1. Virtual Tutor for the 21 st - Century Cyber classroom By Dr. Joselina Cheng By Dr. Joselina Cheng IABPAD Dallas Conference April 26, 2008 April 26, 2008

2. Problem Statement Many online courses are presented with text-based lectures that do not address students’ visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles in an virtual learning environment. (Cao, 2005; Zhang, 2004)

3. Purpose Statement The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to examine the causal effect of a Virtual Tutor (VT) multimedia-based learning module on students’ learning effectiveness and satisfaction.

4. Group Affiliation 1. Control-group students were presented with Power Point lectures. 2. Treatment-group students were presented with Power Point lectures and VT learning modules.

5. Treatment Variable The treatment was Virtual Tutor (copyright 2005, 2007), which are multimedia-based learning modules, were created with Camtasia, Access, and VB.NET. Virtual Tutor was designed to address online students’ audio, visual, and kinesthetic learning styles in the virtual learning environment.

6. Research Questions (RQ) RQ1: How do students in the traditional lecture group differ from students who have access to the VT learning module perceive their learning satisfaction, as measured by the Learning Style Survey (LSS)? RQ2: How do students in the traditional lecture group differ from students who have access to the Virtual Tutor System in their in their performance score, as measured by the Learning Effectiveness Assessment (LEA)?

7. Example of VT Learning Module This VT Module, which provides students step- by-step instruction to complete project assignment, can be accessed by online students 24 * 7 without time and location constraints.

8. Findings for Research Questions (RQ)

9. Research Hypotheses H1: Students who have access to lecture and students who have access to lecture and the Virtual Tutor learning module will have different degrees of learning satisfaction. H2: Students who have access to lecture and students who have access to lecture and the Virtual Tutor learning module will perform differently, as measured by the LEA.

10. Findings for Hypotheses

11. Methodology  Research Design: Quantitative  Method: Quasi-Experimental  Time Dimension: Cross-Sectional (Spring 2007 Semester)  Location: University of Central Oklahoma (UCO)  Population/Sample: 90 UCO Undergraduate Students

12. Limitations/Delimitation  Small Sample Size  One Higher Education Institution  Few Majors  One Learning Module  One Semester  Geographic Boundary

13. Research Significance  Innovative technology can become powerful tools to enhance e-teaching and e-learning effectiveness in the virtual classroom. Students Students Faculty members Faculty members Administrators Administrators Policy makers Policy makers Researchers Researchers

14. Future Studies  Repeat the study with larger sample size  Extend the study with a longer timeframe.  Expand MIS learning modules to cross- disciplined shareable learning objects.  Conduct the research in hybrid universities that offer both online and ground classes.

15. Q & A For demo of Virtual Tutor, please refer to Dr. Cheng’s website – http://www.busn.ucok.edu/jcheng/index.htm

16. References  Cao, J. (2005). Learning with Virtual Mentors: How to make e-learning interactive and effective? The University of Arizona, AAT 3176282.  Zhang, D. (2004). Virtual Mentor and the lab system – toward building an interactive, personalized, and intelligent e-learning environment. The Journal of Computer Information Systems. Spring 2004, 44 (3) 35-43.