Computer-based technology has infiltrated many aspects of life and industry, yet there is little understanding of how it can be used to promote student engagement, a concept receiving strong attention in higher education due to its association with a number of positive academic outcomes. The purpose of this article is to present a critical review of the literature from the past 5 years related to how web-conferencing software, blogs, wikis, social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter), and digital games influence student engagement. We prefaced the findings with a substantive overview of student engagement definitions and indicators, which revealed three types of engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) that informed how we classified articles. Our findings suggest that digital games provide the most far-reaching influence across different types of student engagement, followed by web-conferencing and Facebook. Findings regarding wikis, blogs, and Twitter are less conclusive and significantly limited in number of studies conducted within the past 5 years. Overall, the findings provide preliminary support that computer-based technology influences student engagement, however, additional research is needed to confirm and build on these findings. We conclude the article by providing a list of recommendations for practice, with the intent of increasing understanding of how computer-based technology may be purposefully implemented to achieve the greatest gains in student engagement. © 2017, The Author(s)

The aim of this paper is to provide a synthesis of the literature on defining quality in the context of higher education. In our search for relevant literature, we intentionally cast a wide net, beginning with a broad search in Google Scholar followed by a narrower search in educational databases, including Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and SAGE Premier. We identified both peer-reviewed journal articles and publications from professional organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization. We begin the paper with a discussion of the existing challenges and strategies for defining quality. Next, we provide a conceptual model of quality based on our review of the literature. Finally, we examine some considerations for defining quality assurance.

Asynchronous online discussions (AODs) are often used to promote critical thinking in online courses; however, recent research suggests that levels of critical thinking in discussions remain low. Furthermore, there is a lack of consensus in the literature about the definition of critical thinking and many of the existing studies focus on one specific cognitive construct. Therefore, it is unknown which instructional approaches have the strongest empirical support for promoting critical thinking across multiple cognitive constructs. The purpose of this article is to present a review of the literature related to instructional design and facilitation approaches that promote critical thinking in AODs across multiple cognitive constructs (cognitive domain, cognitive presence, knowledge construction, and perspective-taking). Design approaches, such as providing scaffolding and using a debate-based instructional approach, and facilitation approaches, such as using Socratic questioning and allowing students to lead discussions, are effective for promoting critical thinking. Additional research should be conducted to confirm the efficacy of case-based, problem-based, project-based, and role play instructional approaches and to reach a consensus on the definition of critical thinking as well as how critical thinking should be demonstrated and accurately assessed in AODs.

The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to explore how specific dimensions of supervisor support (mentoring, coaching, social support, and task support) influence the transfer of learned knowledge and skills to the job. Quantitative data were collected from employees (N = 48) who develop curriculum at an educational organization and analyzed using multiple regression analysis; this was followed by in-depth interviews (n = 10) that focused on participants' lived experiences of supervisor support, transfer motivation, and training transfer. Findings suggest that mentoring, coaching, social support, and task support directly and/or indirectly facilitate training transfer and provide greater insight into the underlying mechanisms that account for how and why supervisor support influences training transfer.

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