Author Archives: Patrick Lowenthal

Google Scholar & Microsoft Academic Search Profiles

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For a number of years Google Scholar has been the most popular academic search engine. Sure there have been others (e.g., ERIC) but overall I think most people would agree that they find themselves turning to Google Scholar more and more each year. Google Scholar recently developed the ability to create a Google Scholar Profile.

The following is a screenshot of my Google Scholar Profile.
Google Scholar Profile You can access my live Google Scholar Profile online at: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lvLel-MAAAAJ&hl=en. While there are problems or limitations to a Google Scholar Profile (e.g., it doesn’t differentiate how many citations are self-citations), it is a nice way to get a glimpse of all of your work on one page.

Recently though Microsoft decided to challenge Google’s dominance in the academic search engine world with the development of “Microsoft Academic Search” which can be accessed at: http://academic.research.microsoft.comMicrosoft Academic Search. And with this new tool came their equivalent of a profile. Here is an example of my Microsoft Academic Search profile:

One nice thing about Microsoft’s version is that they let you embed it:

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The above information is generated by Microsoft Academic Search®, please visit Microsoft Academic Search for more information. Please check here for terms of use.

But as you can see from the embedded code above, it isn’t quite as clean as visiting the profile directly: http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/4019111/patrick-r-lowenthal

For more on web presence, visit: http://patricklowenthal.com/intentional-web-presence-10-seo-strategies-every-academic-needs-to-know/

Create a Personal Website with Google Sites in Minutes

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Joni Dunlap and I recently wrote an article about the importance for academics in general–but especially faculty–to develop and maintain their web presence.

The article is titled:Intentional Web Presence: 10 SEO Strategies Every Academic Needs to Know

As a part of that article, I created the following screencasts on how to create a personal website using Google Sites.

Create a Personal Website with Google Sites in Minutes

Adding a Pesonal Domain Name to a Google Sites

Adding Google Analytics to a Google Site

Relationships among collaborative learning, social presence, and student satisfaction in a blended learning environment

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Stephen D. Sorden recently completed a dissertation titled “Relationships among collaborative learning, social presence, and student satisfaction in a blended learning environment”

The abstract states:
“The Social Cognitive Framework for Blended Learning (SCFBL) is proposed as a
guide for designing blended learning experiences. The components of the framework
include the executive function, learning goals and objectives, learning space, learning
design, interactive environment and affective results. The primary conceptual framework
for this model is based on social cognitive theory (SCT) and the related theory of selfregulated learning in social settings, focusing on the study of social knowledge and the
cognitive processes that occur when humans construct their own subjective reality. This
approach differs from sociocultural theory in that it focuses on the individual and how the
individual interacts, affects and is affected by the social environment. The SCFBL is a
social influence model rather than a sociocultural model.

This study reports results of the Collaborative Learning, Social Presence, and
Satisfaction (CLSS) Questionnaire for subjects from one campus in a multi-campus
community college system who participated in the spring 2011 study (98 students from
11 blended courses). The CLSS questionnaire measured the amount of perceived
collaborative learning, perceived social presence and reported satisfaction in a blended
course. The questionnaire consisted of a section of demographic questions and then three iii
sections that measured the three constructs with a total of 34 questions (11 satisfaction, 8
collaborative learning, and 17 social presence). The data analysis consisted of (a) data
screening (which brought the number of participants down from 108 to 99), (b) assessing
for normality (which brought the number of participants down from 99 to 98), (c)
descriptive analysis, and (d) correlational analysis using the Pearson Product Moment
Correlation Coefficient (Pearson’s r). A Mann Whitney U test was run separately on the
nominal variables for Caucasian and Latino ethnicity, which found a significant, higher
perception of social presence for the Latino participants. The descriptive analysis showed
that the sample roughly mirrored the general population of the college. The correlational
analysis resulted in the rejection of the first three null hypotheses, while the fourth was
retained. The study concludes with a discussion on the implications of the results for
education and blended learning, along with recommendations for future research. ”

You can read the dissertation online at: http://sorden.com/portfolio/dissertation.pdf