With the explosive growth of e-portfolios in teacher preparation programs, it is essential for ad... more With the explosive growth of e-portfolios in teacher preparation programs, it is essential for administration and other relevant stakeholders to understand the student perspective of e-portfolios’ organizational uses. This article describes the validation of the modified Electronic Portfolio Student Perspective Instrument (EPSPI). The analysis includes descriptive analyses, exploratory factor analysis, and internal consistency reliability analyses. The article also reports the second major data collection effort involving preservice teachers (N = 224) in a southeastern public university. Results suggest that student perspectives toward e-portfolios are multidimensional, involving four distinct and highly internally consistent underlying constructs accounting for 69% of the cumulative variability: learning, assessment, visibility, and support. This research provides further evidence that the EPSPI is a reliable measurement system. Recommendations for future research are provided.
International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 2012
This study explored the perceptions of principals involved in the hiring process of K–12 teachers... more This study explored the perceptions of principals involved in the hiring process of K–12 teachers in 11 counties in southeastern North Carolina. Forty-nine principals responded to a survey on ePortfolio use in the hiring process: the pros and cons, desirable artifacts, stage of use, preferred delivery method, and improvements that can increase their usage. We examined each of these questions and whether certain factors (prior use, technology skills, and years as a hiring agent) predict principals' ePortfolio use. Our findings suggest that ePortfolios provide improved and current information about teacher candidates that is easily accessible and organized. Collectively, this allows principals to assess teacher candidates’ suitability for employment. Although, there are problems associated with ePortfolio use during hiring, which are detailed below, the results suggest that principals most frequently use ePortfolios during the interview process, prefer delivery via a website addre...
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2012
Interaction is crucial to student satisfaction in online courses. Adding synchronous components (... more Interaction is crucial to student satisfaction in online courses. Adding synchronous components (virtual classroom technologies) to online courses can facilitate interaction. In this study, interaction within a synchronous virtual classroom was investigated by surveying 21 graduate students in an instructional technology program in the southeastern United States. The students were asked about learner-learner, learner-instructor, learner-content, and learner-interface interactions. During an interview, the instructor was asked about strategies to promote these different forms of interaction. In addition, the academic, social, and technical aspects of interactions were examined in three course archives using Schullo’s (2005) schema. Participants reported that the Wimba interface was easy to use and that various features, such as text chat and the webcam, facilitated interaction among the students and with the instructor in the virtual classroom. The importance of students’ ability to ...
This is a case study of faculty adoption and use of Horizon Wimba Virtual Classroom in online cou... more This is a case study of faculty adoption and use of Horizon Wimba Virtual Classroom in online courses at a Southeastern University in the United States.. The purpose of this case study was to explore faculty adoption and use of Horizon Wimba in their online courses. This inquiry is based on Yen et al. (2010) adoption factors (organizational, social, personal and technological) and the features of the virtual classroom. The research questions are 1) What factors and features influence faculty adoption of the Wimba Virtual Classroom? 2) How do faculty rate the Wimba Virtual Classroom using the characteristics of innovation? 3) How do faculty classify themselves using Roger's model of diffusion of innovation? 4) How do faculty use the Wimba Virtual Classroom in their teaching? Roger's diffusion of innovation was used as the theoretical framework for faculty adoption of virtual classroom. In the Fall of 2010, faculty were surveyed and interviewed about their decision to adopt an...
Virtual classrooms allow students and instructors to communicate synchronously using features suc... more Virtual classrooms allow students and instructors to communicate synchronously using features such as audio, video, text chat, interactive whiteboard, and application sharing. The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to identify why instructors adopt synchronous virtual classrooms and how they use them after their adoption. An electronic survey was administered asking instructors from various institutions to describe their experience adopting a synchronous virtual classroom in either a blended or online course. In describing their reasons for adopting the technology, respondents most frequently cited institutional resource availability, increasing social presence, enhancing student learning, and the availability of technology. Along with audio chat, the features that most influenced the adoption of virtual classrooms and were used most frequently by respondents were the ability to archive conference sessions, see participants through webcams, and use text-based chat inter...
With the explosive growth of e-portfolios in teacher preparation programs, it is essential for ad... more With the explosive growth of e-portfolios in teacher preparation programs, it is essential for administration and other relevant stakeholders to understand the student perspective of e-portfolios’ organizational uses. This article describes the validation of the modified Electronic Portfolio Student Perspective Instrument (EPSPI). The analysis includes descriptive analyses, exploratory factor analysis, and internal consistency reliability analyses. The article also reports the second major data collection effort involving preservice teachers (N = 224) in a southeastern public university. Results suggest that student perspectives toward e-portfolios are multidimensional, involving four distinct and highly internally consistent underlying constructs accounting for 69% of the cumulative variability: learning, assessment, visibility, and support. This research provides further evidence that the EPSPI is a reliable measurement system. Recommendations for future research are provided.
International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 2012
This study explored the perceptions of principals involved in the hiring process of K–12 teachers... more This study explored the perceptions of principals involved in the hiring process of K–12 teachers in 11 counties in southeastern North Carolina. Forty-nine principals responded to a survey on ePortfolio use in the hiring process: the pros and cons, desirable artifacts, stage of use, preferred delivery method, and improvements that can increase their usage. We examined each of these questions and whether certain factors (prior use, technology skills, and years as a hiring agent) predict principals' ePortfolio use. Our findings suggest that ePortfolios provide improved and current information about teacher candidates that is easily accessible and organized. Collectively, this allows principals to assess teacher candidates’ suitability for employment. Although, there are problems associated with ePortfolio use during hiring, which are detailed below, the results suggest that principals most frequently use ePortfolios during the interview process, prefer delivery via a website addre...
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2012
Interaction is crucial to student satisfaction in online courses. Adding synchronous components (... more Interaction is crucial to student satisfaction in online courses. Adding synchronous components (virtual classroom technologies) to online courses can facilitate interaction. In this study, interaction within a synchronous virtual classroom was investigated by surveying 21 graduate students in an instructional technology program in the southeastern United States. The students were asked about learner-learner, learner-instructor, learner-content, and learner-interface interactions. During an interview, the instructor was asked about strategies to promote these different forms of interaction. In addition, the academic, social, and technical aspects of interactions were examined in three course archives using Schullo’s (2005) schema. Participants reported that the Wimba interface was easy to use and that various features, such as text chat and the webcam, facilitated interaction among the students and with the instructor in the virtual classroom. The importance of students’ ability to ...
This is a case study of faculty adoption and use of Horizon Wimba Virtual Classroom in online cou... more This is a case study of faculty adoption and use of Horizon Wimba Virtual Classroom in online courses at a Southeastern University in the United States.. The purpose of this case study was to explore faculty adoption and use of Horizon Wimba in their online courses. This inquiry is based on Yen et al. (2010) adoption factors (organizational, social, personal and technological) and the features of the virtual classroom. The research questions are 1) What factors and features influence faculty adoption of the Wimba Virtual Classroom? 2) How do faculty rate the Wimba Virtual Classroom using the characteristics of innovation? 3) How do faculty classify themselves using Roger's model of diffusion of innovation? 4) How do faculty use the Wimba Virtual Classroom in their teaching? Roger's diffusion of innovation was used as the theoretical framework for faculty adoption of virtual classroom. In the Fall of 2010, faculty were surveyed and interviewed about their decision to adopt an...
Virtual classrooms allow students and instructors to communicate synchronously using features suc... more Virtual classrooms allow students and instructors to communicate synchronously using features such as audio, video, text chat, interactive whiteboard, and application sharing. The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to identify why instructors adopt synchronous virtual classrooms and how they use them after their adoption. An electronic survey was administered asking instructors from various institutions to describe their experience adopting a synchronous virtual classroom in either a blended or online course. In describing their reasons for adopting the technology, respondents most frequently cited institutional resource availability, increasing social presence, enhancing student learning, and the availability of technology. Along with audio chat, the features that most influenced the adoption of virtual classrooms and were used most frequently by respondents were the ability to archive conference sessions, see participants through webcams, and use text-based chat inter...
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Papers by Michele Parker