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In an online classroom environment, instructors use a variety of channels to communicate information to students regarding assignment deliverables and delivering course content. For example, many instructors make it a good habit to utilize the announcement feature available in most online learning platforms to share information and remind students about important housekeeping items. On the other hand, some instructors may use a combination of communication channels such as posting new topics or threads in the discussion forum and communicating via email or phone to assess students' knowledge of course material. One may wonder if these methods are effective means of disseminating information to diverse student learners. Are students accessing the information and does this information aid in learning? The aim of this research study was to explore the role of communication in facilitating online learning, specifically to measure the delivery and success rate of online communication between instructors and students. Three instructors participated in this study and were randomly assigned to use one of the four different delivery methods in their classrooms: Classroom Main Forum posts, Individual Forum/Email Communication, Personal Phone Calls and Face-to-Face interactions with online students. To help improve quiz scores, all four student/course groups received the same interactive practice study game created in Microsoft PowerPoint, which consisted of 15 multiple choice questions that were similar in content to the 15 questions in the actual real-time online quiz. Data related to student response/acknowledgment to communication messages and quiz scores were recorded, analyzed, and interpreted using an Excel spreadsheet. Quantitatively, according to the results of correlation coefficient calculations, email messages were the most effective method of communicating information in terms of returning the highest number of student responses and receiving better quiz scores compared to other student groups.

Presenter Information:

Nikki Squire

Nikki Squire teaches full time in the online setting and is completing her PhD coursework in Education online. Nikki enjoys guiding and inspiring undergraduate students to reach their full academic potential, life goals, and in becoming life-long learners and catalysts for change in their own career fields and in the fabrics of society in general. In addition to teaching full time, Nikki is an external peer support reviewer for the College of Arts and Sciences where she conducts classroom peer reviews for online adjunct instructors. When she is not teaching, she is conducting research for the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching. Her research interests include online pedagogies, instructional techniques and best practices, online learning, and testing new ideas in helping at-risk college students overcome academic and social barriers to success.

Tania Radda

Tania Radda, though born in France, was raised in São Paulo, Brazil. Tania completed her B.F.A and M.F.A at Arizona State University. Tania has since had a very successful art career, and has shared her passion for teaching and inspiring others to pursue their dreams. Tania has taught at universities since 2000 and has guided her students to achieve success in their education. Tania is currently a full time faculty at GCU where she teaches the incoming students how to be successful in their educational careers. She is passionate about promoting confidence and excitement in her classrooms. She is curious as to the methods applied in pedagogy that promote motivation in the classrooms to help students stay focused and on course with their academic careers.

Ruben Garcia

Ruben Garcia has been teaching full time for the past four years and enjoys working with the adult students in the online format. Ruben graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education; and received his Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. He taught Bilingual and ESL students in public education schools for seventeen years teaching at various cognitive levels; analyzing content and assessing student skills to determine appropriate instructional levels and teach from prescribed course of study through planning, organizing, and structuring lessons. Ruben also provided life skills education and counseling for children with maladaptive and emotional difficulties in a school setting for three years. He received the Esperanza Award from Chicanos Por la Causa (CPLC) for Hispanic Teacher of the Year in 2001.