35,776 research outputs found
Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2005
Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2005
Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers
Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being âmarginalizedâ, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called âxue keâ English. Despite the fact that âxue keâ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachersâ reflections.
Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach
Factors affecting e-Learning effectiveness in a higher learning institution in Malaysia
The purpose of this research was to investigate factors that influence the effectiveness of the e-learning system in a higher learning institution. The participants were students randomly selected from diploma and degree programs. The main instrument was a questionnaire that was distributed to the students. The researchers collected 205 completed questionnaires out of a total of 300. Four factors were chosen as independent variables namely: reaction and satisfaction,learning outcome and achievement, familiarity with online learning technology, and participation and interaction. It was found that the effectiveness of the e-learning system was significantly affected by reaction and satisfaction, learning outcome and achievement, and familiarity with online learning technology. The participation and interaction factor had no apparent effect on the effectiveness of the e-learning system. Therefore, it is recommended that higher learning
institutions interested in introducing e-learning should focus on studentsâ reaction and satisfaction towards the system.E-learning should focus on learning outcomes and achievement. It is also recommended that institutions first look into the issue of familiarity with online learning technology among students before introducing the e-learning system so as to determine whether students are comfortable with the online learning tools
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Developing sustainable business models for institutionsâ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn usersâ motivations and experiences
Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OERâs value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education.
This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open Universityâs (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learnersâ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience
Expectations eclipsed in foreign language education: learners and educators on an ongoing journey / edited by HĂŒlya GörĂŒr-AtabaĆ, Sharon Turner.
Between June 2-4, 2011 Sabancı University School of Languages welcomed colleagues from 21 different countries to a collaborative exploration of the challenging and inspiring journey of learners and educators in the field of language education.\ud
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The conference provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their views on language education. Colleagues met with world-renowned experts and authors in the fields of education and psychology, faculty and administrators from various universities and institutions, teachers from secondary educational backgrounds and higher education, as well as learners whose voices are often not directly shared but usually reported.\ud
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The conference name, Eclipsing Expectations, was inspired by two natural phenomena, a solar eclipse directly before the conference, and a lunar eclipse, immediately after. Learners and educators were hereby invited to join a journey to observe, learn and exchange ideas in orde
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Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open Universityâs iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.
With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012).
The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OUâs OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OUâs iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators.
The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding usersâ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutionsâ social mission
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Building capacity in climate change policy analysis and negotiation: methods and technologies
Capacity building is often cited as the reason âwe cannot just pour money into developing countriesâ and why so many development projects fail because their design does not address local conditions. It is therefore a key technical and political concept in international development.
Some of the poorest countries in the world are also some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Their vulnerability is in part due to a lack of capacity to plan and anticipate the effects of climate change on crops, water resources, urban electricity demand etc. What capacities do these countries lack to deal with climate change? How will they cope? What steps can they take to reduce their vulnerability?
This innovative and high-profile research project was part of a larger project (called C3D) and conducted with non-governmental organisations in Senegal, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The research involved several participatory workshops and a questionnaire to all three research centres
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Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6
This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This sixth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE).
Themes:
âą Big-data inquiry: thinking with data
âą Learners making science
âą Navigating post-truth societies
âą Immersive learning
âą Learning with internal values
âą Student-led analytics
âą Intergroup empathy
âą Humanistic knowledge-building communities
âą Open Textbooks
âą Spaced Learnin
Predicting Student Success Using Digital Textbook Analytics in Online Courses
In the digital era, students are generating and institutions are collecting more data than ever before. With the constant change in technology, new data points are being created. Digital textbooks are becoming more popular, and textbook publishers are shifting more of their efforts to creating digital content. This shift creates new data points that have the potential to show how students are engaging with course material. The purpose of this correlational study is to determine if digital textbook usage data, pages read, number of days, reading sessions, highlights, bookmarks, notes, searches, downloads and prints can predict student success. This study used a multiple regression to determine if digital textbook usage data is a predictor of course or quiz success in five online undergraduate courses at a private liberal arts university. The analysis used digital textbook data from VitalSource and consisted of 1,602 students that were enrolled in an eight-week online course at a private liberal arts university. The analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between digital textbook usage data and total points earned and average quiz grade. This study contributes to the limited knowledge on digital textbook analytics and provides valuable insight into how students engage with digital textbooks in online courses
Interactive E-Texts and Students: A Scoping Review
The purpose of this article is to explore the scope of available evidence regarding the use of interactive e-texts and their relationship to student learning experiences in post-secondary education. Following the framework of Arksey and OâMalley, this scoping review identified and reported on 33 articles. Study characteristics are presented alongside four themes that were found across the included articles: (1) the effect of interactive e-texts on student learning experiences; (2) the relationship between interactive e-texts and academic performance; (3) factors influencing student adoption and experience of interactive e-texts; and (4) roles, responsibilities, and recommendations. While the adoption of interactive e-texts is becoming increasingly common in post-secondary education, their effect on student learning experiences remains complex. This review emphasizes the importance of user-friendliness, affordability, accessibility, portability, and the role of educators. Using interactive e-texts shows promise, though future research should explore how barriers might be minimized and benefits might be maximized to have the strongest impact on student learning experiences.
Keywords: interactive e-text, student experience, scoping review, post-secondary educationLâobjectif de cet article Ă©tait dâexplorer lâĂ©tendue des connaissances disponibles sur lâutilisation des documents numĂ©riques interactifs et leur relation avec les expĂ©riences dâapprentissage des Ă©tudiants Ă lâenseignement supĂ©rieur. Suivant le cadre de lâĂ©tude dâArksey et OâMalley (2005), cet examen de lâĂ©tendue des connaissances nous a permis de repĂ©rer et dâanalyser 33 articles. Les caractĂ©ristiques de lâĂ©tude sont prĂ©sentĂ©es selon quatre thĂšmes retrouvĂ©s dans les articles consultĂ©s : (1) lâimpact des documents numĂ©riques interactifs sur les expĂ©riences dâapprentissage des Ă©tudiants; (2) la relation entre les documents numĂ©riques interactifs et les rĂ©sultats scolaires; (3) les facteurs influençant lâadoption des documents numĂ©riques interactifs et les expĂ©riences dâutilisation par les Ă©tudiants; et (4) les rĂŽles, les responsabilitĂ©s et les recommandations. Tandis que lâutilisation des documents numĂ©riques interactifs devient de plus en plus frĂ©quente au postsecondaire, leur impact sur les expĂ©riences dâapprentissage des Ă©tudiants demeure complexe. Cet article souligne lâimportance de la convivialitĂ©, du coĂ»t, de lâaccessibilitĂ©, de la portabilitĂ© et du rĂŽle des enseignants. Puisque lâutilisation de documents numĂ©riques interactifs est prometteuse, de futures recherches devraient explorer comment les obstacles pourraient ĂȘtre rĂ©duits au minimum et les avantages maximisĂ©s pour permettre le meilleur impact possible sur les expĂ©riences dâapprentissage des Ă©tudiants.
Mots-clés : documents numériques interactifs, expérience étudiante, étendue des connaissances, éducation postsecondair
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