Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN)
ISSN 1092-8235 (online) - ISSN 1939-5256 (print)
The aim of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks is to describe original work in asynchronous learning networks (ALN), including experimental results. Our mission is to provide practitioners in online education with knowledge about the very best research in online learning. Papers emphasizing results, backed by data are the norm. Occasionally, papers reviewing broad areas are published, including critical reviews of thematic areas. Papers useful to administrators are welcome. Entire issues are published from time-to-time around single topic or disciplinary areas. The Journal adheres to traditional standards of double-blind peer review, and authors are encouraged to provide quantitative data; currently JALN's acceptance rate is 25%. The original objective of the Journal was to establish ALN as a field by publishing articles from authoritative and reliable sources. The Journal is now a major resource for knowledge about online learning.
The Journal is guided by its editorial board members. If you are interested in contributing, please see our submission guidelines and downloadable style sheet.
If you would like to submit a paper, we have an online journal submission site.
Full articles are available online to members only.
If you are part of the press and would like access to the JALN, please e-mail press@sloanconsortium.org.
Printed copies: 1 year subscription: $185 (10% discount for members), single Issue: $49.95 (10% discount for member)
Due to the new website migration, only Volumes 13-10 are currently available. The other issues will be available soon.
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Re-examining & Repositioning Higher Education: 20 Economic and Demographic Factors Driving Online & Blended Program Enrollments
Volume 13, Issue 4 - December 2009
Economic and demographic shifts in the United State are transforming higher education. With substantial reductions in state funding, increasing campus energy and operational costs, endowments generating reduced returns, and a national economic readjustment of unprecedented proportions, higher education must re-examine and reposition itself to meet new and emerging challenges. This paper identifies ten economic factors and ten demographic factors that are confronting colleges and universities and driving online and blended program enrollments. While traditional face-to-face programs will always play a critical role in higher education, online and blended programs provide new opportunities to expand current student markets by offering quality programming that supports the institutional mission, increases brand recognition, and expands an institution's alumni base.
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Application and Evaluation of the Ecological Psychology Approach to Instructional Design (EPAID)
Volume 13, Issue 4 - December 2009
Teaching online can be particularly challenging when there is a need to immerse students located anywhere in the world in specific environmental contexts. We used the Ecological Psychology Approach to Instructional Design (EPAID) to design four courses in two concentration areas (Border Health, and Workforce and Healthcare Delivery Environments). In each case, we sought to provide students with a virtual first-hand understanding of contexts that they would not experience themselves. In this paper, we describe the major tenets of EPAID, the strategies we used to apply EPAID in the courses, and the results of our initial, formative evaluation.
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Is the Whole Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts? A Comparison of Small Group and Whole Class Discussion Board Activity In Online
Volume 13, Issue 4 - December 2009
Methods for characterizing asynchronous text-based discussions have received significant attention in the literature. In this study, we examine student and instructor posts made in seventeen undergraduate mathematics courses over the duration of a fifteen-week semester (n=6964 posts). We apply our previously developed multifactor discussion board metric to compare differences in student participation, quantities of student posts, quality of posts, extent of threading, and instructor presence in small group and whole class discussion board activities. Results from this study indicate that small group discussions contained greater levels of student participation, greater quantities of posts per student and greater numbers of educationally valuable (content-related) posts per student as compared to whole class discussions within these courses. Interestingly, small group discussions contained a greater proportion of less educationally valuable posts as compared to whole class discussions.
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The Emotional in e-Learning
Volume 13, Issue 4 - December 2009
This study investigates perceived ease of use and overall computer/internet experience as emotional factors that affect e-learning. Results suggest that online learning systems design should address typical software interfaces so that students feel more comfortable using them.
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A Synthesis of Sloan-C Effective Practices: December 2009
Volume 13, Issue 4 -December 2009
Encouraging continuous improvement in the quality, scale and breadth of online education, the Sloan Consortium invites practitioners to share effective practices. This report synthesizes effective practices submitted by Sloan-C members to the online collection at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/effective as of December 2009. The synthesis includes links to the provider institutions and to detailed postings about practices.