Mobile x-space design, teaching strategies and undergraduate students’ collaborative learning behaviour: a case study in Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Purpose - The availability of new innovative learning spaces together with the introduction of new teaching and learning strategies have shifted the nature of the classroom from a place of instruction towards a place that produces authentic learning. Students in the 21st century are inclined to learn with peers, through the use technology to produce the information as the result of their collaboration.This research examines the effect of learning space design and teaching strategies on undergraduate students’ collaborative learning behaviour in the Mobile X-Space classroom. Methodology - This study used a quantitative survey research design to measure students’ learning experience in the Mobile X-Space classroom. A set of online self-reported questionnaire was posted through the official Learning Management System of the university to collect data from 467 undergraduate students in a Malaysian top private university. Through exploratory factor analysis, three factors were identified: (a) teaching strategies, (b) collaborative learning behaviour and (c) space design. Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression were run to assess the relationship between learning space design and teaching strategies conducted by the lecturers on the collaborative learning behaviour of the students. Two-way factorial ANOVA with Post Hoc tests were performed to determine the effects of gender and study semester of the students on their collaborative learning behaviour.Findings - The results from the multiple regression analysis revealed that both (i) teaching strategies, and (ii) space design were positively correlated with collaborative learning behaviour of the students. The results from Person’s correlation showed a significant, strong and positive relationship between teaching strategies conducted by the lecturers on the collaborative learning behaviour among the students. Also, there was a statistically significant, strong and positive relationship between learning space design on the teaching strategies of the lecturers. In addition, the results from two-way factorial ANOVA showed that collaborative learning behaviour was different for groups in different study semesters. However, there was no statistically significant difference for collaborative learning behaviour between different genders in all semesters. Significance - The outcomes of this research will be beneficial in enhancing the support and design of future learning spaces and add value to the present educational model. It is also beneficial in guiding academics in determining the practical teaching and learning approaches in the flexible learning spaces, which could be more suitable for the millennium youth who are more tech-savvy and favour Internet of things in their daily lives. This type of learning space will help to improve the students’ soft skills and collaborative skills, that are very useful in their future employability in the actual work settings

BIWiki - Using a Business Intelligence Wiki to Form a Virtual Community of Practice for Portuguese Master's Students

Web 2.0 software in general and wikis in particular have been receiving growing attention as they constitute new and powerful tools, capable of supporting information sharing, creation of knowledge and a wide range of collaborative processes and learning activities. This paper introduces briefly some of the new opportunities made possible by Web 2.0 or the social Internet, focusing on those offered by the use of wikis as learning spaces. A wiki allows documents to be created, edited and shared on a group basis; it has a very easy and efficient markup language, using a simple Web browser. One of the most important characteristics of wiki technology is the ease with which pages are created and edited. The facility for wiki content to be edited by its users means that its pages and structure form a dynamic entity, in permanent evolution, where users can insert new ideas, supplement previously existing information and correct errors and typos in a document at any time, up to the agreed final version. This paper explores wikis as a collaborative learning and knowledge-building space and its potential for supporting Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs). In the academic years (2007/8 and 2008/9), students of the Business Intelligence module at the Master's programme of studies on Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence at Instituto Superior de Estatistica e Gestao de Informacao of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, have been actively involved in the creation of BIWiki - a wiki for Business Intelligence in the Portuguese language. Based on usage patterns and feedback from students participating in this experience, some conclusions are drawn regarding the potential of this technology to support the emergence of VCoPs; some provisional suggestions will be made regarding the use of wikis to support information sharing, knowledge creation and transfer and collaborative learning in Higher Education

BIWiki - Using a Business Intelligence Wiki to Form a Virtual Community of Practice for Portuguese Master's Students

Web 2.0 software in general and wikis in particular have been receiving growing attention as they constitute new and powerful tools, capable of supporting information sharing, creation of knowledge and a wide range of collaborative processes and learning activities. This paper introduces briefly some of the new opportunities made possible by Web 2.0 or the social Internet, focusing on those offered by the use of wikis as learning spaces. A wiki allows documents to be created, edited and shared on a group basis; it has a very easy and efficient markup language, using a simple Web browser. One of the most important characteristics of wiki technology is the ease with which pages are created and edited. The facility for wiki content to be edited by its users means that its pages and structure form a dynamic entity, in permanent evolution, where users can insert new ideas, supplement previously existing information and correct errors and typos in a document at any time, up to the agreed final version. This paper explores wikis as a collaborative learning and knowledge-building space and its potential for supporting Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs). In the academic years (2007/8 and 2008/9), students of the Business Intelligence module at the Master's programme of studies on Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence at Instituto Superior de Estatistica e Gestao de Informacao of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, have been actively involved in the creation of BIWiki - a wiki for Business Intelligence in the Portuguese language. Based on usage patterns and feedback from students participating in this experience, some conclusions are drawn regarding the potential of this technology to support the emergence of VCoPs; some provisional suggestions will be made regarding the use of wikis to support information sharing, knowledge creation and transfer and collaborative learning in Higher Education

Improving staff competences to promote quality of eLearning in Higher Education

Quality and innovation of Higher Education is clearly pointing to a better pedagogic knowledge of the faculty members aiming at the academic success of the students. This aim requires, from the institution and teachers, a much greater involvement than what has been the case, at least, in Portuguese universities [6]. The University of Aveiro, Portugal, is engaged in taking advantage of all the opportunities to improve the quality of more than 40 undergraduate and 130 postgraduate programs currently being offered, and to wide the catalogue of choices of students by the promotion of ICT/Internet based programs [2]. One of the main constraints to overcome is the change of mind required from faculty staff, most of which is not familiarized with the functionalities of ICT/Internet based technologies to deploy flexible and studentcentred learning settings. The University of Aveiro is taking advantage of a major change in the European Higher Education landscape, the wiling to create a common European Higher Education space (Bologna Declaration), to induce changes in course design and delivery through the integration of ICT/Internet support. Furthermore, this paper presents and discusses a staff development program for faculty staff aiming to provide academics with essential skills in areas such as teaching best practices, curriculum design (student-centred), collaborative learning and the adoption of ICT/Internet technologies

The Impact of Mobile Phones on Collaborative Learning Activities

In light of the ubiquitous nature of mobile communications technology, society is forced to rethink education. When considering the freedom of communication in terms of time and space that this mobile technology provides, educators need to understand how this ever present communications platform can be exploited to enhance collaborative learning. The central theme of this thesis is the role of mobile phones as a support for collaborative learning both in and out of the classroom. The questions asked are: What is the distinctive affordance offered by the mobile phone for collaborative learning? What is the affective relationship between student, mobile phone and homework? Does the intervention affect the relationship between students, their mobile phones and their homework? Does the affordance offered by the technology lead to more awareness of learning? What is the nature of the dialogue with the mobile phone technology? In this thesis, the methodology is designed to explore the area of collaborative learning and the use of mobile phones as a support for collaborative learning through critical reviews of the literature and a year-long exploratory multiple case study integrating both qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis. Qualitative exploratory interviews and surveys are combined with extensive quantitative internet log data to provide a detailed image of students’ mobile use during collaborative activities. The results are triangulated, and In light of current research key issues are interpreted and discussed. The findings of the study support four key hypotheses which emerge from the theoretical framework. First, that there are distinctive affordances offered by the mobile phone for collaborative learning that increase learning opportunities. Second, that the affective relationship between students and their mobile phone has a positive influence on attitudes towards homework when the homework involves the use of their mobile phones. Third, that the intervention affected the relationship between students their mobile phone and their homework by reducing barriers between private and public spaces. Fourth, the affordances offered by the technology led to more awareness of content through an increase in opportunities for reflection. In addition, some insights into the nature of the dialogue with the mobile phone technology are explored. These findings have implications for educational theory and practice since they provide evidence to support the incorporation of mobile devices into collaborative educational situations. This research will be of interest to those concerned with the impact of mobile devices on the area of collaborative learning specifically and the field of education in general. The contribution that this research brings to scholarship and to the educational community is an increased understanding of the ways that ubiquitous mobile technology can affect a student’s mobile-based collaborative learning experience. The integration of these findings into the current body of knowledge may lead to improvements in future educational design and highlight areas which require further research

Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4: summary report

The research project on Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4 was a major initiative funded by Becta to investigate the use and impact of such technologies in and out of school. The purpose of this research was to help shape Becta's own thinking and inform policy-makers, schools and local authorities on the potential benefits of Web 2.0 technologies and how their use can be effectively and safely realised. This document is he summary of the reports published for this project

Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape – opportunities, challenges and tensions

This is the first report from research commissioned by Becta into Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. This report describes findings from an additional literature review of the then current landscape concerning learner use of Web 2.0 technologies and the implications for teachers, schools, local authorities and policy makers

Claim your space: re-placing spaces to better meet the needs of the net generation

The challenge for the Reid Library at The University of Western Australia was the transformation of a 1960s building into a welcoming space with services and facilities appropriate for a more technologically demanding generation. A key issue was how to balance the continuing need for access to physical collections with the rapidly expanding demand for new kinds of learning spaces and facilities oriented towards on-line and collaborative learning and research. This paper outlines the approach taken to identify client needs (both physical and virtual), define and propose new service models, and transform learning spaces while maintaining access to physical collections

Social media in collaborative learning in higher education : a qualitative case study of teachers’ and students’ views

In this study, it was investigated how social media are used in collaborative learning in higher education and also how it can be better used in teaching and learning according to the students and teachers. The research questions of this study were: 1) How social media are used in collaborative learning by the teachers and students in higher education for educational purposes? 2) How could social media be used in collaborative learning process in higher education, according to the students and teachers? Qualitative interviews were conducted to collect the data from ten students and five teachers from the different faculties of University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences. In conclusion it was found that, social media were not much used in collaboration with teachers by the students of both institutions. In case of teachers, it was found that all of them were using social media in their collaborative ways of teaching design and they have found social media as useful tool to deliver their teaching. Most of the students and all the teachers found social media to be useful in their teaching and learning. But there were also some challenges faced and areas of improvements identified by them. Thus the higher educational institutions should understand the importance of using social media in teaching and learning and take initiatives to overcome the current challenges identified by the students and teachers