A Current Study: An Assessment of Online Instructor’s Perceptions on Using an Introductory Video

Purpose/Significance

Dr Andree Swanson and Dr Maria Minor, research partners, are conducting a qualitative study to identify the views of online faculty on whether using an introductory video will be of assistance to increase social engagement.  Faculty want to ensure that students have a sense of connection and engagement (e-connectivity) with the faculty.  Increased e-connectivity will improve retention, reduce attrition, and help to keep the student engaged in the classroom (Swanson, Hutkin, Babb, & Howell, 2010, p. 121).  The study will seek the opinions of online faculty using social media such as Linkedin, Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter.

Significance Statement

The significance of this study is that faculty want to ensure that students are engaged in the online classroom.  Studies have been completed that identified the need for:

1)      Achieving a social connection (e-connectivity) with their students (Muirhead, 2000; Slagter van Tryon & Bishop, 2006)

2)      Increasing interactivity that “will help the students' with their understanding” (Swanson, Hutkin, Babb, & Howell, 2010, p. 121).

Swanson et al. (2010) stated,

Participants in a study agreed that faculty should be warm, available to answer questions; hold students to a high standard, remain flexible to adult learners; honest in all of their interactions, and demonstrate a caring nature in the online classroom. (p. 119)

Slagter van Tryon and Bishop (2006) as cited in Swanson et al. (2010) defined the unique term e-immediacy as the feeling of social connectivity between two online individuals whether instructors or classmates).  Engagement and the feelings of social connectedness are what the students’ desire (Slagter van Tryon & Bishop, 2006; Swanson et al., 2010).  Student engagement can be increased by including, at a minimum, instructor welcome videos in the online classroom.  The addition of introductory videos will enable the faculty members to engage in the proposed study to share their personality and enthusiasm for the topic.       

Benefits

This is an introductory research project. The benefits of this study may result in data that participants can use.  If the results show a positive outcome, participants make look into adding a welcoming video into their own classroom.  The benefits are to the online learning community may result in increased retention in online classroom and may result in reduced attrition.  The results from this survey may present significant data to conduct further research on the addition of video in the classroom which may benefit higher education and learning in society.

Participate in Study

You are invited to participate in a 12-question research study Using an Introductory.  Please go to this link, complete the informed consent, and take the brief survey.  Please go to http://www.minorswanson.info/#!current-research/ch6q then click on the link at the bottom of the page.

Dr. Andree Swanson and Dr Maria Minor

References

Slagter van Tryon, P. J., & Bishop, M. J. (2006). Identifying “e-mmediacy” strategies for web-based instruction: A Delphi study. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 7(1), 49-63. Retrieved July 11, 2009, from ProQuest database.

Swanson, A., Hutkin, R., Babb, D., & Howell, S. (2010, Sep). Establishing the best practices for social interaction and e-connectivity in online higher education classes. Doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix, Arizona. Publication Number: 3525517. Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/3525517.pdf

Study Synopsis: The Source in Student Writing – Secondary Education

Turnitin conducted a study in 2011-2012 to examine the secondary sources that students use in their written essays. “It is based on an analysis of over 44 million content matches from more than 9 million student papers” (Turnitin, 2013, p. 3).

KEY FINDINGS

The key findings from the study were:

1. “Students are relying on sources that have weak academic validity” (p. 3).

2. “Most troubling, 18% of content matches come from paper mills and cheat sites” (p. 3). In fact, the statistics showed that there was a 4% increase in the use of paper mills and cheat sites (p. 5)

 3. “Secondary student sources vary considerably from the sources higher education students use in their writing” (p. 3).

4. “Educators should consider taking time to teach students how search engines work and how to evaluate and judge the quality of online content” (p. 3).

 I find this appalling! I think this statement assumes that we, as educators, do not teach our students how to use search engines. But, you can only spoon feed students so much! When students have waited to the last minute, for whatever reason, they might turn to whatever they think will help them get the page length, etc.

POPULAR SOURCES

The most popular Internet sites are listed below, with Wikipedia remaining in the number one position.

1. Wikipedia

2. Answers.yahoo.com

3. Enotes.com

4. Answers.com

5. Oppapers.com (a paper mill) – personally, I find this to be a very popular source and it disturbs me to find my name on many papers as the instructor. 

 6. Scribd.com

7. Slideshare.net

8. Essaymania.com

9. Shmoop.com

10. Medialibrary.org

Many students are citing blogs, not realizing that these are mostly filled with opinions.

PAPER MILLS & CHEAT SITES

Educators are debating the value of Wikipedia or SlideShare.net. Some educators recommend using Wikipedia to get an overall idea on the topic, but then recommend using a primary source on the topic. However, educators agree that cheat sites are just not acceptable… period (p. 8).

Roughly, 18% of all matches on Turnitin come from cheat sites. “To put it bluntly at least 18% of all sources used in secondary education papers are plagiarized” (p. 8)

SHOPPING SITES

Want to get a better understanding of what was presented in a textbook or another source? Go to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble and read the reviews that the authors and readers write. This is where our higher education students are going for information.

CONCLUSION

This is battle that will never be won. Circumstances will always tempt even the best student to take a short cut here or there. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are educating are students in the proper method of research and that they use and cite the right sources when on the web.

Author: Dr. Andree Swanson

Reference

Turnitin. (2013). White paper: The sources in student writing – Secondary education. Oakland, CA: iParadigms, LLC.

Book Review: The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights, by Daniel Goleman

Dr Daniel Goleman, a scholar and a scientist, with a passion for emotional intelligence and applying it to different disciplines has published an update on some of the research that is being done in the field of emotional intelligence.

Goleman has posted the question: “Is emotional intelligence distinct from IQ?”  “Now brain researchers have identified distinct circuitry for emotional intelligence in a landmark study” by Reuven Bar-on. This study provides convincing proof that EI is located in a distinct area in the brain, different from IQ (Goleman, 2011).

Social Brain

Goleman (2011) also wrote about the social brain.  A study was done between doctors and their patients during psychotherapy sessions. What was found was that there is a physiology of rapport.  Three elements of rapport exist:  1) “paying full attention” (p. 57), 2) “being in synch non-verbally” (p. 57), and 3) “micro-flow, an interpersonal high” or a positive feeling (p. 57). “These moments of interpersonal chemistry, or simpatico, are when things happen at their best – no matter the specifics of what we’re doing together” (Goleman, 2011, p. 57). Further, the Harvard Business Review calls this interaction a human moment.

Gender Differences

Of all the studies that have been done on gender differences and EI, it appears that overall women have better EI scores than men on average.  However, there is conflicting data out there on this. Scientist Ruth Malloy reviewed “gender differences on the Emotional and Social Competence Inventory” (Goleman, 2011, p. 65).  Malloy’s study resulted in gender differences exist, but when you reach the top 10% of business performers there seems to be no differences.  “The men are as good as the women, the women as good as the men, across the board” (Goleman, 2011, p. 65).

Conclusion

This is a very easy read and a light summary of the research that is going on regarding emotional intelligence and the brain.  Very interesting.  Just the right reading level for a 30-minute ride on the light rail!

Author: Dr. Andree Swanson

Reference

Goleman, D. (2011). The brain and emotional intelligence: New insights. Northhampton, MA: More than Sound LLC.

Human moment: Edward Hallowell (1999). The human moment at work. Harvard Business Review.

Corporate Social Responsibility

On Target by John K. Harrell

A reputation of being social responsibile as an organization is one of the most valuable assets a company can have (Peloza, Loock, Cerruti, & Muyot, 2012). "Many stakeholders, from customers to investors to employees to purchasing managers, report that sustainability is an important factor in their decision-making processes" (Peloza et al., 2012, p. Abstract).  Companies chose different levels of responsibility.  Some corporations make an effort to add this to their mission statement and really live this goal.  Other companies do not even consider social responsibility.  In this essay, three American companies will be reviewed for their corporate social responsibility (CSR)

“Corporate responsibility … means… you must... take care of the shareholder, but that is not your exclusive responsibility” (Boatright, 2009, p. 348).  Boatright (2009) describes the concept of corporate social responsibility as a corporation’s voluntary assumption and belief in their responsibility beyond the economic and legal tasks of the company.  Corporate social responsibility has become very popular as corporations have become larger and even more powerful.  Organizations have formed to monitor the actions of corporations and report bad companies who do not keep their standards for being socially responsible (Logan, 2005).  

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Monitoring

The International Institute for Sustainable Development published a study in 2001.  Of note was the fact that 28% of people who invest money do the research into the background of the company to see if they are socially responsible.  A similar picture emerged in Canada, Japan, Britain and Italy (International Institute for Sustainable Development [IISD], 2013).  Corporate social responsbility (CSR) had a greater brand influence on a company than other influences.  " In 20 developed countries surveyed, CSR-related factors collectively accounted for 49% of a company's image, compared with 35% for brand image and just 10% for financial management" (IISD, 2013).  And, on the opposing side, companies that ignore CSR-related factors, well... buyers tend to ignore their products.  IISD (2013) stated,

Consumers, especially those in North America, are likely to vote with their wallets against companies whose social and environmental performance is perceived to be poor. Forty-two percent of North American consumers reported having punished socially irresponsible companies by not buying their products.

Coors, Haagen-Dazs®, and Tyson

Coors, Tyson, and Haagen Daaz are organizations that have devised clever ways to give back to the community.  Coors, for example, spends more money on responsible drinking education than on alcohol centered events (Coors, 2005.  

Haagen-Dazs® is committed to raising honey bee awareness.  The ice cream company has created a microsite to raise awareness that honeybees pollinate one-third of all the food we eat; including foods such as all natural ice creams/yogurt; tying it back to the company’s core mission.

Realizing early on that honey bees were crucial to the pollination of ingredients in more than half of the Haagen-Dazs brand's all-natural ice cream products, the brand created the Haagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees™ program and donated funds to Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Davis for CCD and sustainable pollination research. In the past two years, the Haagen-Dazs brand has donated a total of $500,000 to both universities. (Haagen-Dazs, 2013).

Tyson is committed to fighting hunger. They have taken advantage of social media by creating a blog.  Tyson agreed to donate 100 lbs of chicken to the Austin food bank for every comment posted on its blog.  Tyson always give back to the military too ("Tyson donates chicken products to feed military", 2003).

Conclusion

As Peloza et al. (2012) stated that a corporation is wise to invest in a mission of corporate social responsibility.  Monitoring organizations exist to ensure they are adhering to their missions of CSR.  IISD (2013) stated that consumers in well-developed countries are more likely to vote with their wallets when they consider a company's corporate CSR mission.  Coors, Haagen-Dazs, and Tyson are just a few of the American companies that demonstrate corporate social responsibility.

 Author: Dr. Andree Swanson, EdD

Boatright, J. R. (2009). Ethics and the conduct of business (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall.

Coors, P. H. (2005). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Context tor Alcohol Policy. In M. Grant, J. O'Connor (Eds.), Corporate social responsibility and alcohol: The need and potential for partnership (pp. 97-101). New York, NY US: Routledge. 

Haagen-Dazs. (2013). Haagen-Dazs(R) Ice Cream Challenges Consumers to Imagine a 'World Without Bees'. PR Newswire. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/haagen-dazsr-ice-cream-challenges-consumers-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-69843567.html

International Institute for Sustainable Development [IISD]. (2013). Corporate social responsibility monitor. Retrieved from http://www.iisd.org/business/issues/sr_csrm.aspx

Logan, J. (2005), Corporate Social Responsibility. Business and Economic Review, 31, 25-25.  Retrieved from http://search.Proquest.com/docview/209589976? 

Peloza, J., Loock, M., Cerruti, J., & Muyot, M. (2012). Sustainability: HOW STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS DIFFER FROM CORPORATE REALITY. California Management Review, 55(1), 74-95. 

Tyson donates chicken products to feed military. (2003). Nation's Restaurant News, 37(17), 94-94. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229302772?accountid=32521