Articles

I've found some really great articles during my search but wanted to post a few so you could read up on my topic of interest.  Enjoy:)

Service Learning in Online Education: Opportunities to Promote Meaning and Harness Student Energy

The importance of synchronous interaction for student satisfaction with course web sites

"Backward" curriculum design and assessment: what goes around comes around, or haven't we seen this before?

Exciting semester

This has been an exciting but also mind boggling semester but I am so glad that I have made it through the end.  I believe that part of what got me so confused with a few of my assignments at the beginning of the semester, was trying to incorporate too many things within my study.  I found so many great articles for my topic for the literature review assignment but went about it all wrong.  

I was assigned a committee chair towards the middle of the semester which is pretty exciting.  I will now combine all of the assignments completed in this class into the modules so I can forward on my paper for additional advice and feedback.

Thank you Dr. Reeves for all of your guidance, support and encouraging feedback during this semester as I have gained a wealth of knowledge from this course.  

I wish you all the best and thank you for an awesome semester!

Purpose of the Study and Research Questions

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to determine, if any, the effects of the digital age and the role it plays in the success of students registered in the Fundamentals of Speech Communication course.  The statistics will be gathered from a comparison study of face-to-face (traditional) versus online (non-traditional) students.  In addition, a look will be taken into anxiety levels and the role of resources available to students and determine if they play a role in student success.

Research Questions

1.      Comparison Question (Quantitative) - Script: How does (group 1) differ from (group 2) in terms of (dependent variable for the (participants) at (research site)?  Application: How do student perceptions of the basic communication skills learned in an online section of the Fundamentals of Speech Communication course compare to student perceptions of the same material in a face-to-face course?

2.      Comparison Question (Quantitative) – Script: How does (group 1) differ from (group 2) in terms of (dependent variable) for the (participants) at (research site)?  How does the type of student (traditional vs. non-traditional) and delivery method (face-to-face vs. online) affect student’s anxiety levels in Fundamentals of Speech Communication courses?

3.      Comparison Question (Quantitative) - Script: How does (group 1) differ from (group 2) in terms of (dependent variable) for the (participants) at (research site)?  Application: How do the anxiety levels of traditional students in a Fundamentals of Speech Communication course compare to non-traditional students in a face-to-face course?

Literature Map

Problem Statement

Students who are enrolled in higher education online courses that do not have the necessary tools such as self committement and outside resources available to them are at risk for failure.  The purpose of this dissertation is to prove that resources such as free tutors, the writing labs, service learning and many other resources are beneficial to a student enrolled in online courses.  Students that have not been in school for many years or those coming straight to college from high school need additional supports in order to be successful.

Literature Map