27,858 research outputs found
E-Learning in Postsecondary Education
Over the past decade postsecondary education has been moving increasingly from the class room to online. During the fall 2010 term 31 percent of U.S. college students took at least one online course. The primary reasons for the growth of e-learning in the nation\u27s colleges and universities include the desire of those institutions to generate new revenue streams, improve access, and offer students greater scheduling flexibility. Yet the growth of e-learning has been accompanied by a continuing debate about its effectiveness and by the recognition that a number of barriers impede its widespread adoption in higher education
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The use of electronic voting systems in lectures within business and marketing: a case study of their impact on student learning
This article presents a case study of the impact on student learning of introducing an electronic voting system (EVS) into largeâgroup lectures for firstâyear undergraduate students undertaking degrees in marketing and business systems. We discuss the potential for using EVSâstyle interactive lectures in marketing and business programmes. We then describe how we planned the session and selected and implemented the EVS system. We go on to present an evaluative research project, which was undertaken on the innovation using caseâstudy methodology, and assess its impact on student learning. Data for the evaluation were collected through questionnaire and focus groups with a sample of students. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show how students perceived the use of EVS in large lectures and how their learning was affected. A âthreeâfold typologyâ emerged that explains how students related to the EVS and how their perceptions of EVS changed over time. The discussion links these findings to the literature on different paradigms of learning and teaching, using Renshawâs framework, and examines how the EVSâstyle lectures promote deep and active learning within the constructivist, social constructivist and metacognitive learning paradigms identified in Renshawâs model. The conclusions show how the use of a userâfriendly EVS in large lectures motivates students, develops studentsâ cognitive and social learning skills, and improves learning effectiveness
Teaching Fluid Mechanics for Undergraduate Students in Applied Industrial Biology: from Theory to Atypical Experiments
EBI is a further education establishment which provides education in applied
industrial biology at level of MSc engineering degree. Fluid mechanics at EBI
was considered by students as difficult who seemed somewhat unmotivated. In
order to motivate them, we applied a new play-based pedagogy. Students were
asked to draw inspiration from everyday life situations to find applications of
fluid mechanics and to do experiments to verify and validate some theoretical
results obtained in course. In this paper, we present an innovative
teaching/learning pedagogy which includes the concept of learning through play
and its implications in fluid mechanics for engineering. Examples of atypical
experiments in fluid mechanics made by students are presented. Based on
teaching evaluation by students, it is possible to know how students feel the
course. The effectiveness of this approach to motivate students is presented
through an analysis of students' teaching assessment. Learning through play
proved a great success in fluid mechanics where course evaluations increased
substantially. Fluid mechanics has been progressively perceived as interesting,
useful, pleasant and easy to assimilate. It is shown that this pedagogy which
includes educational gaming presents benefits for students. These experiments
seem therefore to be a very effective tool for improving teaching/learning
activities in higher education
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Evaluating Mobile Learning: Reflections on Current Practice
The field of mobile learning is at present characterised by a proliferation of pilots and trials that allow mobile technologies to be tested out in a variety of learning contexts. The sustained deployment of mobile learning will depend on the quality of these pilots and trials, which includes evaluation methodology and reporting. The paper examines current evaluation practice, based on evidence drawn from conference publications, published case studies, and other accounts from the literature. The authors also draw on their work in collecting case studies of mobile learning from a range of recent projects. Issues deserving examination include the apparent objectives of the pilots or trials, the nature of the evaluations, instruments and techniques used, and the analysis and presentation of findings. The paper reflects on the quality of evaluation in mobile learning pilots and trials, in the broader context of evolving practices in the evaluation of educational technologies
Interactivity within IMS Learning Design and Question and Test Interoperability
We examine the integration of IMS Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) and IMS Learning Design (LD) in implementations of E-learning from both pedagogical and technological points of view. We propose the use of interactivity as a parameter to evaluate the quality of assessment and E-learning, and assess various cases of individual and group study for their interactivity, ease of coding, flexibility, and reusability. We conclude that presenting assessments using IMS QTI provides flexibility and reusability within an IMS LD Unit Of Learning (UOL) for individual study. For group study, however, the use of QTI items may involve coding difficulties if group members need to wait for their feedback until all students have attempted a question, and QTI items may not be able to be used at all if the QTI services are implemented within a service-oriented architecture
Critical Success Factors for Positive User Experience in Hotel Websites: Applying Herzberg's Two Factor Theory for User Experience Modeling
This research presents the development of a critical success factor matrix
for increasing positive user experience of hotel websites based upon user
ratings. Firstly, a number of critical success factors for web usability have
been identified through the initial literature review. Secondly, hotel websites
were surveyed in terms of critical success factors identified through the
literature review. Thirdly, Herzberg's motivation theory has been applied to
the user rating and the critical success factors were categorized into two
areas. Finally, the critical success factor matrix has been developed using the
two main sets of data.Comment: Journal articl
Student interactions in online discussion forums: their perception on learning with business simulation games
Digital technology offers new teaching methods with controversial results over learning. They allow students to develop a more active participation in their learning process although it does not always drive to unequivocal better learning outcomes. This study aims to offer additional evidence on the contribution of business simulation games to students' learning outcomes, considering student interactions in online discussion forums. We conducted a qualitative research with the online discussion forums of 5 different courses at bachelor and master levels, which involves 41 students' teams. The final sample was composed of 3681 messages posted by the students. The results reveal that some generic and specific managerial skills exert a positive influence on learning outcomes. Students mostly highlighted teamwork, decision-making, information processing, reaching agreements, and dealing with uncertainty as the most relevant contributions of the game towards their learning. These results have instructional and pedagogical implications for determining the best way to enhance students' motivation and learning outcomes when using digital technology methods, which involves recommendations that affect their design and monitoring
Online Library Tutorials: A Literature Review
In 2009, the Journal of Web Librarianship published a literature review covering best practices for creating library online tutorials. These principles included (1) knowing the tutorialâs purpose, (2) using standards, (3) collaborating with others, (4) engaging students, and (5) conducting evaluations. The purpose of this current essay is to serve as an updated literature review, culling and synthesizing seven other pedagogical facets from newer literature: (1) technology updates, (2) tutorial maintenance and revision, (3) multimedia learning by gaming, (4) cognitive load theory and chunking, (5) adult education theory, (6) blended and flipped learning, and (7) the importance of ongoing engagement
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