Blended Learning for Learner Empowerment: Voices from the Middle East

© 2017 ISTE. Blended learning (BL) is still in its infancy in the United Arab Emirates, but is gaining growing attention and acceptance. The particular university under investigation offers its nationally accredited graduate programs with a BL format that makes use of synchronous virtual classrooms, asynchronous self-study, and face-to-face sessions. The current qualitative research study investigates students\u27 perceptions about their experience with the BL model within their relatively conservative cultural context. In addition, the project aimed at gauging their suggestions for course design considerations that would meet their needs as adult learners and enhance their learning experience. Twenty-one graduate students participated in the study, with findings indicating an overall positive perception about the BL experience with a strong positive impact on female empowerment. The most salient themes for successful instructional strategies indicated the importance of student-centered practices, particularly collaborative projects and student-led activities

Enhancing education in the UAE through blended learning

The advent of technology has changed the landscape in post-secondary academic institutions and technology-enhanced university courses are becoming the norm. While Distance Education was previously restricted to traditional correspondence having limited options for student interaction with the instructor and no interaction with other learners, technology\u27s progression changed the context drastically. One of the emerging delivery modes is blended learning which combines the advantages of technology enhanced face-to-face instruction and electronic supported learning. The chapter offers a general overview of the influence of technological development on the post-secondary Distance Education sector and presents the advantages of the blended learning approach. Insights are offered from a UAE e-learning University case study while discussing implications for university professors and faculty members pertinent to instructional design and course delivery. © 2013, IGI Global

Determinants of student satisfaction in higher education: an empirical study in Dubai

We develop and empirically validate a student satisfaction modelling technology-enabled university environments. We use focus groups at a university in Dubai and an intensive literature review to propose a theoretical model that involves different types of student interactions; perceptions of infrastructure; and university branding as independent variables influencing student satisfaction as outcome variable. Using data collected from a random sample of 99 students, we empirically test the model using linear regression analysis. Two variables, branding and interactions of students with administrative staff are found to significantly influence student satisfaction, accounting for 61% of variance. Implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are given. With its specific context, the study requires replication in other countries to determine whether the findings are generalisable. This study is one of the rare occasions when a structural model of student satisfaction in technology-enabled environments in the Middle East has been subjected to empirical scrutiny. © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Effects of technology on students' achievement : a second-order meta-analysis

Numerous meta-analyses addressing the effect of technology on student achievement differ by focus, scope, content, sample, and methodological quality, making the interpretation of the overall effect challenging. To overcome this problem, this dissertation implemented a systematic quantitative synthesis procedure (second-order meta-analysis) to answer the question: does technology use enhance student achievement in formal face-to-face classroom settings as compared to traditional (no/low technology) settings, while taking methodological quality into consideration. Literature searches and review processes resulted in 37 relevant meta-analyses involving 1253 different primary-studies (approximately 130,300 participants). After examining the lists of primary studies, 25 meta-analyses incorporating 1055 primary studies (approximately 109,700 participants) were found to have greatest coverage of the overall set of primary-studies while minimizing the problem of overlap in primary literature. Analyses revealed a variety of weaknesses in the implementation of the meta-analytic procedures. To synthesize the 25 effect-sizes from the unique meta-analyses, two standard error approaches were used, one based on sample sizes in the primary studies, and one based on number of studies included in individual meta-analyses. The weighted mean effect-sizes from the two approaches, 0.315 and 0.333 respectively, were significantly different from zero. Results from the first approach revealed a high level of heterogeneity while those from the second one were homogeneous. Moderator analysis for results from the first approach revealed that higher methodological quality meta-analyses and higher inclusivity regarding the covered literature and incorporated research designs in a meta-analysis were associated with lower average effect-sizes. To validate these findings, 574 individual effect-sizes (60,853 participants) were extracted from 13 meta-analyses that provided sufficient information. The weighted mean effect-size of 0.304 was significantly different from zero and highly heterogeneous thus supporting the findings of the second-order meta-analysis with both approaches. The results consistently represent a medium strength effect-size, favouring the utilization of technology. Guidelines for conducting a second-order meta-analysis with advantages and disadvantages of the used approaches are presented and discussed with suggestions for applicability in different settings. Implications for technology use are offered and recommendations for future meta-analyses are suggested, including the need for greater systematicity, rigour and transparency in implementation and reporting

Detecting bias in meta-analyses of distance education research: big pictures we can rely on

© 2014, © 2014 Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia, Inc. This article has two interrelated purposes. The first is to explain how various forms of bias, if introduced during any stage of a meta-analysis, can provide the consumer with a misimpression of the state of a research literature. Five of the most important bias-producing aspects of a meta-analysis are presented and discussed. Second, armed with this information, we examine 15 meta-analyses of the literatures of distance education (DE), online learning (OL), and blended learning (BL), conducted from 2000 to 2014, with the intention of assessing potential sources of bias in each. All of these meta-analyses address the question: “How do students taking courses through DE, OL, and BL compare to students engaged in pure classroom instruction in terms of learning achievement outcomes?” We argue that questions asked by primary researchers must change to reflect issues that will drive improvements in designing and implementing DE, OL, and BL courses

Factors influencing student satisfaction in universities in the Gulf region: Does gender of students matter?

While various research studies have focused on antecedents and consequences of student satisfaction, few studies have done so in the Gulf region. The objective of the present study was therefore to design and empirically examine a model of student satisfaction in a private university in the Gulf region that operates in a high-technology-enabled environment. Based on a literature review and conducted focus groups, draft measures for the study constructs were developed. Data were collected from 217 students and an exploratory factor analysis identified 6 factors that potentially influenced satisfaction. After scale development, multiple regression analysis was used to test the research questions. It was found that the two genders displayed a difference in the factors influencing their satisfaction. For female students, only reputation (beta =.499, p \u3c.01) was significant, while for male students, both reputation (beta =.763, p \u3c.01) and perceived faculty academic competence (beta =.301, p \u3c.01) were significant. Various theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis