EHHS Professor Richard Ferdig, Ph.D., was part of a team of researchers who received the DLC Research Impact Award that was recently announced at closing ceremony of the Digital Learning Collaborative's annual conference in Austin.
Practitioners have known that among the student populations served by online courses are students who are hospitalized or homebound due to accident or illness, but this is not a well-studied population. In partnership with faculty in pediatric medicine from the University of Florida, April Fleetwood, Ph.D., and her colleagues, Erik Black, Ph.D., and Lindsay Thompson, University of Florida; and Richard Ferdig, Ph.D., 91²Ö¿â, compared thousands of courses taken by students with a homebound or hospitalized designation to a group of more than five million course enrollments.
“We were delighted by the many amazing nominations from innovative online learning leaders and organizations across the country," said Allison Powell, Ph.D., DLC COO.
The researchers' comparison demonstrated that grades were equivalent although the homebound/hospitalized students were more likely to withdraw before getting a grade. Their research not only shows that online learning can work for these students in great need, but also suggests viable steps for working with this vulnerable population.
Ferdig is the Summit Professor of Learning Technologies and Professor of Educational Technology. He works within the Research Center for Educational Technology and EHHS' School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies.
The is a membership group made up of the educators, providers, and supporters seeking to improve education for all schools and students through research, information-sharing, and collaborative activities. The DLC runs the Digital Learning Annual Conference. The DLC is organized by the Evergreen Education Group. Members include school districts, state agencies, online schools, state virtual schools, NGOs, and companies.
Evergreen has been the leading advisory and consulting firm in K-12 online, hybrid, and blended learning for 21 years. We advise companies, NGOs, and government agencies on a variety of digital learning issues, publish reports and blog regularly as part of the Digital Learning Collaborative, and coordinate the Digital Learning Annual Conference.