Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Eileen Morrison
Committee Member
Stan Hannah
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
active learning, alumni, college community, communication, community evaluation plan, content, curriculum organization, design elements, employer supervisors, evaluation, experiential learning, faculty advisors, focus group, formative process, implementation plan, information sharing, internship programs, internship supervisors, interns, learning community, literature reviews, research questions, stakeholders, students, successful web-based learning community, summative process, survey participants, technology experts, web-based community, web-based learning community, web pages
Abstract
The problem is that up-to-date and efficient communication and information sharing among stakeholders including students, faculty advisors, employer supervisors, and alumni are necessary for the internship program to meet its goals.
The following six research questions were included in this study:
1. What are the characteristics of a successful web-based learning community?
2. What specific content should be included in the internship web-based learning community?
3. What are the appropriate design elements for an internship web-based learning community?
4. What specific elements should guide the development of an internship webbased learning community?
5. What elements should be included in the internship web-based learning community implementation plan?
6. What elements should be included in the web-based internship community evaluation plan?
A combination of development, research, and evaluation problem-solving methodologies were utilized for the study. Procedures included literature reviews, examination of internship web pages at selected institutions, developing and delivering an instrument to internship supervisors (employers), students (interns), and alumni. In addition, a focus group with technology experts, and the formative and summative process were utilized.
The results suggested that 95% of the survey participants thought a web-based community would be beneficial. It was concluded that appropriate content, design, implementation, and evaluative measures are necessary to ensure the success of the community. It was recommended that further investigation be conducted with respect to other entities that may also be interested in the community model, and that the study is distributed to the entire College community.