Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 40 Number 4: Summer 2008

	Edited by Dr. Lynne Schrum, George Mason University
formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 40 Number 4 Summer 2008

Exploring Two Teacher Education Online Learning Designs: A Classroom of One or Many?

Priscilla Norton and Dawn Hathaway
George Mason University

Abstract

Online learning is rapidly becoming a permanent feature of higher education. In a preponderance of instances, online learning is designed using conventional educational practices: lecture, grades, group discussion, and the like. Concerns with traditional pedagogy instantiated by course management systems raise questions about the quality of learner’s online experiences. There is a need to reconsider the design of learning opportunities in light of emerging online delivery modes. This study compared learner perceptions of two online courses—one using the more traditional approach capitalizing on the affordances of Blackboard and one using the COPLS one-on-one model (Norton, 2003). Results revealed that both environments were perceived as providing a high quality learning experience. In addition, results point to the importance of self-regulation, the role of the instructor/facilitator/mentor, and the role of the group as factors influencing learners’ perception of the quality of their learning experience, positive aspects of their learning experience, and challenges that influenced their learning experience. (Keywords: online learning, graduate teacher education, online groups, self-regulation, online design.)

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Contributors

Priscilla Norton is Professor of Education in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Dr. Norton is Director of the Integrating Technology in Schools Certificate, Master’s, and Doctoral Programs with specialization in Technology Integration, K–12 and the co-author of numerous articles and two books—Teaching with Technology (2003) and Technology for Teaching (2001). More recently, Dr. Norton has been designing and developing e-learning environments for teachers and high school students resulting in part in The Online Academy —a virtual high school and The Online Academy for Teachers—an educational program to teach teachers to teach in virtual environments. (Address: Priscilla Norton, Graduate School of Education MS 5D6, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, norton@gmu.edu, Office: 703.993.2015, Fax: 703.993.2722)

Dawn Hathaway is an instructor in the Department of Instructional Technology at George Mason University, educating K–12 teachers in the integration of technology in schools. She is also a PhD candidate specializing in instructional technology with a minor in international education.

Copyright 2008, (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.