107,724 research outputs found
A Framework for the Comparison of Virtual Classroom Systems
The increase in demand for open and distance learning has resulted in many higher education providers investing in virtual classroom systems. These systems can be an essential component in the delivery of flexible and online courses. While many institutions correctly place a greater emphasis on the pedagogical development of flexible courses, poor selection or implementation of virtual classroom software can reduce the pedagogical effectiveness of such courses and in some cases render them unworkable for both lecturing staff and students.
Changes in vendor offerings, the continual evolution of end user technology, developments in mobile devices and improvements in internet infrastructure and services have resulted in need for continuous evaluation of virtual classroom systems and their capabilities to provide ideal environments for teaching and learning.
This paper provides a comparative analysis of two such virtual classroom systems (Adobe Connect 7 and Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007) and examines their suitability in meeting both pedagogical and technological needs in Irish higher education. In doing so it suggests a comparative framework for other institutions engaged in the evaluation of virtual classroom systems
Next Generation Teaching and Learning ??? Technologies and Trends
The landscape of teaching and learning has been radically shifted
in the last 15 years by the advent of web technologies, which
enabled the emergence of Learning Management Systems (LMS).
These systems changed the educational paradigm by extending the
classroom borders, capturing and persisting course content and
giving instructors more flexibility and access to students and other
resources. However, they also constrained and limited the
evolution of teaching and learning by imposing a traditional,
instructional framework. With the advent of Web 2.0
technologies, participation and collaboration have become
predominant experiences on the Web. The teaching and learning
community, as a whole, has been late to capitalize on these
technologies in the classroom. Part of this trend is due to
constraints in the technology (LMS), and part is due to the fact
that participatory media tools require an additional shift in
educational paradigms, from instructional, on-the-pulpit type of
teaching, to a student-centered, adaptive environment where
students can contribute to the course material and learn from one
another. This panel will discuss the next generation of teaching
and learning, involving more lightweight, modular systems to
empower instructors to be flexible, explore new student-centered
paradigms, and plug and play tools as needed. We will also
discuss how the iSchools are and should be increasingly involved
in studying these new forms, formulating best practices and
supporting the needs of teachers as they move toward more
collaborative learning environments
Blending Learning: The Evolution of Online and Face-to-Face Education from 20082015
In 2008, iNACOL produced a series of papers documenting promising practices identified throughout the field of Kâ12 online learning. Since then, we have witnessed a tremendous acceleration of transformative policy and practice driving personalized learning in the Kâ12 education space. State, district, school, and classroom leaders recognize that the ultimate potential for blended and online learning lies in the opportunity to transform the education system and enable higher levels of learning through competency-based approaches.iNACOL's core work adds significant value to the field by providing a powerful practitioner voice in policy advocacy, communications, and in the creation of resources and best practices to enable transformational change in Kâ12 education.We worked with leaders throughout the field to update these resources for a new generation of pioneers working towards the creation of student-centered learning environments.This refreshed series, Promising Practices in Blended and Online Learning, explores some of the approaches developed by practitioners and policymakers in response to key issues in Kâ12 education, including:Blended Learning: The Evolution of Online and Face-to-Face Education from 2008-2015;Using Blended and Online Learning for Credit Recovery and At-Risk Students;Oversight and Management of Blended and Online Programs: Ensuring Quality and Accountability; andFunding and Legislation for Blended and Online Education.Personalized learning environments provide the very best educational opportunities and personalized pathways for all students, with highly qualified teachers delivering world-class instruction using innovative digital resources and content. Through this series of white papers, we are pleased to share the promising practices in Kâ12 blended, online, and competency education transforming teaching and learning today
Rising to the challenge: supporting educators without arts experience in the delivery of authentic arts learning
Educators, policy makers and researchers have repeatedly affirmed the significance of a quality arts education in developing the capabilities necessary for 21st century citizenship. However, facilitating an Arts education can be extremely challenging, especially for the generalist classroom teacher who may not possess the necessary background learning across all five arts subjects. Revelations from the first phase of my doctoral research with Australian home educating parents identified a similar dilemma with the delivery of authentic Arts learning in home contexts. A significant proportion of the home educator study participants admitted to no educational or artistic training. My doctoral research project has sought to understand how Australian home educators approach arts education, of the challenges they face, and the way that existing knowledge and strengths are harnessed in delivering their childrenâs education. Moreover, using a Design Based Research approach, I have attempted to generate transformational research by working collaboratively with home educators to enact solutions to identified problems. This has resulted in the development and refinement of a website and online community aimed at supporting and enhancing home educators in the development of authentic arts learning, in addition to theoretical guidelines that can be applied to similar contexts. Thus, whilst home education is considered pedagogically distinct from institutional education, the findings of this project have highlighted that the challenges faced by home educating parents are very much like those faced by the generalist classroom teacher, and that similar means of support may be transferred across contexts
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Partners with clinical practice: Evaluating the student and staff experiences of on-line continuing professional development for qualified nephrology practitioners
The inclusion of online learning technologies into the higher education (HE) curriculum is frequently associated with the design and development of new models of learning. One could argue that e-learning even demands a reconfiguration of traditional methods of learning and teaching. However, this transformation in pedagogic methodology does not just impact on lecturers and teachers alone. Online learning has âpervasive impacts and changes in other HE functionsâ (HEFCE, p.2). Thus, e-learning is a transformational process that posits new challenges for staff and students, both in educational methods and support.
Many political, clinical, financial and social influences impact on registered health professionalsâ ability to continue their professional development. This is particularly pertinent in the delivery of nephrology care.
In order to evaluate the programme that has now run for 2 years in the context of this institution, evaluative research methodology sought to explore the experiences of the staff and students involved. Qualitative data was collected from the students and a reflective framework was used to form the basis of a focus group for the staff.
This paper will present how a virtual learning environment (VLE) was developed utilising the pedagogic framework of solution-focused learning. It will demonstrate evaluation of the studentsâ experiences compared to their traditional classroom-learning counterparts, and highlight the reflections of staff developers as they moved into new roles and developed different aspects of their present roles within a traditional HE context
Webbing and orchestration. Two interrelated views on digital tools in mathematics education
The integration of digital tools in mathematics education is considered both
promising and problematic. To deal with this issue, notions of webbing and
instrumental orchestration are developed. However, the two seemed to be
disconnected, and having different cultural and theoretical roots. In this
article, we investigate the distinct and joint journeys of these two
theoretical perspectives. Taking some key moments in recent history as points
of de- parture, we conclude that the two perspectives share an importance
attributed to digital tools, and that initial differences, such as different
views on the role of digital tools and the role of the teacher, have become
more nuances. The two approaches share future chal- lenges to the organization
of teachers'collaborative work and their use of digital resources.Comment: Teaching Mathematics and its Applications (2014) to be complete
Fast parallel volume visualization on cuda technology
In the medical diagnosis and treatment planning, radiologists and surgeons rely
heavily on the slices produced by medical imaging scanners. Unfortunately, most of
these scanners can only produce two dimensional images because the machines that
can produce three dimensional are very expensive. The two dimensional images from
these devices are difficult to interpret because they only show cross-sectional views
of the human structure. Consequently, such circumstances require highly qualified
doctors to use their expertise in the interpretation of the possible location, size or
shape of the abnormalities especially for large datasets of enormous amount of slices.
Previously, the concept of reconstructing two dimensional images to three
dimensional was introduced. However, such reconstruction model requires high
performance computation, may either be time-consuming or costly. Furthermore,
detecting the internal features of human anatomical structure, such as the imaging of
the blood vessels, is still an open topic in the computer-aided diagnosis of disorders
and pathologies. This study proposed, designed and implemented a visualization
framework named SurLens with high performance computing using Compute
Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), augmenting the widely proven ray casting
technique in terms of superior qualities of images but with slow speed. Considering
the rapid development of technology in the medical community, our framework is
implemented on Microsoft .NET environment for easy interoperability with other
emerging revolutionary tools. The Visualization System was evaluated with brain
datasets from the department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, United
States, containing 109 datasets of MRA, T1-FLASH, T2-Weighted, DTI and
T1-MPRAGE. Significantly, at a reasonably cheaper cost, SurLens Visualization
System achieves immediate reconstruction and obvious mappings of the internal
features of the human brain, reliable enough for instantaneously locate possible
blockages in the brain blood vessels without any prior segmentation of the datasets
Modular eco-class: an approach towards a sustainable innovative learning environment in Egypt
Today, Egypt suffers from deterioration of education quality as a result of
deficient learning spaces, insufficient governmental expenditure and funding, and lack of
proper research in education developmental strategies. Additionally, 21st century learning
requires innovative spaces that connect school, home, and community. Therefore, new learning
spaces should increase flexibility, support hands-on and outside-class learning activities in
order to motivate learners. Furthermore, they intend to encourage extra-curricular activities
beyond conventional learning times. Undoubtedly, comfortable, safe and creative learning
spaces can inspire and motivate users, while ugly/unsafe spaces can depress. Therefore, welldesigned
learning spaces are able to support creative, productive and efficient learning
processes on one hand. On the other hand, ecological design measures became an increasingly
major keystone for modern sustainable learning-spaces. Thus, learning-spacesâ design process,
form, components, materials, features, and energy-saving technologies can yield well-educated,
environmentally-literate, energy-conscious, and innovative future-generations.
This paper represents a preliminary phase of an ongoing research project that aims to create
a framework for an Innovative Sustainable Learning Environment (ISLE) in developing
countries, the Middle East region, and Egypt in particular. This project aims at encouraging
constructive relationships between users, buildings, ecosystems and to improve quality of
learning through intelligent and ecologically well designed learning-spaces. The paper
proposes the concept of modular Eco-Class as a framework of learning spaces and a stepforward
in the direction of ISLE. Moreover, this Eco-Class aims to educate and provide
balance between buildingâs environmental sensitivity, high performance, initial cost, and
lifecycle costs without harming the surrounding ecology. The Eco-Class not only intends to
promote a positive environmental impact to improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency, it
also provides on its own an environment that educates learners and elevates environmentalawareness
between future generations. Finally, the study and the ongoing research project of
Eco-Class aim to provide validated design-guidelines for sustainable educational buildings, and
to achieve the optimum innovative and sustainable learning environment in Egypt for effective
and creative future-generation learners, parents, staff, and communities
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