Blending Learning: The Evolution of Online and Face-to-Face Education from 20082015

In 2008, iNACOL produced a series of papers documenting promising practices identified throughout the field of K–12 online learning. Since then, we have witnessed a tremendous acceleration of transformative policy and practice driving personalized learning in the K–12 education space. State, district, school, and classroom leaders recognize that the ultimate potential for blended and online learning lies in the opportunity to transform the education system and enable higher levels of learning through competency-based approaches.iNACOL's core work adds significant value to the field by providing a powerful practitioner voice in policy advocacy, communications, and in the creation of resources and best practices to enable transformational change in K–12 education.We worked with leaders throughout the field to update these resources for a new generation of pioneers working towards the creation of student-centered learning environments.This refreshed series, Promising Practices in Blended and Online Learning, explores some of the approaches developed by practitioners and policymakers in response to key issues in K–12 education, including:Blended Learning: The Evolution of Online and Face-to-Face Education from 2008-2015;Using Blended and Online Learning for Credit Recovery and At-Risk Students;Oversight and Management of Blended and Online Programs: Ensuring Quality and Accountability; andFunding and Legislation for Blended and Online Education.Personalized learning environments provide the very best educational opportunities and personalized pathways for all students, with highly qualified teachers delivering world-class instruction using innovative digital resources and content. Through this series of white papers, we are pleased to share the promising practices in K–12 blended, online, and competency education transforming teaching and learning today

FORGE: An eLearning Framework for Remote Laboratory Experimentation on FIRE Testbed Infrastructure

The Forging Online Education through FIRE (FORGE) initiative provides educators and learners in higher education with access to world-class FIRE testbed infrastructure. FORGE supports experimentally driven research in an eLearning environment by complementing traditional classroom and online courses with interactive remote laboratory experiments. The project has achieved its objectives by defining and implementing a framework called FORGEBox. This framework offers the methodology, environment, tools and resources to support the creation of HTML-based online educational material capable accessing virtualized and physical FIRE testbed infrastruc- ture easily. FORGEBox also captures valuable quantitative and qualitative learning analytic information using questionnaires and Learning Analytics that can help optimise and support student learning. To date, FORGE has produced courses covering a wide range of networking and communication domains. These are freely available from FORGEBox.eu and have resulted in over 24,000 experiments undertaken by more than 1,800 students across 10 countries worldwide. This work has shown that the use of remote high- performance testbed facilities for hands-on remote experimentation can have a valuable impact on the learning experience for both educators and learners. Additionally, certain challenges in developing FIRE-based courseware have been identified, which has led to a set of recommendations in order to support the use of FIRE facilities for teaching and learning purposes

Studying learner’s perception of attaining graduate attributes in capstone project units using online flipped classroom

This article describes an empirical study to evaluate how the flipped learning (FL) approach has impacted a learner’s perception in attaining the graduate attributes (GAs) of five capstone project units offered at Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, where the authors are affiliated. The subjects include one undergraduate and one postgraduate business unit, and one undergraduate and two postgraduate units in networking. Our study is distinguished from previous research in two novel aspects. First, the subject matter concerns capstone project units which are taken by students in the final year of their degree. In these units, students are expected to apply a variety of knowledge and skills that they have acquired thus far in carrying out an industry-based project of substantial complexity. The learning outcomes (LOs) require students to apply skills and knowledge that they have learned across completed units and connect them with real-world problems. Second, the FL approach has been applied wholly in an online virtual classroom setting due to the social distancing restrictions enforced by local authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hypothesis is that FL has positively influenced the perception of learners in their attaining the GAs. We tested this hypothesis by using data collected by an online survey administered to the student cohorts of the five chosen units at the end of Trimester 1 of 2021. The survey, which comprised 14 questions, assesses a student’s perception of achieving the LOs through developments in three dimensions, including cognitive, affective, and behavioural, acquired in a real-world client setting. Statistical analyses of the survey data reveal that the FL approach resulted in a positive perception by students of their attaining the GAs through achieving the LOs of the capstone project units, which in turn is supported by the responses to the three measured dimensions

A BLENDED PIANO TEACHING MODEL FOR NON-PIANO MUSIC MAJOR STUDENTS IN HUNAN CITY UNIVERSITY

The purpose of this quantitative research is to improve the piano performance skills of the non-piano major sophomore music students in Hunan City University. Based on the Morrison, Ross and Kemp Model (MRK), the researcher selected Sight-Reading, Scales and Arpeggios, Etude and Piano Piece as components of training and assessment to construct the Blended Piano Teaching Model (BPTM). The purposive sampling technique had been employed to select samples and divided into two groups; one was the experimental group with 15 sophomores, and the other was the control group with 15 sophomores from 280 non-piano music majors in the School of Music, Hunan City University. The results revealed that the experimental group using the BPTM statistically significant improve in Sight-Reading, Scales and Arpeggios, Etude and Piano Piece components compared with the control group without applying the BPTM model. Therefore, it was concluded and confirmed that the BPTM was the effective teaching tools in piano teaching for non-piano major music students. As the result, the institutions should consider implementing BPTM as one of the piano teaching strategy.&nbsp

Aligning Cybersecurity in Higher Education with Industry Needs

Cybersecurity is among the highest in-demand skills for Information Systems graduates and therefore is critical for the Information Systems curriculum. There is a substantial lack of skilled cybersecurity graduates. It is estimated that there is a global shortage of almost three and a half million cybersecurity professionals in 2022. Organizations are facing difficulties filling security positions. Thus, the Information Systems curriculum must be redesigned to meet business and industry needs and better prepare Information Systems graduates for cybersecurity careers. This study provides a model for designing a cybersecurity course that will align with industry needs to respond to the shortage of cybersecurity professionals. The proposed model is based on backward course design, aligned with the guidelines from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Strategic Plan, and insights from interviews with industry professionals. We applied the model at a higher education institute in the USA, as higher education graduates fill most cybersecurity positions. The designed course was met with high levels of student satisfaction, positive industry feedback, and high levels of student success. Our proposed model can be applied to any educational institute and customized to desired needs of the institute, students, and the industry with minimal cost and time consideration

Infusing Technology Skills into the Law School Curriculum

Legal education has never considered technological proficiency to be a key outcome. Law professors may debate the merits of audiovisual teaching tools: do they work when they should?; do they facilitate learning objectives or are they just toys?; whom should they call when something breaks?; and so on. Teachers use course management sites like TWEN and Blackboard to share information and manage basic course functions. Many fear that laptops and other devices distract students in class, and some institute outright bans. Among many law teachers, technology is warily accepted, but only for the purpose of achieving traditional educational objectives. What if educators viewed technology as a competency that students need to master in order to succeed in practice? This paper will identify gaps between the use of technology in practice and in our classrooms; suggest ways that we can change what we teach, and the way we teach, to address the disparity; consider the benefits/drawbacks of developing new courses, or infusing technology-related outcomes throughout the curriculum; and propose methods to encourage professors to teach with technology in ways that model the practices of successful attorneys

Using Social Media In Flipped Classrooms In Saudi Universities: Faculty Members\u27 Experiences

Traditional education is no longer viable at the present time. In light of technological development and the adoption of a number of diverse technologies in the field of education, the student has become a vital element in learning through student-centered learning environments. Saudi universities are striving diligently to keep up with the technological development and the employment of modern trends in the educational process through the gradual merging of interactive learning methods or strategies, such as the flipped classroom, active learning, cooperative learning, etc. The flipped classroom plays an important role in enhancing the positive role of the learner during the educational process by providing the students with content before the lecture by the use of technology and exploiting class time in debates, problem-solving, creating, synthesizing, and applying. There are many various technology tools and online platforms that can be used in implementing the flipped classroom, such as Blackboard LMS, Google Docs, Wikis, blogs, Facebook, etc. Also, there are a number of advanced countries that have implemented flipped classrooms by the use of various technology tools and social platforms. For example, in Saudi Arabia, Al-Harbi & Alshumaimeri (2016) applied the flipped classroom approach by uploading videos on the Edmodo site. Therefore, this study focused on faculty members\u27 experiences in using social media as a flipped classroom tool in Saudi Universities. The study addressed four main questions that focused on: faculty members’ experiences in using social media in teaching in Saudi universities, faculty members\u27 attitudes towards using social media in flipped classrooms, exploring how faculty members in Saudi universities use social media as a flipped classroom tool to address students’ learning preferences per the R2D2 framework, and factors that prevent or limit Saudi faculty’s social media uses in flipped classrooms. In addition, the study discussed significant interaction of the differences between some groups in the study, such as relationship of academic rank to experience in using social media in teaching, relationship of less experienced and more experienced faculty members in Saudi universities to using social media as a flipped classroom, relationship of gender differences to faculty members\u27 attitudes towards using social media in flipped classrooms and factors that prevent or limit Saudi faculty’s social media uses in flipped classrooms. It should be mentioned here that this study adopted Bonk and Zhang’s R2D2 framework for online learning (Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing) in order to explore to what extent learning environments and instructional strategies used in Saudi universities support the diversity of students. Mixed-method research was employed in this study. The questionnaire was used as the quantitative method giving the whole picture about the topic and research questions, while the interview was used as the qualitative method helps in getting a deep understanding of the research questions by moving from question to question. A total of 391 participants (199 male and 192 female) participated in the quantitative data collection, among which 8 volunteers (4 male and 4 female) participated in interviews. The results of this study imply that faculty members in Saudi universities have experiences in using social media in teaching through exchanging knowledge, response to students\u27 questions, and creating groups to help students discuss with each other by the use various types of social media such as Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Blackboard. Also, the findings imply faculty members\u27 positive tendency towards using social media in flipped classrooms; however the faculty members did not take students’ learning preferences into account during the use social media as a flipped classroom tool. Most activities used by faculty members through the employment of social media as a flipped classroom tool focus largely on the reading category that addresses verbal and auditory students. Finally, the findings assert that there are many factors that prevent or limit the faculty members from using social media as a flipped classroom tool such as weak infrastructure, lack of access to the Internet, reluctance to giving up the use of traditional methods in order to employ technology and modern methods in teaching practices, etc

New Online Teaching Mode of Higher Education with Information Technology

In this article, the current situation of online teaching of higher education in the information age was briefly described, and the characteristics of MOOC and SPOC was also analyzed and compared to propose and construct a new mode of post-MOOC online education based on "autonomous learning - collaborative learning – mixed learning and learning "SCH-SPOC teaching model; and taking the teaching of engineering graphics course exploration as an example, demonstrated the resource-sharing individualized learning mode, while co-teaching collaborative learning mode and flip classroom mixed learning The significance of the new model is to gradually break the traditional pattern of "full house"

Engendering Technology-Assisted Pedagogy for Effective Instructional Strategy in the University of Namibia Language Centre

The advent of COVID-19 disrupted existing socio-economic activities and has unveiled digital inequities and injustices. The pandemic led to a forced migration of education activities towards the new normal using technology-assisted pedagogies around the globe, Africa and Namibia is no exception. This paper attempts to report on how the blended-learning strategy for the Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students course was developed in the University of Namibia. The study used the Flipped Approach as a framework which guides self-reflection, active cognitive processing, interaction and peer-teaching. The paper used a combination of empirical as well as theoretical-based research. Firstly, a Google Form questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data that profiled students. A conveniently sampled respondents participated in the study. Secondly, a reflective practice is applied to highlight the use of a technology-assisted learning strategy that enables effective pedagogic access to Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students at the University of Namibia’s Business School. The student-profiling results showed that more students preferred the blended learning mode, which makes them less likely to resist the proposed strategy. It also emerged that all the students have technology devices, which makes it possible to engage in the learning processes that involve the usage of technology. Post-COVID-19, stakeholders in the higher education context should re-imagine the traditional stances in order to transform the way teaching, learning and assessment shall be enabled after the crisis. This calls for educators to re-invigorate, re-imagine, re-think, re-construct and de-construct the way they conduct pedagogic activities

Digital technologies in support of students learning in Higher Education: literature review

Digital technologies are an integral part of Higher Education teaching, revealing a set of technologies chosen to integrate formal learning contexts, and therefore being used by students in support of learning. This paper presents a literature review mapping the digital technologies set for higher education students to use in formal education contexts, over the last five years between 2012 and 2017. Results show a pattern of technologies reflecting teacher’s choice for methods combining face-to-face and at distance learning, frequently in relation to the adoption of flipped classroom methods. Mapping the digital technologies used by students, showed a pattern of three most used in a total of nine types identified. Institutional Learning Management Systems mainly support a wider access to information and learning materials, followed by technologies that promote publishing and sharing content related to class activities, and a broad range of technologies categorized under ICTs. The overall impact of use of technologies in students learning process and outcomes revealed to be positive, used with the intention to promote students’ active engagement and participation in the learning process inside and outside the classroom walls. The data also revealed digital technologies to support more transmissive ways of teaching, facilitating students individually to Access, share and publish information, and significantly lesser used to promote collaborative and cooperative learning