Given rising levels of social isolation, disconnection, and concerns about mental health, the learning needs of many students today must also address their minds and hearts. Online learning environments particularly need to use technology to skillfully bridge gaps in connection. Mindfulness practices that involve focusing awareness on oneself in…

Ongoing professional learning in supportive contexts, such as in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) has been indicated as effective in promoting reinvigoration in teaching. PLCs are a community of educators that engage in a regular process of learning and reflection, where faculty can work together with peers toward common goals and purposes…

The advancement of technology has led to an increase in undergraduate students pursuing degrees online. The translation of undergraduate research to the online environment is relatively new, though gaining momentum, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mentoring is a key undergraduate research support, particularly for those engaged online, as it…

Utilizing storytelling, two art educators explore how their undergraduate students experienced the transition to online education after the outbreak of COVID-19. Three themes are examined based on the students' reflections: (1) new characteristics of and experiences within virtual learning, (2) isolation and connection, and (3) embracement and…

In this work, we study the feeling of membership in undergraduate students who interact with their higher education institution through a virtual environment. We explore the "Centro de Investigaciones en Diseño Industrial" (CIDI) case, in which a virtual environment was built using the Roblox platform to enhance the online experience…

Cohorts have a positive influence on doctoral students, providing support and contributing to student success. Many of these benefits are attributed to the sense of community a cohort develops. Despite the importance of a sense of community in doctoral cohorts, few studies have addressed how it develops. The purpose of this study was to examine,…

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the levels of the sense of community among students enrolled in online student communities at Anadolu University Open Education System (OES), as well as their motivations for joining these communities and their expectations. Design/methodology/approach: An explanatory sequential design incorporating mixed…

This multiple descriptive case study explores how university students responded to their Business Communications course's transitioning to an emergency remote course during the spring semester of 2020. Thirty-nine students completed an end-of-semester questionnaire that recorded their impressions of learning and course satisfaction. Nine of those…

Creating an engaging online course where students feel part of an online community can be challenging even for the most experienced online educator. Online discussions are a common tool used to connect students in online courses, but it is often limited to text-based posts. This international research study compared the use of text-based versus…

How should learner analytics and different media be used to optimize feedback to increase students' motivation and sense of learning community in online learning programs? This study was designed to examine the usage of feedback delivery methods (text only, video only, or both) and learner analytics (individual vs. class average) to answer the…

In secondary ensembles, teachers navigate the demanding balance of developing music literacy skills while preparing for concerts. This challenge intensifies in online learning environments due to limited opportunities for instant feedback, ensemble synchronization, and fostering a sense of community. The problem was the lack of understanding of…

This qualitative study explores the transition experiences of refugees to study online in Dublin City University (DCU). Asylum seekers face financial, structural, cultural and digital equity barriers to access higher education (HE). In response to these barriers to access, DCU became a 'University of Sanctuary' in 2017, offering scholarships to…

This study took place at an undergraduate liberal arts college that switched to emergency online learning during the Spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All students were forced to leave campus and attend classes remotely. The participants were 109 undergraduate students ranging from 18 to 22 years of age. An online survey was…

The higher education market space has become increasingly competitive during the past few years. For instance, there are now hundreds of fully online master's programs in educational technology. Given this increased competition, it is more important than ever for those working in graduate education to understand what students, and specifically…

The community of inquiry (CoI) framework is becoming increasingly popular in online learning. The relationships among CoI constructs (cognitive, teaching and social presences) were generally investigated through surveys. However, some methodological challenges were noticed in CoI studies such as the limitations in data diversity or data…