Technology educational affordance: Bridging the gap between patterns of interaction and technology usage

This paper reports on an empirical and descriptive investigation into how teachers and learners use technology in three prototypical learning activities in a higher educational online learning environment. Additionally, the relationship between the educational uses of technology and the overall educational patterns of interaction between teachers and learners, and among learners themselves was analysed. Detailed teacher and learner self-reports about their teaching and learning activity; the asynchronous written messages teachers and learners sent as educational interaction in the online llearning environment; and documents produced by students were all obtained. The results from the three learning activities indicated six overall educational uses of technology in an online learning environment. Moreover, the results also indicated differences in technology usage in some different patterns of educational interaction in each learning activity. In conclusion, we argue that the notion of technology educational affordance is useful as an effective bridge between the real use of technology and instructional aims. Therefore the distribution of educational uses of technology is not only related to some attributes of both technology and instruction but also to its interaction

A tale of six fish: Achieving social presence through discussion forums in an offline learning environment

It is widely held, through the Socratic tradition, that discussion is at the heart of learning. Moderated discussion forums have been shown to replicate the debate, argument and verbal defence of viewpoints that we have come to expect in face-to-face learning environments and that we generally accept to underpin learning. While much has been written about discussion forums in educational settings, particularly in how to moderate and promote effective interaction with students at a distance, this paper takes a different approach. It looks at how forums may be used to support face-to-face learning in the contemporary context of the massification of on-campus classes. Further to this, it will argue for discussion forums as an indicator of social presence in the learning environment. It will cautiously conclude that, through purposeful design, this form of asynchronous communication has a valuable role to play in creating a positive and supportive environment for students entering university. Discussion forums are tools with a versatility yet to be fully exploited

Fluid leadership in a multi-user virtual environment educational project with teenagers: Schome Park

This paper examines leadership practices in a virtual community, the Schome Park project. Schome Park, based at the Open University, UK, was the first European closed (i.e. protected) island in Teen Second Life, a multi-user 3D virtual environment. This fully realised, complex interactive 3D environment has no imposed narrative and offers significant engagement for educational projects. The Schome (‘not school not home’) third space community – i.e. not placed in the first space of home or second space of work/school (Oldenburg, 1989) - was set up with the explicit aim of challenging the instructional models and pedagogic practices of the formal, state educational system. In this disembodied environment identities, represented in the virtual world by personalised avatars, possess usefully ambivalent valences. Often adults will join ‘inworld’ educational events organised and delivered by the younger members of the community. Schome makes flexible use of a wiki (collaboratively designed website), asynchronous discussion fora and other communicative media to support learning processes and enhance the development of a physically distanced yet authentic learning community. The authors propose that the community design in these new spaces created an opportunity for leaders to emerge regardless of contextual hierarchy and to forge a developing culture. The paper makes use of evidence from varied datasets to examine manifestations of leadership in the community and issues arising. Young people have been engaged in proposing, planning, executing and reflecting on teaching and learning and governance without deference to adults. Our analysis contributes to understandings of the development of leadership within carefully designed educational online communities and some of the challenges involved for adults in facilitating an appropriately supportive environment for young people. While aware that this innovative experiment continues to face many challenges, we propose that the design of the project offers much to encourage an approach to education in which collaborative, situated engagement in learning and teaching is perceived as a more fruitful model for the twenty-first century than reproduction of traditional hierarchies of teachers and the taught of conventional classrooms

Media Culture 2020: collaborative teaching and blended learning using social media and cloud-based technologies

The Media Culture 2020 project was considered to be a great success by all the partners, academics and especially the students who took part. It is a true example of an intercultural, multidisciplinary, blended learning experience in higher education that achieved it goals of breaking down classroom walls and bridging geographical distance and cultural barriers. The students with different skills, coming from different countries and cultures, interacting with other enlarges the possibilities of creativity, collaboration and quality work. The blend of both synchronous and asynchronous teaching methods fostered an open, blended learning environment, one that extended the traditional boundaries of the classroom in time and space. The interactive and decentralized nature of digital tools enabled staff and students to communicate and strengthen social ties, alongside participation in the production of new knowledge and media content. For students and lecturers, the implementation of social media and cloud platforms offered an innovative solution to both teaching and learning in a collaborative manner. By leveraging the interactive and decentralised capabilities of a range of technologies in an educational context, this model of digital scholarship facilitates an open and dynamic working environment. Blended teaching methods allow for expansive collaboration, whereby information and knowledge can be accessed and disseminated across a number of networked devices

PEDAGOGICAL MODEL FOR THE INTEGRATION OF EDUCATIONAL MAPS IN A DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The processes of digitalization of all aspects of social life are also completely manifested in the field of education. The most comprehensive form of digitalization in education is the digital educational environment. The purpose of our study: to develop a pedagogical model for the integration of educational maps in that environment.The problems of analyzing modern approaches to building a digital educational environment and determining its structure, identifying the didactic properties of educational maps, as a structural element of such an environment are considered in the article. The digital educational environment should provide support for collective forms of learning and contain a continuously operating system of information interaction between students and teachers which allows flexible change of scenarios of that interaction. It is indicated accordingly that the digital educational environment should provide equal access rights for the student and teacher to the information and the ability to quickly restructure educational maps when the content of educational material changes. Two main scenarios of the functioning of the digital educational environment with integrated educational maps - synchronous and asynchronous are discussed in the article and a system of quality criteria for assessing the effectiveness of the functioning of that environment is proposed. 

Дистанційне викладання англійської мови як іноземної у синхронно-асинхронному освітньому середовищі

The paper covers the problem of distance learning of English as a Second Language (ESL) in higher agro-technical educational institutions in Ukraine. Integration of distance ESL learning into the educational process in higher agro-technical educational institutions has been considered from the perspective of its current inevitability due to the COVID-19 quarantine. The most effective ways of implementing online learning of ESL into the curricula have been discussed. Synchronous and asynchronous learning have been considered. Having analyzed the forms of online teaching as well as the requirements for their implementation, teaching the approved course materials online in multiple environment (combined synchronous and asynchronous learning) has been defined to be the most effective one. The authors’ experiences in designing and teaching synchronous and asynchronous distance learning ESL classes for non-linguistic specialties in higher agro-technical educational institutions provide an insight into the characteristics, benefits, and limitations of these two modes of distance learning. Effective synchronous distance learning classes can be modeled according to the teaching style and course materials used in traditional classes through use of the Internet. Asynchronous distance learning classes require quite a different model built around provided course materials and short «lectures» delivered via streaming audio and graphics. However, lecturing cannot provide effective interaction, which is vital in ESL learning. Thus, the approach must be significantly redefined and multiple environment should be created for delivering effective distance learning ESL classes.У статті розглядається проблема інтегрування дистанційного вивчення англійської мови як іноземної в освітній процес в умовах закриття агротехнічних закладів вищої освіти України через карантин у зв’язку з COVID-19. Розглянуто найбільш ефективні способи імплементації онлайн вивчення англійської мови, а саме синхронне навчання, асинхронне навчання і їх поєднання для створення мультиосвітнього середовища, ефективні освітні онлайн-платформи і адаптування освітніх матеріалів для онлайн-освіти. Обговорено досвід створення програм і синхронного та асинхронного викладання курсу англійської мови як іноземної для студентів немовних спеціальностей агротехнічних закладів вищої освіти з метою дослідження характеристик, переваг та недоліків синхронного та асинхронного вивчення іноземної мови, найбільш ефективних онлайн-платформ, вибору освітнього контенту і адаптування стилю викладання для ефективної дистанційної освіти. Відповідно, синхронна та асинхронна системи мають свої переваги і недоліки. Синхронне вивчення англійської мови як іноземної слід організовувати згідно розкладу установи на якісній платформі, наприклад Zoom, яка дає можливість використовувати затвердженні освітні матеріали відповідно до програми і будувати заняття близько до традиційних. Асинхронна система на якісній платформі з технічною підтримкою від закладу для викладачів і студентів знімає бар’єри часу і простору, однак вимагає самодисципліни, високої мотивації і не має ресурсів для інтеракції і живого спілкування, що є надважливим у вивченні мови. Звідси, найефективнішим є поєднання цих систем для створення мультиосвітнього середовища

The Online Student: Lurking, Chatting, Flaming and Joking

This paper looks at the use of online conference interaction as a part of a web-based distance-learning course. There has been much debate surrounding the potential of educational technology, particularly online conference interaction, to support teaching and learning yet little attention has been paid to student experiences and understandings of the online learning environment. Drawing on data from auto-ethnographic fieldwork the paper identifies 5 categories of participation in asynchronous online conferences: lurker participation, member participation, expert/experienced participation, flamer participation and joker participation. Through an exploration of these forms of participation the paper attempts to understand and illustrate the complexities and contradictions of situating conference interaction alongside the demands of study. The analysis highlights the role of online conferencing as a space for \'interaction work\' distinct and separated from existing repertoires of formal study. The paper concludes by suggesting that pedagogically successful use of conferences as part of distance learning needs to understand the challenges and demands of remediating existing practices of interaction and study.Distance Learning, Auto-Ethnography, Online Conferencing

Student Perceptions of an Effective Learning Environment Across the Dimensions of Synchronous, Asynchronous, and Face-to-Face Instruction

Prior to the implementation of computer technology in the classroom, the traditional classroom dynamic consisted of a chalkboard, a lectern, a teacher handout, and the occasional group assignments. However, as technology continues to evolve, so has the restructuring of the educational system (Woods & Baker, 2004). This evolution, which began as correspondence courses by mail, has resulted in a Web-based learning community characterized by its rich learner-centered environment where both student and instructor collaborate and engage in constructivist practices (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). This study sought to expand the existing body of knowledge on distance learning and employed quantitative techniques (multiple linear regression, One-Way Manova, and Repeated-measures design) to investigate students\u27 perceptions of the quality of courses delivered through synchronous and asynchronous instruction and compared their perceptions to face-to-face instruction. A sample comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from five regional universities was used to complete the study. Results from the study showed no statistically significant relationship among student demographics and technological skills. The researcher did find a statistically significant difference between students\u27 rating of quality instruction when given a preference between synchronous online instruction with voice and asynchronous online instruction. Such findings reveal that when students are given a choice between synchronous online instruction with voice and asynchronous online instruction they tend to prefer an asynchronous online environment. Last, there were no statistically significant differences regarding students\u27 perceptions of quality instruction based on gender. These results suggest that university administrators should consider investing in computer instructional technologies regardless of student demographics. Other results from the study show that despite the many features of SOIV, seem to prefer an asynchronous online learning as compared to synchronous online learning regardless of gender. n

Enhancing the learning environment for distance education students

This paper reports on the development of an asynchronous learning&nbsp; environment for the teaching of introductory macroeconomics to&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; approximately 200 distance education students. The research supports evidence in the current literature that computer mediated communication and in particular, collaborative learning, can make a positive difference to the educational experience of some students. These findings are based on both quantitative and qualitative data gained from student evaluations,&nbsp; participation levels, staff interviews and an analysis of the online communication. The discussion centres on the extent of collaboration, the role of assessment, adaptation of curriculum and pedagogy and the students\u27 attitudes to economics.<br /

Online Theological Education: Perspectives from First-Generation Asian Americans

This essay explores the use of online asynchronous discussions from the perspective of first-generation Asian American seminarians. The pedagogical paradigm implicit in these online forums assumes values that compete and even contradict the values these students bring from their native educational experiences. Combined with the language difficulties, asynchronous discussions can present a serious challenge to the educational goals of both the institution and the student. Despite these barriers, first-generation Asian American students often see the incorporation of the asynchronous discussions as a welcome enhancement to their theological education