A Case Study of Instructor Scaffolding Using Web 2.0 Tools to Teach Social Informatics

In the 21st century, also known as the digital era, higher education needs to face the changing technological contexts and to adopt pedagogies and tools for more engaging forms of learning. Despite much publicized enthusiasm about new media and its role in transforming learning in ways aligned with advances and contemporary socio‐cultural perspectives, limited changes have occurred. Nevertheless demand for eLearning worldwide is pushing the boundaries of education and professional activity systems. The central aim of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of how to create successful learning environments with technology-based tools. A model of scaffolded e‐learning, based on current thinking and constructivist learning theory, was adopted for teaching social informatics in a university context. The focus was on evidence-based pedagogies including: (1) authentic learning by applying Pedagogy 2.0 tasks and social media (2) the adoption of scaffolded pedagogy by the instructor to achieve learning outcomes. The methodology used was qualitative, based on teacher pedagogical tasks and activities designed for students in order to establish the success of the types of scaffolding offered and student perceptions of their effectiveness in promoting collaboration and learning. The research demonstrates that technological innovations which are accompanied by pedagogical scaffolding promote effective teaching of social informatics. The research concludes that while Web 2.0 tools can enable engaged, self-regulated learning, students may not always be familiar with the tools or cognitive strategies to support their learning processes. Digital tools such as Twitter and blogs were found to engage students’in real-world activities to learn key concepts, and that task scaffolding was an effective pedagogical approach

Online IS Education for the 21st Century

Online teaching and learning have become increasingly common in higher educational institutions. These higher educational institutions realize the growing importance of online learning in information systems/information technology (IS/IT) education and are now offering online IS/IT courses and programs to students. However, designing, developing, teaching, and assessing an online IS/IT course effectively is often a challenge. Many IS/IT instructors are new to online teaching and need orientation and training for their own readiness in designing, developing, teaching, and assessing IS/IT courses in the online environment. It is recognized that effective faculty are key to student success in online courses and to the success of online programs (Meyer and Jones, 2012). Therefore, it is imperative that administrators and instructors of IS/IT courses and programs learn more of the best practices of online teaching for high student success. This support to instructors and administrators is the purpose of the Special Issue of the Journal of Information Systems Education

Delving Into the Specificity of Instructional Guidance in Social Media-Supported Learning Environments

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the variations in student participation patterns across different types of instructional activities, learning modes, and with different instructional guidance approaches. In the current study, different variables, modes of learning (guided versus unguided), and types of guidance (social versus cognitive) were manipulated in a series of microblogging-supported collaborative learning tasks to examine to what extent and in which aspects instructional guidance affects the effectiveness and student perception of microblogging-supported learning. Background: Despite the overwhelming agreement on the importance of instructional guidance in microblogging-supported learning environments, very few studies have been done to examine the specificity of guidance, such as how to structure and support microblogging activities, as well as what types of guidance are appropriate in what learning contexts. Methodology: This semester-long study utilized a case-study research design via a multidimensional approach in a hybrid classroom with both face-to-face and online environments. Tweets were collected from four types of activities and coded based on content within their contextual setting. Twenty-four college students participated in the study. Contribution: In response to the call to improve social media learning environments underscored in contemporary education, the current case study took an initial step aiming at deepening the understanding of the role of instructional guidance in microblogging-supported learning environments. Findings: This study showcases that with instructor facilitation, students succeeded in being engaged in a highly participatory and interactive learning experience across a variety of tasks and activities. This study indicates that students\u27 perspectives of social media tools rely heavily on what instructors do with the tool and how the instructional activities are structured and supported. Instructors\u27 scaffolding and support is instrumental in keeping students on task and engaging students with meaningful events, thus ensuring the success of microblogging-based learning activities. Meanwhile, students\u27 perception of usefulness of instructional guidance is closely related to their own pre-perception and experience. Recommendations for Practitioners When incorporating social media tools, it is important to examine learners\u27 prior knowledge and comfort level with these tools and tailor the design of instructional activities to their attributes. It is also vital to monitor student progress, adjust the type and amount of guidance and scaffolding provided as they progress, and eventually remove the scaffolding until students can demonstrate that they can perform the task successfully without assistance. Recommendation for Researchers: Due to many other potential factors in place that could potentially influence student learning, no conclusive remarks can be made regarding the superiority of either one type of guidance approach. Future researchers should continue to develop robust research methodologies to seek ways to better operationalize this variable and strive to understand its effect. Future Research: Future replication studies in other settings, with a larger sample size and different populations will certainly provide further insights on the effects of instructional guidance in microblogging-based learning. Alternative coding methods may also shed light on differences in student interaction in terms of content diversity and depth of learning when analyzing the tweets. Advanced data collection techniques may be explored to ascertain the completeness of data collection

Integrating Research and Teaching in the IS Classroom: Benefits for Teachers and Students

Creating a link between research and teaching activities in higher education is a common and recurring challenge for many academics. Especially in practice-driven areas like Information Systems (IS), educators as well as students can benefit substantially from well-designed course curricula that facilitate research-driven learning processes. In this paper, we discuss the benefits and challenges of research-driven education from the perspective of both teachers and students and propose a research-driven course design in the case of a graduate course in IS development and implementation. The suggested approach includes a set of different techniques that allow for a successful integration of research content and activities throughout the whole course lifecycle. In order to validate our design empirically, we conduct a survey among course participants (n=194) and discuss the results. Our findings provide initial support for the proposed design, which can be the basis for future research and guide the composition of research-driven courses in the IS field

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching

Collaborative learning in multi-user virtual environments

Multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) have captured the attention and interest of educators as remote collaborative learning environments due to their immersion, interaction and communication capabilities. However, productive learning interactions cannot be considered a given and careful consideration of the design of learning activities and organizational support must be provided to foster collaboration. In this paper, a model to support collaborative learning in MUVEs is presented. This model enables the scaffolding of learning workflows and organizes collaborative learning activities by regulating interactions. Software architecture is developed to support the model, and to deploy and enact collaborative learning modules. A user-centered design has been followed to identify successful strategies for modeling collaborative learning activities in a case study. The results show how interactions with elements of 3D virtual worlds can enforce collaboration in MUVEs.Publicad

Closing the Gap: A Course Design to Prevent Social Media Mishaps in the Clinical Setting

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Stacy Gabbard on April 8, 202

A Critical Review of the Literature of Social Media’s Affordances in the Classroom

Even though the use of social media in education is a now widely-studied topic, there still does not seem to be a general consensus for what social media may afford students or how best to use them in the classroom. In this article, I aim critically discuss some of the most prominent qualitative studies that explore the use of social media in the classroom. I critically consider some of the claims for affordances that social media can offer in the classroom, in particular the affordances of the interactive features that are unique to social media, the affordances for authoring to a wider, interactive audience, and the opportunity for increased student creativity. I then discuss how contemporary scholars have used social media as a platform for learning and literacies. The article some scholars’ findings for incorporating social media into the classroom and the limitations for social media in education. The article concludes with a discussion of some potential steps for future research

Rethinking distance education in China: Mobile-assisted language learning designs in a blended foreign language curriculum

In recent years, China’s distance education has largely adopted a blended learning approach. However the online aspects of learning are characterized by a lack of interactivity and individualization. This could change with the advent of mobile learning. Many web 2.0 tools that allow for collaborative interactions are compatible with mobile devices, and mobile learning can engage learners by offering a rich, informal, contextualized, situated and ubiquitous learning environment. Mobile learning can also be personalized as smartphones and other devices can be customized and learning resources can be tailor-made. This is very important for Chinese distance learners who have a wide age distribution and diverse learning experiences and therefore have individual learning needs and desires. It seems an opportune moment to integrate mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) into a blended foreign language curriculum. A collaborative project between The Open University UK and the Open University of China (Nanhai) enabled exploration of how MALL could be integrated in a blended foreign language curriculum for distance learners, from a learning/instructional design perspective. Based on a literature review, knowledge of the requirements and habits of Chinese distance learners gathered via a survey, and tutor feedback from a mobile learning pilot course, we present our findings and put forward a number of design principles that can guide mobile learning designs to support transformation of distance education in China