Optimization of Blended Learning for Open Education From the Perspective of Instructional Interaction: A Case Study of English for the Humanities

One of the advantages of open education is the potential integration of online and offline learning. However, in practice, this integration has not been fully achieved. This study explores attempts to optimize blended learning for open education by promoting instructional interaction, which is essential for successful learning. Using English for Humanities as an example, the study found that interaction between learners and learning resources can be promoted by enriching materials and designing tasks with appropriate difficulty levels based on real-life situations. When an open discourse learning environment is established and daily communication is enhanced, students become more active in social interaction. The optimized blended learning approach has been shown to improve students’ learning participation and satisfaction. However, the study also revealed that the online interaction between students and resources remains at a relatively low level due to a lack of effective supervision and timely guidance. This practical study provides methods to promote instructional interaction and effective blended learning for open education.

Innovation and Optimization of the Blended Teaching Paradigm of the Open University: Based on the Perspective of Experiential Learning Theory

The scientific and advanced nature of the teaching paradigm of the Open University not only directly represents the overall appearance and actual level of teaching, but also essentially determines the quality of talent training in the university. Innovating and optimizing the blended teaching paradigm is an important way to improve the quality of university teaching, and it is an inevitable way for the Open University to complete the mission of high-quality development of lifelong education. This paper starts with the current situation and problems of the blended teaching paradigm of the Open University, and re-examines, innovates and optimizes the original blended teaching paradigm. With the goal of effectively improving the teaching quality of the Open University, and guided by the latest progress in teaching theory, it analyzes the basic logic and practical paths of the construction of the Open University’s blended teaching paradigm based on experiential learning theory

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 ‘marginalized’, 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 ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ 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 teachers’ 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

Towards A Massive Open Online Course for Cybersecurity in Smart Grids – A Roadmap Strategy

The major trends and transformations in energy systems have brought many challenges, and cybersecurity and operational security are among the most important issues to consider. First, due to the criticality of the energy sector. Second, due to the lack of smart girds’ cybersecurity professionals. Previous research has highlighted skill gaps and shortage in cybersecurity training and education in this sector. Accordingly, we proceeded by crafting a roadmap strategy to foster cybersecurity education in smart grids. This paper outlines the methodology of teaching cybersecurity in smart grids to a large group of students in selected European universities via implementing a Massive Open Online Course. Unlike other solutions, this one focuses on hands-on practical skills without trading-off theoretical knowledge. Thus, flipped learning methodology and gamification practices were used to maximize retention rate. Also, a remote lab that includes a real-time simulator was established for training. Here, the process, outcome, and obstacles to overcome in future deployments, are presented.©2022 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Innovation and Optimization of Physical Education Senior High School Examination Based on Digital Transformation: Path, Mechanism and Practice

With the rapid development of digital technology, physical education is ushering in an unprecedented digital transformation. In the physical education high school examination, digital transformation can not only improve the efficiency and accuracy of the examination, but also provide a more fair and just evaluation environment for students. From the perspective of digital transformation, this paper discusses the path, mechanism and practice of innovation and optimization in the evaluation of middle school physical education examination. It aims to provide theoretical and practical support for digital transformation in physical education assessment, and promote the effective integration of modern technology and physical education

USDLA: An Instructional Media Selection Guide For Distance Learning

Purpose and Use of the Media Selection Guide Increasingly, educators and trainers are challenged within their respective organizations to provide for the efficient distribution of instructional con-tent using instructional media. The appropriate selection of instructional media to support distance learning is not intuitive and does not occur as a matter of personal preference. On the contrary, instructional media selec-tion is a systematic sequence of qualitative processes based on sound in-structional design principles. Although media selection is often mentioned when studying the discipline of instructional technology or Instructional Systems Design (ISD), it is sometimes overlooked when applying the se-lection process in a distance-learning environment. It is our intent, there-fore, for this guide to highlight the essentials of good media selection. We hope to present an instructionally sound and systematic approach to se-lecting the most appropriate media for the delivery of content at a dis-tance

Evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative Year 3 Report

Launched in 2010, the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative supports programs at three flagship Jewish institutions of higher education: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), and Yeshiva University (YU). As part of this initiative, HUC-JIR, JTS, and YU designed and piloted new programs, enhanced existing programs, and provided financial assistance to additional programs.American Institutes for Research (AIR) is conducting an independent evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative. This report is the third in a series of five annual reports that describe progress toward accomplishing the goals of the Education Initiative

Applying Authentic Learning through Cultivation of the Entrepreneurial Mindset in the Engineering Classroom

Higher education provides plenty of opportunity for theory and in many cases, even the ability to apply theory in a laboratory setting. Yet, there remains limited opportunity for students to learn by doing through participation in authentic learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to provide one potential solution for integrating authentic learning into the engineering classroom by cultivating the entrepreneurial mindset. As entrepreneurship serves as an integral part of the economy, developing an entrepreneurial mindset through authentic learning experiences is essential for engineers. While online discussion prompts represent a useful way for educators to facilitate student learning, less is known about how to facilitate online discussions in a way that truly cultivates an entrepreneurial mindset for engineering students. In this paper, the key intentions of entrepreneurially-minded learning are reviewed, and a guide for creating online discussions applicable to any engineering course is presented. Example online discussion prompts incorporating the entrepreneurial mindset are then shared from an Introduction to Engineering course. Results from a mixed methods survey instrument suggests positive impacts towards student perceptions of online discussions and development of the entrepreneurial mindset. Recommendations for effectively and efficiently facilitating online discussions for entrepreneurially-minded learning in the engineering classroom are offered

The optimal design and use of learning objects in the Self Access Center of Facultad de Lenguas through the usage of specific elements for the practice of english in a1 level

“No doubt English has become a universal language due to the fact that each day English is applied in different areas of knowledge, science and culture. In fact, most specialized books are written in English, the preferred international language on internet is English and most music, movies, and TV shows use English language as a default. “Undoubtedly, English is a language that can influence the personality of an individual due to its broad scope.”(Rathore, 2013). Schools and language institutions have begun offering new ways to acquire and practice a foreign language. These, with the purpose of pursuing excellence and quality, have tried to reuse the old learning resources and adapted new materials through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The purpose of this paper is twofold. In the first place, it is important to identify the basic components of Learning Objects created at the self-access center (SAC) from Facultad de Lenguas of Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP). Second, to propose alternative components to optimize learning objects in order to better the evaluation and feedback option processes included at learning objects.