Advancing Online Teaching at an On-Ground Institution by Assessing Technical and Humanities Online Courses
- Conference
- Location
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Seattle, Washington
- Publication Date
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June 14, 2015
- Start Date
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June 14, 2015
- End Date
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June 17, 2015
- ISBN
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978-0-692-50180-1
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Construction
- Page Count
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14
- Page Numbers
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26.163.1 - 26.163.14
- DOI
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10.18260/p.23502
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/23502
- Download Count
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559
Paper Authors
Talat Salama Central Connecticut State University
Dr. Talat Salama, PE, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Manufacturing and Construction Management. Before joining CCSU, he was an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Salama earned his BS and PhD in Civil Engineering and Structural Engineering, respectively, from Rutgers University and he earned his MS in Construction Engineering from the American University in Cairo. His expertise and research interests include Structural Health Monitoring of bridges using Non-Destructive Testing, and rehabilitation, retrofitting and strengthening of structures. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the states on New Jersey and Alabama, with six years of industrial experience.
Namhun Lee Central Connecticut State University
Dr. Namhun Lee is an assistant professor in the department of Manufacturing and Construction Management at Central Connecticut State University, where he has been teaching Construction Graphics/Quantity Take-Off, CAD & BIM Tools for Construction, Building Construction Systems, Building Construction Estimating, Heavy/Highway Construction Estimating, Construction Planning, and Construction Project Management. Dr. Lee’s main research areas include Construction Informatics and Visual Analytics; Building Information Modeling (BIM), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for construction management; and Interactive Educational Games and Simulations. E-mail: leen@ccsu.edu.
Glynis Fitzgerald Central Connecticut State University
Dr. Fitzgerald became Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies in August, 2013. She formerly served as Department Chair and Professor of Communication at Central Connecticut State University.
Her area of specialty is organizational and corporate communication. She is recognized as an expert in relationship building and has focused her research in many aspects of relationships; organizations with their communities, leaders with their members and relationship building across cultures. She has received awards for her research and teaching.
An experienced consultant, she applies her knowledge in corporations, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations on subjects including crisis prevention and management, membership development and information management. Her book, Professional Communication: A relationship management approach written together with Dr. Yanan Ju is used by Fudan University, PRC to provide training for students desiring to work in the US. She is also the Subject Matter Expert for the Hyundai Leadership Program at CCSU.
Dr. Fitzgerald holds a MA and Ph.D. in Communication from SUNY Buffalo.
Lee W. Lee Central Connecticut State University
Professor and Chair of
Department of Management & Organization
Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from State University of New York at Buffalo
Mary M. McCarthy Central Connecticut State University
Mary McCarthy, CPA, CFA, has over 19 years of experience in the financial services industry serving in various leadership positions. She is currently Associate Professor of Accounting at Central Connecticut State University teaching financial accounting courses. She received her doctoral degree at Nova Southeastern University and her MBA in finance from the University of Connecticut. She is a certified public accountant (State of Connecticut), a CFA charter holder, and a Certified Global Management Accountant. She can be reached at Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050, Mary.McCarthy@ccsu.edu
Abstract
Advancing Online Teaching at an On-Ground Institution by Assessing Technical and Humanity Online CoursesAbstract:Online learning has been expanding on many university campuses throughout the United Statesas well as worldwide, but the quality of such education need to be assessed as compared to on-ground face-to-face education. To continue growth and experience in e-learning, universities areencouraged to develop online graduate and undergraduate courses and specialized certificateprograms. Many of these universities offer these courses mainly during the summer andintersession periods. A large comprehensive state university in New England created a task forceto look closely at the university’s online and hybrid courses to ensure that the university delivershigh quality online and hybrid instruction. Comprised of educators, administrators andtechnology experts, the task force’s objective is to develop recommendations to ensure that 1)online and hybrid courses taught at this state university reflect the best practices for onlinecourse design, 2) faculty teaching online and hybrid courses reflect the best pedagogicalpractices for online instruction, and 3) online and hybrid courses taught provide a positivelearning experience for our students. The purpose of this study is to explore the educationalexperience in the online classes offered to the primarily on-ground students, to evaluate theinstructional effectiveness of various instructional tools used in the online class, and to assessviability of online course offering across majors, from technical (e.g., engineering andconstruction management) to humanity (e.g., communication and sociology). A survey wasgiven to students who took online courses during the Summer 2014 sessions to assess theinstructional tools used and their effectiveness among other pertinent variables. The total numberof academic departments that offered online courses was 38 and the total number of responderswas 249 students. This paper, based on this survey and continuous discussion with faculty andadministration, will recommend action items to maintain and improve online education byapplying best teaching practices. This study will serve as a benchmark to continually monitor theprogress of quality online education as the recommendations are implemented. Moreover, qualityof online courses as compared to on-ground courses will be studied comparing the rigor andquality of the instruction. As in many other areas a mixed strategy based on an appropriatecombination of on-ground and online is desirable. The challenge is to determine that “mix” andsupport its multiple components. Implementation should include significant, ongoing training offaculty and investment in service and support for students and faculty.
Salama, T., & Lee, N., & Fitzgerald, G., & Lee, L. W., & McCarthy, M. M. (2015, June), Advancing Online Teaching at an On-Ground Institution by Assessing Technical and Humanities Online Courses Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.23502
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