Experts on e-learning: insights gained from listening to the student voice!

The Student Experience of e-Learning Laboratory (SEEL) project at the University of Greenwich was designed to explore and then implement a number of approaches to investigate learners’ experiences of using technology to support their learning. In this paper members of the SEEL team present initial findings from a University-wide survey of nearly a 1000 students. A selection of 90 ‘cameos’, drawn from the survey data, offer further insights into personal perceptions of e-learning and illustrate the diversity of students experiences. The cameos provide a more coherent picture of individual student experience based on the totality of each person’s responses to the questionnaire. Finally, extracts from follow-up case studies, based on interviews with a small number of students, allow us to ‘hear’ the student voice more clearly. Issues arising from an analysis of the data include student preferences for communication and social networking tools, views on the ‘smartness’ of their tutors’ uses of technology and perceptions of the value of e-learning. A primary finding and the focus of this paper, is that students effectively arrive at their own individualised selection, configuration and use of technologies and software that meets their perceived needs. This ‘personalisation’ does not imply that such configurations are the most efficient, nor does it automatically suggest that effective learning is occurring. SEEL reminds us that learners are individuals, who approach learning both with and without technology in their own distinctive ways. Hearing, understanding and responding to the student voice is fundamental in maximising learning effectiveness. Institutions should consider actively developing the capacity of academic staff to advise students on the usefulness of particular online tools and resources in support of learning and consider the potential benefits of building on what students already use in their everyday lives. Given the widespread perception that students tend to be ‘digital natives’ and academic staff ‘digital immigrants’ (Prensky, 2001), this could represent a considerable cultural challenge

Innovative use of mobile technologies in EAP oral assessment: a pilot study from The Open University

In this chapter, we explore the use of mobile technologies in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which is an emerging field both in language teaching and EAP. The value of mobile technologies in language learning and teaching is widely recognised. However, the extent of research on mobile technologies within EAP is extremely sparse. Particularly, opportunities for practising English academic speaking skills in open and distance learning (ODL) are often limited unlike in a face-to-face context. By the same token, assessing oral skills in ODL academic contexts is further complicated and demanding administratively and pedagogically. Addressing this gap, a pilot study was conducted with a group of English for Academic Purposes students at the Open UNiversity. A series of activities were designed and delivered through Talkback®, a voice response system powered by Learnosity (http://www.learnosity.com/ ). Talkback® allowed students to use mobile phones including smartphones, landlines, Skype or OU Voice (iTunes app) for practice and doing assignments. These students' experience of using this system was investigated through weekly online survey questionnaires and telephone interviews. The chapter reports on the results from the study. We conclude the chapter by presenting a number of pedagogical implications of the use of Talkback® for EAP oral assessment and speaking practice in the light of the results which may be applicable to other EAP contexts

The Utilization of Virtual Learning Environment in Malaysian Non-Arabic Speaking Learners’ Classroom

This study aimed to understand the utilization of VLE in Non-Arabic Speaking Learners’ classrooms from the perspective of Arabic teachers in higher education institutions. Purposive sampling was utilized to pick the research sample for this study. Then, the sample used for this study consisted of 3 Arabic language teachers. One-to-one in-depth interviews were conducted with the three informants. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather the data to allow the informants to express their experiences in an accessible manner. A case study was used in this study to create a qualitative design. The researcher used a method called thematic analysis (TA) and followed a few steps, including (i) word-by-word transcription, (ii) interview transcription, (iii) coding, and (iv) labeling. The findings illustrated the Arabic teachers’ perspectives on using VLE, the approaches when implementing VLE, and how VLE can effectively teach the Arabic language. The responses of the three informants would illustrate the main themes found using the thematic analysis (TA) method. The analysis of this study helps provide such information to universities on the perspectives of Arabic teachers on the use of VLE, their approaches when implementing VLE, and how VLE can be effective in their language teaching in a virtual learning context. This study allows us to understand better how Malaysian Arabic teachers adapt to virtual language learning environments by utilizing VLE at the university level

Self Determined Learning Practice in English Speaking Class: A Heutagogical Perspective in EFL Class

Abstract The development of  teaching and learning practice in EFL class has been prioritized by all educational practioners, linguists and the learners as the subject or the teaching and learning process.  The transformational design of learning  as promoted in heutagogical learning, a self determined learning has brought many benefits toward students’ life skills. The skills that  make the students become autonomous, have high motivation, get better achievement, have positive commitment to survive in learning and compete globally.  The objective of this research is to describe how self determined learning is practiced in Speaking of EFL class. It is a heutagogical perspectives in EFL class. To answer that question, Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is used as the method to identify, study, evaluate, and interpret the research about interesting phenomenon with certain relevant research questions. By describing the findings of how self regulated learning is practiced in English speaking from relevant studies, it will be insightful input for designing interesting and innovative  teaching and learning processs of English Speaking in the classroom of EFL. The data is taken from relevant studies (bibliometric data) in reputated journal. The literature review  explored in this study is  about  English speaking class and the activities; heutagogy approach, and self determined learning practice. The result shows that: lecturer/ teacher become: 1. a designer of learning (create tasks and instruction digitally using own space); 2. build individual pattern of learning spaces and opportunities (by promoting peer mentorship); 3.  draw upon their own context  related technological, community, society, subject and discipline knowledge and skills (promoting VLE, Virtual Learning Environment, Creating special social media as the place for presenting and performing speaking skills proficiency). Hopefully, this study can  help the teacher/lecturer of English of EFL and the lecturers of Speaking class also the students to bridge the challenging situations in pandemic era and make the students become a responsible manager for their own  English speaking learning

Implementing Web 2.0 in secondary schools: impacts, barriers and issues

One of the reports from the Web 2.0 technologies for learning at KS3 and KS4 project. This report explored Impact of Web 2.0 technologies on learning and teaching and drew upon evidence from multiple sources: field studies of 27 schools across the country; guided surveys of 2,600 school students; 100 interviews and 206 online surveys conducted with managers, teachers and technical staff in these schools; online surveys of the views of 96 parents; interviews held with 18 individual innovators in the field of Web 2.0 in education; and interviews with nine regional managers responsible for implementation of ICT at national level

EFL students’ language attitudes toward virtual learning environment: A technology acceptance model

It is widely believed that L2 learners who have positive attitudes towards the target culture and its people are likely to learn the target language more effectively than those who do not possess such attitudes. As technology continues to be increasingly integrated into language learning, this article aims to explore EFL students' attitudes towards technology acceptance via Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), as well as the potential advantages of VLE in the EFL classroom. A quantitative approach was employed in this study, which involved 30 students from English language education departments at a private university in Indonesia. The students' computer attitudes were assessed using a Likert scale questionnaire with four factors, including affective, perceived usefulness, perceived control, and behavioural intention. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) developed by Davis (1989) was utilized as the framework to further examine these factors. The results indicated that the students had a positive attitude towards the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) factors, which were categorized into affective, perceived usefulness, perceived control, and behavioural intention. The implications of each of these categories in the framework are discussed in relation to behaviourism theory

Moodle como um ambiente de aprendizagem amplo e útil

This study provides updated data on the evolution of Moodle, which was initially seen as an e-learning platform intended to become a pervasive learning environment (PLE) with its multiple possibilities for higher education students and teachers. An online anonymous survey has been administered to a sample of 100 students of different degrees, and 32 teachers of different subject areas to find out their perceptions on the usefulness and improvement of our virtual learning platform at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Spain. Results show that this Learning Management System (LMS) is still regarded as a motivating space to support face-to-face instruction, but it has also been pointed out that it encourages knowledge building, pervasive learning and constructive interaction among its participants.Keywords: Moodle, e-learning, ICT, pervasive learning environment, higher education.Este estudo apresenta dados atualizados sobre a evolução do Moodle, que foi inicialmente visto como uma plataforma de e-learning a tornar-se um ambiente de aprendizagem amplo (Pervasive Learning Environment), com suas múltiplas possibilidades para os estudantes do ensino superior e para os professores. Uma pesquisa anônima on-line foi realizada com 100 estudantes de diferentes graus e 32 professores de diferentes áreas, a fim de conhecer as suas opiniões sobre a utilidade e a melhoria da plataforma de aprendizagem virtual da Universidade de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Espanha. Os resultados mostram que esse Sistema de Gestão de Aprendizagem (SGA) ainda está sendo considerado como um recurso motivador para apoiar a instrução face a face. Contudo, também foi apontado que, atualmente, esse sistema incentiva a construção do conhecimento, a aprendizagem estendida e a interação construtiva entre os seus participantes.Palavras-chave: Moodle, ICT, ambiente de aprendizagem estendida, educação superior

Evaluation of the ICT Test Bed project: final report, June 2007

The report describes three strands of evaluation used in the review of the 2006 outcomes from ICT Test Bed and the findings from each strand. a) Quantitative data: Benchmarking of changes in performance on national tests against matched comparator schools and national averages; b) Qualitative data: Site visits including classroom observations, interviews with local authority managers, head teachers, teachers, administrative staff, technicians and students; and c) Document analysis

Phonological awareness: a journey to fun. arising phonological awareness in efl students.

Esta propuesta tiene por objetivo la creación de un Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizaje (AVA) para fortalecer habilidades lingüísticas en estudiantes de inglés como idioma extranjero, a través del desarrollo de la conciencia fonológica. La propuesta toma como estrategia pedagógica el Aula Invertida, y se origina en el contexto de un colegio bilingüe con estudiantes de grado tercero de primaria. Esta propuesta se enfoca en situaciones problema que tienen lugar en un proceso de aprendizaje de lengua extranjera, y considera la tecnología como mediación pedagógica. Esta iniciativa se origina desde la evidencia de dificultades que presentan los estudiantes, en lo concerniente a habilidades de lectura, escritura y escucha en inglés.This proposal aims to create a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to reinforce language skills in EFL students, through the development of the phonological awareness. The process is framed in a flipped classroom approach, and emerges from the context of a bilingual school, with elementary third grade students. This proposal focuses on problem situations stated in the EFL learning process and considers the technology as a pedagogical mediation. This initiative arises from the evidence of difficulties in EFL students, in terms of reading, writing and listening skills in the English language