Beth Perry

The making of an exemplary online educator

What does it take to be an effective online educator? Can those who teach successfully face‐to‐face be equally effective online? This article details a descriptive qualitative research study of students’ perspectives regarding qualities of exceptional online educators. Participants described interactions they had with online teachers they considered exemplary. Thematic analysis reveals qualities of exemplary online teachers. The article compares findings on excellence in online teaching with findings from an earlier study focused on exemplary face‐to‐face educators. Similarities and differences between exemplary online teachers and exemplary face‐to‐face teachers are explored. Findings reveal exemplary online and face‐to‐face teachers challenge and affirm learners, establish clear classroom presence, and are persons of influence. The findings inform online teachers. Questions for further research are suggested.

Why Do Students Withdraw from Online Graduate Nursing and Health Studies Education

Why do nursing and health studies graduate students who are enrolled in online programs decide to withdraw? The qualitative study reported in this paper investigated students’ self-identified reasons for withdrawing from an online graduate program in nursing and health studies. The focus of the study was Athabasca Universities’ Centre for Nursing and Health Studies (CNHS) online graduate program. Data were collected from program students who initiated withdrawal between the years 1999-2004. Using Rovai’s (2002) Composite Persistence Model as a framework for analysis, themes identified from withdrawing students’ notice of withdrawal letters are discussed. The major reasons for leaving can be placed into two categories, personal reasons (often related to life or work commitments) and program reasons (usually related to learning style and fit with career). These findings, and the resulting analysis, have implications for online program design and delivery and student support programs. With a better understanding of student reasons for leaving a program of studies, it will be possible to explore which program elements might be altered to improve the experience of online learning.

Minimising attrition: strategies for assisting students who are at risk of withdrawal

This paper explores strategies aimed at minimising attrition by encouraging persistence among online graduate students who are considering withdrawal. It builds upon earlier studies conducted by a team of researchers who teach online graduate students in health care at Athabasca University. First, in 2008–2009, Park, Boman, Care, Edwards, and Perry reviewed assumptions held related to attrition of online learners and defined key terms such as persistence and attrition. Next, Perry, Boman, Care, Edwards, and Park explored factors that influenced online students’ decisions to withdraw. Reported in this paper are strategies related to course design, course delivery, and programme organisation that could reduce attrition rates. An additional section of the paper focuses on strategies to ease the re‐integration of students who have withdrawn and subsequently want to return to their studies. Rovai’s Composite Persistence Model and Harter and Szurminski’s Project Assuring Student Success (PASS) programme are used as a framework for analysis and for generation of recommended strategies.

Persistence and Attrition: What Is Being Measured?

The purpose of this article is to discuss four assumptions commonly held in relation to persistence and or attrition rates at institutions of post secondary education: that persistence is positive, that persistence is an indicator of a programs ability to satisfy student need, that persistence is lower in distance education programs and that comparisons of persistence rates have meaning. The assumptions are explored in relation to the literature and to the data generated by the first complete cohort of graduate students in the Centre for Nursing and Health Studies at Athabasca University. We further propose formulae to address both persistence and attrition in online educational programs and present the variations in rates that can be produced.

Becoming Real: Using the Artistic Pedagogical Technology of Photovoice as a Medium to Becoming Real to One Another in the Online Educative Environment

Over the past decade, online education has become common place. Critics of online education point to the possible loss of social interaction and interpersonal connections in this educational medium. Broadly, our research focus is how human to human interactions can be sustained and even enhanced in online classrooms. Specifically, this paper focuses on how one Artistic Pedagogical Technology called Photovoice (Perry & Edwards, 2010) may support these valued social interactions. Using a purposive sample of 46 graduate students in a large online university, online interactions resulting from the teaching strategy of Photovoice were analyzed for presence of authentic voice and authentic interaction. Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) authenticity criteria were adapted to evaluate Photovoice as an authentic medium. The results of this study show support for the use of Photovoice as a medium for becoming “real” or authentic to one another and as a modality of sustaining authentic interaction in the online environment.

Teaching Health Professionals Online: Frameworks and Strategies

and complex topics such as human interaction. Additional examples of such topics are compassion, human connection, motivation, inspiration, and caring, topics that are often part of nursing and other human services curricula. As van Manen (1990) notes, poems help to expose the tacit and unspoken within the limitation of words. Poems have the potential to communicate the essence of topics that are difficult to write about, including personal beliefs, values, and philosophies. Since the poem that is to be paralleled by the students is written or chosen by the instructor, it gives learners insight into that instructor’s values, priorities, and attitudes. In this way, the parallel poetry activity is also a technique through which instructors share themselves with students. It offers the opportunity for students to come to know their instructor as a caring, compassionate person. PhotostorIes and audIo casts Opportunities for students to get to know their online instructors are often limited. Although a photo of an instructor may accompany each posting in a course forum, the teacher may not become as animated and real to learners as face-to-face instructors are. In order to create an invitational educational milieu, it is important for online teachers to find ways to disclose appropriate personality attributes and personal details to learners to reveal that they are caring individuals. In face-to-face teaching, students hear the instructor’s voice, see how instructors dress and present themselves, and often hear personal details integrated into class discussions or during shared breaks. All of these experiences help learners to know their teachers at an appropriate personal level. To achieve this level of intimacy online, teachers can use self-disclosure through a photostory or an audio cast. A photostory, which is a combination of images and voice, can be created using PowerPoint with voiceover narration or other opensource software programs. The most important consideration in