A Study of the Success of Group Formation in Virtual Teams Using Computer-Mediated Communications

In the digital domain, virtual teams within organizations and corporations are becoming common. Restructuring an organization or corporation is vital because competition and globalization are increasing. In this era of globalization, distributed working groups need to develop a competitive advantage in these ever-changing environments. Historically, teams had experienced problems stemming from geographical and temporal limitations. With the increase of technology in telecommunications, organizations are increasingly forming virtual teams, which have become critical to the survival of nearly any corporate entity. Virtual teams have some of the same problems that regular teams have. One of the key challenges is the method of forming teams, while such challenge is exacerbated in digital environments. Despite the difficulties, the digital environment has made successful team development all the more challenging. The variation in people\u27s skills makes the formation of teams even more difficult. This is why organizations cannot determine in advance if a virtual team will be a success. To evaluate the success of team formation in a virtual setting, this research study assessed the role of different computer-mediated communications (CMC) levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the success of team formation measured by the level of task performance (TP), team cohesiveness (TC), computer skills (CS) and social bond (SB), while assessing the differences on such relationships when controlled for demographic information such as gender, age, education level, academic major, as well as academic year. Empirical data was collected from students at the Medical Sciences Campus in the University of Puerto Rico with 140 usable records. Using three teams and 140 participants, the results indicated that there is a statistically significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the level of perception of CS in team formation. Significant differences were also found in the role of CMC levels employed on the levels of TP, when controlled for gender. In addition, there is a significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the levels of CS, when controlled for education, academic major and academic year. The outcomes of the study contributed to the body of knowledge for both practice and research, to help organizations identify ways to support effective team formations in virtual environments

Psychosocial Impact of Lockdown Induced Setback on Education during Pandemic in India

Educational reforms occur from time to time to keep up the pace of changing trends. The new generations of kids are exposed to modern technology at a very younger age. They are well equipped with the novel usage of digital technology to aid in a better teaching-learning process. Pandemic has invoked a lot of drastic changes in many sectors owing to changing norms and lockdown policies across the globe. In India also these lockdown policies were imposed as a measure to curtail the growing rate of infection. India is a country with a dense population with varied socio-cultural and economic differences. Closure of educational institutes adopted as a strategic measure to face the Pandemic lead to uncertainty among the stakeholders which had a huge impact on the psychosocial domain. The education sector took to the mode of digital learning by offering online classes to cater to the need of the students. Shutting down schools and educational institutes not only paralyzed the social contact a child develops on attending school but also increased the severity of screen time with absolute lack of physical activity among children. This chapter aims to explore the impact of the online mode of education and its psychosocial perspectives during the lockdown

Facing the Future: the Changing Shape of Academic Skills Support at Bournemouth University

This paper explores the potential impact of changes to higher education in England on student expectations, engagement, lifestyles and diversity, and outlines implications for the development of digital literacy within academic skills support at Bournemouth University (BU). We will investigate how tackling resource constraints with organisational change can also enable efficient, centralised provision of support materials that utilise networks to overcome the risk of fragmented support for digital literacy. We will also look at how changing delivery modes for support can accommodate changing student lifestyles whilst tackling a weakness of centralised support for digital literacy: that it can become detached from the student’s subject-focused academic practice. Finally we will explore how involving students in developing support can help us to face changes to student expectations and engagement whilst ensuring that materials are authentic and speak to learners in their own voice

Objects, subjects, bits and bytes: learning from the digital collections of the National Museums

This paper is concerned with online museum education, exploring the themes of user-centredness, digitization, authority and control. Taking as its starting point the shift of focus in museum policy from the collection to the user-learner, it suggests that this movement from object to subject – this ‘de-centring’ of the cultural institution – is further complicated by a fundamental change in the nature of the object, as a result of digitization programmes which transform material, ‘possessible’ artefacts into volatile amalgams of bits and bytes. The ability of users to take, manipulate, re-distribute and re-describe digital objects is, we suggest, a primary source of their educational value. It is also, however, a source of difficulty for institutions as they come to terms with the changing patterns of ownership, participation and knowledge production we are experiencing as we move further into the digital age

Managing educational leadership and online teaching in a diverse technological society

This paper consisted of an overview of leadership and its definition and\ud a discussion of who and what surrounds the leader in a diverse society of everchanging technology as he/she make decisions that impact the students, teachers\ud and staff of school districts and other educational institutions. The discussion\ud supported the notion espoused by Thomas Freeman that the world is indeed truly\ud flat and getting smaller through instant communication. Leaders interested in\ud applying the best practices in communicating are now able to utilize the internet in\ud ways that can save time, energy and money. Selected technology and best\ud practices from various disciplines were outlined as examples of how leaders can\ud bring about positive change and focus on cutting edge techniques for classroom\ud and business applications. Methods were discussed in the use of an analysis of a\ud business or corporation, to the use of bringing experts to students, university\ud professors, managers and chief executive officers via the internet and other\ud electronic devices. The author included several examples of best practices for use\ud with the adult or P-12 learners in the classroom, or managers of a Fortune 500\ud organization. Examples of how to conduct live, online international connections\ud were presented in detail. Key concepts such as defining leadership, who controls\ud leaders, and the managing leadership in a diverse society as contradiction were\ud discussed

Digital Learning: Reforming Teacher Education to Promote Access, Equity and Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the present and future impact of digital learning on teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Digital learning in this report is defined as any instructional practice that uses new communication technologies effectively to improve access to and strengthen learning. The focus of the report is student-teachers and teachers. The 2015–2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly seek to substantially increase the supply of well-qualified teachers in the region, drawing on international forms of development and co-operation where necessary (Goal 4)

Building the Future Students’ Blended Learning Experiences from Current Research Findings

Original article can be found at: http://www.ejel.org/index.htm Copyright Electronic Journal of e-LearningBetween March 2007 and February 2009, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded a Learners’ Journeys project at the University of Hertfordshire. This was part of their second phase of investment in research into the Learners’ Experiences through their E-Learning Programme and was known as LXP2. STROLL (STudent Reflections On Lifelong e-Learning), as the Learners’ Journeys project was known, researched into the experiences of current undergraduate students in Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) primarily through a series of diaries constructed by student volunteers. Using video and audio recording to capture students’ own reflections on their learning and their use of technology over the 2 year period the project data has offered many reflections from students on their use of technology for both learning and leisure. Building on this and other recent research data, the authors now suggest that for many HE students, technology has become a ubiquitous part of their lives to the extent that they may own or access regularly multiple items of personal technology that are used interchangeably for learning and leisure, including their computers and their mp3 players.Peer reviewe

Digital literacy in religious studies

This article considers the relevance of the concept of ‘digital literacy’ within the context of the discipline of religious studies in higher education and reflects on its potential impact on notions of ‘graduateness’. It contemplates how digital technology can be integrated most effectively in learning design and reflects on the skills students need to be equipped with to recognise the challenges and opportunities of digital technology and understand its impact and role within the study of religions