Elements of Quality Online Education cation

A Case Study in Blended Learning: Leveraging Technology in Entrepreneurship Education2. vClass TechnologyThe students liked the vClass technology and felt that it was an essential component of distance learningin that it added a classroom atmosphere. Table 2 shows the frequency of students’ ratings indicating on ascale from 1 to 5 how much they disliked or liked (1=disliked to 5=liked) specific elements of vClass.The participant tools (emotion indicators, hand raising, and polling) were popular features, as was thedirect messaging chat tool. Students often used these to add opinions or comments without interruptingthe instructor and to chat among themselves prior to class or during breaks. Application sharing wasconsidered a useful tool; however, it was slow to load on some computers. Students generally agreed thatthe breakout room feature was essential for team meetings and small group interactions. In some instancesa perceived lack of leadership prevailed in the rooms; however, with experience and training this problemcan easily be reduced. The whiteboard was generally felt to be a helpful feature, although a few studentscomplained about not being able to read the instructor’s handwriting (the use of the text tool—a featurenot available with a traditional classroom whiteboard—could eliminate this issue). Some students saidthat it would be beneficial to see a photo of the speaker in order to add a visual aspect that is currentlymissing. This element could easily be incorporated on the whiteboard, especially for the first few classes,but with large numbers of students it could become too time-consuming and therefore distracting.Although one student commented that the online classroom was impersonal and uncomfortable, moststudents believed it to be a vital component of distance learning.Frequency of ResponseDisliked………………..LikedParticipant Tools (hand up, emoticons) - - 2 7 7Application Sharing - 1 8 3 4Breakout Rooms 1 1 4 3 7Direct Messaging (Chat Tool) - - 2 5 9Whiteboard - - 4 5 7Table 2. Frequency of ratings for vClass elements3. Specific Design ElementsStudents gave valuable qualitative feedback regarding specific elements of the course design. Forexample, teams were intentionally formed with a mixture of schools represented on each, and for the mostpart the students believed this to be a wise decision. The diversity of perspectives from students indifferent schools and the avoidance of school-on-school competition were indicated as positives to thisapproach. However, a few students said that they were not able to get to know their teammates as well inthis way and that the lone student from one school (i.e., when the other group members were from thesame school) was at a disadvantage. The involvement of faculty from each school in the instructionalteam was also positively received. Students cited the variety of experience represented by the instructors(“the whole being better than the sum of its parts”) and the availability of an instructor on each campusfor face-to-face consultation as important benefits. Incorporating the business game to reinforce conceptsand to motivate through competition was considered effective, although it increased the workload in thecourse significantly. The game added excitement to the course and incentive for improving betweenrounds. A couple of students disliked the competitive nature of the game, and some believed that havingvirtual teams was a drawback (see above). When asked to comment on the blend of asynchronouscomponents (courseware and readings) and the online sessions, students indicated that the blendedlearning aspect allowed them to expand on a topic at their own pace and to the extent desired. Somethought that it was difficult to keep up with the readings and that the organization of the variouscomponents of the course could be improved through the use of a course calendar within WebCT.49