Dr. Correia presents at the 2019 American Educational Research Association annual meeting

Dr. Ana-Paula Correia presented two papers at the 2019 American Educational Research Association annual meeting, which took place on 5-9 April in Toronto, Canada.

In the first paper “Examining Online Learning Experiences in Collectivist Cultures through the Community of Inquiry Framework,” Dr. Correia extended the existing research on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. Traditionally, studies have applied the CoI framework within North American online learning environments, which tend to have students from individualist cultures. Dr. Correia considered how CoI applied to collectivist cultures, such as Portugal, Brazil, Chile, and Costa Rica. She discovered that high percentages of agreement for social, teaching, and cognitive presence resulted in a significant level of student engagement in online learning within these cultures. She also observed that the members of the community felt a need for additional ways to show affection and care towards the other people within it.

Session promo flyer

In the second paper “Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Educational Technology Use in College Teaching”, Dr. Correia and her co-author Dr. Karly Good drew on a large set of institutional data to understand how college students’ perceptions of educational technology related to other key instructional elements. In particular, they examined the relationship between educational technology use and important elements such as teaching methods, progress on learning objectives, and course features. Their study showed that an increase in the use of educational technology corresponds to an increase in effective teaching methods and higher scores on the overall quality of the teaching and the course offered. These results are exciting, because they can help universities and colleges to offer more timely and targeted faculty development, based on data-driven decision-making.

In addition, Dr. Correia hosted the AERA Special Interest Group Online Learning and Teaching Business meeting, and shared her vision for the SIG as the incoming Chair as she interacted with members and guests. She will continue contributing to AERA as SIG chair, presenter and reviewer. Her extensive national and international leadership in educational technology adds much value to the SIG and the association.

Colleagues and friends at 2019 AERA annual meeting

References:

Correia, A.-P. (2019). Examining Online Learning Experiences in Collectivist Cultures through the Community of Inquiry Framework. Presented at American Educational Research Association 2019 Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, April 5-9, 2019.

Correia, A.-P., & Good, K. (2019). Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Educational Technology Use in College Teaching. Presented at American Educational Research Association 2019 Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, April 5-9, 2019.

North and Hickey Win National Award in Instructional Design

Cara North and Sean Hickey received the “Best in Show” award for their eLearning game entitled Multiple-Choice Mayhem at the Learning Solutions conference in March 2019.

Multiple-Choice Mayhem teaches the user how to identify common item-writing flaws that make the answer apparent or allows a test-taker to easily eliminate several choices. This eLearning game was designed to prepare subject-matter experts for creating more effective multiple-choice assessments. Hickey and North created the game while working collaboratively at the Center on Education and Training for Employment and after realizing the existing teaching tools were not effective and contained information that was outdated.

Designed in the style of a 1970’s television game show, Multiple-Choice Mayhem presents users with 7 multiple-choice trivia questions. Users may miss one or two but will generally find the questions easy. After answering the questions, the user will then learn through a brief animation and explanation of why the item was easy to answer. Hickey and North designed the game to have the player to learn the consequences of bad item-writing firsthand to help them recognize the value of following item-writing standards and to avoid pitfalls. Since its launch in September 2017, Multiple-Choice Mayhem has been viewed and played by more than 600 people.

“Best in Show” award at the Learning Solutions conference, March 2019.

The Learning Solutions conference is an annual conference from the eLearning Guild, a professional organization for those in the field of learning and development. More than 1,500 human resources, learning and development, training, and eLearning professionals from more than 15 countries attend the three-day conference to get practical learning and training content they can take home and apply immediately.

The last evening of Learning Solutions is DemoFest, a showcase of attendees’ best eLearning, video, and training programs. A month prior to the event, attendees must apply to participate. For 2019, 40 products were selected to participate in categories that included Academic, Alternative, Blended Learning, Business Process, Game-Based Training, Immersive/Simulation, and Video. Conference participants attend DemoFest and vote for the best demos. One “Best in Show” award is given to each of the eLearning vendor demo and the non-vendor attendee demo with the most votes. In addition, the highest vote earner in each category is given an award for that category. Multiple-Choice Mayhem won “Best in Show” (non-vendor) as part of DemoFest.

Congratulations Cara and Sean!

Learning Solutions conference, March 2019.