Moodle-Based Teacher Education: Effects on Teacher Competencies in EAP Contexts

Teacher education and how to develop teacher professional development are increasingly being researched. There is a dearth of knowledge about the application of Moodle in EAP teacher education programs (Arno-Macia, 2012). Some studies in this field attempted to fill the gap in the literature by investigating the impact of Moodle on the professional development of EAP teachers. The findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between Moodle-based teacher education programs and the professional development of EAP teachers (Nazari et al., 2019). Based on the current research results, Moodle provided direct communication between the teacher and the students, which significantly helped students improve their knowledge in EAP. The interviewees reported significant disadvantages, including internet connection problems and the need for technological devices. The findings of this study can be viewed as a general motivator for educational policymakers to invest more in Online Educational Programs rather than seeing them as an alternative to traditional teacher training programs

University Virtual Learning in Covid Times

Online training is demanded in the ubiquitous society we live in, and this is especially true if we consider the current situation at universities due to the Government issuing a state of alarm decree which requests all citizens to remain at home. The goal of this study is to determine the opinion of university students from different Spanish campuses on e-learning platforms, by the means of a descriptive and correlational study design, with N = 431. The results reveal that there is still a long road ahead to ensure that these tools work optimally to enable professors to fully exert their teaching profession. We can conclude that the online teaching system needs to be improved regarding the technical service that the university offers

Experience in the Use of Social Media in Medical and Health Education

Objectives: Social media are online tools that allow collaboration and community building. Succinctly, they can be described as applications where “users add value”. This paper aims to show how five educators have used social media tools in medical and health education to attempt to add value to the education they provide. Methods: We conducted a review of the literature about the use of social media tools in medical and health education. Each of the authors reported on their use of social media in their educational projects and collaborated on a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to delivering educational projects. Results: We found little empirical evidence to support the use of social media tools in medical and health education. Social media are, however, a rapidly evolving range of tools, websites and online experiences and it is likely that the topic is too broad to draw definitive conclusions from any particular study. As practitioners in the use of social media, we have recognised how difficult it is to create evidence of effectiveness and have therefore presented only our anecdotal opinions based on our personal experiences of using social media in our educational projects. Conclusion: The authors feel confident in recommending that other educators use social media in their educational projects. Social media appear to have unique advantages over non-social educational tools. The learning experience appears to be enhanced by the ability of students to virtually build connections, make friends and find mentors. Creating a scientific analysis of why these connections enhance learning is difficult, but anecdotal and preliminary survey evidence appears to be positive and our experience reflects the hypothesis that learning is, at heart, a social activity

An Evaluation of the Iowa State University Ecosystem

Purpose - This dissertation in practice is an evaluation study conducted at Iowa State University, entitled, Learning Ecosystem Assessment Review of Needs (LEARN). The evaluation posed these questions: (a) What educational technologies are currently used and what technologies will be needed in the future? (b) What are the attitudes and practices of faculty and students toward online and blended learning? (c) What academic technology support services are used? What are the perceptions of the support provided for the application of academic technologies? Methodology/design - The study was a mixed-methods design employing interviews with deans and focus groups and surveys of faculty and students. Findings - Iowa State University faculty and students use a wide array of academic technologies both in physical and virtual classrooms. The prevailing sentiment regarding the need for future academic technologies is not for new offerings and new features but for easier to use, more reliable technologies, and more timely support. Although Iowa State University has formally adopted online learning by offering numerous programs and courses, the university is in the early stages of adopting blended learning. Implications - The results and implications of the study inform the university on next steps to ready the institution for leveraging technology and preparing for the transformation toward strategic adoption of online and blended learning. The author outlines an organizational learning approach to manage change and promote adoption of blended learning

Wikis as Communities of Practice: A Case Study in Higher Education

This dissertation was an instrumental case study that explored the experiences of graduate students when using online software, more specifically, a wiki, in a graduate course. This study also concentrated on the formation of a community of practice within a course wiki. Symbolic interactionism, situated learning, and communities of practice theories guided this inquiry. Field notes, e-observations, students-created documents, a focus group interview and six individual interviews were coded, which led to categories and themes. Findings from the analysis of the data sources exposed the following five themes when exploring the experiences of graduate students with online learning: (1) wiki experiences, (2) meaningful discourse, (3) egalitarian, (4) community enagement, and (5) collaborative learning processes

FDTL voices : drawing from learning and teaching projects

This publication draws on insights and experiences from individuals and teams within learning and teaching development projects in higher education. It considers lessons learnt from the processes, outcomes and tangible outputs of the projects across the spectrum of the FDTL initiative, with the intention that colleagues can draw on and benefit from this experience. The overriding theme at the heart of every FDTL project has been the desire to achieve some form of positive and meaningful change at the level of the individual, institution or discipline. The continuing legacy of the programme has been to create wider community involvement as projects have engaged with the higher education sector on multiple levels - personal, institutional, practice, and policy. This publication has remained throughout a collaborative endeavour, supported by Academy colleagues. It is based around the four themes emerging from the initiative as a whole: • Sectoral/Organisational Change • Conceptual Change • Professional and Personal Development Partnership and • Project Managemen

The investigation of using wiki technology to support self-regulated learning in the academic context at Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University, Saudi Arabia

Technology has become a major focal point in the modern learning environment. Web 2.0 is being increasingly widely employed in university education and has the potential to improve the quality of education. For optimum benefit to students’ learning practices, web 2.0 technology needs to actively foster regulation skills among students. Self-regulated learning skills (SRL skills) potentially offer a shift from traditional teacher-centred to learner-centred approaches. Wiki technology, as a form of web 2.0 technology, has the potential in education to foster such an approach to learning. The thesis investigates how a wiki can be utilised to enhance self-regulated learning among a cohort of female students attending higher education in Saudi Arabia.The study was primarily motivated by the lack of studies investigating SRL skill enhancement in wiki–assisted learning in higher education, in Saudi Arabia, where the education system largely relies upon teacher-centred learning. This study, therefore, was an effort to potentially improve SRL skills among students attending Princess Nora University (PNU) in Saudi Arabia, with a view to the results being applicable to teaching and learning in similar contexts. The first two objectives of this study were to explore the potential of a wiki as an enhancer of executive function and evaluation skills and to explore students’ attitude towards using wiki as a learning environment. The third objective was to explore students’ perceptions of wiki learning and its contribution to the enhancement of SRL skills. A single case study was administered before and after use of a purpose-designed wiki for an Education Technology module taken by a cohort of female students at PNU. Quantitative data was collected by a questionnaire triangulated with qualitative data gathered in interviews. The findings revealed that after using wiki, students felt that six of the eight SRL sub-skills listed under executive function and evaluation skills had, on the whole, improved significantly.Students generally reported extremely positive attitudes towards learning with wiki technology. They perceived that the reflective nature and the design of the wiki tasks, together with the pages and guidance given by the tutor, may have supported the development of SRL skills, increased their overall motivation to learn and improved their independent learning processes. Overall, this study sought to discover information on a relatively new area to Saudi higher education and acts as a stepping stone to further research into students’ perceptions of wiki technology and its effect on SRL skill enhancement. There is, of course, an opportunity in the future to measure actual SRL skill levels to corroborate the promising results which may, given the reader’s discretion, be viewed as transferable to similar cultural and study contexts