Philosophical stances and design frameworks, such as value-sensitive design, manifest in design praxis through enacting specific design approaches and employing a variety of methods by the designers. Although it could overlap with other frameworks and approaches in the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) field, value-sensitive design remains…

The purpose of this study was to examine college and university leaders' background in, perceptions of, and experiences with the administration of high-quality online programs and design of online courses. The population of this study included academic leaders at higher education institutions within the state of Texas from 2- and 4-year…

As higher education institutions increasingly expand their online course offerings, the role of instructional designers in enhancing instructional quality and effectiveness becomes critical. This study surveyed practicing instructional designers to explore the specific tasks they perform performed in higher education and identifies factors that…

Quality Matters (QM) is an international benchmark for quality assurance in online learning. However, few studies to date have analyzed the impact of instructional designer-supported QM professional development using a validated framework of student success. This study examined the impact of QM training and guided support on course quality and…

As universities seek to innovate to meet the needs of students, compressed courses are becoming more prevalent. This study compares a compressed-format course to a traditional format course in economics that were each taught in the summer. Results indicate that student performance in a compressed course differs in meaningful ways. Effort-based…

The purpose of this study is to identify the motivational elements of formal online instructional design processes that are being implemented at traditional institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States (U.S.). For this study, I conducted a comprehensive literature review identifying emerging issues of practice for instructional…

Online and blended learning (OBL) overemphasize the process of creating artifacts, producing strategies, or otherwise utilizing a "making" orientation in education. As an alternative to this making-orientation, we offer a model for relational course design founded in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber. We examine an…

This study advances the emerging research on shared metacognition through the lens of the community of inquiry framework. It seeks components and utterances of the community of inquiry and shared metacognition in online collaborative learning environments to bring an instructional design model to the fore. A three-cycle design-based research…

The current study investigates the interaction of Gamification, and Instructional Design to enhance the Usability of e-Learning in higher education programs. The study also examines the mediating role of Instructional design. Data were collected from a self-structured questionnaire from the academicians and was analyzed through Structural Equation…

With more higher education courses being offered online, the design of the learning environment is an essential component of the educational experience. However, not all online learning environments facilitate student engagement. This paper describes the redesign of two online Initial Teacher Education courses in a regional university, using the…

Today's college students can choose from a multitude of learning modalities. Many students elect to earn their degrees through 100% online college programs; however, online learners present higher attrition rates than their on-ground peers (Grau-Valldosera et al., 2019). Many theorists attempt to explain how students can succeed in college,…

This study aimed to systematically compile the activities and applications to be used by instructors to conduct synchronous virtual classrooms effectively. Using specific keywords in various databases we examined the literature to discover the activities and applications associated with effective synchronous virtual classrooms. A total of 70…

The purpose of this scoping review is to synthesize knowledge of gamified online course design processes and practices extracted from the peer-reviewed research literature. The scoping review followed a systematic process involving five main stages: (a) identifying research questions, (b) identifying relevant studies, (c) study selection, (d)…

We have explored designers having empathy for the audience of focus, designers using empathy as a means to an end, and designers using empathy to deliver a meaningful design deliverable. Our research has evolved from studying how designers reflect on their own design context and the audience's given circumstance to designers acting on moments of…

The purpose of this study was to benchmark the workload of online instructional designers as third-space professionals at 4-year, public institutions. Interview data regarding design team composition, courseload, responsibilities, and decision-making processes was gathered from managers of online learning units offering a "white-glove"…