Student preferences in screen design factors for Internet delivered college courses. (open access)

Student preferences in screen design factors for Internet delivered college courses.

Colleges and universities throughout the world are offering many of their courses via the Internet. Some institutions offer entire degrees online. This has ushered in a renewed interest in the debate on the effectiveness of non-traditional course delivery method. Numerous educational research studies have been conducted in an attempt to quantify that effectiveness. In any form of experimental research, control of variables is paramount. The rich multimedia capabilities of the World Wide Web give educators a wide variety of delivery media. However, with the exception of advice from artisans on design factors of the media, little research has been conducted with regard to the aesthetics of Web page design as viewed by the student. This study was conducted in an effort to establish student preferences with regard to two factors of Web page design as they might be used on those Web pages, background color and typeface used for text. In addition, it contains an analysis of whether or not there is an interaction between the two factors. Use of the results of this study should prove beneficial to both educators and educational researchers in their future endeavors.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Pineau, Joseph Roy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Visual Cueing: Investigating the Effects of Text Annotation on Student Retention Rates (open access)

Visual Cueing: Investigating the Effects of Text Annotation on Student Retention Rates

This Study examines the grades of students using study skill methods and those who do not. The experiment consists of giving the treatment group the opportunity to use well- known study techniques. The Control group could only read the material. Both groups were given ten minutes to read a pre-selected text. The text consisted of an 1,807 word lesson on the, "Technical Training Management System." Each group was given five minutes to take a twenty item quiz. Fifty-five students in the control group were limited to only reading the material. Fifty-six students in the treatment group could choose between highlighting, note-taking, and underlining. The results of the test scores were compared using a t - test for dependent samples. One week later, the same students in each group were re-tested, using the same quiz they had taken earlier. Students had five minutes to review study material. Study material for the treatment group included the same material they had annotated earlier. The Results from each group wascompared. Efforts were made to avoid potential flaws in previous studies, thereby producing more viable results. Results of this study indicate there is no significant difference between the grades of students who use the aforementioned …
Date: May 2003
Creator: Brown, Ron
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comparative Analysis of Management and Employee Job Satisfaction and Policy Perceptions. (open access)

Comparative Analysis of Management and Employee Job Satisfaction and Policy Perceptions.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of job satisfaction as defined by management and nonmanagement employees and to compare both parties' perceptions of organizational benefits to a list prepared by the organization's benefit personnel. Turnover is costly to the organization, both in money and in the impact it has on those individuals remaining with the organization. Every effort should be undertaken to reduce the amount of turnover within the organization. A contributing factor leading to turnover may be a gap between what the employees believe is important to them and what management believes is important to the employees. The boundaries of the gap need to be identified before any effort can be made to reduce or bridge the gap. Once the boundaries are identified, policies can be analyzed and the possibility of reducing the gap investigated. Management as a whole must be aware of the needs and wants of their employees before any attempt to develop a retention strategy is undertaken. This knowledge can be acquired only through two-way communication with the employee. The communication process includes the simple process of asking employees for this information and then listening to how they respond. This study suggests …
Date: May 2003
Creator: Andrews, Charles G.
System: The UNT Digital Library