Introduction
With the addition of a cohort of students from the Higher Education Ed.D. program in the Department of Educational Studies, along with MLT and Ph.D. students from the Learning Technologies program, this year saw the largest class in 6223 to date with 28 students.
Students were challenged in the class to develop a question related to current practices or research in Learning Technologies and to situate that question within the relevant historical context. They were tasked with answering this question using primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
To take advantage of the digital publication medium they were asked to use various types of media from images, audio, video, and infographics to represent the answers to their questions. Students rose to the task.
We are proud to present this year’s class ebook. Chapter topics covered include:
- The digital divide and community college transfer students
- Crowdsourcing, pedagogy and technology
- The future of MOOCs
- Augmented reality and space education
- Health apps and behavior change
- Technology and physical education
- Just-in-time instruction and technology
- Resource allocation and learning technologies
- The digital divide, K12 education, and the OSU digital flagship
- Technology and inclusive classrooms
- Standards for learning designers
Editors: Rick Voithofer and Mike Nelson
Chapter 1 – The digital divide and community college transfer students
Authors: Collins-Warfield, A., Marks, J.C., & Parker, D.J.
This chapter explores the impact the digital divide has on institutions of higher education. Specifically, this chapter focuses on a diverse population — community college transfer students — and relevant initiatives that may help bridge the digital divide for them. This digital divide is approached from a critical lens which will be employed when addressing both digital literacy and access related initiatives.
Chapter 2 – The diverse field of instructional design
Authors: Bowman, M., Ely, J., North, C. & Shortt, M.
Working in a profession that has been revolutionized by technology by delivering eLearning and virtual instruction, it is often difficult for instructional designers to keep up with the rapid pace of technology (Reiser, 2017). Furthermore, with many instructional designers not having a formal professional development budget, often they are on their own to develop new skills (Cheong, Wettasinghe, & Murphy, 2006). This chapter explores how instructional design is operationalized in job postings.
Chapter 3 – An exploration of augmented reality in higher education space science
Authors: Clarke, E., Gluck, S., & Golan, A.
Although there have been studies conducted on the use of augmented reality, there are gaps in the research. This chapter focuses its analysis of AR in space science education for that reason. Space science is what “makes us look outwards from our planet, to the stars and beyond” (European Space Agency, 2019). This chapter tries to answer the question: How can augmented reality be used to support space science courses in higher education?
Chapter 4 – Leveraging technology to create more inclusive classroom experiences for international students
Authors: Carey, A., Miller, M., & Tuttle, R.
This chapter strives to answer the question, “How can educators leverage technology to create inclusive classroom experiences for international students?” In order to answer this question, common challenges faced by international students are identified and explained. This is important because the number of international students at U.S. institutions has nearly doubled since 2000, and international students make up 5.5 percent of students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions (Institute for International Education, 2018). Specific focus was placed on the experience of international students in classroom settings.
Chapter 5 – Crowdsourcing: Trend or treasure?
Authors: Sanzone, J., & Walker, R.
This chapter addresses the varied uses of crowdsourcing by both educators and students within an online learning community. It also briefly discusses the results of these crowdsourcing efforts, in terms of the effect on the learning environment and the individual goals of the teachers or students. Crowdsourcing is a well-researched topic, especially if you include discovery or inquiry-based educational methods. This chapter will focus solely on popular and innovative methods currently being used by educators, and will also use the definition of crowdsourcing crafted by Estellés-Arolas. and González-Ladrón-de-Guevara (2012) to discuss the future of crowdsourcing.
Chapter 6 – Are students surviving or thriving as a result of increased use and resource allocation for educational technologies?
Authors: Pugh, J., & Smith, D.
In this chapter we look into increased resource allocation for educational technologies at the elementary and post-secondary level. Through researching literature, interviewing professionals, and having a guided discussion using our careers as an Elementary Administrator (Darren, Principal Saint Pius X Catholic Elementary School) and a Program Manager (Jena, The Ohio State University) we hope to answer the question: Are students surviving or thriving as a result of increased resource allocation for educational technologies?
Chapter 7 – 2030: How MOOCs overcame criticism
Authors: Danek, D., & Hertzfeld, B.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a form of educational technology that is changing the way students, teachers, and educational institutions think about education. This chapter gives an overview of the previous educational technologies that influenced MOOCs, reviews the current criticisms of MOOCs, and discusses how MOOCs may change based on current criticisms to become a success by 2030. This chapter intends to provide an overview of the evolution of MOOCs from creation, early adoption, refinement, to maturity. The chapter is framed around the defining question: Have the current trending technologies (MOOCs) been successful and can the current technologies point the way to future successful next-generation tools?
Chapter 8 – Just-in-time: Delivery that is not just in case
Authors: McKinnie, K., Stiver, M., & Treboni, A.
Just-in-time training (JiTT) is a way to deliver information when it is needed while a task is being performed and not just in case it is needed. While JiTT may have originated within the manufacturing industry, this philosophy has since transcended into other industries, including health professions and education. With more than “2.5 quintillion bytes of data being created every day, our increased access to data and its creation will continue to change not only the way we approach learning but the way we structure training as well” (Marr, 2018). In order to determine the true possibilities of JiTT, we must first determine what it is and the ways in which it is currently being used.
Chapter 9 – Behavior change using health apps
Author: McCann, S.
The primary question for this chapter is whether mobile apps targeted to children, adults, and families are effective for health behavior promotion through the integration of behavior change techniques (BCTs). Some of the information should apply to design and features used by health educators with a similar goal of improving health behaviors through the integrated use of technology in educational curricula. Additionally, consideration of long term health implications attributed to health promotion technology may be of interest if similar features are being used in apps targeted for adults and adolescent groups.
Chapter 10 – The digital divide and first-year students: Technology and equity in school
Authors: Kapusta, R., & Shorter, D.
This chapter focuses on the following question: The digital divide: What are inequities in technology within K-12 education? How is Ohio State and the Digital Flagship Office looking to break this digital divide? Furthermore, the chapter highlights how the technological digital divide in the K-12 sector is influencing a student’s success prior to entering college. Additionally, some of the overall themes connected to the access and utilization of educational technology are identified.
Chapter 11 – Technology in physical education classes
Author: Ayana, L.
This chapter explores the role of educational technologies in public middle school physical education classes. It also shows that obesity affects students physically and academically and that cuts to physical education classes have only made the situation worse. It then describes the different types of technology that are currently available to teachers with the hopes of answering the following question: How can technology help teachers make the most of their limited resources while keeping students active and engaged?
References
Cheong, E., Wettasinghe, M. C., & Murphy, J. (2006). Professional development of instructional designers: A proposed framework based on a Singapore study. International Journal on ELearning, 5(2), 197–219.
Estellés-Arolas, E., & González-Ladrón-de-Guevara, F. (2012). Towards an integrated crowdsourcing definition. Journal of Information Science, 38(2), 189–200.
European Space Agency. (2019, February 1). About space science. Retrieved from https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/About_Space_Science
Institute for International Education (2018). Open doors 2018. Retrieved from https://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data
Marr, B. (2018). How much data do we create every day? The mind-blowing stats everyone should read. Forbes, May 21st. Retrieved from www. forbes. com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/21/how-much-data-do-we-create-every-day-the-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/.
Reiser, R. A. (2017). What field did you say you were in? In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed., pp. 1–7). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.