CHRISTINA M. COMBS
Annotated Bibliography
Berge, Z.L. (1995). Facilitating computer conferencing: Recommendations from the
field. Educational Technology. 35(1), 22-30.
This website article provides a general summary on the two types of interaction that instructors should provide when designing online courses. In addition to students interacting with instructors, the author emphasizes the possibilities of student-to-student interactions in online communities. Berge offers a comprehensive list of pedagogical, social, managerial and technical recommendations that should be considered when facilitating an online class. For example, from a pedagogical approach Berge recommends that instructors maintain clear objectives, encourage participation, and invite visiting experts. This article is an excellent resource for instructors who are new to designing and facilitating online courses. Facilitators who have been teaching online for a number of years but are looking to improve interactions between teacher and students and amongst the students themselves can also reference this article.
Blaschke, L. M. (2004). Sustaining online collaboration: Seven lessons for application in the Volkswagen AutoUni. In U. Bernath & A. Szücs (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd EDEN Research Workshop Oldenburg, March 4-6, 2004, (pp. 388-394). Oldenburg: Bibliotheks- und Informationssystem der Universität Oldenburg.
This article defines seven lessons derived from current research and best practices for sustaining collaboration in online work environments. The author references top management personnel and CEOs as the promoters of the organization’s learning culture. Other key components involved in sustaining a successful online learning community includes the importance of learning champions, effective communication, providing necessary technology and infrastructure, financial support, and determining appropriate face-to-face and online interactions. The seven lessons are related to the success of Volkswagen’s (VW) AutoUni’s online knowledge and learning network. This article serves as an excellent reference for learning institutions and corporate entities looking to create successful global workforce teams in an online environment. In particular, upper management teams can use the suggested best practices to improve efforts in sustaining knowledge sharing and creation.
Brindley, J. E. (1995). Learner services: Theory and practice. Distansutbildning i itveckling, Rapport nr. 11, 23-34. Umea, Sweden: University of Umea.
In this journal article, the author brings to readers’ attention the need of learner support services and the development of a theoretical framework in open and distance learning (ODL). The article states the challenges that practitioners face in supporting their intervention services in theory and evaluation. In order to determine if interventions are effective, the author suggests that regular evaluation must occur to ensure that the services are meeting the intended goals of the institution. This article is useful because it provides readers with information on how to develop a model for learner services and discusses the main issues that ODL institutions face in developing services to support learner success.
Brindley, J. E., Walti, C., & Zawacki-Richter, O. (2004). The current context of learner support in open, distance and online learning: An introduction [e-chapter]. In J. E. Brindley, C. Walti, & O. Zawacki-Richter (Eds.), Learner support in open, distance and online learning environments: Vol.9 (pp. 9-27). [Adobe Digital Edition]. Retrieved from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg website: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/en/
In this opening book chapter, the authors provide an overview of the book’s contents. The introduction discusses currently existing learner support activities, emphasizing the use of the term ‘learner support’ over ‘student support.’ The chapter proceeds with defining various commonly used terms throughout the book, such as leaner support, distance education, computer-based learning, online learning, and open learning. The author concludes with a detailed summary of each chapter. Within these chapters, experts and practitioners in the field of distance education examine key issues, costs, experiences, and strategies with learner support activities. The book also includes a DVD with keynote speeches from the 3rd Eden Workshop. This source provides as an excellent starting point for students who are studying learner support in ODL and as a guide for teachers, administrators, and professionals who are new to ODL or are looking to increase the value of current leaner support services offered.
George, L., & Frank, I. (2004). Beyond books - Library services to distance education students [e-chapter]. In J. E. Brindley, C. Walti,& O. Zawacki-Richter (Eds.), Learner support in open, distance and online learning environments, Vol: 9 (pp. 135-143). [Adobe Digital Edition]. Retrieved from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg website: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/en/
The purpose of this book chapter is to discuss how distance education librarians are assisting students and teachers in information literacy. The chapter provides a brief summary information literacy materials provided by the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial, as well as library services available to University of Maryland University College (UMUC) students. The author also suggests ways for librarians to market and make themselves available to faculty. Several studies that have concluded that library and research skills are beneficial to overall student success are discussed, validating the author’s point that information literacy contributes to a student’s academic success. The author also provides a review of UMUC’s Information Literacy and Research Methods course, which was recognized as the best distance education course in 2001-2002. This article provides a comprehensive list of UMUC’s library services, which will be useful to UMUC students on all academic levels.
Jocoy, C. & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl
This journal article discusses the findings of a case study on plagiarism in online distance education programs. The article provides a definition of plagiarism and asserts the difficulties for professors to identify and enforce standards. The author gives readers a brief overview of studies relating to a variety of student cheating behaviors. A summary of findings is presented in a table, demonstrating the percentages of plagiarism occurrences found in three studies. The researchers in this article used manual methods to evaluate over four hundred assignments in addition to using Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism detection service. The study found that graduate students cheat as much as undergraduate students and many students cut and paste from the Internet. The study also revealed that a majority of the students surveyed did not take cheating seriously. The authors conclude this case study with the argument that many infractions will be mistakenly overlooked due to human error, and that programs such as Turnitin.com should be used to ensure the highest level of compliance with academic integrity standards.
Johnson, M. (2004). Enhancing study skills: Developing self-help materials for distance learners [e-chapter]. In J. E. Brindley, C. Walti, & O. Zawacki-Richter (Eds.), Learner support in open, distance and online learning environments (pp. 117-124). [Adobe Digital Edition]. Retrieved from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg website: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/en/
This book chapter discusses three stages of study skills that the author believes to be essential for student success. The author places the responsibility of the development of student study skills on distance learning institutions and provides an argument to validate her position. To demonstrate the effectiveness of distance learning institutions integrating study skills into course content, the author discusses the UK Open University’s Student Toolkit Project, which developed self-help study skills materials to support distance learners. Students and teachers were interviewed after using the study materials, which assisted UK OU in modifying materials according to the feedback received. Based on telephone interviews, students found the toolkits to be useful and valuable, and reassured that they were understanding the course material. The strategy used to develop paper and web-based study skills materials is useful to distance learning facilitators and universities who are looking to enhance learner support services by providing a range of accessible and useful study skills materials. Study toolkits can enhance the study skills distance learning students.
LaPadula, M. (2003) A comprehensive look at online student support services for distance learners, American Journal of Distance Education, 17(2), 119-128. doi: 10.1207/S15389286AJDE1702_4 Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hajd20#.UkHFZdLMCTM
The purpose of this survey by the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) is to determine if students are satisfied with current support services available to online students. The author provides readers with a literature review of student support services offered at other open distance learning institutions. Information in the literature review was obtained from university websites and from academic journals. The author provides a detailed description of the research method used to facilitate the survey process. The findings of the study were unbiased, as results included the satisfaction and dissatisfaction amongst students regarding available or unavailable support services. This survey is useful for any institution or organization that offers online courses. Institutions can design the same type of survey to determine if current student online support services are working and if any services need to be added, eliminated, or revised.
Shea, P., & Armitage, S. (2003). Beyond the administrative core: Creating web-based student services for online learners, resources, guidelines (Research Report: 11627). Retrieved from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education website: http://www.wiche.edu/pub/11627
The purpose of this website is to share information, resources, and guidelines derived from a Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships (LAPP) project funded by the US Department of Education. The website provides an overview of the project’s partnering institutions, detailing each entity’s project vision, the selected student service, team members, and lessons learned from developing and implementing the service. A comprehensive collection of resources and information written by leaders and experts is available to readers on various student support services including academic advising, career planning, tutoring, and library services. In addition, the website provides free archived webcasts of guest expert interviews. This website is valuable for ODL institutions and practitioners in that it provides a solid guide and framework for those looking to develop and implement online student support services.
Simpson, O. (2004). Retention and course choice in distance learning. In U. Bernath & A. Szücs (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd EDEN Research Workshop Oldenburg, March 4-6, 2004, (pp. 381-387). Oldenburg: Bibliotheks- und Informationssystem der Universität Oldenburg.
This article reviews the results from an annual survey conducted at the UKOU Institute of Educational Technology in 2002. The survey’s focus was to determine the reasons why students withdraw from distance learning courses. The author discusses limitations in selecting the right courses posed by vague titles and course descriptions. Comments and feedback from students is included in the article and the author provides the website where the comments were retrieved. The idea of course preview materials or ‘taster packs’ is introduced as a way for students to test drive courses of interest. This article may be useful to instructional designers who are in the process of designing courses and the program catalog. This article is also useful to potential students of UKOU Institute of Educational Technology, as they can access course reviews written by university students from the website provided.