7 research outputs found

    How to merge courses via Skype™†? Lessons from an International Blended Learning Project‡

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    This study reports on an international project in which students taking the course Contemporary Issues in Turkish Politics in spring 2011 and fall 2011 at two institutions of higher education, ‘Gettysburg College’ in the United States and ‘Izmir University of Economics’ in Turkey, worked together in virtual learning environments to complete various tasks as part of their course work. The project employed a blend of traditional and technology-based teaching methods in order to introduce a technology like Skype in a bi-national learning environment in Turkey. Students collaborated and interacted with their international counterparts in two different virtual contexts. First, classrooms in the two countries were merged via Skype three times to conduct classroom-to-classroom discussion sessions on Turkish politics. Second, students were paired across locations to work on several assignments. In this paper, our goal is to present how Skype is used in a bi-national context as a blended teaching tool in an upper-level college course for instructors pursuing a similar exercise. In addition to outlining the process with a focus on Skype discussions and one-on-one student projects, we provide actual assignments and discussion questions. Students’ views elicited through surveys administered throughout the semester are presented alongside anecdotal evidence to reflect how the project was received

    In their words: Student feedback on an international project collaboration

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    In this paper, we describe a collaborative course experience between students from universities in the USA and Turkey. Student teams worked together on a software engineering project for a non-profit organization based in Turkey. The students learned valuable skills in team-work, collaboration-facilitating software tools and working with peers from a different culture and a different time-zone. At the end of the course, in a focus group, students were asked for feedback regarding the course and its outcomes. In this paper, we describe the course from the student perspective. From this, and the instructor's experiences we provide a list of guidelines. Copyright 2010 ACM

    Mediated activity and the role of technology in peer-to-peer learning at the University of Fort Hare

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    Includes bibliographical references.The following calls for research into the ways in which South African university students use technology for peer-to-peer learning (Czerniewicz and Brown, 2005). This study aims to explore the ways in which students mediate one another's learning and the ways in which they use (and don't use) information and communications technology (ICT) to do so. This study provides a snapshot of eleven University of Fort Hare students' peer-to-peer learning strategies. In exploring this phenomenon in context, the social and cultural factors are analysed using Activity Theory, most notably building on the work of Sharples et al (2007). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students identified as early adopters of ICT for peer-to-peer learning, selected from 375 respondents to the Access and Use Survey questionnaire (Czerniewicz and Brown, 2007). An analytical framework was developed using categories developed from high-level Activity Theory concepts. Sub-categories were developed using key concepts from Sharples, Taylor and Vavoula (2007), Laurillard's (2003) work, as well as, inductively and deductively in relation to the data, following Hardman's (2008) approach. Three key peer-to-peer learning patterns were identified: A group of students preparing for an exam or a test were found to adopt cooperative learning strategies, while students working together towards a tangible output, such as an assignment, adopted collaborative learning strategies. Peer-to-peer tutoring was found to occur where one student is assisted by a moreable peer. Most interviewees' peer-to-peer learning activities were found to occur face-to-face, and the extent and level of interviewees' ICT use was less than anticipated. The findings are not generalisable beyond this small sample, but serve to advance understanding of the processes involved in students' peer-to-peer learning practices

    Review of Learning 2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations on Education and Training in Europe

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    Over the last few years, ¿web 2.0¿ or ¿social computing¿ applications like blogs, wikis, photo- and video-sharing sites, as well as online social networking sites and virtual worlds, have seen unprecedented take up. This has changed the way people access, manage and exchange knowledge, and the way they connect and interact. Younger people especially are using these tools and services as a natural way of extending their personal relations and as a means of keeping in touch with friends. This trend is accompanied by the emergence of structurally different learning styles, especially among young people. As a result, living, learning and working patterns have already changed significantly and are expected to change even more dramatically in the future. Education and training systems need innovative ways of fostering new skills for new jobs, taking into account the changing living, working and learning patterns in a digital society. So far, however, education and training systems have not, on the whole, reacted to these changes. Neither schools nor universities have seized the potential of digital media for enhancing learning and addressing their learners¿ needs. Due to the novelty of social computing, take up in education and training is still in an experimental phase. There are various diverse small-scale projects and initiatives all over Europe, which try to exploit social computing for a multitude of learning purposes, but research on enabling and disabling factors is scarce. This study is part of a collaboration project between the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre (JRC-IPTS) and its Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC). The objective is to investigate the innovative and inclusive potential of social computing applications in formal education by reviewing current practice. The report identifies, structures and analyses existing Learning 2.0 practice in Europe with a view to generating evidence on the impact of social computing for learning and its potential in promoting innovation and inclusion. It combines a review of research on Learning 2.0 with the collection of experience and good practice from a broad variety of cases.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

    Web 2.0 in Higher Education in the Netherlands

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    Web 2.0 in Higher Education in the Netherlands

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    This chapter outlines the current position and prospects of Web 2.0 in the Netherlands’ Higher Education. After a brief description of the national conditions for Web 2.0 services, the chapter zooms in to the Dutch Higher Education area and the agencies for driving its innovation. A topical evaluation of Web 2.0 in Higher Education is based on a quick scan amongst higher education representatives that was carried out on behalf of this survey. In conclusion, a brief description of topical Web 2.0 cases will be given

    Strategic communication in women\u27s rights organizations: Tools, challenges and best practices

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    Despite rapid globalization and tremendous expansion of the number of women\u27s rights organizations, international attention to the issues of women and girls remains rather low. While some women\u27s rights networks and organizations leap to prominence, others do not receive recognition and public support. I wanted to know why. I interviewed 13 directors and communication managers of women\u27s rights non-governmental organizations to see how they manage communication. I used a convenience sample that included a wide range of geographical locations and sizes of NGOs. The interviews were held via Skype. I conducted a theme analysis of transcribed interviews. The participants indicated various communication goals, which included increased visibility, higher credibility and the engagement of multiple stakeholders. The leaders felt that although having a communication specialist in an NGO is important, executives must also be engaged in delivering effective communication strategies. Relationships with employees, donors and governments were said to be particularly important. The best practices in communication included truth and honesty, and new ways of community involvement through technology. Among the most cost-efficient types of technology, participants named mobile phones, social media, and blogs. The main communication challenges for women\u27s rights NGOs they identified were those associated with media relations and misuse of communication tools, as well as lack of resources and funding for communication goals. Generally, while some participants were dissatisfied with current communication strategies, most of them expressed hopeful and optimistic feelings about communication strategies in their NGOs. Through this thesis, I argue that the relative success of non-governmental organizations for women\u27s rights is not random. I emphasize the impact of strategic communication, particularly via the Internet, on women\u27s rights organizations. Strategic communication is an important public relations and/or marketing tool that allows the organization to enhance its overall strategic positioning and achieve visibility, accountability and sustainable development. As a feminist activist working for women\u27s NGO and scholar, I believe the results of this study will contribute to the understanding of both women\u27s rights NGOs and the larger social movements in which they exist, in the context of new communication practices, digital activism and information technologies
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