New learning opportunities in a networked world: developing a research agenda on innovative uses of ICTS for learning and teaching

IDRC Project Title: Developing a Research Agenda on Expanding New Digital Learning Opportunities in Developing Countries;IDRC Project Number: 107628The report describes outcomes of the activities carried out for the project “New Learning Opportunities in a Networked World: Developing a Research Agenda on Innovative uses of ICTs for Learning and Teaching”. The research consists of three main activities, namely desk research, written expert consultation and group concept mapping study involving a 2-day workshop and a follow-up with experts who could not attend the workshop. These activities are interconnected elements of the consultative approach to establishing a research agenda.International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canad

How to bring forth good social learning in teacher education through technology

A core theme of this context statement is the contribution that digital technology can make to social learning in online and face-to-face contexts. The work contributes to the field of educational technology across sectors, by considering some of the obstacles currently facing practitioners such as new curricula, new pedagogical approaches and the fast pace of change. I present a rationale for technology supporting social learning and discuss several significant themes, such as the role of learning communities in supporting the co-creation of knowledge, the pedagogic approaches that support computational thinking, digital literacy and mobile learning, and the potential of international projects and online courses to make purposeful connections between teachers and learners. Looking firstly with a distant lens at the forms of technology-enabled learning communities (TELCs) in my public works, and then with a closer lens at the interactions and behaviours within them, I present a characterisation of the learning landscape that involves a topology and typology of TELCs. These consist of five distinct forms of TELCs together with a set of five dualities that describe conditions for knowledge-building. This framework contributes towards an understanding of the epistemology of TELCs within the context of my public works. It offers descriptive and diagnostic tools for analysing the nature of learning, knowing and knowledge-building within TELCs, and demonstrates how some key variables are interrelated. As such, it has relevance to the design and evaluation of social online learning and makes a contribution to the debate around theories of learning in a digital age

New learning opportunities in a networked world : developing a research agenda on innovative uses of ICTs for learning and teaching; final report

The research aims to establish a relevant research agenda on issues of new digital learning opportunities. Experts in advanced technologies for educational purposes were consulted about how these could impact education in developing countries: open educational resources (OER); massive open online courses (MOOCs); social networking; learning analytics; mobile and seamless learning; serious games and open linked data. The ‘Integration of technology in classroom’ and ‘ICT‐enabled pedagogy’ clusters score high on importance. The group concept mapping (GCM) study supported results in the theme of open education: OER, MOOCs, networked learning and mobile technologies act as a hub for techno‐pedagogical innovations

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Virtual Internationalization in Higher Education

Digital media and information and communication technology (ICT) are being used more and more in international contexts at universities. In her English-language dissertation, Elisa Bruhn examines how this technological potential can be used strategically to expand internationalization. The data basis of the thesis is a content analysis of contributions to international conferences on university internationalization, online and distance learning, university management and research, and ICT and internationalization. The selected abstracts were analyzed based on the model of "Comprehensive Internationalization" (CI). From the results, Bruhn outlines a model for Virtual Internationalization (VI) that considers curricula, international cooperation, and distance learning as well as the roles of university strategy, administration, management, and teaching staff. The highly topical dissertation closes a gap in university research and offers universities valuable starting points in research and practice of internationalization. Digitale Medien und Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) werden mehr und mehr in internationalen Kontexten an Hochschulen eingesetzt. Wie dieses technologische Potenzial strategisch für den Ausbau von Internationalisierung eingesetzt werden kann, untersucht Elisa Bruhn in ihrer englischsprachigen Dissertation. Die Datenbasis der Arbeit bildet eine Inhaltsanalyse von Beiträgen zu internationalen Konferenzen zur Hochschul-Internationalisierung, zu Online- und Fernstudium, Hochschulmanagement und -forschung sowie zu den Themen IKT und Internationalisierung. Die ausgewählten Abstracts wurden auf Grundlage des Modells der "Comprehensive Internationalization" (CI) analysiert. Aus den Ergebnissen skizziert Bruhn ein Modell für Virtuelle Internationalisierung (VI), das Curricula, internationale Kooperationen und den Bereich Fernstudium ebenso berücksichtigt wie die Rollen von Hochschulstrategie, Administration, Management und Lehrpersonal. Die hochaktuelle Dissertation schließt eine Lücke in der Hochschulforschung und bietet Hochschulen wertvolle Ansatzpunkte in Forschung und Praxis der Internationalisierung