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- Title
- STUDENTS WITH EITHER SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES OR WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: PERCEPTIONS OF SELF AS LEARNER IN ONLINE COURSES AT FLORIDA VIRTUAL SCHOOL AND IN THE TRADITIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
- Creator
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Smouse, Theresa, Everette, Robert, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The goal of this research study was to investigate the perception of self as learner for students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Students who had completed at least one mathematics or science course at Florida Virtual School, an online learning environment, were surveyed concerning their perception of self as learner in the online learning environment and in the traditional learning environment in 6 basic areas: feelings of...
Show moreThe goal of this research study was to investigate the perception of self as learner for students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Students who had completed at least one mathematics or science course at Florida Virtual School, an online learning environment, were surveyed concerning their perception of self as learner in the online learning environment and in the traditional learning environment in 6 basic areas: feelings of success; level of comfort; relationship with teachers; and access to, communication with and feedback from teachers; and advantages and disadvantages of each learning environment. Results of parent interviews and anecdotal evidences were also included as data informing the results of this study. The results of this study showed that 1) a greater number of students reported feeling successful in the online environment. 2) the majority of students in all groups reported feeling comfortable in the online learning environment, 98% as compared to 65% in traditional environment. Student comfort in both environments was most frequently related to some element of the environment with a high percentage of mention of disruption caused by peers. 3) Students reported having positive relationships with their online teachers to a higher degree than with their traditional teachers. 4) Students generally felt that access to, communication with, and feedback from instructors, in the online environment had the greatest impact on them and the impact was positive. 5) The most frequently mentioned advantage of the online environment were, flexibility of time, pace and place of learning. Students liked being in control of the time, place, and pace of their learning in the online environment. Students perceived issues with socialization as the greatest disadvantage of the online environment. For the traditional environment, students indicated that the presence of their peers for social interaction and academic interaction was the greatest advantage. The disadvantages in the traditional environment disadvantage in the traditional environment were issues with time, place, and pace of learning, class size, and disruptions caused by other students. 6) Overall, the majority of students indicated that they felt the online learning environment provided them, as a learner, with the greatest number of advantages.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000528, ucf:46460
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000528
- Title
- THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POST-SECONDARY WEB BASED COMMUNICATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA'S ONLINE EDUCATIONAL SETTING.
- Creator
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Hinchman, Brandon, Kaplan, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
While technology continues to advance, so do methods of learning. In post-secondary education during the twentieth century, the traditional classroom setting was geared toward auditory instruction and face-to-face peer interaction. Not only was this the most efficient means of instruction for the time period but the only means. Along with the advent of communication technology came the concept of Web courses. Web courses have expanded the means by which students can experience course lectures...
Show moreWhile technology continues to advance, so do methods of learning. In post-secondary education during the twentieth century, the traditional classroom setting was geared toward auditory instruction and face-to-face peer interaction. Not only was this the most efficient means of instruction for the time period but the only means. Along with the advent of communication technology came the concept of Web courses. Web courses have expanded the means by which students can experience course lectures and have beckoned the use of updated media by which such lectures can take place. Such media include threaded discussions, chat rooms and e-mail. At the University of Central Florida, the gradual change from WebCT to Webcourses offered students more direct contact with updated threaded discussions and more centralized communication on the whole. The quality of such communication measures has been in question, though, and the effectiveness of such online communication methods is the focus of my research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002749, ucf:48147
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002749
- Title
- An Evaluation of a New Course Modality: A Pilot Study of Cross-Listed Courses at DeVry University.
- Creator
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Sapijaszko, Karol, Hopp, Carolyn, Gunter, Glenda, Boote, David, Swan, Bonnie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Devry University, a private for-profit higher education institution, generates its revenue exclusively by students' tuition. In addition, DeVry University offers courses via two modalities: blended and online. Unfortunately, Devry University has seen its student enrollments decline over the last few years. Because of lower student enrollment levels, DeVry University has had to limit its course offerings. The problem of practice addressed in this dissertation is an insufficient number of...
Show moreDevry University, a private for-profit higher education institution, generates its revenue exclusively by students' tuition. In addition, DeVry University offers courses via two modalities: blended and online. Unfortunately, Devry University has seen its student enrollments decline over the last few years. Because of lower student enrollment levels, DeVry University has had to limit its course offerings. The problem of practice addressed in this dissertation is an insufficient number of blended course offerings for current DeVry students.To remedy this problem, an initiative was started at DeVry University to address the insufficient number of blended course offerings and to pilot a new course modality, cross-listed (C-L) courses, in the March 2014 session at four campus locations. More specifically, this initiative involved offering several sections of CIS115 (Logic and Design with Lab) in its C-L modality. C-L courses combine students registered in more than one modality: in this case, blended and online modalities. Upon completion of the pilot offering of C-L courses, an evaluation was conducted to determine if the new C-L modality had a positive impact on addressing the stated problem of practice.This evaluation used an outcome-oriented post-test only design with non-equivalent groups (quasi-experiment) coupled with qualitative components. The quasi-experiment compares outcomes of students enrolled in C-L courses (the treatment group) with students enrolled in blended and online courses (comparison groups) using post-achievement data. The results of the evaluation revealed that students who completed the C-L CIS115 courses performed as well as students who completed blended or online CIS115 courses, considering their course satisfaction levels and course outcomes. Professors' perceptions of the C-L modality were also analyzed; results indicate that professors are willing to endorse the new modality but not without suggesting some improvements. The evaluation also revealed that there was an increase in the number of blended courses offered at DeVry University campuses, suggesting that the problem of practice may be addressed by this initiative. Recommendations for further studies include repeating the pilot offering in the C-L modality, with the inclusion of professors' suggestions for improvement identified in this study. These improvements include providing campus-based professors with an ability to broadcast and record their classroom lectures for the benefit of all students enrolled in C-L courses.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005884, ucf:50880
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005884
- Title
- Kindergarten through twelfth grade student perception of online courses and qualities that lead to course completion.
- Creator
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Peterson, Jennifer, Gunter, Glenda, Swan, Bonnie, Vitale, Thomas, Taylor, Rosemarye, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this study was two-fold, to understand student perception of the supplemental online courses and improve the online learning program at ABC Online Learning School. The study focused on students in Grades 6 -12 who belonged to the ABC School District and enrolled ABC Online Learning School high school credit courses to supplement their education. Student participants were asked to complete the Student Survey of Online Course Design. The data retrieved from the survey was...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was two-fold, to understand student perception of the supplemental online courses and improve the online learning program at ABC Online Learning School. The study focused on students in Grades 6 -12 who belonged to the ABC School District and enrolled ABC Online Learning School high school credit courses to supplement their education. Student participants were asked to complete the Student Survey of Online Course Design. The data retrieved from the survey was analyzed using the Spearman correlation to establish the strength of the relationship between student perception of quality online course design and the importance of specific components of the online course. The results indicated that as student perception of quality increased, their perception of the importance of the component increased as well. Additionally, a logistic regression formula was used to test the ability to predict successful online course completions based on the developer of the online course (instructor-developed or vendor-developed) and the type of credit the student would earn based on completion (original credit or credit retrieval/recovery). The results of the analysis of the logistic regression showed that developer of the online course and type of credit earned did not have a significant influence on successful course completions. The study is significant because, in Florida, K-12 online courses are funded based on successful course completion and students are required to successful complete an online course to earn a high school diploma.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007356, ucf:52099
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007356
- Title
- COMPARISON OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES BETWEEN A SERIOUS GAME-BASED AND NON-GAME-BASED ONLINE AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE.
- Creator
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Hess, Taryn, Gunter, Glenda, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The use of online courses continues to increase despite the small amount of research that exists on the effectiveness of online educational environments. The little research that has been conducted has focused on evaluating factors taken into consideration during the adoption of online learning environments. One notable benefit often cited is the ability to incorporate multimedia such as video games. Although game researchers and developers are pushing for the use of video games for...
Show moreThe use of online courses continues to increase despite the small amount of research that exists on the effectiveness of online educational environments. The little research that has been conducted has focused on evaluating factors taken into consideration during the adoption of online learning environments. One notable benefit often cited is the ability to incorporate multimedia such as video games. Although game researchers and developers are pushing for the use of video games for educational purposes, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of serious video games. When paring the increasing use of online educational environments, the push to use serious video games, and the lack of research on the effectiveness of online learning environments and video games, there is a clear need for further investigation into the use of serious video games in an online format. Based on current literature, no other known study has conducted an analysis comparing a serious game-based and non-game based online course; making this a unique study. The purpose of this study was to compare student learning experiences and outcomes between a serious game-based and non-game based online American History course. The data sources were data provided from Florida Virtual School (FLVS) and student and teacher interviews. Random samples of 92 students were statistically analyzed. A group of 8 students and 4 teachers were interviewed. FLVS data provided were analyzed using an independent t-test and the Mann-Whitney test and the student and teacher interview were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results of an independent t-test revealed that there was a significant (p < .01) difference in the mean number of days necessary to complete the course (MGB = 145.80, SDGB = 50.64, MNGB = 112.63, SDNGB = 49.60). The Mann-Whitney results indicated a significant difference between course performance and the type of American history course (Z = -5.066, p < .01); students in the serious game-based online course had an A average whereas students in the non-game-based online course had a B average. The thematic analysis of the relationship between student performance and motivation in both courses indicated that students and teachers of the game-based online course provided more reasons for student motivation than the students and teachers in the non-game-based online course. The thematic analysis of what aspects do students perceive as helpful and/or hindering to their learning indicated that students and teachers of the game-based online course provided more desirable, more helpful, less undesirable, and less hindering aspects for their course than the students and teachers in the non-game-based online course. As a result of the unique nature of this study, the findings provide new information for the fields of research on online learning, serious video gaming, and instructional design as well as inform instructional-designers, teachers, education stakeholders, serious video game designers, and education researchers.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003221, ucf:48566
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003221
- Title
- A Study of Elementary Student Course Completion and Achievement in Virtual and Traditional Format Courses within the Volusia County School District.
- Creator
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Garzia, Janet, Murray, Kenneth, Doherty, Walter, Baldwin, Gordon, Murray, Barbara, Kennedy, Mary, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The focus of this research study was to determine how elementary students enrolled in virtual education classes performed on state assessments and final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics as compared with students enrolled in traditional classes, and to examine whether there was a difference in the successful course completion rates between the two groups. Five research questions guided this study concerning the relationship of successful course completion, final grades, and FCAT 2...
Show moreThe focus of this research study was to determine how elementary students enrolled in virtual education classes performed on state assessments and final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics as compared with students enrolled in traditional classes, and to examine whether there was a difference in the successful course completion rates between the two groups. Five research questions guided this study concerning the relationship of successful course completion, final grades, and FCAT 2.0 achievement level scores and the variables of virtual and traditional education in the School District of Volusia County. This study is significant, as the movement of virtual learning is driven by economic factors and learning outcomes need to be considered in making instructional delivery decisions.Chi-square analysis suggested no statistical significant difference existed in either Reading or Mathematics successful course completion of students in virtual and traditional settings. Chi-square analyses and a one-sample t-test suggested there was no statistical significant difference in performance of virtual and traditional students on FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics achievement levels. Although the Chi-square analyses showed no statistical significance in performance of virtual and traditional students on final report card grades in Reading and Mathematics, the one-sample t-tests suggested there was a statistically significant difference. When interpreting these results, caution should be taken as the virtual student population was extremely disproportionate to the traditional student population. Implications for practice and recommendations for future study are suggested in this study.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004848, ucf:49713
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004848
- Title
- Meeting Student, Instructor, and Institutional Expectations in Online Writing Courses.
- Creator
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Proulx, Emily, Vie, Stephanie, Rounsaville, Angela, Hall, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Research in online writing instruction often focuses on student perceptions of learning and best practices of online pedagogy (Boyd, 2008; Dziuban, Moska, Kramer, (&) Thompson, 2013; Hewett (&) Warnock, 2015; Pigg (&) Morrison, 2016; Roby, Ashe, Singh, (&) Clark, 2013; Warnock, 2009). At the University of Central Florida, online learning research is especially important due to the increasing volume of both online and hybrid courses across the university (which is itself in response to...
Show moreResearch in online writing instruction often focuses on student perceptions of learning and best practices of online pedagogy (Boyd, 2008; Dziuban, Moska, Kramer, (&) Thompson, 2013; Hewett (&) Warnock, 2015; Pigg (&) Morrison, 2016; Roby, Ashe, Singh, (&) Clark, 2013; Warnock, 2009). At the University of Central Florida, online learning research is especially important due to the increasing volume of both online and hybrid courses across the university (which is itself in response to increasing numbers of students enrolling but limited classroom space with which to teach). The current push from many university administrators for increased enrollment in online classes focuses on access and convenience; however, there is not as much of a conversation asking if the learning in the class is affected by the online course, or the different avenues for learning that these courses present. In this study, I noted that while scholarship discussed students', teachers', and institutions' roles in online courses, there was a lack of alignment in those areas.To investigate this lack of alignment, I interviewed four students enrolled in online courses and three instructors currently teaching online courses through the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Central Florida. Through a grounded theory analysis (Charmaz, 2006; Strauss (&) Corbin, 1998), I identified areas of agreement and dissonance in both the creation of and implementation of online courses. Overall, students and instructors seemed to focus both their positive and negative perceptions and expectations around discussions as sites of learning, expectations of time/effort, feedback, and classroom community. These are common sites of benefits and disadvantages of online writing courses, which make this investigation important to the continuing conversation of how we better align our perceptions and expectations to improve student learning in online writing courses.The conclusions from this study address the importance and difficulty of transparency in online courses and the need for consistency across the institution, the instructors, and the students. This research provides suggestions for implementing the findings of this research at the classroom and department levels.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006644, ucf:51255
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006644
- Title
- Evaluating Pedagogical Methods that Influence Homework Assignment Completion.
- Creator
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Sawyer, Kirk, Hartshorne, Richard, Bush, Sarah, Boote, David, Ortiz, Enrique, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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College students enrolled in an online introductory engineering course are not completing their homework assignments at an acceptable rate which impacts them, the instructor, and the college. This research study employed a quasi-experimental evaluation model to assess the effectiveness of two pedagogical methods designed to positively influence student homework completion rates and student attitudes toward homework. Despite evidence that grading penalties encourage students to submit their...
Show moreCollege students enrolled in an online introductory engineering course are not completing their homework assignments at an acceptable rate which impacts them, the instructor, and the college. This research study employed a quasi-experimental evaluation model to assess the effectiveness of two pedagogical methods designed to positively influence student homework completion rates and student attitudes toward homework. Despite evidence that grading penalties encourage students to submit their homework assignments, such strategies have historically been unsuccessful for the course used in this study. The researcher designed two pedagogical interventions, along with a survey instrument, to measure the impact of the interventions on completion rates and student attitudes toward homework, using a combination of inferential and descriptive statistics. Ideally, the findings of this study would be generalizable to subsequent offerings of the course used in this study, as well as other courses taught by the investigator, and potentially other faculty at the college. Although both interventions did not produce statistically significant results on impacting student homework completion rates, or improve student attitudes toward homework, the results of the study did indicate a positive correlation between student self-assessed knowledge gains attributed to the course and its homework. One intervention did improve homework completion rates, but the results only marginally improved final course grades, which does not fully align with prior research studies. In addition, this study provided the researcher an opportunity to study their own practice and the importance of homework and its effectiveness for student learning.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007858, ucf:52764
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007858
- Title
- The Effectiveness of Using Florida Virtual High School Course Data during the College Admission Process as a Predictor of Degree Completion Within Six Years.
- Creator
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Callahan, Michael, King, Kathy (Kathleen), Cox, Dr. Thomas, Whiteman, JoAnn, Preston, Michael, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The admission process at higher education institutions has not adapted for online distance education classes taken in high schools, such as those offered by the Florida Virtual School. The purpose of this study was to determine whether online distance education courses taken in high school can serve as an indicator of student success in post-secondary education. An honors program at a large public research university provided the data examined. This honors program stored online distance...
Show moreThe admission process at higher education institutions has not adapted for online distance education classes taken in high schools, such as those offered by the Florida Virtual School. The purpose of this study was to determine whether online distance education courses taken in high school can serve as an indicator of student success in post-secondary education. An honors program at a large public research university provided the data examined. This honors program stored online distance education information in a database, which allowed for analysis. Presently, the institution's primary undergraduate admission office does not collect or store this type of information. I used SPSS Statistics to calculate logistical regression on this data. My goal was to discover what effect the high school online distance education variables had on the outcome of graduating in four or six years. Graduation rate is a key metric for colleges and universities as an indicator of success. For this reason, I wanted to determine through this study whether high school online distance education assisted in predicting which students will graduate. At least two stakeholders will find this information useful. Admission officers and, more specifically, honors admission officers will gain more insight into the student selection process as this study examines students in the top 10% of the incoming class. The other group, future researchers, will learn from this study and other new studies for even more understanding on this topic. Although the results indicated that high-achieving Florida Virtual School students do not graduate at higher rate than students who have not completed distance education classes, more research is required to understand how the other 90% of student applicants are affected by distance education courses completed in high school.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006861, ucf:51754
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006861
- Title
- Comparison of Traditional Educative Delivery to Online Education in United States History as Measured by Florida's End-Of-Course Examinations in a Large Urban School District in Central Florida.
- Creator
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Wilson, William, Murray, Barbara, Murray, Kenneth, Baldwin, Lee, Holt, Larry, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Student participation in online courses has been growing steadily for the past decade, and the trend appears to continue the growth in this form of instructional delivery method for the foreseeable future (iNACOL, 2012). To date, little research exploring student success rates exists in the social studies. This particular study was conducted to examine what differences, if any, existed in the End-Of-Course (EOC) scores of 11th grade United States history students who took the course in a...
Show moreStudent participation in online courses has been growing steadily for the past decade, and the trend appears to continue the growth in this form of instructional delivery method for the foreseeable future (iNACOL, 2012). To date, little research exploring student success rates exists in the social studies. This particular study was conducted to examine what differences, if any, existed in the End-Of-Course (EOC) scores of 11th grade United States history students who took the course in a traditional, face-to-face format versus students who took the same course online through Florida Virtual School. For this study, proper permission was received from all interested parties, and a sample of 9,339 End of Course (EOC) examinations were taken from 36 high schools in a large, urban school district in Central Florida. All identifiable data were scrubbed from the sample. Due to the extremely small sampling of online students, the One-Sample Wilcoxon test was used on four research questions to compare students in the traditional, face-to-face versus online format and based on ethnicity, gender, and free-and-reduced lunch status.Overall, none of the One-Sample Wilcoxon tests indicated the presence of a significant difference among any subgroup(-)overall, White, non-White, female, male, high socioeconomic status, or low socioeconomic status. Therefore, none of the null hypotheses presented were rejected. Recommendations included replicating the study on a broader scale and conducting a qualitative study to examine the characteristics of online students, their similarities and differences, to those of students who attend class in a face-to-face format.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005444, ucf:50391
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005444
