Integrating Real and Virtual Learning Spaces

Undoubtedly, the widespread introduction of Learning Management Systems over the past few years has had significant impact on online learning by enabling lecturers to easily upload and disseminate learning resources, as well as providing the potential for new forms of online interaction. However, LMSs have had significantly less impact upon the sorts of interactions that can occur in class: both lecturer-student and student-student. This article considers ways in which campus based students can benefit from the integration of real life and virtual interactions. It reflects upon lessons learned from the use of a prototype Learning Management System and explores ways in which virtual and real spaces may combined to address specific academic needs. This is illustrated in two scenarios that outline ways in which virtual learning spaces may be integrated with face-to-face teaching within a campus based context. A third scenario offers a glimpse of future integration of real and virtual learning spaces which allow students to develop and share learning resources. Finally, a set of common principles underpinning the development and support of these methodologies are outlined

Braintree College: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 92/95 and 17/99)

Comprises two Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection reports for the periods 1994-95 and 1998-99

What goes on when tertiary students are engaged in an online academic writing course?

The learning process is a complex one with many intertwining variables. The learners’ characteristics could be a defining factor and so is prior learning experiences and knowledge, which are the manifests of metacognitive, socio-affective and cognitive systems. A learning task engagement calls for an exertion of personal control and the fulfillment of efficiency expectations. In learning, the learner activates a number of processes such as those that concern attentional, retrieval, metacognitive and rehearsal strategies. McCombs (1988) sums up these complexities in his multimodal model of learning with certain underlying assumptions. Among them is that learning success can be manipulated. In promoting learning, the teacher can promote strategy learning such as self-directed learning. Learners if trained can select and be their own judge as to the efficacy of strategy use for the learning task. Lessard-Closton (1997) identified several basic characteristics to describe language learning strategies: they are learner-generated, they enhance language learning and competence, they may be visible or unseen and they involve the processing of information and the use of memory

Developing the vision: preparing teachers to deliver a digital world-class education system

In 2008 Australians were promised a \u27Digital Education Revolution\u27 by the government to dramatically change classroom education and build a \u27world-class education system\u27. Eight billion dollars have been spent providing computer equipment for upper secondary classrooms, yet there is little evidence that a revolution has occurred in Australian schools. Transformation of an education system takes more than a simplistic hardware solution. Revolutions need leaders and leaders need vision. In this paper, I argue that we must first develop educational leaders by inspiring future teachers with a vision and by designing our teacher-education courses as technology-rich learning-spaces. A multi-layered scenario is developed as the inspiration for a vision of a future-orientated teacher-education system that prepares teachers to deliver a \u27worldclass digital education\u27 for every Australian child. Although written for the Australian context this paper has broad relevance internationally for teacher education

The Enigmatic Services Sector of India

The share of services in India’s GDP, at round 60%, is much higher than that in other emerging economies including China. Since the year 1991 Growth of services in the economy has surpassed that of agriculture and manufacturing, a feature that defies received wisdom on the growth pattern of economies. Received wisdom, grounded in the Kuznets paradigm, is that growth in the productivity of agriculture and agricultural incomes provides the manufacturing sector both low cost agricultural raw materials and a demand for its output. In time, the continued growth in incomes promotes the growth of the services sector both through a demand for consumer services and for services as growth promoting inputs into manufacturing and agriculture. India’s services sector, though, has grown alongside an agriculture sector that is none too productive, and a manufacturing sector that accounts for a relatively low 20% of the GDP. This paper provides an explanation, grounded in the country’s history and economic policies of the pre- liberalization era, for the growth of the services sector and argues that, contrary to popular opinion, it can lead the economy

Establishing a student satisfaction index - A Malaysian case study

The paper provides an insight on student satisfaction in a higher education institution (HEI) within the context of a quasi-government environment. Students’ opinions about factors related to academic life are sought in the form of a satisfaction feedback questionnaire. This survey aims to investigate issues viewed as important to students by seeking their opinion on a number of factors related to teaching, assessment and support provided by the HEI and its courses. A new model that is based on SERVQUAL framework is proposed that suited the quasi-government environment. The case study was conducted at a quasi-government HEI located in Pahang on the East Coast of Malaysia. Based on the results of this comprehensive study, it is clear that many of the physical aspects of the HEI services were viewed as important relating to student satisfaction. Student feedback confirms that they do receive high quality teaching from staff with high levels of expertise in their various academic disciplines. The lecture and tutorial are considered as the core service provided by the HEI. Students are prepared to tolerate largely deficiencies in the physical aspects of the facilities as long as the teaching they receive is perceived to be at the acceptable level. The concept of the service-product bundle is a valid and reliable tool for the design of a satisfaction survey and segments a HEI's service offering in such a way as to allow management to target resources at those areas that are perceived to be low satisfaction and high importance. This research model can be utilized in most HEIs establishments

Does gender matter in online learning?

It is generally noted that computing is gendered, with women opting out of IT. Will the impact of online learning change this? Some researchers claim that women are disadvantaged in online courses. Others argue that we need a ‘women‐friendly cyber‐classroom’. Yet our experience is that the women achieve better results than the men; it is loner males that are disadvantaged by distance learning. We argue that online courses need to be people‐friendly so that no learners are disadvantaged

A Prisoners\u27 Island: Teaching Australian Incarcerated Students in the Digital Age

While incarcerated students have always faced many obstacles to full and effective participation in university study, the global shift toward paperless e-learning environments has created new challenges for prisoners without direct internet access. Based on prison focus groups with Australian incarcerated students and direct participant observation while tutoring tertiary students within four Queensland correctional centres, this paper explores the obstacles and constraints faced by incarcerated students in light of the increasing digitisation of materials and methods in higher education. This paper also reviews the outcomes, limitations and challenges of recent Australian projects trialling new internet-independent technologies developed to improve access for incarcerated tertiary students. This paper argues that technology-centred approaches alone will not adequately address the challenges of access for incarcerated students unless such interventions are also informed by an understanding of the sociocultural nature of learning and teaching within correctional centres

Redcar and Cleveland College: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; )

The Further Education Funding Council has a legal duty to make sure further education in England is properly assessed. The FEFC’s inspectorate inspects and reports on each college of further education according to a four-year cycle. This record comprises the reports for periods 1995-96 and 1999-2000

Spoken affect classification : algorithms and experimental implementation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Machine-based emotional intelligence is a requirement for natural interaction between humans and computer interfaces and a basic level of accurate emotion perception is needed for computer systems to respond adequately to human emotion. Humans convey emotional information both intentionally and unintentionally via speech patterns. These vocal patterns are perceived and understood by listeners during conversation. This research aims to improve the automatic perception of vocal emotion in two ways. First, we compare two emotional speech data sources: natural, spontaneous emotional speech and acted or portrayed emotional speech. This comparison demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of both acquisition methods and how these methods affect the end application of vocal emotion recognition. Second, we look at two classification methods which have gone unexplored in this field: stacked generalisation and unweighted vote. We show how these techniques can yield an improvement over traditional classification methods