As higher education institutions go online to reap the benefits of technology and align their programs with a world economy that is increasingly becoming digital, the multimedia learning theory warns of possible challenges. Large device screens have been used to present related information elements of a learning task simultaneously to facilitate…

The purpose of this comparative, longitudinal case study was to explore the distance operations system implemented in U.S. colleges and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Embedded in a larger two-year study of distance education in the U.S. before and after the health crisis, this study combined a grounded theory methodology with a…

The efficacy of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) for undergraduate college level courses was not well established and specifically, the Pearson Dynamic Study Modules (PDSM) program had not been investigated locally. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of an ITS designed with a cognitive learning approach; the…

Reading activities in the classroom and workplace occur predominantly on paper. Since existing electronic devices do not support these reading activities as well as paper, users have difficulty taking full advantage of the affordances of electronic documents. This dissertation makes three main contributions toward supporting active reading…

Organizations continue to rely on password-based authentication methods to control access to many Web-based systems. This research study developed a benchmarking instrument intended to assess authentication methods used in Web-based information systems (IS). It developed an Authentication Method System Index (AMSI) to analyze collected data from…

Historically, managing access to information systems (ISs) required direct interaction with a limited number of users. Increasingly, managing access involves handling an increased numbers of internal and external students, faculty, and staff as well as partners such as workforce development centers, the U.S. Department of Education, and the…

Living inside built environments--infrastructure--it is easy to take for granted the things that we do not need to engage, but are at work behind the scenes nonetheless. Well-designed systems become invisible, but to engage them, how do we know which perspectives, objects, and relationships are useful? I examine the University of Michigan Digital…

A traditional learning methodology known as self-directed learning (SDL) is used in this study as a foundation to design a learning management system that can help college students improve their abilities to self-manage and monitor their overall learning activities and performances. Such capabilities have been shown in past research as being…

This thesis is about a design process for creating "educationally relevant" tools. I submit that the key to creating tools that are educationally relevant is to focus on ensuring a high degree of alignment between the designed tool and the broader educational context into which the tool will be integrated. The thesis presents methods and processes…