Design and Evaluation of a Socially Enhanced Classroom Blog to Promote Student Learning in Higher Education

As college students today become savvy users of social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google +1, teachers are taking this opportunity to motivate learning and foster engagement through the use of Web 2.0 software such as classroom blogs. This study discusses why social learning matters in education, and how can social technology help promote student learning. The study demonstrates how to design, implement and evaluate a socially enhanced classroom blog for higher education through a case study. The evaluation result shows significant, positive correlations between the use of socially enhanced blogs and student learning, which were measured in aspects of student perceived learning, social interaction, satisfaction, community of practice, and actual learning results

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

The interdisciplinary use of blogs and online communities in teacher education

Online learning is developing rapidly in higher education. As a result, in the Initial Teacher Education Division at The University of Northampton, UK, academics have experimented with methods to embed blogs and online communities into courses to enhance learning for staff and students. This article critically analyses the approach used to examine media rich multimodal content that was shared through these tools. The article models how blogs and communities have enhanced interdisciplinary subject teaching, staff development and student engagement. This is achieved by sharing case studies from our courses which model the strengths and limitations of practices adopted. Focused discussion demonstrates how reflexivity, communities of practice and experimentation with technological teaching strategies fuel the learning that occurred

DOES SCAFFOLDED BLOGGING PROMOTE PRESERVICE TEACHER REFLECTION? EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LEARNING TOOL AND SCAFFOLDING IN A BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, School of Education, 2006This study examined the effect of two variables, type of online tool and type of hard scaffolding, on the levels of reflection by preservice teachers. The online tools were a discussion forum and personal weblogs (blogs). The scaffolding types were minimal and enhanced. The participants were forty-eight preservice teachers and their instructor from a course on integrating technology into K-12 environments. The preservice teachers reflected online after watching an online video case study and after planning a lesson that integrated technology. Multiple sources of data were collected and analyzed in order to triangulate findings: the reflective online discourse, two questionnaires, interviews with preservice teachers and the instructor, and observations of classroom and online behavior. Levels of reflection were measured by using a reflection rubric by Hawkes and Romiszowski (2001) and a reflection scale by Crotty and Allyn (2001). The results revealed that enhanced scaffolding had a statistically significant effect on promoting higher levels of reflection over minimal scaffolding. This was because the guiding questions in the enhanced scaffold provided structure and focus as well as an expert practitioner's perspective on technology integration. The type of online tool did not have a statistically significant effect on promoting higher levels of reflection. Results suggest that this was due to the different personal preferences of the preservice teachers and their perceived affordances of the online tools. This study suggests that the nature of scaffolding has a more critical role in promoting reflection than the technical affordances of the online tool. In addition, as a result of the computer-mediated discourse analysis, this study suggests a modified method of measuring reflection

Web 2.0 tools in pre-service teacher education programs: an example from Portugal

The main goal of this project was to verify the importance of providing technological-rich experiences with Web 2.0 tools in pre-service teacher education programs as a way for teacher´s to integrate technologies in the classroom as transformative learning strategies. As educators in a public university we assume that the failure of ICT integration in Portuguese schools is due to a lack of professional development of teachers in technology-supported pedagogy. Different Web 2.0 tools – blogs, wiki, Google Page Creator, Google Docs – were explored by pre-service teacher´s with different pedagogical goals: to build individual/group e-portfolios, to enhance cooperation and collaboration, to facilitate interaction and communication competencies. Results are presented and discussed in order to infer a set of guidelines to help teacher educators and professional development providers to incorporate in teacher education programs regarding the use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning.Universidade do Minho. Centro de Investigação em Educação (CIEd)

Faith Integration in the Higher Education Online Classroom: Perspectives and Practice

Online instruction in higher education has grown dramatically in recent years, and more faith-based colleges and universities are including online courses as a part of their educational offerings. The integration of faith in learning is an important goal in many of these faith-based institutions; however, the practice of faith integration in online settings presents unique challenges for faculty members. The purpose of this article is to provide support for faculty members teaching online in Christian colleges and universities with faith integration by presenting a series of strategies for their use. Approaches to faith integration are grouped utilizing a model presented by Dulaney et al. (2015) and adapted here for online contexts. Recommendations for working with students of differing faith backgrounds are also provided

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning