Demand for flexible online offerings has continued to increase as prospective students seek to upskill, re-train, and undertake further study. Education institutions are moving to intensive modes of online study delivered in six- to eight-week study periods which offer more frequent intake periods. Prior literature has established key success factors for non-intensive (12-13 week) online offerings; for teachers, skill development is critical to promote a flexible, responsive approach and maintain technological capabilities; for students, an ability to navigate the technology, interact with the learning environment in meaningful ways, and self-regulate learning is important, as the absence of physical infrastructure and opportunities for face-to-face interactions in online environments places a greater emphasis on alternate forms of communication and support. The current paper explores known best practice principles for online instructors, students and student support, and considers how these might apply to intensive online environments. It is suggested that the accelerated nature of learning in intensive settings may place additional demands on students, instructors and support mechanisms. Further research is imperative to determine predictors of success in online intensive learning environments.

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Applying Best Practice Online Learning, Teaching, and Support to Intensive Online Environments: An Integrative Review

Evaluation of the efficacy of collaborative learning in face-to-face and computer-supported university contexts

Faculty readiness to teach online is a state of faculty preparedness for online teaching. In this study, it is measured by faculty attitudes on the importance of online teaching competencies and their ability towards online teaching. Validity and reliability of faculty responses to an online instrument and factors related to faculty perception are examined. Descriptive statistics and item level means for the competencies are provided. For course design, course communication and technical, the faculty rated the perception of importance higher than their ability whereas for time management their perception of ability was rated higher than their attitude on importance. MANOVA showed significant differences in gender, years of teaching online, and delivery method for faculty perceptions of importance of online teaching competencies. Significant differences were also noted in years of teaching online and delivery method with respect to ability to teach online.

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Examining Faculty Perception of Their Readiness to Teach Online

The current impetus for increasing STEM in K-12 education calls for an examination of how preservice teachers are being prepared to teach STEM. This paper reports on a study that examined elementary preservice teachers’ (n = 21) self-efficacy, understanding of science concepts, and computational thinking as they engaged with robotics in a science methods course. Data collection methods included pretests and posttests on science content, prequestionnaires and postquestionnaires for interest and self-efficacy, and four programming assignments. Statistical results showed that preservice teachers’ interest and self-efficacy with robotics increased. There was a statistically significant difference between preknowledge and postknowledge scores, and preservice teachers did show gains in learning how to write algorithms and debug programs over repeated programming tasks. The findings suggest that the robotics activity was an effective instructional strategy to enhance interest in robotics, increase self-efficacy to teach with robotics, develop understandings of science concepts, and promote the development of computational thinking skills. Study findings contribute quantitative evidence to the STEM literature on how robotics develops preservice teachers’ self-efficacy, science knowledge, and computational thinking skills in higher education science classroom contexts.

Effect of Robotics on Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Science Learning, and Computational Thinking

Educational Robotics intervention on Executive Functions in preschool children

Resume Cet article traite de la formation de « tuteurs en ligne », c’est-a-dire intervenant dans un dispositif de formation a distance. Apres avoir situe le tuteur parmi les autres acteurs d’un tel dispositif, l’auteur envisage differentes fonctions tutorales et un profil d’intervention a relativiser selon le type de dispositif de formation envisage. Il presente ensuite une serie de competences necessaires pour devenir tuteur a distance ainsi que diverses experiences de formation de tuteurs. Il propose sept etapes de formation allant du vecu d’une experience d’apprentissage a distance par le futur tuteur jusqu’a la regulation de ses interventions.

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Quels rôles et quelle formation pour les tuteurs intervenant dans des dispositifs de formation à distance

Collaborative learning in an educational robotics environment

This paper considers the roles and competencies of the e-tutor. A literature review shows that different roles are assigned to the online tutors. Definitions of these roles are presented and discussed. Afterwards, we present eleven roles we consider important to manage the interactions between learners and tutors in an e-learning environment and the competencies needed to support these tutor’s roles. We conclude that to improve the quality of e-learning the tutor’s interventions have to be adapted to a specific context and we propose to train the e-tutors for these roles.

Brigitte Denis

Papers

Quels rôles et quelle formation pour les tuteurs intervenant dans des dispositifs de formation à distance

Collaborative learning in an educational robotics environment

Roles and Competencies of the e-Tutor

Objectifs et paradigmes d'enseignement/apprentissage

Articuler distance et présence dans une formation d'adultes en Technologie de l'Éducation