How can I encourage multi-stakeholder narrative and reflection on the use of ICT in Teacher Professional Development programmes in Rwanda?

This is an action research enquiry into how I can improve my practice to encourage multi-stakeholder narrative and reflection on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programmes in Rwanda. I examine the complexity of the ICT-TPD landscape in the Africa Region. I describe two action research cycles in which I attempt to encourage reflection on ICT in professional development in Rwanda. In each cycle I explore the potential of an Activity Theory lens for probing the issues and examining the perspectives of the stakeholder community of teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and researchers affiliated to national ICT in TPD programmes and initiatives. I integrate a “Most Significant Change” narrative technique to engage participants in telling stories of significant change in their practice with technology integration. Through the rigour of the action research living theory approach I come to a number of conclusions about my own values and how I actually live my values in practice as I engage with partners in discourse and reflection for mutual learning on the issues of ICT integration in Teacher Professional Development

Qualitative analysis of academic group and discussion forum on Facebook

In the present study, data was triangulated and two methods of data analysis were used. Qualitative analysis was undertaken of free-text data from students’ reflective essaysto extract socially-related themes. Heuristic evaluation was conducted by expert evaluators, who investigated forum contributions and discourse in line with contemporary learning theory and considered the social\ud culture of participation. Findings of the qualitative analysis of students’ perceptions and results of the\ud heuristic evaluation of forum participation confirmed each other, indicating a warm social climate and a conducive, well-facilitated environment that supported individual styles of participation. It fostered interpersonal relationships between distance learners, as well as study-related benefits enhanced by peer teaching and insights acquired in a culture of social negotiation. The environment was effectively moderated, while supporting student-initiative.\u

The moderating influence of device characteristics and usage on user acceptance of smart mobile devices

This study seeks to develop a comprehensive model of consumer acceptance in the context of Smart Mobile Device (SMDs). This paper proposes an adaptation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model that can be employed to explain and predict the acceptance of SMDs. Also included in the model are a number of external and new moderating variables that can be used to explain user intentions and subsequent usage behaviour. The model holds that Activity-based Usage and Device Characteristics are posited to moderate the impact of the constructs empirically validated in the UTAUT2 model. Through an important cluster of antecedents the proposed model aims to enhance our understanding of consumer motivations for using SMDs and aid efforts to promote the adoption and diffusion of these devices

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching

Reframing e-assessment: building professional nursing and academic attributes in a first year nursing course

This paper documents the relationships between pedagogy and e-assessment in two nursing courses offered at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. The courses are designed to build the academic, numeracy and technological attributes student nurses need if they are to succeed at university and in the nursing profession. The paper first outlines the management systems supporting the two courses and how they intersect with the e-learning and e-assessment components of course design. These pedagogical choices are then reviewed. While there are lessons to be learnt and improvements to be made, preliminary results suggest students and staff are extremely supportive of the courses. The e-assessment is very positively received with students reporting increased confidence and competency in numeracy, as well as IT, academic, research and communication skills

Urban heritage conservation and rapid urbanization : insights from Surat, India

Currently, heritage is challenged in the Indian city of Surat due to diverse pressures,  including rapid urbanization, increasing housing demand, and socio‐cultural and climate changes.  Where rapid demographic growth of urban areas is happening, heritage is disappearing at an  alarming rate. Despite some efforts from the local government, urban cultural heritage is being  neglected and historic buildings keep being replaced by ordinary concrete buildings at a worryingly  rapid pace. Discussions of challenges and issues of Surat’s urban area is supported by a qualitative  dataset, including in‐depth semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with local policy makers,  planners, and heritage experts, triangulated by observation and a photo‐survey of two historic  areas. Findings from this study reveal a myriad of challenges such as: inadequacy of urban  conservation management policies and processes focused on heritage, absence of skills, training,  and resources amongst decision makers and persistent conflict and competition between heritage  conservation needs and developers’ interests. Furthermore, the values and significance of Surat’s  tangible and intangible heritage is not fully recognized by its citizens and heritage stakeholders. A  crucial opportunity exists for Surat to maximize the potential of heritage and reinforce urban  identity for its present and future generations. Surat’s context is representative of general trends  and conservation challenges and therefore recommendations developed in this study hold the  potential to offer interesting insights to the wider planners and conservationists’ international  community.  This  paper  recommends  thoughtful  integration  of  sustainable  heritage  urban  conservation into local urban development frameworks and the establishment of approaches that  recognize the plurality of heritage values

Role and Discipline Relationships in a Transdisciplinary Biomedical Team: Structuration, Values Override and Context Scaffolding

Though accepted that "team science" is needed to tackle and conquer the health problems that are plaguing our society significant empirical evidence of team mechanisms and functional dynamics is still lacking in abundance. Through grounded methods the relationship between scientific disciplines and team roles was observed in a United States National Institutes of Health-funded (NIH) research consortium. Interviews and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) were employed.. Findings show strong role and discipline idiosyncrasies that when viewed separately provide different insights into team functioning and change receptivity. When considered simultaneously, value-latent characteristics emerged showing self-perceived contributions to the team. This micro/meso analysis suggests that individual participation in team level interactions can inform the structuration of roles and disciplines in an attempt to tackle macro level problems.Comment: Presented at COINs13 Conference, Chile, 2013 (arxiv:1308.1028

Information Literacy Instruction for Upper-Year Undergraduate Students: A Stratified Course-Integrated Approach

Undergraduate students face many potential barriers to learning about the process of conducting research. Information literacy instruction provided through faculty-librarian collaboration in an effort to expand the abilities of the “novice researcher” can ease the experience of undergraduate students. In addition, information literacy instruction may invoke increased student participation in the scholarly discourse of their chosen discipline. The implementation of a stratified course-integrated approach may be particularly valuable to upper-level undergraduates in preparation for completing a thesis or other culminating project in their final year of study. This claim is examined within the context of an instruction session observed as a component of a third-year undergraduate Materials Science and Engineering course

Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality