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This article by B. Jean Mandernach, Amber Dailey-Hebert and Emily Donnelli-Sallee, appears in Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2007, edition of Journal of Interactive Online Learning.
Abstract
The movement into online education has raised concerns about the workload demands placed on faculty teaching online classes. Research indicates that faculty report a greater time investment for online classes than for equivalent face-to-face courses; concerns about time investment are compounded with the considerable ambiguity surrounding the perceived availability of faculty teaching in a 24/7 online environment.
The movement into online education has raised concerns about the workload demands placed on faculty teaching online classes. Research indicates that faculty report a greater time investment for online classes than for equivalent face-to-face courses; concerns about time investment are compounded with the considerable ambiguity surrounding the perceived availability of faculty teaching in a 24/7 online environment.
The continuous, open nature of the virtual classroom raises a host of questions surrounding the frequency of instructor interaction, timing of interactions, and an instructor’s availability to students. One of the most popular and pedagogically effective forms of virtual classroom interaction is via threaded discussions.
About the Author(s)...
B. Jean Mandernach is Associate Professor of Psychology and Research Associate for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Park University. Jean received her Ph.D in social psychology from University of Nebraska at Lincoln and has spent the majority of her career studying the scholarship of teaching and learning. As a full-time telecommuter teaching undergraduate psychology courses online, time not spent in the virtual classroom is dedicated to research on enhancing student learning through assessment, innovative online instructional strategies, evaluation of online faculty, and the promotion of critical thinking. Dr. Mandernach may be reached at
Amber Dailey-Hebert is Associate Professor of Education and serves as the Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Park University. Dailey-Hebert received her Ph.D in Education from Cornell University, with her BS and MS from Texas A&M University. In addition to teaching graduate courses in adult education, Amber also serves as an online course developer and instructor, lead instructor / mentor, and is currently conducting research in teaching best practices, leadership in higher education, and epistemological development. Dr. Dailey-Herbert may be reached at Amber.dailey@park.edu.
Emily Donnelli is Assistant Professor of English and Assistant Director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Park University. Emily has been teaching and developing writing courses at Park since 2003. Among her research interests are service-learning, community literacy, and critical pedagogy. Emily received her BA from William Jewell College and her MA from the University of Kansas. Emily is currently working on her dissertation in English at the University of Kansas. She may be reached at emilyd@park.edu.
