![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Online learning is complementing and even replacing traditional face-to-face educational models at colleges and universities across the world. Distance education offers pedagogical and resource advantages—flexibility, greater access to education, and increased university revenues. Distance education also presents challenges such as learning to create effective online assignments that engage students, especially in public relations, where team-based learning and collaboration are key. Instructors from two U.S. universities—one comprehensive university and one research university—evaluated student performance on and feedback from a cross-university online team-based project. Emergent themes from student performance and feedback reflect research in scaffolding and engagement theory.
References
Section:
|
Allen, I. E., Seaman, J. (2011). Going the distance: Online education in the United States. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group. Google Scholar | |
|
Allen, I. E., Seaman, J. (2015). Grade level: Tracking online learning in the United States. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group. Google Scholar | |
|
Battalio, J. T. (2006). Teaching a distance education version of the technical communication service course: Timesaving strategies. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, 36, 273-296. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Borthick, A. F., Jones, D. R., Wakai, S. (2003). Designing learning experiences within learners’ zones of proximal development (ZPDs): Enabling collaborative learning on-site and on-line. Journal of Information Systems, 17, 107-135. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Brandon, D., Hollingshead, A. B. (1999). Collaborative learning and computer-supported groups. Communication Education, 48, 109-126. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Chang, Y., Hannafin, M. J. (2015). The uses (and misuses) of collaborative distance education technologies: Implications for the debate on transience in technology. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16, 77-92. Google Scholar | |
|
Coffey, A., Atkinson, P. (1996). Concepts and coding. In Coffee, A., Atkinson, P. (Eds.), Making sense of qualitative data: Compementary research strategies (pp. 32-42). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman. Google Scholar | |
|
Coombs, W. T., Rybacki, K. (1999). Public relations: Where is pedagogy? Public Relations Review, 25, 55-58. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Corno, L., Mandinach, E. B. (1983). The role of cognitive engagement in classroom learning and motivation. Educational Psychologist, 18, 88-108. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Dabbagh, N. (2003). Scaffolding: An important teacher competency in online learning. TechTrends, 47, 39-44. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Dillenbourg, P. (1999). Collaborative learning: Cognitive and computational approaches (Vol. 1). London, England: Emerald Group. Google Scholar | |
|
Ellingsworth, H. W. (1983). Adaptive intercultural communication. In Gudykunst, W. B. (Ed.), Intercultural communication theory (pp. 195-204). Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Finn, J. D., Zimmer, K. S. (2012). Student engagement: What is it? Why does it matter? In Christenson, S. L., Reschly, A. L., Wylie, C. (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 97-131). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Fraustino, J. D., Briones, R., Janoske, M. (2015). Can every class be a Twitter chat?: Cross-institutional collaboration and experiential learning in the social media classroom. Journal of Public Relations Education, 1, 1-18. Google Scholar | |
|
Gilmore, S., Warren, S. (2007). Emotion online: Experiences of teaching in a virtual learning environment. Human Relations, 60, 581-608. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Graham, M., Scarborough, H., Goodwin, C. (1999). Implementing computer mediated communication in an undergraduate course—A practical experience. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 3, 32-45. Google Scholar | |
|
Han, G., Newell, J. (2014). Enhancing student learning in knowledge-based courses: Integrating team-based learning in mass communication theory classes. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 69, 180-196. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Hannafin, M. J., Land, S. M. (1997). The foundations and assumptions of technology-enhanced students-centered learning environments. Instructional Science, 25, 167-202. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Hannafin, M. J., Land, S., Oliver, K. (1999). Open learning environments: Foundations and models. In Reigeluth, C. (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models: A new paradigm of theories and models (Vol. 2, pp. 115-140). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
|
Hara, N., Kling, R. (1999). Students’ frustrations with a web-based distance education course. First Monday, 4(12). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/710/620 Google Scholar | |
|
Harding, S. (1991). Whose science? Whose knowledge? Thinking from women’s lives. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Hart, C. (2012). Factors associated with student persistence in an online program of study: A review of the literature. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 11, 19-42. Google Scholar | |
|
Jarvela, S. (1995). The cognitive apprenticeship model in a technology rich learning environment: Interpreting the learning interaction. Learning and Instruction, 5, 237-259. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Johnson, D. (2007). The state of cooperative learning in postsecondary and professional settings. Educational Psychological Review, 19, 15-29. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Johnson, R. T., Johnson, D. W., Holubec, E. J. (1998). Cooperation in the Classroom. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Google Scholar | |
|
Joo, K. P., Andres, C., Shearer, R. (2014). Promoting distance learners’ cognitive engagement and learning outcomes: Design-based research in the Costa Rican National University of Distance Education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15, 188-210. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Kagan, S. (1992). Cooperative Learning. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Resources for Teachers, Inc. Google Scholar | |
|
Kalmbach, J. (1997). The computer and the page. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Google Scholar | |
|
Kearsley, G., Shneiderman, B. (1998). Engagement theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Educational Technology, 38, 20-23. Google Scholar | |
|
Kettner-Polley, R. (1999). The making of a virtual professor. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 3, 46-66. Google Scholar | |
|
Lauring, J. (2011). Intercultural organizational communication: The social organizing of interaction in international encounters. Journal of Business Communication, 42, 231-255. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Lengel, R. H., Daft, R. L. (1988). The selection of communication media as an executive skill. Academy of Management Executive, 2, 225-232. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Lieb, T. (1999). Incorporating multimedia into the writing course. Syllabus, 13, 51-53. Google Scholar | |
|
Lindlof, T. R. (1995). Qualitative communication research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Marron, M. B. (2015). New generations require changes beyond the digital. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 70, 123-124. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
McConnell, D. (2006). E-learning groups and communities: Imagining learning in the age of the internet. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
McLoughlin, C., Oliver, R. (1999). Pedagogic roles and dynamics in telematics environments. In Selinger, M., Pearson, J. (Eds.), Telematics in education: Trends and issues (pp. 32-50). Kidlington, UK: Pergamon. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
McLoughlin, C., Winnips, J. C., Oliver, R. (2000, June). Supporting constructivist learning through learner support online. EdMedia 2000 Proceedings. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED447782.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Melton, J., Hicks, N. (2011). Integrating social and traditional media in the client project. Business Communication Quarterly, 74, 494-504. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Moore, J. (2014). Effects of online interaction and instructor presence on students’ satisfaction and success with online undergraduate public relations courses. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 69, 271-288. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. American Journal of Distance Education, 3, 1-6. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Moore, M. G., Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance education: A systems view. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Google Scholar | |
|
Morse, J. M. (1994). Emerging from the data: The cognitive processes of analysis in qualitative inquiry. In Morse, J. M. (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp.23-43). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Parks, P. (2015). A collaborative approach to experiential learning in university newswriting and editing classes: A case study. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 70, 125-140. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Parry, M. (2009, August). Professors embrace online courses despite qualms about quality. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Professors-Embrace-online/48235 Google Scholar | |
|
Pew Research Center . (2005). Trends 2005. Washington, DC: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Phipps, R., Merisotis, J. (1999). What’s the difference? A review of contemporary research on the effectiveness of distance learning in higher education. Washington, DC: The Institute for Higher Education Policy. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED429524.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Picciano, A. G. (2002). Beyond student perceptions: Issues of interaction, presence, and performance in an online course. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 6, 21-41. Google Scholar | |
|
Poniatowski, K. (2012). Getting students ready to write: An experiment in online teaching and learning. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 67, 120-133. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Pressley, M., Hogan, K., Wharton-McDonald, R., Mistretta, J., Ettenberger, S. (1996). The challenges of instructional scaffolding: The challenges of instruction that supports student thinking. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 11(3), 138-146. Google Scholar | |
|
Qing, L. (2002). Exploration of collaborative learning and communication in an educational environment using computer-mediated communication. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34, 503-517. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Revere, L., Kovach, J. V. (2011). Online technologies for engaged learning: A meaningful synthesis for educators. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 12, 113-124. Google Scholar | |
|
Shedletsky, L. J., Aiken, J. E. (2001). The paradoxes of online academic work. Communication Education, 50, 206-217. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Slavin, R. E. (1995). Cooperative learning: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Google Scholar | |
|
Swan, K. (2002). Building learning communities in online courses: The importance of interaction. Education, Communication & Information, 2, 23-49. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Swan, K., Richardson, J. C. (2003). Examining social presence in online courses in relations to students’ perceived learning and satisfaction. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 7, 68-82. Google Scholar | |
|
Tobin, T. J. (2014). Increase online student retention with universal design for learning. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 15, 13-24. Google Scholar | |
|
Vanhorn, S., Pearson, J. C., Child, J. T. (2008). The online communication course: The challenges. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 9, 29-36. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Vygotsky, L. S., Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Wang, Z., Chen, L., Anderson, T. (2014). A framework for interaction and cognitive engagement in connectivist learning contexts. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15, 121-141. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Wegner, S., Holloway, K., Garton, E. (1999). The effects of internet-based instruction on student learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 3, 98-106. Google Scholar | |
|
Young, M. F. (1993). Instructional design for situated learning. Educational Technology Research & Development, 41, 43-58. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
