Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

NMC Horizon Report: 2017 Higher Education Edition

The NMC Horizon Report > 2017 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). This 14th edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in educational technology are placed directly in the context of their likely impact on the core missions of universities and colleges. The three key sections of this report constitute a reference and straightforward technology-planning guide for educators, higher education leaders, administrators, policymakers, and technologists. It is our hope that this research will help to inform the choices that institutions are making about technology to improve, support, or extend teaching, learning, and creative inquiry in higher education across the globe. All of the topics were selected by an expert panel that represented a range of backgrounds and perspectives

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Experts on e-learning: insights gained from listening to the student voice!

The Student Experience of e-Learning Laboratory (SEEL) project at the University of Greenwich was designed to explore and then implement a number of approaches to investigate learners’ experiences of using technology to support their learning. In this paper members of the SEEL team present initial findings from a University-wide survey of nearly a 1000 students. A selection of 90 ‘cameos’, drawn from the survey data, offer further insights into personal perceptions of e-learning and illustrate the diversity of students experiences. The cameos provide a more coherent picture of individual student experience based on the totality of each person’s responses to the questionnaire. Finally, extracts from follow-up case studies, based on interviews with a small number of students, allow us to ‘hear’ the student voice more clearly. Issues arising from an analysis of the data include student preferences for communication and social networking tools, views on the ‘smartness’ of their tutors’ uses of technology and perceptions of the value of e-learning. A primary finding and the focus of this paper, is that students effectively arrive at their own individualised selection, configuration and use of technologies and software that meets their perceived needs. This ‘personalisation’ does not imply that such configurations are the most efficient, nor does it automatically suggest that effective learning is occurring. SEEL reminds us that learners are individuals, who approach learning both with and without technology in their own distinctive ways. Hearing, understanding and responding to the student voice is fundamental in maximising learning effectiveness. Institutions should consider actively developing the capacity of academic staff to advise students on the usefulness of particular online tools and resources in support of learning and consider the potential benefits of building on what students already use in their everyday lives. Given the widespread perception that students tend to be ‘digital natives’ and academic staff ‘digital immigrants’ (Prensky, 2001), this could represent a considerable cultural challenge

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s 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 OU’s 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 OU’s 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 users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ 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 OER’s 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 University’s (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 learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Teaching Visual Effects for Audiovisual Production using Digital Learning Objects

This Ph.D. research deals with the production of a digital learning object (DLO) to aid teaching activity, more specifically in the execution of practical exercises for the production of visual effects (VFX) in audiovisual in higher education courses. The study performs a literature review on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education, Learning Objects (LOs), Digital Learning Objects (DLOs), and Blended Learning (BL). In the research, it seeks to understand the methods and procedures of design, implementation, evaluation, and validation of such technologies to be able to apply to the prototype to be developed. It presents the stages of development of the prototype and all the challenges faced for its realization. With the fully functional tool already developed and tested, the methodological procedures used for its use and evaluation are demonstrated. The field research is reported and documented, presenting the results achieved. Forms were used with students participating in the research, in addition to blind analysis of the practical work they developed. Such data are analyzed and the reflections and contributions from this whole experimentation process are presented. It was possible to conclude that the tool (DLO) designed managed to achieve its objectives and answer the research questions that fostered it, having been considered by the participants as useful, motivating, and functional in helping the learning process. The blind analysis undertaken did not show significant differences between the control and test groups in the quality of the work performed, however, it evidenced the possibility of using other methodologies in conjunction with those used, to improve future research. It is believed that all the discussion and experimentation carried out and documented reaches its objectives positively and demonstrates its contribution in to assist in the scientific discussion about the pedagogical effectiveness of DLOs, create an unprecedented DLO, in addition to presenting the DLOs production methodologies used.Esta pesquisa de doutoramento trata sobre a produção de um objeto de aprendizagem digital para o auxílio à atividade docente, mais especificamente na execução de exercícios práticos para a produção de efeitos visuais em audiovisual em cursos de nível superior. O estudo realiza uma revisão da literatura sobre o uso de Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação na educação, objetos de aprendizagem, objetos de aprendizagem digitais e aprendizagem combinada. Na investigação, busca compreender os métodos e procedimentos de design, implementação, avaliação e validação de tais tecnologias para aplicar ao protótipo a ser desenvolvido. Apresenta as etapas de desenvolvimento do protótipo e todos os desafios enfrentados para sua concretização. Com a ferramenta totalmente funcional já desenvolvida e testada, são demonstrados os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados para seu uso e avaliação. A pesquisa de campo encontra-se relatada e documentada, apresentando os resultados alcançados. Foram utilizados formulários com os alunos participantes da pesquisa, além de análise cega sobre os trabalhos práticos por eles desenvolvidos. Tais dados são analisados e apresentadas as reflexões e contribuições advindas de todo este processo de experimentação. Foi possível concluir que a ferramenta (objeto de aprendizagem digital) projetada conseguiu atingir seus objetivos e responder às perguntas de pesquisa que o fomentou, tendo sido considerada pelos participantes como útil, motivadora e funcional para o auxílio do processo de aprendizagem. A análise cega empreendida não demonstrou diferenças significativas entre os grupos controle e teste na qualidade dos trabalhos executados, contudo, evidenciou a possibilidade de utilização de outras metodologias em conjunto com as utilizadas, para aprimoramento de pesquisas futuras. Acredita-se que toda a discussão e experimentação realizada e documentada atinge positivamente seus objetivos e demonstra sua contribuição ao auxiliar na discussão científica sobre a efetividade pedagógica dos objetos de aprendizagem digitais, criar um destes objetos/software inédito, além de apresentar as metodologias de produção utilizadas