Uses of college radio station web sites : an exploratory study

This study is a baseline investigation into the uses of college radio station websites. The study was conducted via on-line survey with college radio stations around the United States. The survey was constructed following the uses and gratifications approach. The findings reveal that users who surf college radio siteswant the sites to have audio streaming so they can hear the broadcast signal over the Internet. Users also include entertainment and music as reasons to visit the sites. The main reason people use these sites is to check on the music. Patronsalso value being able to download music clips to sample the artists being played on the air. College radio has long been known for its relationship to the music thestations play. College radio stations have been known to develop music scenes around the artists and bands the stations play. Apparently people who use theInternet sites of the stations also want to keep this sort of relationship to the music and artists

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Awareness and Utilization of Smart Mobile Devices and Mobile Apps as Teaching Tools for Community College Faculty

Over 90% of faculty members in higher education have access to smart mobile devices. However, data are lacking about community college faculty members’ use of smart mobile devices and applications for instruction and content delivery. The purpose of this study was to examine Tennessee community college full-time faculty’s use of smart mobile devices, to determine if there were any significant differences in the mean scores measuring attitudes and use of smart mobile devices by generational age grouping, teaching discipline, rank, years of teaching and to determine if Tennessee community college faculty members who under-utilize mobile technologies for teaching also hold negative opinions about them. This study measured Tennessee Community College faculty use of smart mobile devices and their attitudes and use of smart mobile devices by generational age groups, teaching discipline, rank, and years of teaching. This study used quantitative, nonexperimental survey design. The survey instrument was an electronic questionnaire, consisting of 15 items that were divided into 7 dimensions. The dimensions were: Learning Preference, Institutional Training, Frequency, Attitude, Willingness to Attend PD Training, Willingness to Use, and Competence. Of the 267 possible participants, 93 (35%) responded to the survey. Data from the survey were used to analyze 5 research questions and 35 null hypotheses. Two research questions were analyzed using independent-samples t test 2 and 3 analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. Testing the null hypotheses associated with the 5 research questions resulted in 7 significant findings and 28 findings that were not significant. The findings indicated that there were significant differences in professional development training scores by generational age, and by academic rank. There were significant findings in learning preference by teaching discipline and training by teaching disciplines. Last, there were significant differences in some of the dimensions by years of experience. The results of this study may benefit administrators and educators in knowing what groups are open to professional development training for using smart mobile devices for instruction and in what areas to provide training

NMC Horizon Report: 2017 Higher Education Edition

The NMC Horizon Report > 2017 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). This 14th edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in educational technology are placed directly in the context of their likely impact on the core missions of universities and colleges. The three key sections of this report constitute a reference and straightforward technology-planning guide for educators, higher education leaders, administrators, policymakers, and technologists. It is our hope that this research will help to inform the choices that institutions are making about technology to improve, support, or extend teaching, learning, and creative inquiry in higher education across the globe. All of the topics were selected by an expert panel that represented a range of backgrounds and perspectives

Learning from the learners' experience: e-Learning@greenwich post-conference reflections

This publication comprises papers from presenters who, having made a conference presentation, were invited to author an academic paper about their work

Building Information Modeling in Support of Space Planning and Renovations in Colleges and Universities

The construction industry is responsible for approximately $1 trillion in work annually. A large percentage of this work is tied to the renovation of older structures. Due to increases in sustainable initiatives and the growing lack of green field development sites, the renovation of older buildings is becoming an even more substantial portion of construction work. Old, or urban based, college and university campuses require renovation of their buildings to sustain an efficient and comfortable campus. Renovations on a college or university campus are often the effect of a change in space requirements, and the planning of the space in a building is a major driver for renovations. The renovation of an older structure on a college or university campus has many inherent issues associated with it. Included among these is the likelihood of unknown existing conditions, constantly evolving needs of the campus, cost implications of minor changes, and scheduling and phasing conflicts. Improvements in technology have the potential to increase the efficiency of the renovation and space planning process. One particular technology that could be of particular benefit is Building Information Modeling (BIM), a technology based collaborative process utilizing 3-Dimensional visualization software as its tool. It was the objective of this research project to explore the benefits of using Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the delivery of renovation projects as well as its possible utilization in space utilization management. This study attempted to identify opportunities for BIM to improve upon the process that universities and institutions, in particular, currently use for their renovations and space utilization management. This research project collected information from the WPI facilities management department specifically and from surveys of other institutions to better understand the current issues associated with renovations and space planning and to attempt to validate the use of BIM as a viable solution. A case study was performed on a building on the WPI campus, Salisbury Laboratories as part of this research study. The case study utilized 3-Dimensional Building Information Model to validate the possible use of the platform to streamline the delivery of renovation projects as well as its ability to benefit space planning process. The study was able to identify several benefits of utilizing BIM in the delivery of renovation projects, including increased efficiency in the design phase and generation of conceptual estimates and phasing plans for the owner. The principal benefit found by the study in the utilization of BIM was the ability for spatial visualizations and the ease of modifying the design in a consistent and efficient fashion. There were several observed barriers to the utilization of BIM in this regard, namely the lack of knowledge of the software and the cost of implementing and updating the system

ACUTA Journal of Telecommunications in Higher Education

In This Issue 5G\u27s Promise: 1,000 x Capacity, 1,000 x Challenges Higher-Speed WLANs About to Emerge State of the Residential Network 2013 LTE: The Next Wave of Wireless Evolution The 10 Most Costly Pitfalls of DAS Deployment and How to Avoid Them DAS on Campus: Solutions for Wireless Service Decision Criteria for Selecting a Wireless lntrusion Prevention System lnstitutional Excellence Award President\u27s Message From the CE