Planning for authentic language assessment in higher education synchronous online environments

The teaching of some languages in Australia is under threat due substantially to small enrolments. There is considerable need to preserve Australia’s community languages as part of the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity. However, it can be difficult to generate sufficient numbers to sustain the provision of a specific language course in any one location in Australia. Online technologies can provide a solution to this problem. According to the New Media Consortium Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition “education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative models”. Models such as these present a possible solution to the problems associated with providing small enrolment language topics such as Modern Greek. The Logos Australian Centre for Hellenic Language and Culture was established at Flinders University in 2011. Promotion and preservation of Greek language and culture is the focus of the centre which is funded by the South Australian Government with support from the Greek Government. In 2012 the centre moved towards enhancing the delivery of Modern Greek by developing and delivering four language topics and two culture topics online. The delivery of these topics identified assessment as an area which needs further investigation. This paper describes the importance of an assessment strategy for foreign language (FL) learning which is based on the principles of authentic assessment and describes how synchronous technologies can support this strategy

From Presence to “E-Presence” in Online Nursing Education

Online web-based course offerings are now common in many institutions of higher education In response to the current and severe nursing shortage, estimated to represent a 20% vacancy rate by the year 2015, (Tarkin, 2003) many more universities have created online nursing courses for registered nurses wishing to continue their education in nursing. The National League for Nursing (NLN) set research priorities that urged exploration of the impact that technology has on the content and nature of teaching and learning in nursing education (1999). Using a series of separate synchronous, online focus groups and 1:1 interviews with nurse educator experts and online nursing students, this qualitative study explored the meaning of \u27presence\u27 in online nursing courses. This study examined how; (a) nurse educators conveyed being present to students in online classrooms, (b) online students interacted with peers and faculty in the online classroom, and (c) and if, nurse educators used strategies with their online students that urged development of ways of being present with patients\u27 in disembodied environments. A grounded theory approach was used to develop the Theory of Connecting/Being Present in Online Nursing Courses. Conditions or antecedents are identified. The core category of connecting is highlighted along with four key dimensions of connecting. Consequences include situations that stem from making the connection with others or not making a connection with others and shed light on both pedagogical concerns and future patient care issues. Future research implications include implementing other innovative qualitative designs that would add to the theory, such as participant observation in online courses. Studies addressing gender differences and learning styles would add to this growing body of knowledge. Extending the work to examine presence in disembodied places is valuable future work as nurses carry out therapeutic interventions with patients in disembodied environments of care

Mindset Shift in Cyber Pedagogy: A Teacher's Strategy upon Learning from Home

As Covid 19 pandemic hits Indonesia, teaching-learning activities change dramatically. Learning from home becomes the only alternative in conducting distance education. From the earlier, this cyber pedagogy is assumed as an emergency step taken by the government. Consequently, teachers hold the learning process without clear objectives. Many complaints have occurred, and some improvements are proceeded to reinvent the quality of education. As a radical response toward the chaotic situation, this article is aimed at investigating two significant issues. The first is the requirement of mindset shift as the way to solve the cyber pedagogical problem. The second is the teachers' strategy in doing online learning. Theories about distance learning and quality are referred to as library research does. A descriptive qualitative approach was carried out, and in-depth interviews with parents, students, and teachers were taken. The result of the discussion is the mindset shift in teachers, parents, and stakeholders is required. The creative teachers who have good literacy in information technology are needed in running e-learning and conduct interactive learning from home

The Awareness of Computer-Mediated Communication\u27s Social Presence for Virtual High School Students

This research investigated the perception of social presence that students in a virtual high school have of using computer-mediated communication (CMC): email, discussion board, tutoring sessions, and asynchronous classroom activities. The research analyzed data for social presence based on gender, years of experience in a cyber school, and self-proficiency ratings on each form of CMC. The purpose of this study was to identify if high school students in a virtual community perceive email, discussion board, tutoring sessions and asynchronous classroom activities as enhancing their social presence within the virtual community. The findings of the study are: 1. Students perceived that email showed more social presence than the other forms of CMC and asynchronous classroom activities showed more social presence than discussion board and tutoring sessions. 2. There was no significant difference found between male and females social presence in any of the CMC studied. 3. Students who rate their own self proficiency as being above average or expert had higher social presence scores on email and asynchronous classroom activities than students who rate their proficiency average, below average or novice. 4. Students perceived that email showed more social interaction than discussion board, tutoring session and asynchronous classroom activities. Asynchronous classroom activities showed more social interaction than discussion board or tutoring sessions. 5. The number of years a student attends a cyber school has no relationship with the student\u27s perceived social presence in any form of CMC studied. Understanding students\u27 perception of social presence based on the use of CMC will enable cyber schools to use the appropriate form of CMC to help students develop their social skills

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes—measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation—was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education)

Technology to Increase Peer Interactions in Preschool

Adding technology to the preschool classroom without interfering with social interactions is a dilemma for educators. Peer interactions are an important developmental goal in preschool age students. Increased pressure to include technology in education at earlier ages is often viewed as a hindrance to social interactions in play-based curriculum, with many educators feeling unprepared in the methods to incorporate technology. The goal of this literature review is to analyze current research to discover methods that can increase social interactions among peers with the addition of technology tools in the preschool classroom. This review looked at forty-seven studies of social interactions in children and technology uses in classrooms. Examination of this research showed the importance of social interactions, the barriers for adding technology in early childhood classrooms, and techniques in which technology use been used to show social benefits. The research demonstrates that technology has the potential to increase social interactions among preschool peers. Based on these findings, it is recommended that educators receive ongoing professional development in methods of adding technology into the social curriculum. Further research is needed to develop the most effect procedures for educator education