Impact of elearning on primary school children and teachers: a study of the one laptop per child pilot project in Fiji

The current trend of integrating technology in learning at all levels of education system has also impacted Fiji primary schools. The effort to integrate elearning in primary school began with the launch of ‘One Laptop per Child’ project in three primary schools whereby each school received fifty XO laptops. The impact of this intervention was investigated after 1.5 years of project implementation. The study reports learners’ and teachers’ generally positive perception of elearning and highlights some challenges. The impact on learners’ social, behavioural and cognitive skills holds promise. The need for continuous professional development and elearning policy to ensure support for teachers is one of the major implications of this study

Understanding learners preferences for learning environments in higher education

The higher education institutions (HEIs) are engaging with multi modal delivery for its courses and diversifying teaching and learning strategies. The reasons for multi modal delivery range from desire to increase enrolment to providing educational access to learners far and wide. In the university of the South Pacific (USP), learners constitute a diverse demographic and equally diverse is the learners’ geographical context. However, there is a need to listen to learners’ voice in light of their changing learning needs. The study examines learners’ preference for learning environments with the aim to understand the reasons for their preference for a particular learning environment. The study has implications for all HEIs especially if they wish to engage learners from diverse backgrounds

Enhancing Learners’ Engagement with Educational Apps

Technology-enabled learning environment provides increased opportunities for enhancing learners’ engagement, interaction and collaboration. With the advent of technology, educational applications (apps) have become popular in learning, teaching, and research at all levels of education. Learning through the use of apps is therefore gaining momentum as it affords flexible learning opportunities, coupled with 21st century learning paradigm. The nature of educational apps is varied, be it an app downloadable on a mobile device or customized apps, designed to provide bite sized information or a learning activity based on learning design. The core function of these apps remain the same, which is to provide learners an engaging and meaningful interaction with content and interface such that it enhances not only the learning experience but also success in learning. In short, apps are designed to enhance learning efficiency and effectiveness. The use of apps, from early childhood education through to higher education, provides continuous opportunities to enhance learners’ engagement with learning materials (Diliberto-Macaluso, & Hughes, 2016; Hirsh-Pasek, Zosh, Golinkoff, Gray, Robb, & Kaufman, 2015; Pechenkina, Laurence, Oates, Eldridge, & Hunter, 2017), however there is a need for more research in this area (Hirsh-Pasek et al, 2015; Pechenkina et al, 2017). Hamari, Koivisto, and Sarsa (2014) reported that integration of gamified elements into apps has the potential to engage students and motivate them in a way that it can in turn affect other factors, which influence the learning process

Lived Experiences of Newly Qualified Fijian Nurses during clinical placement eleven months after registration in Fiji

This study reports on the experiences of Fijian Nurses, who are new graduates, in their first eleven months of clinical placement. The study makes use of a qualitative phenomenological methodology. Nine (9) new nurses from two schools of nursing in Fiji who worked at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital participated in this study. Six participants were male and three were female. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: 1) emotional reactions, 2) reality shock, 3) organizational factors and 4) competency. There was a mix of strengths and weaknesses identified under these themes. The importance of adequate support especially qualified preceptors, proper orientation and a stress-free environment during the clinical placement is evidently the departing message for educators, institutions and health departments

A comparative study of circulating plasma lipid components and superoxide dismutase activity in pre and postmenopausal women

Background: Menopause is associated with increased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidative activity in females which leads to increased risk of cardiovascular and many other diseases. The objective was to compare the lipid profiles and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of pre and postmenopausal women in an attempt to establish the fact that menopause is associated with increased oxidative stress.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was done at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology and biochemistry, Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun, India. Out of total of 120 women, 60 women were in premenopausal group aged between 30-45 years and 60 women of 55-70 years of age group in post menopause status. Assessment of lipid profile was done by an automated chemistry analyzer (Vitors 5, I FS) and SOD activity was measured by colorimetric activity kit. Statistical analysis was done by Standard Microsoft Excel software.Results: Mean serum SOD level in premenopausal women was 4.80±1.73 U/ml and in postmenopausal was 1.35±0.58 U/ml. This variation was found to be extremely significant (p <0.0001). Changes in lipid components in pre and postmenopausal women showed that total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were higher in postmenopausal than premenopausal participants. These variations were also significant (p = 0.0003). Levels of HDL-C were lower in postmenopausal women than pre-menopausal group with a mean±SD of 51.5±12.20 mg/dl and 54.05±14.03mg/dl respectively.Conclusions: Findings of this study corroborate the hypothesis that gradual loss of ovarian function is associated with a decrease in antioxidant status. Menopause also leads to changes in lipid components, which can predispose women to cardiovascular diseases

Teacher training and ICT integrated pedagogies: Perspectives from the Pacific Island Countries

The ICT integrated pedagogies is now being considered an important component for teachers in the Pacific Island Countries. Thus a “One lecture and workshop on Information Communication Technology (ICT) integrated pedagogies” strategy, which originally started as an ad-hoc service in 2013 and has now become an integral part of a curriculum studies course at undergraduate level at the School of Education in the university of the South Pacific (USP). Considering the reach of USP in the South Pacific region, this strategy should have a multiplier effect when these student teachers complete their programme and return to their home-countries. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to get the views from the student teachers undergoing this training. Focus group studies conducted with the cohort provided strengths and weaknesses of this strategy as well as reasons revealed by students to embrace ICT integrated pedagogies. In light of these findings, the paper presents implications and a way forward for teacher education providers in the region

Online tools in elearning in the context of developing countries: a study at the university of the South Pacific

Interaction is considered as one of the key components in virtual learning environment (VLE); online tools help achieve and enhance interaction. Interaction with engagement results in meaningful learning. With an increase in the number of tools, (online) educators/technology adapters get overwhelmed with the choices they have to make. A group of learners were introduced to a variety of tools for interaction and foster meaningful learning for 14 weeks. In a survey, conducted to evaluate the performance of online tools utilised in a professional development online course, discussion forum and web-conferencing tool emerged as the most popular while twitter was considered the least popular one. An inspired learner with bandwidth challenges still manages active learning albeit with some frustrating moments. The opportunities and challenges highlighted by the participants were taken into consideration for next offering of the course. The iterative process of action research of this form not only helps make use of most suitable online tools but also ensures the instructor is constantly reviewing her online pedagogical practices