1 

DePietro, P. (2012). Transforming education with new media: Participatory pedagogy, interactive learning and web 2.0. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society, 8(5), 1-11. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.postu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&sid=0bc0b188-672a-4efd-94f1-eac7b3f983e4%40redis

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In this article, DePietro (2013) acknowledges the vast opportunities that new media technologies bring to online learning.  The author examines the considerations of interactive learning that stem from new media, or Web 2.0, and explores how these technologies can impact and transform the future potential of higher education.  In order to cultivate meaningful learning, DePietro believes that standards need to exist to model and steer students toward the “appropriate and responsible use of these tools.” 

 

Because new media become obsolete quickly, educators must be mindful of changing or updating the theories used to deliver new media to an evolutionary pedagogy.  For example, Web 2.0 tools offer unique and dynamic ways for students to connect with information.  Therefore, DePietro argues that it is necessary to use these digital learning experiences to encourage learners to think bigger and more creatively to produce purposeful digital works.  The author explains that this success can effectively occur when educators balance learning theory and practice by (a) supporting the innovative uses of new media and (b) inspiring students to embrace out-of-the-box thinking.  

 

DePietro also urges the importance of participatory pedagogy.  Supplementing teaching with “rich media and interactive forums” creates a participatory learning environment, a user-centered setting that involves students intuitively.  In this environment, students actively design their own learning experiences.  According to DePietro, Web 2.0 tools provide this kind of interactivity that invokes high-level student participation.  The focus is on more than what students produce but on how they use new media technology to discover and construct new designs and ideas.  However, the author warns that, along this journey, educators should be careful not to buy into “the latest digital bell and whistle to teach new media topics.”  There needs to be a realistic and deliberate balance of theory and practice when determining the relevancy of digital tools in the context of students’ growth and needs.  In other words, educators must put meaning and purpose into selecting new media technologies and change or upgrade them often enough to enable students to continually create new things—versus recycling old ideas with outdated technology.  While this article was authored a decade ago, one could assert that Depietro’s call to action for instruction and learning to be meaningfully integrated into the “intersecting worlds of emerging technologies, new media production, and content creation” is even more pertinent in the ongoing evolution of contemporary online learning.   

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2 

Page, L., & Cherry, M. (2018). Comparing trends in graduate assessment: Face-to-face vs. online learning. Assessment Update, 30(5), 3,14-15. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.postu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=75a88538-ede7-4586-862c-90670e727b2d%40redis

 

Page and Cherry (2018) raise questions about whether face-to-face (in person) and online curriculums in a particular master's program at Lewis University are equivalent in four areas: (1) student learning outcomes, (2) student potentiality regarding academic achievement, (3) instructor qualification for online learning, and (4) instructor and student motivation to engage in online learning.  Using a capstone course as a direct measure of student learning, they performed an assessment study of capstone papers from a population of 43 students (8 face-to-face and 35 online) in a master's program focused on organizational leadership over two years.  The researchers created a process of checks and balances, including establishing a standardized evaluation rubric (four-point scale), selecting two raters to evaluate each paper to ensure rigor consistency, and conducting grading calibration sessions to ensure alignment across faculty and assignments.  

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While this study aimed to identify and compare and contrast any meaningful aspects between the effectiveness of face-to-face student learning and online learning, none were found substantive enough to consider.  Additionally, all students met the projected target assessment threshold (i.e., the authors declared an adequate success rate of 80% of students scoring a 3 or higher on the 4-point grading rubric, and more than 80% did).  This implies that online students can perform and learn much like traditional students.  There are possibilities for equivalency and consistency in the two learning approaches (face-to-face and online).  It also suggests that with the engagement of faculty and students, academic success can be achieved.  

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The authors concede a few limitations of this research, such as a very small sample size was used for the face-to-face population (19%).  Also, because the Capstone course is mainly self-directed (i.e., an independent study), instructor-led learning is less prominent.  Lastly,  lessons-learned improvements were made with each research cycle iteration.  Therefore, the recycled process of subsequent research cycles offered heightened consistency, and the results became less surprising. 

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3

Cathorall, M., Xin, H., Blankson, F. H., & Kempland, M. (2018). Assessing student performance in hybrid versus web-facilitated personal health courses. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 17(1), 11-16.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1057333.pdf

 

The authors of this article (Cathorall et al., 2018) state that student populations are shifting and are no longer satisfied with traditional, in-person learning environments; they require ones with added flexibility and convenience due to growing work and family responsibilities.  Advancements in technology make this demand possible by enabling higher education institutions to create distance learning opportunities, such as online, hybrid, and web-facilitated classes, alongside conventional face-to-face instruction.  This article acknowledges an ongoing debate on whether web-based and face-to-face learning is equally effective.  Cathorall et al. collate previous research findings and share the positive implications of these studies; they found no significant difference in the final grades of traditional and online students was found in the referenced studies.  
Leveraging this knowledge as a foundation for this article, the authors explore the effectiveness of what they consider two lesser-studied learning models: hybrid and web-facilitated courses. 

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Over one semester, a study comprising 181 undergraduate students was conducted to assess comparable aspects of hybrid and web-facilitated courses to determine any significant changes in student learning outcomes, withdrawal rates, and course evaluations.  Their results support their aforementioned research that these delivery formats offer students added flexibility while maintaining similar learning outcomes as face-to-face environments.  This article adds value to the education field, as there continue to be fewer studies available today on hybrid and web-facilitated courses compared to the more prominent and oft-recognized brick-and-mortar classroom and online curriculums.  An impressive list of references is provided to support this peer-reviewed journal article.  Limitations and future improvements for future studies are also listed. 

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4

Crawford-Ferre, H., & West, L. (2012). Effective online instruction in higher education. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 13(1), 11-14. https://www.siue.edu/~lmillio/IT598/Resources/04_assessment/Effective%20Online
%20Instruction.pdf

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In this article, Crawford-Ferre and West (2012) recognize that while online learning is prevalent and continues to grow at a rapid rate, studies show that online faculty may be reluctant to train in pedagogy for online instruction due to an ill-perceived notion that distance learning is of an unsettled nature.  In order to help address the issue by adding information to this field of study, the authors argue that for postsecondary online learning to be successful, new methods need to be employed covering three focus areas: course design, interaction amongst course participants, and instructor preparation and support.  

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The highlights of their suggested course design strategies include selecting technology compatible with students’ needs, providing technical support to both instructors and students, ensuring an orientation process, and designing courses that include synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, multimedia, and social learning.  Regarding the importance of interaction amongst online course participants, Crawford-Ferre and West point out the unique value of constructivism in this environment, and the extra care instructors should give to international students whose cultural understandings and time zones may detract from their performance.  Lastly, the authors emphasize the relevance of training and preparation for postsecondary online instructors, including facilitating effective student collaboration, professional development, online technologies and tools, and access to online communities where instructors can share ideas and assist each other in online teaching.  

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5

Clara, M., & Barbera, E. (2013). Learning online: Massive open online courses (MOOCs), connectivism, and cultural psychology. Distance Education, 34(1), 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2013.770428

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This article offers interesting debate and consideration of the widely known connectivism theory.  According to Clara and Barbera (2013), the concept of connectivism in Web 2.0 learning environments does not adequately explain how learning occurs because it does not address many key learning aspects.  Using cultural psychology to explain and support their viewpoint, their paper examines why connectivism should not be considered a learning theory and should be abandoned as a learning theory as a theoretical guide for pedagogy in massive open online courses (MOOCs).  

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The authors take issue with three problems they see with the theoretical assumptions of connectivism.  The first problem is that connectivism does not support nor give direction to learners who lack self-regulation skills and feel lost in this learning environment without guidance or instruction.  Secondly, connectivism fails to address the fact that many learners have trouble establishing and maintaining effective dialogues with others.  Lastly, the final point states that connectivism also fails to explain concept development; since concepts are widely known to develop over time (and involve patterns of associations), how can learners in a connectivist learning group share or create concepts if their associations are different?  

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The conclusion of this analysis suggests an urgent need to build better MOOCs based on a learning theory other than connectivism, which the authors do not consider a valid pedagogy.  The authors argue that in its place could be used two principles from Vygotsky’s sociocultural psychology theory: “the use of representations as mediating tools between the learner and the object” (p. 133) and opportunities for learners to use these representations as a common object from which to relate collaboratively.

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6

Cercone, K. (2008). Characteristics of adult learners with implications for online learning design. AACE Journal, 16(2),
137-159. https://www.learntechlib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Reader.ViewAbstract&paper_id=24286

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In her 2008 journal paper, Cercone reviews four learning theories and discusses how they can be applied to an online course design for adult learners and assumptions made by the academic world about andragogy and the method and practice of teaching adults.  The four learning theories examined are andragogy, self-directed learning, experiential learning, and transformational learning.  Thirteen characteristics of adult learners are also considered related to how they uniquely influence online learning designs.  The author concludes by offering a list of recommendations for creating well-designed online courses intended to reach and meet the needs of adult learners.  As the author links these learning theories and distinctions together, the overall narrative thread of her findings is that there is no one theory that can explain how adults learn because learners are unique and diverse individuals with their own histories to consider.  It is a combination of strengths from all four theories that would benefit online course design for adult learners.  

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After providing definition overviews for each of the four learning theories and examining their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations, Cercone identifies thirteen important characteristics of adult learners that coincide with her course design recommendations.  For example, one characteristic of adult learners is that they need to consider their prior experience.  Here, the author offers seven leveraging teaching strategies, including conducting a needs assessment and personal introduction exercise at the class opening, planning for tasks that allow students to use their knowledge and experience, and involving learners in diagnosing their own needs.  In other words, if characteristics were viewed as problems to be solved, solutions are given through strategic recommendations that resolve the issue.  Cercone stresses that no one theory uses all of the suggested attributes presented in the article; the recommendations combine ones from each of the four learning theories. 

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Lastly, Cercone informs that all four theories presented have mutual aspects that enhance online learning.  For example, they all emphasize self-direction and flexibility, recognize the importance of a customized approach to learning, and focus on the learning process rather than the content.  Another common theme found is that the instructor must mindfully acknowledge their role as “an agent of change” and appreciate each adult student as a whole person who is transforming throughout their learning process.  While no new theory or information is given in this paper, the synthesized index of adult characteristics and course development recommendations provides this approach with unique value.

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7

Irvine, V., Code, J., & Richards, L. (2013). Realigning higher education for the 21st-century learner through multi-access learning. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(2), 172-186. 

https://jolt.merlot.org/vol9no2/irvine_0613.pdf

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Irvine et al. (2013) posit that the fanfare of the massive open online course (MOOC) movement threatens to fragment education because it is distracting leadership from seeing that learners need more: they need a “multi-access learning framework that […] enables students to choose their mode of access” (p. 172).  A multi-access framework offers learning courses simultaneously in person (physical on campus) or online (real-time using video technology) so that students have the autonomy to participate in person, online, or a combination of the two.  The authors argue that this alternative approach provides access to higher learning to students who need flexibility in order to receive higher education (thus reducing the number of dropouts who cannot continue to attend in person).  Other benefits include the ability for learners to engage more with their peers (regardless of the setting) and the likelihood of increased enrollment if higher learning was made more accessible.  On the other hand, debating factors noted are that despite the dropouts, MOOCs provide advantages never before available in education.  Another dissuading argument is the significant labor and technology costs of building quality online courses.  Further, an additional hindering factor was a previous study (circa 2013) of almost 11,000 faculty members who believed that online instruction is ‘inferior’ or ‘somewhat inferior’ to face-to-face instruction.        

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To examine this topic, the authors administered a pilot study on one multi-access course, where 15 secondary education students could choose their mode of access; some accessed the course using a webcam and joined their classmates in a physical classroom with a face-to-face instructor.  The study aimed to determine learner perception of the quality of learning of face-to-face and synchronous online learners using a mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative survey questions. Results showed that 60% (9 out of 15) of respondents preferred a multi-access modality to access their learning.  Also, the majority of both remote and face-to-face groups reported they felt that choosing their course delivery was important.  The authors concluded that new learning models, such as a multi-access framework, must be considered as 21st-century learners have expectations that the current education model is not meeting.  They note that marketing materials promote programs can be “anytime, anywhere” but neglects to focus on what learners really want: to learn by connecting in “any way.”   

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It is important to note that this research paper and study were conducted a decade ago.  As of this writing, the trend of blended learning (the integration of traditional face-to-face learning with online learning) has gained wide popularity and is now a common feature in course designs.      

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8

Medic, B. (2022). Transformation of our understanding and impactful influences. Journal of Algebraic Studies, 13(2), 1549-1553. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.postu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=11d57d44-27d3-4166-b4a2-733d1b97a82f%40redis

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In this article, Medic (2022) first highlights the ubiquitous use of Web 2.0 technologies in personal and professional environments for both communication and collaboration purposes.  The author states that next to popular networking sites Facebook and Twitter, there are eight more domains of social media, including “social knowledge” (wikis), social bookmarking (Reddit), and social publishing and news (blogs).  Medic is most impressed by and interested in wikis for their potential to keep foreign language education students involved and engaged.  According to this article, most scholarships go toward formal in-class foreign language learning.  Therefore, the intent of this paper is to address this gap and discuss how Web 2.0 platforms like wikis can facilitate “formal in-class education with less formal out-of-class experiences” by encouraging interactions and facilitating cultural information exchange. 

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For example, Medic envisions leveraging wikis in two ways.  First, by moving past the commonplace videoconferencing often used as “a broadcast tool” for teachers to lecture and students to sit idly by, the idea is to encourage the use of wikis to broaden writing projects by enabling everyone to write a portion of the content.  Unlike offline writing tasks, wikis allow students to “trace the changes, comments, and feedback of others.”  Another way to leverage educational growth in foreign language learning is using wikis for group collaboration problem-solving activities.  However, success would depend on instructors familiarizing themselves and their students with wiki knowledge and setting rules and boundaries. 
Medic argues that having this type of “authentic language exposure” has many benefits, such as increased motivation, enjoyment, engagement, and confidence in language learners, not to mention the primary focus of language learning outcomes.  Still, the author acknowledges that work still needs to be done to gain buy-in.  Even though wikis are assumingly easy to use, empirical data shows that even digital natives have trouble using the tool.  

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9

Chang, C., Panjaburee, P., Lin, H., Lai, C., & Hwang, G. (2022). Efects of online strategies on students’ learning performance, self‑efficacy, self‑regulation and critical thinking in university online courses. Education Tech Research Dev, 70, 185-204. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-021-10071-y

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In this article, Chang et al. (2022) examines the effects of a flipped classroom environment on young adults, particularly their ability to learn before class on their own.  The authors set up a research study to simulate a flipped classroom scenario where the problem would be addressed by guiding the students to set learning goals and supporting them in monitoring the five stages of their progress.  The five stages comprised goal setting, flipped learning, task sharing, self-evaluation, and self-regulation feedback.  A professional training program oversaw the process to track its effectiveness.  The study consisted of 40 students with an average of 21 years old.  

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The experiment showed that this approach greatly improved the students’ experience, namely their self-efficacy, self-regulation learning achievement, and critical thinking.  The authors emphasize that self-efficacy is an essential aspect of performance in classroom learning.  With clear goals and good plans, students feel more confident about themselves and their potential during the learning process.  Even if strategies are only “simple guiding mechanisms,” learning performance can significantly improve.  

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10

Martin, J. (2009). Developing course material for online adult instruction. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 364-370. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228508679_Developing_Course_Material_for_

Online_Adult_Instruction

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In her 2009 journal paper, Martin investigates effective andragogical methods for adult learners.  The author claims that many instructors do not have the formal training to move from developing course material for a classroom environment to moving into an online learning space effectively.  In other words, while face-to-face methods may not differ immensely from online instruction, Martin states that the communication barrier is more pronounced and more difficult to bridge.  

 

This paper discusses the differences between teaching adults (andragogy) and children (pedagogy) and notes that there are common assumptions about adult teaching, which are accurate to conclude.  For example, by reviewing the research on current methods of instruction, Martin states that adult learners are self-directed, want their learning to be meaningful and relevant to their “life tasks and problems,” and wish to use their background as a rich resource in their education.  Additionally, they look to the instructor as a facilitator and are motivated by their own desire (intrinsically) and not by others.  Lastly, according to the author, studies have shown that online versus face-to-face courses have little difference in student performance outcomes.  However, most adult learners prefer online learning because of daily stressors and time constraints.