Flipped out in the blended classroom, the good, the bad and the ugly: When academics become students

This article explores the well-being of three academics from different higher education institutions and disciplines, as they engage in professional academic development (PAD) courses using technology. A collaborative autoethnographic approach is applied to reflect on our professional development experience. The higher education landscape is shifting to a cloud-based ICT infrastructure, opening up multiple educational opportunities in teaching and learning. Lecturers in higher education institutions (HEIs) are required to use a range of new technological tools and applications and engage in new learning methodologies. This is modelled in professional academic development courses, which integrate technology and digital tools into the teaching and learning process. Participant perspectives on PAD within a blended learning environment are examined through the lenses of an ethic of care and authentic learning to uncover social justice pedagogy. Using a diffractive approach in a collaborative autoethnographic study, the possibilities, tensions and contradictions of using technology to enhance pedagogy are explored. Findings point to the importance of an Ethic of Care and authentic learning, in order to enhance a social justice pedagogy in PAD

E-learning for transformation? : a grounded theory investigation of the student and staff experience in two educational programmes at the University of Malta

E-learning has become a mainstream feature in Higher Education. It is no longer restricted to the innovative practice of pioneer educators. But how are students and staff experiencing this change?This research used the Grounded Theory methodology. Two courses at the University of Malta were selected as case studies: one being a fully online course, the other adopting a hybrid approach. Extensive data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with students and lecturers. All the data were systematically analysed using established Grounded Theory methods, including constant comparison, coding and memoing, enabling the researcher to construct a conceptual model from the student and staff experience in e-learning.The thesis argues that e-learning, defined in this study as that learning facilitated online through network technologies, can be employed to support a range of pedagogies from knowledge-transmission or ‘banking education’ (Freire, 1970) methodologies to critical constructivist teaching and learning approaches. The latter, through the dialogic affordances of e-learning, allows students and educators to be engaged in critical discussion, the co-construction of knowledge and praxis. A theoretical model is presented which identifies key factors that contribute to effective e-learning in Higher Education. This model is original in that it shows how e-learning can be used to help a learning community achieve two interrelated Higher Educational objectives. First, through e-learning, students can gain the knowledge and skills required to function efficiently in society. Second, students can become conscious of and, possibly act against, the underlying social processes that work counter to the democratisation process

Enhancing teaching and learning with technology through collaborative research with students

There is increasing awareness that technological developments should enhance student learning experience and compliment traditional teaching methodologies (McGugan and Peakcock, 2005). The recently published JISC inquiry into the implications of Web 2.0 technology for higher education (2009), highlighted how learners make effective use of Web 2.0 technology in social contexts. However, at present our knowledge of how university students and staff engage with and use technologies, including Web 2.0 technology, both through the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and outside of it is limited. This project aimed to explore how Sport Sciences students expect, use, and would like to see, technologies used to enhance their learning whilst at university. The project adopted a collaborative approach by involving students in development of the study, particularly in assisting with design of data collection tools, participant recruitment and interpretation of findings. The study involved interviewing twenty-one students about their familiarity and use of Web 2.0 technologies. These students also gave ideas for potential technological enhancements within the sport curriculum. This data then formed the basis of a staff and a student questionnaire used to ascertain broader views of technologies as well as the perceived potential of such technologies to enhance student learning. The findings from this wider survey of staff (n = 17) and students (n = 323) informed curricular innovations in teaching and learning that involved introduction of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and discussion boards in the institutional VLE as well as use of Facebook for specific student learning activity. The presentation will include a demonstration of how FAQs and Facebook have been utilised and report on initial staff and student evaluation of how these particular approaches to using technology enhance student learning. Issues associated with the use of these technologies are discussed

Academic Performance in Public Higher Education Institutions: A study on the effects of Teacher Commitment, Teaching Methodologies and Evaluation Methodologies in Students attending Nursing and Management courses.

The rapid development of science and technology as well as politic, social and economical dynamics which characterize post-modern societies, demand from educational systems a high quality education accessible to all. The main challenge of the XXI century in the educational field is not only to assure that students acquire a wide range of skills which are permanently updated, but also to guarantee the quality of those learning experiences. Consequently, the quality level in education is one of the major concerns of those government leaders, politicians, academics and researchers. This has also been a highly discussed subject in scientific meetings and it has been studied in many educational research programs in the many different countries of the western world. Research results on education quality show a positive relation between student’s academic performance and teaching quality. However, it is necessary to venture further; research on quality indicators is needed in order to understand how students recognize quality in teaching. In order to achieve this, we have developed an exploratory study involving students from different higher education institutions in Portugal. The data was collected using a questionnaire survey and the sample consists of students in different courses from higher education institutions in Alentejo (Portugal). This work shows the analysis of what students in Nursing and Management courses at the University of Évora and Polytechnic Institute of Beja, recognize as tecahing quality in three different domains: teacher commitment, teaching methodologies and evaluation methodologies. The aim of the analysis is to verify the influence of these variables on students’ academic performance

The affordances of mobile learning for an undergraduate nursing programme: A design-based study

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe global use of mobile devices, and their connectivity capacity, integrated with the affordances of social media networks, provides a resource-rich platform for innovative student-directed learning experiences. Technology has become embedded in the daily lives of students, who become more approachable when technology is used within the higher education context. In 2014 the Educause Centre for Analysis and Research partnered with 213 higher education institutions across the United States of America. It was established that 86 percent of undergraduate information technology students owned a smartphone and half of that percentage owned a tablet. A systematic review on mobile learning in higher education focusing on the African Perspective in 2017 concluded that there was an increase in the use of mobile learning in higher education. Higher education institutions continue to move away from traditional, lecture-based lessons towards new, innovative teaching and learning methodologies to facilitate emerging pedagogies and strategies, thereby enhancing student learning. The adoption of technological innovation could promote the unfolding of a social process that over time could enhance social connectedness among young students and their older adult educators. Mobile learning is fundamentally defined as “learning with mobile devices” and it has the potential to extend the philosophies of learning through innovation It was identified that research in the field of m-learning can be divided into four areas, namely: pedagogy; administrative issues and technological challenges; ensuring sustainable development in education using m-learning; and the impact of new applications. With the increased need for nursing professionals, promoting the quality and effectiveness of nursing education has become crucial. It is thus important to establish learning environments in which personalised guidance and feedback to students regarding their practical skills and the application of their theoretical knowledge within clinical learning environments is provided

How higher education teachers are using web technology in their education activities: a case study

Internet technologies, mobile phone and social media have brought new challenges to higher education. E-learning has been gaining a huge acceptance among educators, especially in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). This happens due to the exponential growth of the use of Internet and educational technologies that have fostered deep transformations in the teaching-learning process and paradigm. Our institution began e-learning activities in 2003 with WebCT, but soon changed its approach with the adoption of the open source platform Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) and the integration of specialized staff to assist teachers and students on a daily basis. Since then, there is evidence that the b-learning model has been maturing the school's educational culture, according to the teacher's willingness or availability to integrate technology in the teaching-learning process. However, it is important to know if the integration of web technology in the teaching-learning process is being combined with a shift in the pedagogical methodologies, and if teachers are taking full advantage of the capabilities offered by these learning environments and not using learning management systems as simple digital libraries for learning contents for students to download. To answer those questions we present a case study that describes how teachers have been using web technology to support their learning/teaching activities. We discuss the results of the analyses made on about 200 teachers' interactions according to different points of view and criteria. This analysis will focus mainly on the technological but also on pedagogical achievements, also on the challenges there are still to overcome and propose a set of good practices to support a more rewarding use of e-learning environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interruptions and failure in higher education: evidence from ISEG-UTL

Abstract Failure in Higher Education (HE) is the outcome of multiple time-dependent determinants. Interruptions in student’s individual school trajectories are one of them and that’s why research on this topic has been attracting much attention these days. From an individual point of view, it is expected that interruptions in school trajectory, whatever the reason, influence success in undergraduate programs either this success is measured by time required to obtain a degree, the scores obtained in some more “critical” subjects in these programs or the number of enrolment registrations. Nevertheless, performing a paid job during interruption may in given circumstances positively affect academic success on account of the combination between learning and occupational experience The study of interruptions’ impact on failure in HE is also important to help Education institutions at all grades to think about changes in organisational procedures, class timetables, syllabuses contents or teachers recruitment and training in order to fight this problem. From a social and political point of view, interruptions are also a matter of concern since failure in HE affects individual’s lifelong learning opportunities, distort public funding allocation efficiency to HE institutions and create lag effects in the desired/planned outcomes of HE production functions. So, research on the impact of interruptions on failure in HE is important to support policy measures definition related to the articulation between Upper Secondary and HE programs. In previous research we have shed some light into the determinants of failure in 1st year of HE studies using longitudinal data on ISEG’s undergraduate students. A further insight into this database revealed the existence of a meaningful number of students with interruptions in their school trajectories either in the transition from Upper Secondary to HE or within HE programs. In this paper our major concern is to find some evidence on interruptions effects on HE failure among ISEG students using a life cycle approach with control group. We are interested in knowing whether the above mentioned effects are gender and/or specific graduation program neutral. We also want to search if work experience may counter balance the effect of interruption on academic success. We hope to be able to derive some useful recommendations to address policy making in the fields of pedagogic methodologies in HE, articulation between academic and occupational learning in the framework of Bologna Chart and public funding/fellowship policies in HE.Key words: Portuguese Higher Education; Interruption; Failure; Adult Students; Bologna Chart; Policy Implications

Virtual pedagogical model: development scenarios

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Higher Education Research in Scotland: Report of a Survey Undertaken by Universities Scotland Educational Development Sub-Committee

The aim of this study was to gain an insight into a range of higher educational research taking place across Scotland with a particular focus on the nature, expertise, support and dissemination of this research. For the purposes of this study, we used the term ‘research into higher education’ to refer to a range of higher educational research activity that included: research into higher education policies and practice, pedagogical research, research into learning and teaching taking place in higher education and research about transition from further education or school into higher education. The findings point to the underground nature of pedagogic research taking place in Scotland. Many researchers are based within disciplines and their pedagogic research is disseminated in a variety of settings that do not always make it easily accessible within generic higher education research discourse. Pedagogic research is also apparently undervalued, with many academic staff experiencing pressure to prioritise publishing within their main discipline over and above pedagogic research. In addition there appears to be a lack of capacity within Scottish institutions to maximise the profile of higher educational research in the forthcoming UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise

Visualyzart Project – The role in education

The VisualYzARt project intends to develop research on mobile platforms, web and social scenarios in order to bring augmented reality and natural interaction for the general public, aiming to study and validate the adequacy of YVision platform in various fields of activity such as digital arts, design, education, culture and leisure. The VisualYzARt project members analysed the components available in YVision platform and are defining new ones that allow the creation of applications to a chosen activity, effectively adding a new language to the domain YVision. In this paper we will present the role of the InstitutoPolitécnico de Santarém which falls into the field of education.VisualYzART is funded by QREN – Sistema de Incentivos à Investigação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico (SI I&DT), Project n. º 23201 - VisualYzARt (from January 2013 to December 2014). Partners: YDreams Portugal; Instituto Politécnico de Santarém - Gabinete de e-Learning; Universidade de Coimbra - Centro de Informática e Sistemas; Instituto Politécnico de Leiria - Centro de Investigação em Informática e Comunicações; Universidade Católica do Porto - Centro de Investigação em Ciência e Tecnologia das Artes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio