Students’ perceptions toward vocational education on online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has spread almost throughout the world. It makes all educational institutions in Indonesia experienced a lockdown in an undetermined time. As a result, teachers must switch to online teaching methods, while students must adapt to the online learning environment in a short time. Vocational education emphasizes not only the mastery of knowledge but also skills. In the learning process, students' perceptions can be used as evaluations to improve the quality of learning. This study aimed to provide an overview of students' perceptions of Mechanical Engineering Education on online learning as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study used survey methods and data collection in the form of instruments with a Likert scale with a sample of 56 students. The results of this study indicate that teachers in managing online learning are not in line with student expectations. Students feel that online learning has not provided better experience and productivity in mastering competencies, but can provide motivation and ease in their learning. Some students stated that they had the ease of access to resources, but students were still reluctant to use it sustainably in the future

PENGEMBANGAN STRATEGI BLENDED-LEARNING PADA PERKULIAHAN BIOLOGI DASAR

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan strategi blended learning pada perkuliahan Biologi Dasar dalam bentuk media pembelajaran online. Penelitian ini termasuk penelitian deskrptif dengan pendekatan R & D. Pengembangan produk  berupa e-learning dilakukan dengan mengacu pada model instruksional ADDIE. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNM  tahun akademik 2018/2019 pada mata kuliah Biologi Dasar. Data dikumpul dengan menggunakan lembar validasi dan angket. Data penelitian dianalisis secara kuantitatif dengan persentase. Hasil penelitian diperoleh media  e-learning mata kuliah Biologi Dasar yang telah divalidasi. Dengan demikian disimpulkan bahwa blended learning mata kuliah Biologi Dasar memenuhi kriteri validitas dengan kategori sangat valid dan praktis dengan alamat laman www.muhiddin.web.id. Dari hasil penelitian tersebut,disarankan kepada dosen-dosen agar dapat menggunakan e-learning dalam perkuliahan

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

Teachers' perceptions of the pedagogical use of information and communication technologies (ICTS) and principals' technology leadership.

The purpose of this research is to develop a better understanding to why South African educators embrace or resist Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning by exploring the complex interplay between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, their efficacy beliefs, their context beliefs and their use of computers in the classroom. The study hypothesises that teachers’ behavioural intention, whether and how to use ICTs in the classroom, is determined by a set of teacher-related variables, which include, their pedagogical beliefs, selfefficacy beliefs and context beliefs. The specific teacher-related variables that are of significance for this study include: teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs, computer self-efficacy beliefs and computer anxiety. A correlational analysis was performed to determine the complex relationships amongst these thinking processes and their effect on the utilisation of ICTs. In addition, teachers’ perception of their principals’ technology leadership was investigated. Four interrelated dimensions were investigated, that is: (a) vision, planning and management; (b) staff development and training; (c) technology and infrastructure support; and (d) interpersonal and communication skills. A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative research was employed to collect data at a secondary and primary ex-model C school in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town. Convenience sampling was applied in this study. A total of 23 teachers participated voluntarily in the research project. The results of the study suggest that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, computer self-efficacy beliefs and computer anxiety directly affect their computer use, while the principal’s technology leadership only has an indirect effect on their computer use via the mediating variables: self-efficacy beliefs and pedagogical beliefs

E-Learning Strategies in Technical Part-Time Studies at Campus Pinkafeld – A Moderate Constructivist Approach to Learning and Teaching

The introduction of part-time studies contributed decisively to a wider acceptance of technical degree programmes at Campus Pinkafeld as their particular organisational design allows students to study alongside work and family commitments. As far as higher technical education is concerned, they provide constructivist-oriented pedagogic approaches to best prepare students for the workplace. In contrast to traditional behaviourist notions, constructivist frameworks allow for blended-learning settings which help implement learning scenarios based on open, technology-aided, learner-centred, self-directed and collaborative learning environments. Exploring some of these more progressive, process-oriented approaches to learning and teaching and the theory behind it are the primary aims of this paper