Strengthening student engagement: what do students want in online courses?

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to identify pertinent studies on the important issue of student engagement strategies in online courses and to establish from empirical studies student engagement strategies that work. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopted the literature review approach. The authors conducted a thorough and systematic search of the literature to find empirical studies focusing on online engagement strategies within the field of education and distance learning. To generate as many relevant publications as possible, both manual and electronic searches were conducted. The databases used included; Academic Search Complete (Ebsco), Social Sciences Full Text (Wilson), ProQuest Education Journals, ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis, ProQuest Central, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCIISI), ERIC, (Ebsco), SAGE Full-Text Collection (CSA), Google Scholar and Emerald. Findings – The results of this paper revealed the several factors that can create engaging learning experiences for the online learners. The primary factors are as follows: creating and maintaining positive learning environment; building learning community; giving consistent feedback in timely manner; and using the right technology to deliver the right content. Research limitations/implications – The paper is limited, as it is based on a review of literature. Empirical studies need to be conducted to support the ideas generated in this paper. For example, it is proposed that individual and institutional characteristics play an important role in promoting learner satisfaction in online courses. Additional studies that can explore this aspect in detail are needed. Originality/value – The paper has both professional and educational implications. The findings of this paper can help identify areas where the instructors and designers of online classes need to focus. The student engagement strategies for online courses identified should assist both experienced and beginning online instructors in the design and successful delivery of online courses. Students taking online courses should find the results of this study invaluable.

Framework for designing motivational augmented reality applications in vocational education and training

“…This module manages the feedback that the system provides in response to a student's interaction with the AR application. Some studies have reported that the provision of feedback might have a positive effect on student motivation (Chakraborty & Muyia Nafukho, 2014;Chao et al, 2014). Thus, we suggest that providing real-time feedback might support student motivation.…”

How Do You Build Community and Foster Engagement in Online Courses?

“…), and rewarding group interactions (Amador and Mederer ) all contribute to the creation of successful online discussions. It is imperative that the right technology is used to deliver the correct content and level of engagement (Chakraborty and Nafukho ). Lane () contends that discussions are the best way to reduce student–student and student–teacher distance and to create engagement.…”

“…Similarly, providing discussion grading rubrics or criteria (Swan and Shih 2005), attributing a significant grade to communitybuilding exercises (Rovai 2002), requiring netiquette standards (Anderson et al 2001), and rewarding group interactions (Amador and Mederer 2013) all contribute to the creation of successful online discussions. It is imperative that the right technology is used to deliver the correct content and level of engagement (Chakraborty and Nafukho 2014). Lane (2010) contends that discussions are the best way to reduce student-student and studentteacher distance and to create engagement.…”

Promotion of student engagement by online community college faculty

“…findings of this open-ended question consistently mirror the Community of Inquiry statements, however, there is certainly no consensus about "one best way" to engage students. This supports the theory that learning tools must be individualized to meet the unique needs of the students and a variety of strategies must be employed (Chakraborty & Nafukho, 2014) The final survey item answered research question seven to understand how online faculty define online student engagement. More than one-third defined engagement as active participation in all of the course components including items such as discussions, learning activities, and assessments.…”