Multimedia interactive eBooks in laboratory science education

Bioscience students in the UK higher education system are making increasing use of technology to support their learning within taught classes and during private study. This experimental study was designed to assess the role for multimedia interactive eBooks in bioscience laboratory classes, delivered using a blended learning approach. Thirty-nine second-year students on a Biomedical Science undergraduate course in a UK university were grouped using an experimental design into alternating trial and control groups and provided with pre-configured iPad tablet devices containing multimedia interactive eBooks. Data collection involved weekly surveys including quantitative and qualitative responses, and analysis of summative assessment marks. Analysis of the results using descriptive statistics methods showed that students made extensive use of eBooks in practical classes and over 70% of students agreed that the eBooks were beneficial for learning. However, less than 40% of students indicated a preference for eBooks over traditional paper protocols for practical-based classes. Although the eBooks were well used by students, they had no statistically significant effect on assessment marks. Overall, the study highlighted the positive feedback from students relating to multimedia interactive eBooks for supporting students’ learning, but illustrated that there are other factors affecting adoption of new technologies

Hierarchical Needs of MOOCs Intercultural Learning: Multiple Reconstruction of Cultural Identities

In the open 3.0 era which aims to reshape globalization, MOOCs provides learners with the globalized multiple exchanges and learning platform. Intercultural learning is becoming the main form of MOOCs learning. The hierarchy of MOOCs intercultural learning needs is established based on the observation, investigation and research in the platform Futurelearn. Its essence is the multivariate refactoring of learners’ cultural identity. The hierarchy and the cultural identity multivariate refactoring both include four aspects: the need for safety (impact on cultural identity), the need for belonging (personal cultural identity), the need for participation (group cultural identity) and the self-actualization (collaborative development of personal and group identities). For learners, they are not cultural immigrants, but they should insist their original culture and then be able to view and understand the diversity of other cultures. The strong confidence on native culture can help learners make better on intercultural learning. For the course providers, multiple designing is essential which can help learners to achieve multivariate refactoring of cultural identity rapidly and improve the performance of intercultural learning

Blended learning approaches enhance student academic performance

Blended learning, or technology enhanced learning, is increasingly becoming an expectation for higher education students. Blended learning allows for the enhancement of face-to-face interaction between tutors and students, using internet or computer based tools. In this paper, a range of case studies are described which illustrate methods to engage students with technology enhanced learning and improve academic performance and student satisfaction. In the first case study, first year undergraduate students were provided with short video lectures and formative assessment opportunities in addition to face-to-face lectures, and the impact on examination performance was analysed. Results showed that students in multiple cohorts performed significantly better on multiple choice questions that were supported by online blended learning resources. Student usage of the resources was also analysed, and revealed that the majority of students engaged with the online resources after the live teaching event. In the second case study, students were provided with podcasts of lectures with mobile assessments (completed via SMS on mobile telephones) to assess the effect on examination performance and the results showed a significant improvement in academic performance. In the final case study, students have been issued with personal response system handsets to increase interactivity and feedback in teaching sessions. The results of these case studies provide evidence for the use of blended learning approaches to improve students’ academic performance in higher education courses, as well as enhancing student satisfaction

First time MOOC provider: reflections from a research-intensive university in the UK

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have attracted global attention in the Higher Education sector over the past two years, with 2012 named the Year of the MOOC. Apart from front-running universities in the US, most Higher Education Institutions have only recently begun to fully digest the potential implications of MOOCs on their existing provision, staff and students. This paper provides insight from the University of Leeds in the UK, a Russell Group research-intensive university, about our experiences of developing and delivering MOOCs for the FutureLearn platform, from a position of limited experience with fully online course delivery. The paper will focus on the University’s strategic approach, key governance and quality assurance issues, MOOC selection criteria, creation and sourcing of digital content for the online courses and organization of learner support materials. It is hoped that this paper will encourage and support other higher education institutions considering developing freely available online course

Look who’s talking: exploring instructors’ contributions to Massive Open Online Courses

© 2019 British Educational Research Association Previous research on xMOOC pedagogy has established that learner interactions in discussion forums play a fundamental role in learning. However, little is known about the extent to which MOOC instructors engage with learner conversations and the impact this has on learner engagement. Adopting a novel design, this study went beyond self-reported methods, and combined transcript analysis and in-depth interviews to examine the dynamics of learner-instructor interactions and to revisit the use of the Community of Inquiry framework (CoI) in MOOC context. The findings revealed that the majority of instructors’ contributions to learner conversations are social, followed by teaching and cognitive contributions. While all contribution types decreased over the duration of the MOOC, the relative importance of each type did not necessarily change. Furthermore, the analysis showed that learners engaged with 42% of instructor contributions by responding to or liking them or both. Considering the application of the CoI to massive and open online learning contexts, this study demonstrates that while the framework can unfold educational transactions in MOOCs, reoperationalisation and reconceptualisation of some indicators along with the introduction of new indicators are essential. The implications of this for theory and practice are discussed

Lecture recordings to support learning: a contested space between students and teachers

Universities, globally, are increasingly offering students a blended learning approach to support their campus-based education, through use of a wide range of educational technologies, tools and systems. Research has demonstrated that blended learning offers at least equivalent learning outcomes for students, and enhances flexibility, inclusivity, engagement and motivation. Many universities across the world (including Australia, the US, Canada, Singapore, Qatar, and across Europe) have adopted lecture capture as a means to support a blended learning approach, and students have strong positive perceptions about the value of lecture recordings to enhance their learning and support their education. However, research shows that teaching staff are generally less positive about the value of lecture capture, believing it to diminish the value of the live lecture experience, reduce learning, and encourage student absenteeism from lectures. In this study, we used mixed methods and repeated cross-sectional data collection to investigate the use and value of lecture recordings from the perspective of students and teaching staff in a large campus-based university, employing a blended learning approach. Our data show that students make significant use of lecture recordings, throughout the academic session, and place great value on recordings for note-taking, more in-depth understanding or clarification, and assessment preparation. As a result, students have high expectations about the availability and quality of recordings. Teaching staff reported a range of reservations about the value of lecture recordings, including its impact on teaching style, and strong concerns about the negative impact of lecture recordings on students learning and attendance. Our data show that over 80% of students attended recorded lectures, but lectures that weren’t recorded had significantly higher attendance. In conclusion, our research demonstrates a contested space between staff and students in relation to the use and value of lecture recordings, a contested space that will need to be debated and resolved as universities grow their use of blended learning. This study contributes significantly to this global debate by its use of a wide range of additional data sets to delve further and provide a more nuanced view of this space

A Case of Treatment Resistance and Complications in a Patient with Stiff Person Syndrome and Cerebellar Ataxia

BACKGROUND: Antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) are associated with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). CASE REPORT: A 50-year-old woman presented with symptoms progressed over 9 years, resulting in a cerebellar ataxia and right upper limb tremor. Investigations revealed elevated serum and CSF anti-GAD antibody titres (98.6 and 53.4 μ/ml, respectively). Treatment included intravenous immunoglobulin and immunomodulation (infliximab and rituximab), improving her stiffness, but with no impact on the ataxia-related symptoms. Subsequent high-dose steroids led to diabetic ketoacidosis and unmasking of an insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. DISCUSSION: This case illustrates several key features: (1) the combined clinical picture of SPS and cerebellar ataxia is a rare phenotype associated with anti-GAD antibodies; (2) the cerebellar ataxia described was progressive and poorly responsive to immunomodulatory therapy; and (3) the potential for development of further autoimmune sequelae in response to immunosuppression, namely, the development of insulin-dependent diabetes in response to treatment with high-dose oral steroids

Correction to: Between a rock and a hard place: dilemmas regarding the purpose of public universities in South Africa

Correction to: Between a rock and a hard place: dilemmas regarding the purpose of public universities in South Africa (Higher Education, (2019), 77, 4, (567-583), 10.1007/s10734-018-0291-9)

The Influence of Values on E-learning Adoption

As technology continues to pervade our lives, the influence of culture on technology adoption is of significant interest to researchers. However, culture, as a group-level construct may not give meaningful results when related to individual-level adoption. Although culture has been integrated into technology adoption models, values are the individual-level representation of culture, and are more appropriate to include in technology adoption models. There have been few studies attempting to explore the influence of values on adoption models, and none within the sphere of digital education. The purpose of this exploratory study is to integrate values with technology adoption models and apply the novel conceptual model to the context of digital education. In this study we investigate the influence of individual-level values on the adoption of e-learning by workers in The Gambia and the UK. Using the Unified Theory of the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as a base model, we integrate values relating to conservation of the status quo and self-enhancement from Schwartz’s Theory of Human Values. Taking this approach, we develop and introduce the Values-Enhanced Technology Adoption (VETA) model. We tested the VETA model on the adoption of e-learning by workers in The Gambia and the UK. Empirical results demonstrated the influence of self-enhancement values in the model via social influence, price value and performance expectancy. The UTAUT2 base model was partially validated in that performance expectancy, price value and habit primarily influenced worker intention to use e-learning. We conclude that VETA will be a useful model to researchers studying technology adoption

Negotiating growth of online education in higher education

Universities are facing growing internal and external pressures to generate income, educate a widening continuum of learners, and make effective use of digital technologies. One response has been growth of online education, catalysed by Massive Open Online Courses, availability of digital devices and technologies, and notions of borderless global education. In growing online education, learning and teaching provision has become increasingly disaggregated, and universities are partnering with a range of private companies to reach new learners, and commercialise educational provision. In this paper, we explore the competing drivers which impact decision making within English universities and their strategies to grow online education provision, through interviews with senior managers, and interrogation of their views through the lens of a range of internal, external and organisational drivers. We show that pressures facing universities may be alleviated by growth of online education provision, but that negotiating an appropriate route to realise this ambition involves attempts to resolve these underlying tensions deriving from competing drivers. We use a modified form of the PEST model to demonstrate the complexities, inter-dependencies and processes associated with these drivers when negotiating delivery of unbundled online education through use of private company services, or in partnership with private companies