
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications
Campus Units
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
12-2012
Journal or Book Title
NACTA Journal
Volume
56
Issue
4
First Page
13
Last Page
21
Abstract
Despite the obstacles to traditional distance education courses, distance education and social learning theorists suggest effective distance education courses can be developed. For this study, we designed a new distance education course model and attempted to 1) Test the effectiveness of the virtual education center model, understood through the lens of social learning and distance education theories; 2) Discuss potential improvements to the model; and 3) Build upon distance education and social learning theories. To achieve these goals, distance education courses were offered using the new model. Participating faculty and graduate assistants responded to a survey asking about their experiences with the model. Undergraduate learning was assessed by examining students’ quiz grades, the number of times they attempted quizzes and their ratings and comments for each class period. Students demonstrated learning regardless of whether lectures were live or recorded. Faculty members and graduate assistants learned about biorenewable resources and offering courses through distance education; they also made suggestions to improve future distance education courses. The distance education model used in this study is an effective means of educating students, teaching assistants, and faculty members. Implications for distance education theory and distance education efforts are discussed.
Access
Open
Copyright Owner
NACTA
Copyright Date
2012
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Geisinger, Brandi N.; Raman, D. Raj; Haen, Karri M.; Kemis, Mari R.; and Pate, Michael L., "Virtual Education Center for Biorenewable Resources: Humanizing Distance Education" (2012). Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications. 742.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/742
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons, Engineering Education Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons
Comments
This article is from NACTA Journal 56 (2012): 13–21. Posted with permission.