First Time Online Learners' Perceptions of Support Services Provided

Autor/in	Hunte, Stephanie
Titel	First Time Online Learners' Perceptions of Support Services Provided
Quelle	In: Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 13 (2012) 2, S.180-197 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1302-6488
Schlagwörter	Educational Environment; Adult Learning; Adult Students; Online Courses; Continuing Education; Context Effect; Academic Support Services; Participant Satisfaction; Distance Education; Program Evaluation; Capacity Building; Developing Nations; Performance Factors; Course Descriptions; Cohort Analysis; Academic Persistence; Student Needs; Independent Study; Questionnaires; School Orientation; Consultation Programs + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Adulte education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Adult; Adults; Student; Students; Erwachsenenalter; Studentin; Schüler; Schülerin; Online course; Online-Kurs; Weiterbildung; Distance study; Distance learning; Fernunterricht; Programme evaluation; Programmevaluation; Developing country; Developing countries; Entwicklungsland; Leistungsindikator; Kursstrukturplan; Kohortenanalyse; Selbststudium; Fragebogen; Fachberatung
Abstract	The number of online continuous education and training initiatives continues to increase in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and by extension, the number of adult learners who are unfamiliar with the peculiarities of the online teaching and learning environment. The extent to which these learners can derive maximum benefit from these initiatives depends on the rate at which they can adapt to the new circumstances and, as a result, function effectively in this type of teaching and learning environment. To this end, while supporting learners is recognized as a critical success factor little has been explored or documented specific to the Caribbean-SIDS context. The purpose of this study therefore was to describe the support services provided first time online learners in the context of Caribbean-SIDS and examine what if any benefit learners derived from them through their perceptions of these services. The findings reveal that participants' overall perception of the support services was high. They also reveal that although participants' awareness of ongoing support services was variable, their rating of the need for and importance of this type of support was also high. The findings suggest that providing support for first time online learners in the context of Caribbean SIDS positively impacts their performance in the online teaching and learning environment. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Anadolu University. Office of the Rector, Eskisehir, 26470, Turkey. Tel: +90-222-335-34-53; Fax: +90-222-335-34-86; e-mail: rektor@anadolu.edu.tr; e-mail: TOJDE@anadolu.edu.tr; Web site: http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10