Leveraging video annotations in video-based e-learning

The e-learning community has been producing and using video content for a long time, and in the last years, the advent of MOOCs greatly relied on video recordings of teacher courses. Video annotations are information pieces that can be anchored in the temporality of the video so as to sustain various processes ranging from active reading to rich media editing. In this position paper we study how video annotations can be used in an e-learning context - especially MOOCs - from the triple point of view of pedagogical processes, current technical platforms functionalities, and current challenges. Our analysis is that there is still plenty of room for leveraging video annotations in MOOCs beyond simple active reading, namely live annotation, performance annotation and annotation for assignment; and that new developments are needed to accompany this evolution.Comment: 7th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU), Barcelone : Spain (2014

Media Culture 2020: collaborative teaching and blended learning using social media and cloud-based technologies

The Media Culture 2020 project was considered to be a great success by all the partners, academics and especially the students who took part. It is a true example of an intercultural, multidisciplinary, blended learning experience in higher education that achieved it goals of breaking down classroom walls and bridging geographical distance and cultural barriers. The students with different skills, coming from different countries and cultures, interacting with other enlarges the possibilities of creativity, collaboration and quality work. The blend of both synchronous and asynchronous teaching methods fostered an open, blended learning environment, one that extended the traditional boundaries of the classroom in time and space. The interactive and decentralized nature of digital tools enabled staff and students to communicate and strengthen social ties, alongside participation in the production of new knowledge and media content. For students and lecturers, the implementation of social media and cloud platforms offered an innovative solution to both teaching and learning in a collaborative manner. By leveraging the interactive and decentralised capabilities of a range of technologies in an educational context, this model of digital scholarship facilitates an open and dynamic working environment. Blended teaching methods allow for expansive collaboration, whereby information and knowledge can be accessed and disseminated across a number of networked devices

Mobilizing Communities to Support the Literacy Development of Urban Youth: A Conceptual Framework and Strategic Planning Model

Offers a strategic planning model for community mobilization around adolescent literacy development. Explores spheres of influence; strategies for schools, community groups, and families; outcomes; and lessons learned from other community change efforts

Leveraging distance learning tools for broadbasing education in construction industry disciplines: The importance of a continuous social discourse

History of distance learning dates back to the late 1960’s. However with the advent of the Internet it was repositioned as a major tool for course delivery so that students who are physically prevented from attending class room settings can undertake learning within a setting of their choice aligned with a pace that they can easily cope with. Marketing of distance learning programmes is a diversified business activity in many universities and the School of Construction and property Management (SCPM)utilises the tool predominantly in delivering Masters Courses and PhD sessions over the Internet. Although structural and organisational aspects of DL courses facilitatedby computer mediated communication (CMC) have been dealt with in literature, the degree to which these tools satisfying social aspects of a classroom setting (e.g.guidance and support, body language, feedback, interactions with other learners etc.,)has not received adequate consideration in existing literature. This paper therefore investigates the extent to which the distant learning tools address the wider aspects of supporting a classroom situation during its operation so that appropriate improvements can be made in utilising these tools to attract more students for the relevant construction disciplines. The objective of the paper is to disseminate the preliminary findings out of literature review based on a Teaching and Learning Quality Improvement Scheme (TLQIS)project at SCPM

Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector

This report highlights five key trends and how their coming together will shape the social sector of the future. Based on extensive review of existing research and in-depth interviews with thought leaders and nonprofit leaders and activists, it explores the trends (Demographic Shifts; Technological Advances; Networks Enabling Work to be Organized in New Ways; Rising Interest in Civic Engagement and Volunteerism; and Blurring of Sector Boundaries) and looks at the ways nonprofits can successfully navigate the changes. The monograph is by La Piana Consulting, a national firm dedicated to strengthening nonprofits and foundations

Bringing Global Sourcing into the Classroom: Experiential Learning via Software Development Project

Global sourcing of software development has imposed new skill requirements on Information Technology (IT) personnel. In the U.S., this has resulted in a paradigm shift from technical to softer skills such as communications and virtual team management. Higher education institutions must, consequently, initiate innovative curriculum transformations to better prepare students for these emerging workforce needs. This paper describes one such venture between Marquette University (MU), U.S.A. and Management Development Institute (MDI), India, wherein IT students at MU collaborated with Management Information Systems (MIS) students at MDI on an offshore software development project. The class environment replicated an offshore client/vendor relationship in a fully virtual setting while integrating communications and virtual team management with traditional IT project management principles. Course measures indicated that students benefited from this project, gained first-hand experience in the process of software offshoring, and learned skills critical for conduct of global business. For faculty considering such initiatives, we describe the design and administration of this class over two semesters, lessons learned from our engagement, and factors critical to success of such initiatives and those detrimental to their sustenance

Developing Australian Academics' Capacity: Supporting the Adoption of Open Educational Practices in Curriculum Design

This seed project initiative addressed an identified gap in Australian higher education between awareness of open educational practices (OEP) and implementation of OEP, particularly the production, adaptation and use of open educational resources (OER) to support the design of innovative, engaging and agile curriculum. In response, the authors aimed to design, develop, pilot and evaluate a free, open and online professional development course focused on supporting curriculum design in higher education. The specific aim of the course - Curriculum design for open education (CD4OE) - is to develop the capacity of academics in Australia to adopt and incorporate OER and OEP into curriculum development, for more effective and efficient learning and teaching across the sector