Microblogging for Strengthening a Virtual Learning Community in an Online Course

This paper examines how a microblogging tool (i.e., Twitter) can be effectively used to strengthen a virtual learning community (VLC) in the two sections of a fully online graduate course. Students in this course were consisted of K-12 teachers, school technology specialists, corporate trainers, and military personnel. The microblogging activities were designed to allow quick peer interaction to build the momentum of social learning in the VLC. In this study, we collected quantitative data on sense of community through a Likert scale survey, and rich qualitative data on students\u27 perception about microblogging activities. It was found that students’ sense of community was generally high and students were positive about their microblogging experiences. In addition, microblogging was found to be useful and valuable in sustaining students\u27 learning by doing such as sharing real-world design examples, critiquing design examples with technical knowledge learned in class, and quick and short commenting with peer support in a VLC. Based on the findings, the authors aim to provide design suggestions for educators and instructional designers to incorporate this social web tool in strengthening virtual learning communities in a meaningful and engaging way

Factors that explain the use of ICT in secondary-education classrooms: the role of teacher characteristics and school infrastructure

Paradoxically, in Spain, schools have relatively ample information and communication technology (ICT)infrastructure but low levels of classroom ICT use. In this study, we analyse the role of school ICTinfrastructure and teacher characteristics to explain ICT use in education. We use data from the Spanishsample in the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS), which consists of 3339 teachersfrom 192 secondary education centres. The analysis was conducted using multilevel logistic regressionmodels. The principal results indicate that the availability of educational software, teacher ICT training,collaboration among teachers, perceived self-efficacy, and teaching concepts influence classroom ICT use.School hardware and internet-connection infrastructure are less significant. Based on thefindings,recommendations are presented to orient Spanish educational policy to encourage the use of ICT in classroom

Investigation of virtual learning behaviour in an Eastern Cape high school biology course.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.Transformation in education over the decades has failed to keep abreast of the rapidly advancing technological environment of modern society. This implies that curricula, learning paradigms and tools employed by educational institutions are not in sync with the technologically oriented lifestyle of modern society. Learners are therefore unable to apply and assimilate their daily life experiences into the learning process. This disparity warrants radical transformation in education, so as to furnish the appropriate education system where learners are able to construct their knowledge on the basis of pre-existing ideas and experiences. However, any transformation in the e~ucation approach should essentially be complemented by the adoption of appropriate learning environments and paradigms that can capitalize on learners' life experiences as well as elicit the appropriate learning behaviour and attitudes for effective and life-long learning. Much of the literature reviewed affirms the efficacy of virtual learning environments as mediums that can facilitate effective learner-centred electronic-learning suitable for modern society. They are asserted as liberators of learning in respect of instructivist ideals, information access and the confines of the physical classroom. This is confirmed by findings of this research, which are generally in favour of the virtual learning environment's ability to enhance the learning experiences of learners but remained inconclusive on their learning outcomes

Hacking Higher Education: Rethinking the EduHack Course

The paper presents a report that discuss the experience of participation of the authors in the EduHack, an online course designed to train university teachers in the use of digital techniques and learning strategies. This study highlights two issues of great interest in pandemic times. The first one is the structure and the organization of the EduHack course with some suggestions related to its improvement; the second one is Drag&Fly, the project idea of an eLearning web platform developed by the authors during the collaborative part of the course. The experience of participation to EduHack course has been analyzed by authors using concepts and categories of analysis widespread in thecpragmatic theoretical tradition, enhancing the possibility of changing the teachers’ approach to thedesign and the implementation of a higher education e-learning course

An introduction to learning technology in tertiary education in the UK.

Contents: 1. The Learning Technology Arena 2. The Learning Technology Community 3. Learning Technology Tools 4. Key issues and developments in the Learning Technology Field 5. Implementing Learning Technologies 6. Further Resource

``Fall Program: Visual Ethnography'' -- A Case of Remodeling Cultural Exchange Program into an Academic Virtual Mobility

For more than a decade, virtual mobility functioned as an add-on to a physical mobility and served as an inclusion strategy for Higher Education Institution in providing equality for diffable students. However, it has become the foremost option in time of the Covid-19 pandemic. This article describes the author’s effort of remodeling the physical cultural exchange program into a credit-based virtual mobility. The aim is to provide an international constructive learning process of capturing students’ own as well as other customs and ways of life into a video or photo collage using Visual Ethnography methods. The program was attended by 51 students coming from 6 countries. They were grouped in 11 small groups for which each was assigned a supervisor. In this program, the virtual and distant learning techniques were combined for delivering lectures, while blended learning technique was applied for live sessions. Participants’ discussion and collaboration were mediated through agreed ICT-based tools within the group. In addition to lectures, a synchronous Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was held once a week to monitor student tasks and progress on their final project. The assessment was based on participants’ engagement throughout the program and performance on completing the assigned tasks. The drop-off rate achieves 18% in which participants from Timor Leste contributed the highest rate due to the Internet connectivity issues. Keywords: virtual mobility, visual ethnography, multidisciplinary distant collaboration, intercultural settin

Implementing virtual collaborative inquiry practises in a middle-school context

The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges that relate to the implementation of virtual inquiry practises in middle school. The case was a school course in which a group of Finnish students (N = 14) and teachers (N = 7) completed group inquiries through virtual collaboration, using a web-based learning environment. The task was to accomplish a cross-disciplinary inquiry into cultural issues. The students worked mainly at home and took much responsibility for their course achievements. The investigators analysed the pedagogical design of the course and the content of the participants' interaction patterns in the web-based environment, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. The findings suggest that the students succeeded in producing distinctive cultural products, and both the students and the teachers adopted novel roles during the inquiry. The web-based learning environment was used more as a coordination tool for organizing the collaborative work than as a forum for epistemic inquiry. The tension between the school curriculum and the inquiry practises was manifest in the participants' discussions of the assessment criteria of the course.The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges that relate to the implementation of virtual inquiry practises in middle school. The case was a school course in which a group of Finnish students (N = 14) and teachers (N = 7) completed group inquiries through virtual collaboration, using a web-based learning environment. The task was to accomplish a cross-disciplinary inquiry into cultural issues. The students worked mainly at home and took much responsibility for their course achievements. The investigators analysed the pedagogical design of the course and the content of the participants' interaction patterns in the web-based environment, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. The findings suggest that the students succeeded in producing distinctive cultural products, and both the students and the teachers adopted novel roles during the inquiry. The web-based learning environment was used more as a coordination tool for organizing the collaborative work than as a forum for epistemic inquiry. The tension between the school curriculum and the inquiry practises was manifest in the participants' discussions of the assessment criteria of the course.The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges that relate to the implementation of virtual inquiry practises in middle school. The case was a school course in which a group of Finnish students (N = 14) and teachers (N = 7) completed group inquiries through virtual collaboration, using a web-based learning environment. The task was to accomplish a cross-disciplinary inquiry into cultural issues. The students worked mainly at home and took much responsibility for their course achievements. The investigators analysed the pedagogical design of the course and the content of the participants' interaction patterns in the web-based environment, using qualitative content analysis and social network analysis. The findings suggest that the students succeeded in producing distinctive cultural products, and both the students and the teachers adopted novel roles during the inquiry. The web-based learning environment was used more as a coordination tool for organizing the collaborative work than as a forum for epistemic inquiry. The tension between the school curriculum and the inquiry practises was manifest in the participants' discussions of the assessment criteria of the course.Peer reviewe

Use of Mobile Technologies in Personal Learning Environments of Intercultural Contexts: Individual and Group Tasks

This paper presents the results of the analysis of the personal learning environments (PLE) used individually and in groups by fifth grade primary education students. The main objective was to determine if the use of mobile technologies in the students’ PLEs encouraged their school integration and learning in intercultural communities. For this, a content analysis of the students’ responses to an ad hoc interview was carried out, with a content validity index of 0.89. The students represented their answers using 41 concept maps in the individual tasks and 5 in the group tasks, which were analyzed with the Nvivo software in its latest version. The results show the categorization of the students’ responses in three dimensions: read, make/reflection and relationship. Among the main conclusions, it was obtained that, in both types of tasks, the strategies and tools that fostered intercultural relationships, intercultural education and communication between the students, and therefore school integration, are mostly linked to the use of mobile technologies applications, such as Wikipedia, the internet, Word, PowerPoint, social networks and YouTube, although it is essential to develop more studies to have more data to understand the phenomenon in depth.Unidad de Calidad, Innovacion Docente y Prospectiva, Universidad de Granada 19-2