A meta-modeling approach for capturing recurrent uses of Moodle tools into pedagogical activities

International audienceTeacher's expertise on using Learning Management Systems (LMS) is tightly coupled to how they design their online courses. The GraphiT project aims to help teachers in specifying of pedagogically sound learning scenarios that can be technically executable for automatically setting-up the related LMS course. We intend to provide teachers with LMS-specific instructional design languages and editors. To achieve this goal, we have to raise the LMS semantics in order to enrich the pedagogical expressiveness of the produced models. We propose a specific LMS-centered approach for abstracting the low-level parameteriza-tions and turning these semantics into higher-level pedagogical building blocks. We present and illustrate our propositions focused on Moodle. In this paper, we focus on the first abstraction level: identifying pedagogical activities according to recurrent uses of Moodle activities

A Domain-Specific Modeling approach for a simulation-driven validation of gamified learning environments Case study about teaching the mimicry of emotions to children with autism

Game elements are rarely explicit when designing serious games or gamified learning activities. We think that the overall design, including instructional design aspects and gamification elements, should be validate by involved experts in the earlier stage of the general design & develop process. We tackle this challenge by proposing a Domain-specific Modeling orientation to our proposals: a metamodeling formalism to capture the gamified instructional design model, and a specific validation process involving domain experts. The validation includes a static verification , by using this formalism to model concrete learning sessions based on concrete informations from real situations described by experts, and a dynamic verification, by developing a simplified simulator for 'execut-ing' the learning sessions scenarios with experts. This propositions are part of the EmoTED research project about a learning application, the mimicry of emotions, for children with ASD. It aims at reinforce face-to-face teaching sessions with therapists by training sessions at home with the supervision of the children's parents. This case-study will ground our proposals and their experimentations

Leading Technology Integration: The Principal as an Educational Technology Leader

Research shows that educational leaders hesitate to embrace technology because of the need to balance diverse learning approaches along with pressure to promote and expect teachers to integrate technology chosen primarily by district leaders. While educational technology marries educational theory and practice with technology tools, its intention is still to promote education for all learners. This action research study of administrative leaders in Callery Blossom Independent School District investigates the perspective and understanding of educational technology through interviews of campus principals and a content analysis of lesson plans and campus improvement plans. Educational leaders can use this research to develop and promote a collaborative understanding of educational technology to focus on continuous improvement processes by supporting successful campus technology integrations

Guidelines for Sustainable Use of Mobile Instant Messaging Apps in Higher Education: A South African Case Study

Objective: The purpose of the study was to propose guidelines to facilitate the sustainable and successful use of mobile instant messaging apps for learning and teaching based on a review of the literature and perceptions of educators. Fraser’s model of redistribution, recognition, and representation served as the theoretical framework. This study provides a mechanism for the development of a socially just and inclusive online classroom environment. Method: We conducted two focus groups (n = 4 and n = 3) in November 2021 at a university of technology in South Africa to explore the perceptions of educators on using mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps for learning and teaching, to identify challenges, and to suggest solutions. The data were thematically coded and analyzed to detect themes using Saldana’s six-step process. Results: Sustainable and successful use of MIM apps for learning and teaching requires guidelines in three areas: practical management, privacy and security, and sustainable use. Key considerations include uniformity of use, student consultation, data control, operating hours, appointment of a chat moderator, language communication, access control, monitoring communication, regular feedback, and formalizing MIM app use through institutional policies. Conclusion: The proposed guidelines promote the sustainable and successful use of MIM applications in learning and teaching environments. The guidelines offer practical solutions to ensure that the use of MIM apps is ethical, inclusive, and effective in supporting student learning

The role of postgraduate students in co-authoring open educational resources to promote social inclusion: a case study at the University of Cape Town

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Distance Education on 24 Jul 2012, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01587919.2012.692052.Like many universities worldwide, the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa has joined the open educational resources (OER) movement, making a selection of teaching and learning materials available through its OER directory, UCT OpenContent. However, persuading and then supporting busy academics to share their teaching materials as OER still remains a challenge. In this article, we report on an empirical study of how UCT postgraduate students have assisted in the process of reworking the academics' teaching materials as OER. Using the concept of contradictions (Engeström, 2001), we endeavor to surface the various disturbances or conflicts with which the postgraduate students had to engage to make OER socially inclusive, as well as Engeström's “layers of causality" (2011, p. 609) to explain postgraduate students' growing sense of agency as they experienced the OER development process as being socially inclusive

Faculty Self-Efficacy Instructing in a Hybrid Learning Environment at a Career College

Since the inception of the hybrid instruction model at a career college in the western United States, there has not been an exploration of faculty members\u27 understanding of hybrid instruction. Therefore, campus administrators do not have a clear understanding of the faculty perception of teaching in a hybrid learning environment. Using Bandura\u27s social cognitive theory, this qualitative narrative inquiry study was conducted to explore faculty self-efficacy instructing in a hybrid learning environment at the career college. A purposeful sampling method was used to select 9 faculty who have taught less than 2 hybrid learning courses and attended the college professional development. In-depth semiformal interviews captured the data for this narrative inquiry. Data analysis was rooted in a 6-part Labovian model that captured the full story of the participants. Thematic analysis of data followed an inductive and interpretive approach to identify categories and 4 themes: discussion teaching, classroom environment, anchored by adult learning strategies, and self-reliance. The emerged themes provided the direction to increase faculty self-efficacy instructing in a hybrid learning environment. The resulting project was a 3-day professional development program with training in; discussion teaching; classroom environment; and adult learning strategies. The theme of self-reliance was the thread that linked all sessions of the professional development program together. This study may contribute to positive social change through the implementation of a professional development program leading to increased faculty self-efficacy instructing in a hybrid learning environment at a career college

Enhancing Online Faculty Development Programs During COVID-19 and Beyond: A Multiple Case Study of Faculty Members Teaching Online

This study explored how the development needs of faculty members teaching online can inform professional development (PD) programs in higher education (HE), especially after a year and a half of transition to fully online courses due to the pandemic. The research was conducted in a midsize university in Ontario and utilized a multiple case study approach that examined the cases of four faculty members through an emergent process of in-depth interviews. The main criterion used to select participants was an experience with online teaching of at least 1 year. Data were collected from interview responses as well as from documents representing research studies the faculty members wrote about their teaching experience. Multiple cases were constructed using an inductive coding analysis process, and a cross-case analysis was conducted to identify themes common across the cases. Inductive coding was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that faculty PD programs should be diversified when it comes to program format, duration, regularity, and topics. Programs differentiated in these ways are essential to accommodate diverse PD needs as well as the different stages of online faculty members’ development of expertise. One-time PD events may not offer the best opportunity to develop faculty members. Informal learning opportunities such as learning communities, research publishing, and mentoring are the most preferred and should be prioritized. HE institutions play an important role in enhancing PD programs either directly through improving program design or indirectly through modifying institutional policies and budgets

Equal or Not? An Exploration of Eighth-Grade Students\u27 Experience of Algebra

Over the past two decades, a considerable amount of algebra instruction nationwide has shifted from high school to middle school. In Georgia, all eighth-grade students have been required to take a course that is equivalent to about 80 percent of a traditional Algebra 1 course. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how a selected group of eighth-grade students in a suburban Georgia middle school experience algebra within the eighth grade mathematics curriculum. A qualitative research design was used to investigate students’ perceptions of algebra, the strategies employed by teachers to teach algebra, students’ difficulties with algebra, and students’ prior experiences with mathematics. Constructivism provided the theoretical framework for the study. As a theory of active knowing and learning, constructivism is a primary theoretical perspective on learning mathematics (Ernest, 1997). Purposeful sampling was used to select six eighth-grade participants for the study. Specifically, intensity sampling was used to identify students who had difficulty with algebra to a high, but not extreme, extent (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007). Data collection methods included student profiles, individual and focus group interviews, think-aloud interviews, and document analysis. Data were analyzed through the constant comparative method. Findings from this study indicate that the participants perceive algebra as being too difficult for eighth grade, especially in terms of the pace of instruction. While the participants indicated that it was important for all students to learn algebra, they noted that differentiated instructional strategies are necessary. Data from this study, however, reveal that teachers continue to rely on traditional teaching methods such as lecture and note taking. Participants further noted a benefit from cooperative learning strategies, as well as support and encouragement from teachers. It was also evident from the data that students are relying on memorization of rules or steps to solve algebra problems, rather than developing an understanding of the concepts. In addition, the participants reported feeling unprepared for the algebra they experienced in eighth grade, based on their previous math classes. These findings indicate opportunities for improving students’ experience of algebra in two major areas: curriculum and pedagogy

Development of Intelligent Multi-agents System for Collaborative e-learning Support

The aim of this paper is the introduction of intelligence in e-learning collaborative system. In such system, the tutor plays an important role to facilitate collaboration between users and boost less active among them to get more involved for good pedagogical action. However, the problem lies in the large number of platform users, and the tutor tasks become difficult if not impossible. Therefore, we used fuzzy logic technics in order to solve this problem by automating tutor tasks and creating an artificial agent. This agent is elaborate in basing on the learners activities, especially the assessment of their collaborative behaviors. After the implementation of intelligent collaborative system by using Moodle platform, we have tested it. The reader will discover our approach and relevant results

The DISCOVER Model: A Prescriptive Method for Instructional Tool Selection and Use in Seeking to Boost Instructor Immediacy and Social Presence in Online Courses

Higher education faculty who teach online can face numerous challenges in providing optimal experiences for their students. Besides their potentially limited instructional design expertise and understanding of how to optimize technology to support learning, faculty may have difficulties in finding ways to make themselves be perceived as real people who are approachable, caring, and likeable due to online nature of the learning context. As a preliminary means to address these issues, the current study focused on the development of the DISCOVER Model, which was designed to provide higher education faculty with a framework to develop actionable plans in the creation of audio and video media assets while focusing on best practices to boost student perceptions of instructor immediacy and instructor social presence. This model, developed as an enhancement to the ADDIE model of instructional design, provides a sequence of eight steps across design and development, and implementation and evaluation phases, that guide instructors through making informed choices in creating media assets and revising them. This mixed-method study took place at a university in the Appalachian region of the United States and focused on two undergraduate courses and two graduate courses taught by three instructors. The instructors used The DISCOVER Model to create media assets for their courses and 136 students opted into completing an online survey about their experiences that sought to measure their perceptions of instructor immediacy and social presence. Instructors participated in regular meetings and a summative interview with the researcher and six students were interviewed. Instructors were also assigned model adherence scores by the researcher based on how closely they were perceived to follow the model in creating their media assets. The results indicated that instructors who showed high model adherence had students who indicated moderately high perceptions of instructor social presence and immediacy. Further, graduate students indicated higher perceptions of social presence perceptions than undergraduate students. Findings and implications were discussed