The Online Studio: Cultures, Perceptions and Questions for the Future

We investigated the impact of the transition to online architectural design studios in response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The study focussed specifically on student and tutor perceptions of online design studio before the sudden transition to online delivery, and how those perceptions shifted through the initial months of online delivery. We consider the pedagogical context in which the shift to online teaching took place and the evident successes and failures in the early iterations of online studio. We discuss similar and contrasting perceptions in student and tutor groups and observe the changes in these perceptions prior to and after teaching and learning in online studios. The paper concludes with a series of questions directed to the architectural design studio teaching community regarding the apparent inevitability of a future in which both FTF and online-only studios are surpassed with hybrid design studios

The importance of ‘goodness of fit’ between organizational culture and climate in the management of change: a case study in the development of online learning

This paper explores the nexus between organizational culture and organizational climate in the management of change by presenting a case study wherein an Australian regional university is currently undertaking the development of online courses. Important consideration is given to the complementary roles of culture and climate in managing organizational change. The single most important determinant of success is strong, committed senior management whose task is to articulate the organization's new vision and the manner in which it reshapes the organization's culture. At another level the climate of the organization as reflected in the systems that facilitate people's work (including policies, procedures, rewards and communication) must mesh with the new culture if organizational change is to proceed smoothly. This paper discusses the interactive nature of these two powerful organizational variables. The case study draws on the experiences of a school of academics acting as developers and deliverers of online initiatives and a number of concerns are raised that threaten the goodness of fit between the culture and climate of the organization. Policy issues requisite to the successful delivery of online courses are identified and discussed. The most contentious issue revolves around the question of ownership. Many academics, accustomed to exercising autonomy with respect to determining appropriate learning strategies, openly resisted the role the Information Technology department of the university assumed in making decisions that are often seen as having pedagogical overtones. To the extent that transactional issues such as these detract from the climate of the organization, they prevent academics from performing to their full potential. It is concluded that the climate of the organization, if properly managed, contributes to an enduring organizational culture which in turn is better able to deal with the inevitability of change and face the challenges that initiatives such as online education bring

Philosophy of Technology Assumptions in Educational Technology Leadership

A qualitative study using grounded theory methods was conducted to (a) examine what philosophy of technology assumptions are present in the thinking of K-12 technology leaders, (b) investigate how the assumptions may influence technology decision making, and (c) explore whether technological determinist assumptions are present. Subjects involved technology directors and instructional technology specialists from school districts, and data collection involved interviews and a written questionnaire. Three broad philosophy of technology views were widely held by participants, including an instrumental view of technology, technological optimism, and a technological determinist perspective that sees technological change as inevitable. Technology leaders were guided by two main approaches to technology decision making in cognitive dissonance with each other, represented by the categories Educational goals and curriculum should drive technology, and Keep up with Technology (or be left behind). The researcher concluded that as leaders deal with their perceived experience of the inevitability of technological change, and their concern for preparing students for a technological future, the core category Keep up with technology (or be left behind) is given the greater weight in technology decision making. A risk is that this can on occasion mean a quickness to adopt technology for the sake of technology, without aligning the technology implementation with educational goals

Higher Education in Hungary in the Time of the Pandemic

In the spring of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic presented the world with new challenges. In the first half of March, parallel to the spread of COVID-19, teaching and lecture halls, colleges and other facilities in universities and university campuses were emptied almost simultaneously. Almost overnight, all higher educational institutions switched from face-to-face teaching to online teaching, namely absentee or distance learning. In our study, we surveyed students (both Hungarian and English-speaking students) and higher education faculty at the end of the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year to explore their experiences with online education during the pandemic. In our analysis, we explore some aspects of distance learning during the pandemic that we consider important, and we seek to compare the student and teacher views. The results show that the introduction of fully online teaching during the pandemic was relatively smooth, but this period was not without challenges and difficulties that manifested themselves in the learning and teaching process, in the availability of learning materials, in the digital skills of students, and in the work overload of teachers. In summary, however, the response of higher education to digitalisation today, besides its inevitability, is to prioritise the incorporation of past experiences in determining the focus of further development

Peace education, militarism and neo-liberalism: conceptual reflections with empirical findings from the UK

This article explores ‘peace days’ in English schools as a form of peace education. From a historical overview of academic discussions on peace education in the US and Great Britain since the First World War, we identify three key factors important for peace education: the political context, the place in which peace days occur and pedagogical imperatives of providing a certain narrative of the sources of violence in politics. Although contemporary militarism and neoliberalism reduce the terrains for peace studies in English schools, peace days allow teachers to carve out spaces for peace education. Peace days in Benfield School, Newcastle and Comberton Village College, Cambridgeshire, are considered as case studies. We conclude with reflections on the opportunities and limitations of this approach to peace education, and on how peace educators and activists could enlarge its reach

In-Depth Implementation of the BTWC: Education and Outreach

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The Parable of the Talents and Economic Management: Lessons for the Nigerian Nation

This paper investigated "The Parable of the Talents and Economic Management: Lessons for the Nigerian Nation." The subject matter of economic management in Africa in general and Nigeria, in particular, is one that concerns nearly every discipline, and which has inevitably lent itself to much pontification by economist and non-economist alike. Nigeria evolved as a nation-state in 1914 due to the amalgamation of diverse independent nationstates by the British under Lord Frederick Lugard. Since then, it has evolved different economic principles, especially with the discovery of oil in Oloibiri. Historically, the Nigerian economy showed early signs of growth but is currently in a state of recession irrespective of all the economic policies by different administrations. This is contingent on mismanagement of the country's economic and human resources. The main issue that should be in the mind of researchers now is not the inevitability of recession, but its cure and how to recover from it. It is on this note that this paper looked at the Parable of the Talents according to Matt. 25:14-30 using the principle of exegesis in the interpretation of the text. It anchors its submission using the principle of accountability and Maslow's theory of motivation to chart the pathway for the management of the Nigerian economy. The paper concluded that for the proper management of Nigeria's economy there must be accountability, motivation, dignity of labour and giving of appointments base on the capacity of a worker

Editorial

‘Welcome to Columbus College. Is this all your gear?’ ‘It’s all I was allowed without paying excess.’ Victoria arrives at the University of Space, Jupiter Moon ‘You're right, Johnny. You know, there are a lot of other kids who feel just the same way you do. They're confused and afraid, but they don't have to be. The problem isn't that other kids don't like you, it's that they don't understand you, but we do. You're special. You're a latent telepath about to come into full bloom.’ ‘My Johnny, a telepath?’ ‘Probably, but to be sure, take him down to the Psi‐Corps Testing Centre first thing tomorrow.’ ‘How do I find them?’ ‘We're everywhere, for your convenience.’ Psi Corps Advertisement, Babylon 5 Victoria was joining the Ilea ‐ a science station in geostationary orbit above a human colony on Callisto, the outermost of the Galilean moons of Jupiter. Jupiter Moon, which aired in the 1990s, followed the lives of the crew of the space station and the students and staff of the Columbus College of the University of Space. As a drama serial, it combined elaborate science with the mundanity of baggage allowances and spaced‐up new‐romantic fashion. At around the same time, the visually and conceptually much more sophisticated Babylon 5 took us further into the future in a five‐mile‐long Babylon 5 space station, a centre for trade and diplomacy between colonies in the Earth Alliance and beyond, with the Psi Corps responsible for the wellbeing and also the control of telepathic individuals by whom those without extraordinary psychic powers are identified as ‘mundanes’. The same term was used recently in a study, publicized in Times Higher Education, of the benefits of technology identified by students, citing one of the co‐authors of the study as saying that there was ‘considerable evidence’ that technology was aiding learning but that it was not always ‘the cutting edge or headline use of technologies but often the more prosaic or mundane’ uses associated with the organization and management of study time and place (Parr 2015). The findings echo those of Francis (2010), whose ethnographic study also finds that students’ technology use focuses on forming and maintaining context – physical as well as online. But Francis’s conclusions are far‐reaching. He describes the university as ‘decentred’ by this shift towards learner appropriation of technology toolsets and collaborative networks to the shape and use of which they, and not we, are central. Nothing mundane about that, either for pedagogy or for institutional strategy. How did we not notice it happening

Open access and promotion and tenure evaluation plans at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Department and program evaluation plans at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire were examined to see if these documents provide evidence that could be used to justify supporting the publication of peer-reviewed open access articles toward tenure and promotion. In an earlier study, the authors reveal that faculty members at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire are more unaware of open access publishing than their counterparts at larger universities. These findings dovetail with other studies that show that faculty members are reluctant to publish in open access journals because of concerns about the quality of those journals. The existing body of scholarship suggests that tenure-line faculty fear publishing in open access journals because it could adversely impact their chances of promotion and tenure. The authors of this current study sought to determine if department and program evaluation plans could influence negative perceptions faculty have of open access journals. The implications of this study for librarians, scholarly communication professionals, tenure-line faculty, departments, and programs are addressed