Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook are one of the latest examples of communications technologies that have been widely-adopted by students and, consequently, have the potential to become a valuable resource to support their educational communications and collaborations with faculty. However, faculty members have a track record of prohibiting classroom uses of technologies that are frequently used by students. To determine how likely higher education faculty are to use Facebook for either personal or educational purposes, higher education faculty (n = 62) and students (n = 120) at a mid-sized southern university were surveyed on their use of Facebook and email technologies. A comparison of faculty and student responses indicate that students are much more likely than faculty to use Facebook and are significantly more open to the possibility of using Facebook and similar technologies to support classroom work. Faculty members are more likely to use more “traditional” technologies such as email.

Findings on Facebook in higher education: A comparison of college faculty and student uses and perceptions of social networking sites

Organizational climates have been investigated separately at organization and subunit levels. This article tests a multilevel model of safety climate, covering both levels of analysis. Results indicate that organization-level and group-level climates are globally aligned, and the effect of organization climate on safety behavior is fully mediated by group climate level. However, the data also revealed meaningful group-level variation in a single organization, attributable to supervisory discretion in implementing formal procedures associated with competing demands like safety versus productivity. Variables that limit supervisory discretion (i.e., organization climate strength and procedural formalization) reduce both between-groups climate variation and within-group variability (i.e., increased group climate strength), although effect sizes were smaller than those associated with cross-level climate relationships. Implications for climate theory are discussed.

A multilevel model of safety climate: cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates.

The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of the students' perceived levels of collaborative learning, social presence and overall satisfaction in a blended learning environment. This research studied the relationship of these three variables and identified critical factors related to them. The participants were 48 graduate students who took a blended-format course in health education and worked on a collaborative group project related to the development of a comprehensive HIV-AIDS prevention plan. Data was collected from the Student Perception Questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. The analysis of quantitative data indicated that student perceptions of collaborative learning have statistically positive relationships with perceptions of social presence and satisfaction. This means that students who perceived high levels of collaborative learning tended to be more satisfied with their distance course than those who perceived low levels of collaborative learning. Similarly, students with high perceptions of collaborative learning perceived high levels of social presence as well. Surprisingly, the relationship between social presence and overall satisfaction was positive but not statistically significant. Interview data revealed that (a) course structure, (b) emotional support, and (c) communication medium were critical factors associated with student perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence, and satisfaction. Explanations about findings and implications for instructional design are discussed in the conclusion.

Student perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence and satisfaction in a blended learning environment: Relationships and critical factors

Neither an academic tome nor a prescriptive 'how to' guide, "The Theory and Practice of Online Learning" is an illuminating collection of essays by practitioners and scholars active in the complex field of distance education.Distance education has evolved significantly in its 150 years of existence. For most of this time, it was an individual pursuit defined by infrequent postal communication. But recently, three more developmental generations have emerged, supported by television and radio, teleconferencing, and computer conferencing. The early 21st century has produced a fifth generation, based on autonomous agents and intelligent, database-assisted learning, that has been referred to as Web 2.0.The second edition of "The Theory and Practice of Online Learning" features updates in each chapter, plus four new chapters on current distance education issues such as connectivism and social software innovations.

The Theory and Practice of Online Learning

This document reports on the state of online learning among higher education institutions in the United States. The study is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Based on responses from over 2,800 colleges and universities, the report addresses the following key issues: (1) massive open online courses (MOOCS); (2) are we heading for online 2.0?; (3) is online learning strategic?; (4) how many students are learning online?; (5) who offers online?; (6) does it take more faculty time and effort to teach online?; (7) are learning outcomes in online comparable to face-to-face?; (8) has faculty acceptance of online increased?; and (9) barriers to widespread adoption of online learning.

/pdf/changing-course-ten-years-of-tracking-online-education-in-4x24jtxlru.pdf

Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States.

There are now over six million students in the USA taking at least one online course 31 percent of all students in the USA (public, private and for-profit) are now taking at least one course online Since 2003, online enrollments have grown by 358 percent However, since 2003, the proportion of respondents who agree that their faculty ‘fully accept’ the ‘value and legitimacy of online education’ has edged up from 30.4 percent to just 32 percent One-third of all academic leaders continue to believe that the learning outcomes for online education are inferior to those of face-to-face instruction. Academic leaders at institutions with online offerings have a much more favorable opinion of the relative learning outcomes for online courses than do those at institutions with no online courses or programs. 65 percent of all reporting institutions said that online learning was a critical part of their long-term strategy, a small increase from 63 percent in 2010. For-profit institutions are the most likely to have included online learning as a part of their strategic plan While the number of programs and courses online continue to grow, the acceptance of this learning modality by faculty has been relatively constant since first measured in 2003 (according to chief academic officers) 57 percent of academic leaders believe that OERs have value and less than five percent disagree (the rest are neutral). The proportion of for-profit institutions agreeing with this statement has shown a large increase over a two-year period (moving from 49.8 percent in 2009 to 72.4 percent in 2011.) Nearly two thirds of chief academic officers agreed that OERs have the potential to reduce costs.

/pdf/going-the-distance-online-education-in-the-united-states-1q1a5t1xd5.pdf

Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011.

Using responses from over 2,500 colleges and universities, the study examined the numbers of students involved in online education and the impact of this education for different disciplines and contexts.This report is the sixth in a series of annual reports on a study conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group for the Sloan Consortium. Using responses from over 2,500 colleges and universities, the study sought answers to several questions on online education: * How many students are learning online? * What is the impact of the economy on online enrollments? * Is online learning strategic? * What disciplines are best represented online?

/pdf/staying-the-course-online-education-in-the-united-states-47n7hpeee8.pdf

Staying the course: online education in the United States, 2008

All rights reserved. Published 2008 US $29.95 Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning – Western Edition represents the first report on the state of online learning among higher education institutions in the fourteen western states. The study is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Based on responses from nearly 400 colleges and universities, the report addresses the following key questions:

/pdf/online-nation-five-years-of-growth-in-online-learning-5gtdw2ts1e.pdf

Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning.

/pdf/class-differences-online-education-in-the-united-states-2010-4ypslhny91.pdf

I. Elaine Allen

Papers

Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States.

Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011.

Staying the course: online education in the United States, 2008

Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning.

Class Differences Online Education in the United States, 2010