This study explores the potential of ChatGPT as a virtual tutor to facilitate self-directed learning (SDL) among adult learners in asynchronous online contexts. Although SDL has been identified as a critical skill, factors such as the lack of skills to find resources and the absence of a supportive learning environment could impede adult learners'…

This article explores the value of generative AI (genAI) tools for much-needed support for instructors in higher education in the realm of course design. Two authors detail their experiences partnering with two distinct tools, ChatGPT and Bard (now known as Gemini), for communication course development, emphasizing iterative collaboration with…

This research brief comprises three articles published in the three-article dissertation at the University of Missouri (MU) in February 2023. The three-article dissertation, "An Exploration of Online Information Spaces That Support Instructional Design and Teacher Professional Development," examined three online communities of practice…

This study examined pre-service teachers' perspectives on integrating generative AI (GenAI) tools into their own learning and teaching practices. Discussion posts from asynchronous online courses on ChatGPT were analyzed using the Diffusion of Innovations framework to explore awareness, willingness to apply ChatGPT to instruction, and potential…

We investigated the utility of ChatGPT 3.5 in the creation of a fully online asynchronous higher education course. Our collaborative effort with ChatGPT resulted in developing a Master's level course on Trends and Issues in Instructional Design using the Backward Design Model. Throughout this process, we recognized the critical role of precise…

Purpose: With the growth of digital education, students increasingly interact in a variety of ways. The potential effects of these interactions on their learning process are not fully understood and the outcomes may depend on the tool used. This study explores the communication patterns and learning effectiveness developed by students using two…

In this study, we work towards a strategy to measure and enhance the quality of interactions in discussion forums at scale. We present a machine learning (ML) model which identifies the phase of cognitive presence exhibited by a student's post and suggest future applications of such a model to help online students develop higher-order thinking. We…

Online courses often include discussion forums, which provide a rich source of data to better understand and improve students' learning experiences. However, forum messages frequently contain private information that prevents researchers from analyzing these data. We present a method for discovering and redacting private information including…

Question answering systems have frequently been explored for educational use. However, their value was somewhat limited due to the quality of the answers returned to the student. Recent question answering (QA) research has started to incorporate deep natural language processing (NLP) in order to improve these answers. However, current NLP…

The 7th International Conference on Education Data Mining held on July 4th-7th, 2014, at the Institute of Education, London, UK is the leading international forum for high-quality research that mines large data sets in order to answer educational research questions that shed light on the learning process. These data sets may come from the traces…