Are Japanese universities ready to embrace online learning? Micro-, meso- and macro-levels of analysis

Although many believe that Japan has a high level of online learning and digital literacy skills, studies show that Japanese universities have not embraced e-transformation as readily or comprehensively as their overseas counterparts, and thus lag behind in the adoption of online learning and technology innovations. With the declaration of the state of emergency across 47 prefectures in Japan between early April and early May 2020, many Japanese universities, after a few weeks of delay, began to offer emergency online teaching. When emergency online teaching was first announced, faculty members who were generally not familiar with online technology use in teaching were in a complete panic and spent a great deal of time in getting trained and preparing lectures. This presentation will examine Japanese universities’ responses to Covid-19 and discuss prospects of online education in Japanese higher education based on the analysis of faculty readiness, institutional infrastructure and national policy. Highlights: https://www.ln.edu.hk/global-higher-education-webinar-series/global05.htm

Does Mobile Learning Foster Self-Directed Learning?

With the ever-evolving educational technology trends, distance learning is now able to provide tremendous opportunities of learning that were barely possible before. Despite that, distance education institutions are still continuing the battle with one of their most challenging issue, which is high learner dropout. There is a notion that learners will be more successful and less prone to dropout when their learning is self-directed (Uba, 1997). Recently, research showed that mobile learning encouraged learners to be self-directed and there was a substantial decline in dropouts (Attewell, Savill-Smith, Douch, 2009). This paper is a further effort to investigate the potential of mobile learning to support self-directed learning and aims to highlight the effect of mobile learning using short messaging services (SMS) on learners’ self-direction for learning. In the study, SMS text messages were sent to mobile phones of science teachers who were undertaking the Bachelor of Teaching Program at Open University Malaysia. Data was collected using survey questionnaire as well as interview method whereby 35 participants responded to the questionnaire and two were interviewed. The assessment of self-directed learning was based on the theories of self-directed learning suggested by Brockett and Hiemstra (1991) and Candy (1991). The findings show how learners exhibited ownership of learning due to mobile learning through their goals and plans for learning, strategies and processes of learning and self-evaluation of their learning. The study also discusses issues that these teachers faced when using mobile technologies for self-directed learning. (Abstract by authors

Instructional changes instigated by university faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic: the effect of individual, course and institutional factors

The purpose of this study was to investigate instructional changes made by faculty for emergency online teaching necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence to explore key factors related to those changes from an ecological systems perspective. Data on various individual, course, and institutional factors and instructional change variables were collected from 201 educators at higher education institutions. Results revealed that the level of instructional changes made by faculty was on average between substituting their existing course for an online one with some functional improvement (augmentation-level 3) and critical course redesign (modification-level 4), but that educators did not reach the level of the creation of new tasks which were previously inconceivable (redefinition-level 5). The biggest instructional change was found to be in teaching behaviors, followed by technology use, with only small changes in beliefs about online teaching. Factors that most highly correlated with instructional change were individual educators technology acceptance and innovation propensity, media synchronicity of the course, and the fidelity of institutional support. Recommendations are provided to aid strategic coping by universities facing a major crisis, with insights that may ultimately improve the quality of higher education in non-crisis contexts.This study was supported by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2020S1A5A8041947) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2021R1F1A1056465) of the Republic of Korea, and the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the 2019–2022 Grant-in Aid for Scientifc Research (Kakenhi) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Society

A Review of Policy and Practice in Virtual Education : In the Context of Higher Education in S. Korea

生涯教育のニーズが高まるにつれて,従来とは異なった方法による教育へのアクセス方法を模索しながら,各国の政府は教育をより効率的にするための政策を進めている.生涯教育という文脈において高等教育へのアクセスを広げようとする韓国政府の取り組みは,高等教育機関に意識改革をもたらし,各大学は組織改革やサービス改善のためのテクノロジーの利用,さらには教育の一つの形態としてバーチャル教育を積極的に導入する方向に進んだ.本論文では,高等教育をより開放的にするため,高等教育改革を進め,より進んだテクノロジーやバーチャル教育を導入しつつある韓国の最近の政策と実践を吟味しながら,将来の政策や研究に対する提言を行う.生涯教育のニーズが高まるにつれて,従来とは異なった方法による教育へのアクセス方法を模索しながら,各国の政府は教育をより効率的にするための政策を進めている.生涯教育という文脈において高等教育へのアクセスを広げようとする韓国政府の取り組みは,高等教育機関に意識改革をもたらし,各大学は組織改革やサービス改善のためのテクノロジーの利用,さらには教育の一つの形態としでバーチャル教育を積極的に導入する方向に進んだ.本論文では,高等教育をより開放的にするため,高等教育改革を進め,より進んだテクノロジーやバーチャル教育を導入しつつある韓国の最近の政策と実践を吟味しながら,将来の政策や研究に対する提言を行う

Future Prospects of Artificial Intelligence in Education: A Preliminary Analysis of Educator Perspectives from Focus Groups in Japan, Spain, and Germany

Artificial intelligence in education (AIEd) is a growing field of research that has the potential to transform learning and teaching practices. The process of developing ethical AIEd applications that are fit-for-purpose requires ongoing multi-stakeholder dialogues that include students and teachers. The present study sought to explore the perspectives of teachers in higher education on the possible futures of AIEd. Using qualitative methods, we conducted focus-group discussions in three countries (Japan, Spain, and Germany) with educators working in the social sciences. We presented participants with four scenarios that each described the implementation of a hypothetical AIEd application. A descriptive thematic analysis of the focus-group transcripts identified two key themes regarding possible future AIEd applications: 1) concerns about the validity of input variables and the accuracy of output variables, and 2) the importance of students having an active role in the integration of AI in education. These contributions highlight the importance of including teachers and students in multi-stakeholder discussions to shape the future of education

Institutional Measures for Supporting OER in Higher Education: An International Case-Based Study

Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education cannot be put into practice without considering institutional contexts, which differ not only globally but also within the same country. Each institutional context provides educators with opportunities or limitations where Open Educational Practices (OEP) and OER for teaching and learning are involved. As part of a broader research project, and as a follow-up to national perspectives, an international comparison was conducted, based on institutional cases of nine different higher education systems (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey). Aspects regarding the availability of infrastructure and institutional policies for OER, as well as the existence of measures directed at OER quality assurance and at the promotion of the development and use of OER were covered. The resulting theoretical contribution sheds light on an international comparative view of OER and points towards country-specific trends, as well as differences among institutions. These aspects could provide an impetus for the development of institutional guidelines and measures. In line with international literature on the topic, recommendations are derived to promote/ enhance the use of OER in teaching and learning in higher education at the institutional level.This article is part of the meso level report of work package 11 of the project “Digital educational architectures: Open learning resources in distributed learning infrastructures – EduArc” funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant #16DHB2129)