Perceptions of Online Distance Education Within the North Carolina Community College System by Chief Academic Officers and Chief Distance Education Officers


Book Description

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of chief academic officers (CAOs) and chief distance education officers (CDOs) regarding faculty satisfaction in areas of released time for training and course development, workload, overall support of distance education, and extra compensation. One-hundred-sixteen surveys were sent out by e-mail to all 58 community colleges in North Carolina. The data for this study came from the returned surveys. The combined return rate of surveys was 78%. The SAS Institute program procedures were used for the analysis of the data. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical analyses. Results of this study showed differences between the CAOs and CDOs regarding faculty satisfaction on key issues. One reason for this could be more frequent contact of faculty with CDOs than with the CAOs. Recommendations for further research include: 1. This study should be replicated in 2 to 3 years to ascertain what changes have occurred in North Carolina community colleges; 2. Similar comparative studies should be made regarding community colleges in other states; 3. Additional studies should be conducted in North Carolina to gather comments and concerns directly from faculty members. The following recommendations are made to improve distance education in North Carolina: 1. Adequate technology funding for distance education programs in North Carolina community colleges needs to be acquired; 2. A state formula should be developed to enable the sharing of FTE for community colleges in North Carolina that provide joint distance education programs; 3. Long-range plans for supporting and training faculty members and funding distance education programs should be developed in North Carolina community colleges; 4. Community colleges without written distance education policies should develop them; 5. Community college administrators should become better informed about the needs of distance education faculty members and programs; and 6. A state wide task-force needs to be developed to study the needs of distance education faculty members and programs in North Carolina.













Web Accessibility


Book Description

Covering key areas of evaluation and methodology, client-side applications, specialist and novel technologies, along with initial appraisals of disabilities, this important book provides comprehensive coverage of web accessibility. Written by leading experts in the field, it provides an overview of existing research and also looks at future developments, providing a much deeper insight than can be obtained through existing research libraries, aggregations, or search engines.







Electronic Learning Communities Issues and Practices


Book Description

This book focuses on electronic learning communities created through the development and use of the Internet for instruction and training. The chapters focus on philosophies, background, reviews, technologies, systems, tools, services, strategies, development, implementation, research, and guidelines for implementers, and each illustrates the chapter theme with a detailed example of best practices.




The Bloomsbury Handbook of Rural Education in the United States


Book Description

This handbook begins with a foundational overview of rural education, examining the ways in which definitions, histories, policies, and demographic changes influence rural schools. This foundational approach includes how corporatization, population changes, poverty, and the role of data affect everyday learning in rural schools. In following sections, the contributors consider how school closures, charter schools, and district governance influence decision making in rural schooling, while also examining the influence of these structures on higher education attainment, rural school partnerships, and school leadership. They explore curriculum studies in rural education, including place-based and trauma-informed pedagogies, rural literacies, rural stereotype threat, and achievement. Finally, they engage with issues of identity and equity in rural schools by providing an overview of the literature related to diverse populations in rural places, including Indigenous, Black, and Latinx communities, and exceptional learners. Importantly, this handbook applies theoretical tools to rural classroom experiences, demonstrating the potential of work centered at the intersection of theory, rurality, and classroom practice. Each section concludes with a response by an international scholar, situating the topics covered within the broader global context.




Online Education


Book Description

Online Education is a comprehensive exploration of blended and fully online teaching platforms, addressing history, theory, research, planning, and practice. As colleges, universities, and schools around the world adopt large-scale technologies and traditional class models shift into seamless, digitally interactive environments, critical insights are needed into the implications for administration and pedagogy. Written by a major contributor to the field, this book contextualizes online education in the past and present before analyzing its fundamental changes to instruction, program integration, social interaction, content construction, networked media, policy, and more. A provocative concluding chapter speculates on the future of education as the sector becomes increasingly dependent on learning technologies.




Ebony


Book Description

EBONY is the flagship magazine of Johnson Publishing. Founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson, it still maintains the highest global circulation of any African American-focused magazine.