Sloan-C is now offering the 5th Volume of the Sloan-C Book Series. This year however, the research reports come alive, as the researchers themselves present the findings of their research in 14 informative video presentations. In fact, if you are a member and purchase them together, you will receive 20% off of the entire package

Important Notice: If you decide to purchase just one item, we recommend that you purchase the CD-ROM, as it contains all of the papers in the book in PDF format.

Overview: In the ten years since the inception of the Sloan Consortium, the field of online learning has entered the mainstream of higher education, making online learning a core ingredient of tomorrow’s educational paradigms. Now that digital natives are coming of age, the blending of on-ground and online education is continuous and unstoppable. Growing demands for wide choice suggest that the blended agenda presses us rapidly into new realms of inquiry. Thus, the title of this collection, the fifth volume in the Sloan-C series on quality, is Elements of Quality Online Education: Into the Mainstream. The 14 peer-reviewed studies in this volume provide guidance for effectively responding to the challenges facing higher education.

1. The studies on Student Satisfaction recognize that significant populations remain underserved. Yet asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) are widening access by easing some of the constraints of place-based, synchronous learning, so that many more and many more new kinds of learners can achieve satisfaction and success.
   
2. The studies on Learning Effectiveness share an emphasis on the ways that ALN exceeds the “no significant difference” minimum standard for learning outcomes.
   
3. The studies on blending, combining face-to-face and online methods for learning, offer rich possibilities for what many see as the best of both learning modes.
   
4. The studies on assessment go to the core of the Sloan-C quality framework and its emphasis on continuous quality improvement through demonstrating progress towards the overarching goal of affordable access for all in a wide range of disciplines.

In our time of “profound, rapid, and discontinuous change,” these studies envision solutions to the challenges of online, blended and face-to-face education in higher education.

CD-ROM Description: This CD-ROM includes 14 video presentations from the researchers and their associated research reports, allowing you to see and hear the research presented as if you are at conference or seminar. There are several hours of video on the CD-ROM representing 28 of the most influential researchers in the field of online learning.

Table of Content:

Introduction

Frank Mayadas, John Bourne, Janet C. Moore

I. Student Satisfaction and Student Success

1. Promoting Student Support and Satisfaction in Online Learning
   Meg Benke, Tana Bishop, Melody Thompson, Carol Scarafiotti, and Claudine SchWeber
2. Critical Factors in Student Satisfaction and Success: Facilitating Student Role Adjustment
   in Online Communities of Inquiry
   D. Randy Garrison and Martha Cleveland-Innes
3. Enhancing Student Satisfaction through Faculty Development: The Importance of
   Teaching Presence
   Peter J. Shea, Alexandra M. Pickett, and William E. Pelz

1. Learning Online: A Review of Current Research on Issues of Interface, Teaching Presence
   and Learner Characteristics
   Karen Swan
2. The Psychology of E-learning: Why, What, and How?
   Zheng Yan
3. Using Adaptive Hypermedia to Match Web Presentation to Learning Styles
   Michael M. Danchak
4. ALN Research: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Contextual Influences
   Starr Roxanne Hiltz, J. Ben Arbaugh, Raquel Benbunan Fich, and Peter Shea

1. Three ALN Modalities: An Institutional Perspective
   Charles Dziuban, Joel Hartman, Patsy Moskal, Steven Sorg, and Barbara Truman
2. Using ALN in a Blended Environment: Implications for Institutional Planning
   John T. Harwood and Gary E. Miller
3. Model-Driven Design: Systematically Building Integrated Blended Learning Experiences
   Stephen Laster

1. Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities for Online Learning
   Anthony G. Picciano
2. More Art Than Science: The Postsecondary Assessment Movement Today
   Barbara D. Wright
3. Achieving Quality and Scale in Online Education through Transformative Assessment:
   A Case Study
   Jacqueline Moloney and Steven Tello
4. Assessment, Online Learning and a Faculty Perspective: A Course Case Study
   Anthony G. Picciano