1,576 research outputs found

    Online vs. face-to-face discussions in a web-based research methods course for postgraduate nursing students : A quasi-experimental study

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    Background: Web-based technologies are increasingly being used to create modes of online learning for nurses but their effect has not been assessed in nurse education. Objectives: Assess whether participation in face-to-face discussion seminars or online asynchronous discussion groups had different effects on educational attainment in a webbased course. Design: Non-randomised or quasi-experimental design with two groups – students choosing to have face-to-face discussion seminars and students choosing to have online discussions. Setting: The Core Methods module of a postgraduate research methods course. Participants: All 114 students participating in the first 2 years during which the course teaching material was delivered online. Outcome: Assignment mark for Core Methods course module. Methods: Background details of the students, their choices of modules and assignment marks were collected as part of the routine course administration. Students’ online activities were identified using the student tracking facility within WebCT. Regression models were fitted to explore the association between available explanatory variables and assignment mark. Results: Students choosing online discussions had a higher Core Methods assignment mark (mean 60.8/100) than students choosing face-to-face discussions (54.4); the difference was statistically significant (t = 3.13, df = 102, p = 0.002), although this ignores confounding variables. Among online discussion students, assignment mark was significantly correlated with the numbers of discussion messages read (Kendall’s taub = 0.22, p = 0.050) and posted (Kendall’s taub = 0.27, p = 0.017); among face-to-face discussion students, it was significantly associated with the number of non-discussion hits in WebCT (Kendall’s taub = 0.19, p = 0.036). In regression analysis, choice of discussion method, whether an MPhil/PhD student, number of non-discussion hits in WebCT, number of online discussion messages read and number posted were associated with assignment mark at the 5% level of significance when taken singly; in combination, only whether an MPhil/PhD student (p = 0.024) and number of non-discussion hits (p = 0.045) retained significance. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a research methods course can be delivered to postgraduate healthcare students at least as successfully by an entirely online method in which students participate in online discussion as by a blended method in which students accessing web-based teaching material attend face-to-face seminar discussions. Increased online activity was associated with higher assignment marks. The study highlights new opportunities for educational research that arise from the use of virtual learning environments that routinely record the activities of learners and tutors

    Interactive and collaborative blended learning for undergraduates

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    This is an ESCalate research project from 2008 led by the University of Exeter. The aim of this project was to investigate ways of using new technologies for collaborative online learning in a blended learning context. A variety of interactive online learning tasks and e-learning tools such as wikis, discussion forums and concept maps were used for both independent learning and assessment purposes. The research was intended to show whether a more flexible approach to the use of these new technologies could promote engagement and raise the perceived quality of the learning experience of students leading to an improved e-learning confidence for the undergraduate group with better participation in online critical discussion and collaborative work. An additional outcome was the development of online tutoring skills for tutors and the opportunity to trial a range of blended learning materials and methodologies. The project involved 92 first year undergraduates from Education Studies and Childhood and Youth Studies degree programmes following a newly constructed blended learning modul

    Implementing a university e‐learning strategy: levers for change within academic schools

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    This paper describes the implementation of an e‐learning strategy at a single higher education institution in terms of the levers used to promote effective uptake and ensure sustainable embedding. The focus of this work was at the level of the academic school using a range of change practices including the appointment of school‐based learning technologists and e‐learning champions, supporting schools to write their own strategies, a pedagogical framework of engaging with e‐learning, and curriculum development and evaluation of school‐supported projects. It is clear that the implementation of the e‐learning strategy has led to a large and increasing proportion of our students experiencing blended learning. In addition, there are initial indications that this has enhanced some learning and teaching processes. Where there has been sustainable embedding of effective e‐learning, the following levers were identified as particularly important: flexibility in practices that allow schools to contextualise their plans for change, the facilitation of communities of key staff and creating opportunities for staff to voice and challenge their beliefs about e‐learning

    A window into learning: case studies of online group communication and collaboration

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    The two case studies presented explore the potential offered by in‐depth qualitative analysis of students’ online discussion to enhance our understanding of how students learn. Both cases are used to illustrate how the monitoring and moderation of online student group communication can open up a ‘window into learning’, providing us with new insights into complex problem‐solving and thinking processes. The cases offer examples of students’ ‘thinking aloud’ while problem‐solving, showing how and why they arrived at particular outcomes and the underlying thought processes involved. It is argued that these insights into students’ learning processes can in turn offer us the opportunity to adapt our own teaching practice in order to achieve a better pedagogical ‘fit’ with the learning needs of our students; for example, through a more precise or more timely intervention. It is also suggested that looking through this ‘window’ enables us to concentrate our assessment more closely on the process of task completion, rather than focusing solely on the end product

    Students’ Views of a Learning Management System: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

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    Over the past decade, Web-based learning management systems, such as Blackboard and WebCT, have been gradually integrated into college education. The strategic use and effectiveness of such systems have been investigated to a large extent. What is less covered is what students really think about such learning management systems. Understanding students’ evaluations can shed light on the development, selection, training, maintenance, use, and investment on such systems. In this paper, we report a longitudinal study that uses a bottom-up approach to gather qualitative data on student views of WebCT 6. Data were collected at three distinctive times that spanned two semesters to reflect students’ different experiences in using WebCT 6. Two different methods were used to collect qualitative data so that students could report their views in unconstrained ways. The content analyses results show that (1) students have an integrated view of their technology assisted learning environment, which can be represented by the notion of S-I-A (the system, the instructors and the administrators); (2) as students’ experience with WebCT 6 increases, their complaints and wishes for instructors and administrators increase; (3) communication-related features continuously dominate students’ views about WebCT 6; and (4) as their use of WebCT 6 increases, students grow more appreciative toward WebCT 6 features that support learning activities. The findings contribute to the literature with additional evidence on the nature and effectiveness of learning management systems. They provide a set of suggestions that should be carefully considered by all personnel involved. We identify a number of research implications. One particular research contribution is the identification of a fifth type of interaction that plays an important role in the technology-assisted learning context: the learner-administrator interaction

    Middle-out approaches to reform of university teaching and learning: Champions striding between the top-down and bottom-up approaches

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    In recent years, Australian universities have been driven by a diversity of external forces, including funding cuts, massification of higher education, and changing student demographics, to reform their relationship with students and improve teaching and learning, particularly for those studying off-campus or part-time. Many universities have responded to these forces either through formal strategic plans developed top-down by executive staff or through organic developments arising from staff in a bottom-up approach. By contrast, much of Murdoch University's response has been led by a small number of staff who have middle management responsibilities and who have championed the reform of key university functions, largely in spite of current policy or accepted practice. This paper argues that the "middle-out" strategy has both a basis in change management theory and practice, and a number of strengths, including low risk, low cost, and high sustainability. Three linked examples of middle-out change management in teaching and learning at Murdoch University are described and the outcomes analyzed to demonstrate the benefits and pitfalls of this approach

    Teacher Education Futures: Developing learning and teaching in ITE across the UK

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    A selection of papers from the Teacher Education Futures conference 2006
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