Location
Technology: Professional Development and Instruction - Boston 2/3
Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
In today’s global, technology-driven society, educational institutions must constantly evolve in order to deliver instruction in a way that meets the ever-changing needs of students who may be geographically and demographically diverse. A variety of technologies exist that allow students to work collaboratively to complete project-based assignments online. Course management systems (CMS) such as Blackboard and D2L Brightspace (D2L) are designed to promote that collaboration. However, researchers have found that students tend to gravitate towards technologies that are familiar, rich, and synchronous (Albayrak & Yildirim, 2015; Karim & Heckman, 2005; Rowe, Bozalek, & Frantz, 2013; Wang, Woo, Quek, Yang, & Liu, M, 2012).
Longitudinal, historical data from a doctoral-level online curriculum and instruction course at a Mid-Size Public Southern University was used to determine which technologies doctoral students used to facilitate group projects in the course, how the technologies were used, and their effectiveness in meeting student needs. From the data collected, the research team was able to reach conclusions, and define implications for best practice, and those are shared.
Keywords
doctoral students, instructional technology, virtual teamwork, collaboration
Professional Bio
Herbert R. Fiester holds a PhD in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University. Dr. Fiester’s research interests include knowledge acquisition, heuristics, tacit and heuristic knowledge, educational technology, instructional design, and integration of technology into the teaching and learning process. Dr. Fiester currently works as an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology at Valdosta State University where he serves as Program Coordinator of the Curriculum and Instruction Doctoral Program.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Fiester, Herbert and Workman, Jamie, "Technological Tools to Support Virtual Group Projects" (2019). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 19.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2019/2019/19
Included in
Technological Tools to Support Virtual Group Projects
Technology: Professional Development and Instruction - Boston 2/3
In today’s global, technology-driven society, educational institutions must constantly evolve in order to deliver instruction in a way that meets the ever-changing needs of students who may be geographically and demographically diverse. A variety of technologies exist that allow students to work collaboratively to complete project-based assignments online. Course management systems (CMS) such as Blackboard and D2L Brightspace (D2L) are designed to promote that collaboration. However, researchers have found that students tend to gravitate towards technologies that are familiar, rich, and synchronous (Albayrak & Yildirim, 2015; Karim & Heckman, 2005; Rowe, Bozalek, & Frantz, 2013; Wang, Woo, Quek, Yang, & Liu, M, 2012).
Longitudinal, historical data from a doctoral-level online curriculum and instruction course at a Mid-Size Public Southern University was used to determine which technologies doctoral students used to facilitate group projects in the course, how the technologies were used, and their effectiveness in meeting student needs. From the data collected, the research team was able to reach conclusions, and define implications for best practice, and those are shared.
