). Literature review organizer. International Journal of Education, 2(2), E2. Retrieved from www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/ije/article/view/319

Writing a faulty literature review is one of many ways to derail a dissertation. This article summarizes some pivotal information on how to write a high-quality dissertation literature review. It begins with a discussion of the purposes of a review, presents taxonomy of literature reviews, and then discusses the steps in conducting a quantitative or qualitative literature review. The article concludes with a discussion of common mistakes and a framework for the self-evaluation of a literature review.

Randolph, J. (2009). A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 14(13). Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/pdf/v14n13.pdf.

This article provides the perspective of a journal review board in assessing the suitability of submissions for publication. The literature review is discussed, specifically those attributes that characterize a strong literature review.

Reuber, R. (2010). Strengthening your literature review. Family Business Review, 23(2), 105-108. DOI: 10.1177/0894486510368259

This is the tenth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. The survey is designed, administered and analyzed by the Babson Survey Research Group. Data collection is conducted in partnership with the College Board. The study tracks the opinions of chief academic officers and is aimed at answering fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Responses were received from more than 2,800 colleges and universities.

Allen, I. and Seaman, J. (2013). Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, LLC.

This article examines the problem of defining a broad conceptual theory for the applications of the advanced technologies in educational settings, most particularly in higher education. The article starts with discussing the multiple and confusing meanings of e-learning in the relevant literature; it proceeds to examine the problem of putting the learners in the center of the study process and exaggerating their self-directed abilities; it identifies noticeable gaps in the e-learning research; and it concludes with an analysis of some inherent challenges embedded in both conducting meaningful research on the advanced technologies in learning/teaching settings and in their actual implementation.

Grui-Rosenblit, S. & Gros, G. (2011). E-Learning: Confusing Terminology, Research Gaps and Inherent Challenges. <i>The Journal of Distance Education, 25</i>(1).

The article discusses the future of mobile communication. Jai Jaisimha, chief executive officer (CEO) of Open Mobile Solutions and Appnique.com, notes that the market is in complete contrast to the single carrier system model. He adds that it is easier to access the market than it was in the past. Dipankar Raychaudhuri, director of Rutgers WINLab, says mobile platform operating system (OS) and content publishing frameworks on top will be as important as computer OS in the 1980s and 1990s.

Herther, N. K. (2012). The Future of Mobile. Searcher, 20(10), 18-25.

NMC Horizon Report series and regional NMC Technology Outlooks are part of the NMC Horizon Project, a comprehensive research venture established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact over the coming five years in education around the globe. Since 2005, this particular edition has been produced via a collaborative effort with the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, and examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on teaching, learning, and creative inquiry within the higher education environment.

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada,V., Freeman,A., and Ludgate, H. (2013). NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Austin,Texas:The New Media Consortium.

Success in open educational resources (OER) has been reported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA and the Open University in the UK, among others. It is unclear, however, how valuable OER are in learning and teaching. Approaches to OER policy and sustainability are just two other key aspects that remain unresolved across the sector. Based on the findings from the Open, Transferable, Technology-enabled Educational Resources (OTTER) project at the University of Leicester, UK,1 we introduce the OER mix framework: purpose, processes, product, and policy. We argue that different mixes of the four Ps can generate different approaches to OER. We discuss the relevance of the framework and its importance for social inclusion and widening access to higher education. We also discuss the implications of the OER mix for the openness agenda. Institutions may find value in adapting and applying the framework.

Nikoi, S., & Armellini, A. (2012). The OER mix in higher education: purpose, process, product, and policy. Distance Education, 33(2), 165-184. doi:10.1080/01587919.2012.697439

Whether our students are sitting in the room with us as we teach, sitting in their home listening, participating by video-conference, or answering discussion questions on an online platform, technology can play a pivotal role in student learning. In this article we discuss technology in higher education, specifically its role in hybrid or online formats. Presented here is a discussion of the types of students who benefit from distance learning, the factors that prompt instructors to engage in distance learning, and what instructors should know about distance education before they begin teaching with this kind of delivery.

Renes, S., & Strange, A. (2011). Using Technology to Enhance Higher Education. Innovative Higher Education, 36(3), 203-213. doi:10.1007/s10755-010-9167-3

This paper describes emergent learning and situates it within learning networks and systems and the broader learning ecology of Web 2.0. It describes the nature of emergence and emergent learning and the conditions that enable emergent, self-organised learning to occur and to flourish. Specifically, it explores whether emergent learning can be validated and self-correcting and whether it is possible to link or integrate emergent and prescribed learning. It draws on complexity theory, communities of practice, and the notion of connectivism to develop some of the foundations for an analytic framework, for enabling and managing emergent learning and networks in which agents and systems co-evolve. It then examines specific cases of learning to test and further develop the analytic framework.

Williams, R., Karouso, R., Mackness, J. (2011). Emergent learning and learning ecologies in Web 2.0. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, North America, 12(3), 39-59. Retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/883.

Social networks play an essential role in learning environments as a key channel for knowledge sharing and students' support. In distributed learning communities, knowledge sharing does not occur as spontaneously as when a working group shares the same physical space; knowledge sharing depends even more on student informal connections. In this study we analyse two distributed learning communities' social networks in order to understand how characteristics of the social structure can enhance students' success and performance. We used a monitoring system for social network data gathering. Results from correlation analyses showed that students' social network characteristics are related to their performance.

Cadima, R., Ojeda, J., & Monguet, J. M. (2012). Social Networks and Performance in Distributed Learning Communities. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 15(4), 296-304.

The present paper documents a qualitative study that examines the motivating and inhibiting factors that influenced students' engagement in online discussions via Moodle and Facebook. The data was collected through individual interviews with 14 pre-service teachers. Using the Activity Theory as a lens, the study reveals a set of factors concerning the technical tools, subjective perceptions, goals of online discussion, social presence within a community, rules for participation, and roles of the participants that affect their online engagement patterns. The findings of the study inform educators and software designers of how online discussions can be better promoted among students, and how a web-based environment more conducive to learning can be created.

Deng, L. & Tavares. K. (2013). From Moodle to Facebook: Exploring students' motivation and experiences in online communities. Computers & Education, 68(1), 167-176.

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has been explored largely in relation to student experience of coursework and university life. Students' lives and experience beyond the university have been largely unexplored. Research into student experience of ICT used a validated model-the technology acceptance model-to explore the influence of work and social/leisure contexts as well as course study, on attitudes towards and take up of technology. The results suggest that usefulness and ease of use are key dimensions of students' attitudes towards technology in all three contexts but that ICT is perceived most positively in the context of work and technology use at work is an important driver for technology use in other areas

Edmunds, R., Thorpe, M., & Conole, G. (2012). Student attitudes towards and use of ICT in course study, work and social activity: A technology acceptance model approach. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 43(1), 71-84. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01142.x

The purpose of this paper is to try to redress the balance of the discussion about e-learning by putting the voices of the learners themselves at centre stage. Whether one buys the "digital natives" theory or not, or whether one believes that e-learning can help "bend the cost curve" in higher education, these resources are now being rolled out on such a scale that it is important to understand how the people they are intended to benefit actually view them. As such, the paper sets out to achieve a number of different goals. The first is to try to quantify the availability and use of e-learning resources in Canadian universities. It also attempts to look at satisfaction and perceived learning outcomes in classes according to the degree of e-learning resources available. Finally, it seeks to analyse the views of undergraduate students on blended learning as it is currently implemented on Canadian campuses. Throughout, the key questions are: do so-called "digital natives" actually prefer using e-learning resources, or not? And if they do, are Canadian universities performing to their expectations?


Kaznowska, E., Rogers, J., and Usher, A. (2011). The State of E-Learning in Canadian Universities, 2011: If Students Are Digital Natives, Why Don't They Like E-Learning? Toronto: Higher Education Strategy Associates.

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Procrastination, putting off until tomorrow what should have been done today, is a self-regulation failure that is widespread among students. Although plenty of research has emerged regarding academic procrastination, hardly any research endeavor regarding procrastination in distance university settings exists. This lack of research is even more astonishing when considering that the demands on self-regulation are higher in distance education settings than in traditional university settings. The present (questionnaire) study was intended to shed light on procrastination in an actual distance university setting by exploring its relationship to grades, learning strategies (e.g., cognitive, meta-cognitive strategies), and life satisfaction in students from a distance university in comparison to students from a traditional university.

Klingsieck, K. B., Fries, S., Horz, C., & Hofer, M. (2012). Procrastination in a distance university setting. &lt;i&gt;Distance Education, 33&lt;/i&gt;(3), 295-310.

Technology applied to education has produced numerous changes. One of these changes is the availability of electronic textbooks. However, the adoption of electronic textbooks has been slower than anticipated. This research examines adoption of electronic textbooks through studying electronic textbook users’ continuance intentions. Data for the model were collected using a survey of university students. The questionnaire was web-based and distributed using a student listserv. The sample consisted of 469 usable responses received from students who had previously used an electronic textbook. The theoretical model was analyzed using structural equations modeling and maximum likelihood estimation applied to the sample. A confirmatory factor analysis was also performed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the measures for the constructs in the theoretical model. The psychometric properties of the measures were good. The fit of the measured theoretical model to the data was also good and all the paths in the measurement and structural models were statistically significant. The structural model shows that confirmation influences perceived usefulness of electronic textbooks and satisfaction with electronic textbooks. Satisfaction and perceived usefulness of electronic textbooks influence electronic textbook continuance intention. Implications and conclusions based on these findings were also provided.

Stone, R. & Baker-Eveleth, L. (2013). Students’ expectation, confirmation, and continuance intention to use electronic textbooks. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 984–990.

Stagnant perceptions continue to persist in the general public regarding the services libraries offer. LIS research suggests an increased need for marketing, yet LIS programs and students may not view marketing as core to the degree. The Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC), a global competition for online marketing, was incorporated into two LIS courses to build skills in project management, industry analysis, marketing, and search engine optimization. A qualitative analysis was conducted to investigate whether they perceived the marketing project as relevant to their courses and degrees. A model was created to represent the factors that had an impact on project success. Overall students experienced an increased interest in marketing. Leadership, teamwork, and communication played strong roles in how students dealt with project challenges and their perceptions toward the end of the project.

Brown, R. T., & Albright, K. S. (2013). The Google Online Marketing Challenge and Distributed Learning. Journal Of Education For Library & Information Science, 54(1), 22-36.

The article provides insights into the benefits of streaming media to libraries. It defines streaming media as a means of transmitting audio and video to viewers across the Internet. A survey by comScore Inc. revealed that over 184 million computer users in the U.S. watched 36.9 billion online content videos in July 2012. Information on the reasons of several libraries to offer streaming media and their strategy of doing streaming content is also provided.

Careless, J. (2012). Libraries Harness the Power of Streaming Media. Searcher, 20(9), 18-44.

This article provides qualitative insights into the ways that faculty can impact retention rates of online students. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted at random with 16 faculty who teach online courses at a community college in the Northeast. Faculty were asked to describe behaviors of online students that made them feel concerned, conversations with these students, and whether or not they referred these students to the college's student support services. Qualitative analysis using grounded theory methodology revealed that few faculty referred online students that they were concerned about to any of the student support services available at the college. Faculty who did not refer online students to student support services discussed a lack of knowledge about student support services, or did not believe in using these services. College administrators need to educate and encourage online faculty about using the wide variety of student support services that are available to community college students. Under-utilization of student support services can contribute to a low retention rate found in online courses.

Russo-Gleicher, R. J. (2013). Qualitative insights into faculty use of student support services with online students at risk: Implications for student retention. Journal of Educators Online, 10(1), 1-32.