Overcoming Newton's law of inertia in e-learning (an experiment)

University of Pretoria presentation at the Colloquium, Developmental study towards effective practices in technology-assisted learning: Reflections 2009, held on 23 November 2009 at the University of Johannesburg

EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF M-LEARNING WITHIN AN INTERNATIONAL DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Imagine you are a student, studying as a postgraduate on a distance learning Masters course, offered by a UK institution. You are based in a developing country in Africa, employed full time, and due to the nature of your work in the development sector you often have to make trips to rural areas, and are sometimes away for more than a month at a time. You have a good job, but your disposable income is limited as you have a lot of financial commitments and a young family. You live in a society where livelihoods depend amongst other things on transport, livestock and communication, and where the price of a cell phone is equivalent to a cycle, a cow or three goats. What kind of learning resources and tutorial support would you consider suited your lifestyle and study preferences best ? For many years, answering this type of question has been constrained to consideration of options revolving around printed study resources, and written assignments submitted to tutors who provide feedback. Over the last decade email has transformed communication, and a lot of consideration has also been given to the use of the Internet and Online Learning Environments. However, access to the Internet as a platform for learning, has remained limited in Africa due to lack of infrastructure, together with reliability, affordability and performance issues. The big growth trend, over the last five years, has been the rapid and very widespread diffusion of mobile phones. Admittedly the functionality of the phones currently used revolves around text and voice. However, looking forward to three years time, and considering the powerful range of functions that newer phones with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and 3rd Generation (3G) functionality possess, we can explore the question raised at the start of this article afresh, as these devices increasingly support use of text, graphics, audio, video and interactive content. This paper provides a description of the experience of the first year of a two year project titled ‘Developing an educational model for delivery and support of postgraduate distance learning in Southern Africa that incorporates M-Learning’. The project is funded through a grant from University of London Centre for Distance Education (CDE), and is being implemented by Imperial College London Distance Learning Programme (DLP) with support from University of Pretoria’s Department of Educational Innovation (EI). The paper focuses on three main aspects of the work done so far: i) Results from a baseline survey carried out with the DLPs students in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. ii) Lessons learned from the first year, relating to the project context and student profile. iii) Preliminary steps taken to design and test practical and educational activities, that aim to make use of mobile phones to add value to the educational experience of the students.Distance Learning Programme, Imperial College London E-Education Department of Education Innovation University of Pretori

The use of reflective photography in a large service-learning module

The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) at a university in South Africa presents a compulsory undergraduate course, Community-based Project (code: JCP). It entails students working at least 40 hours in the community and then reflecting on their experiences. The module’s aim is for students to make a beneficial impact on a chosen section of society. It is a large-class service-learning module in which more than 1 600 students are enrolled annually. Therefore, with the JCP lecturer’s approval, each group identifies a project that it will execute in the community. Students have an opportunity to solve a problem collaboratively in a community setting. They then develop self-directed learning habits through practice and reflection to address a specific community need. The research aims to investigate the value of an assignment using the Fotofeedback Method™ in a service-learning module. As a research methodology, the Fotofeedback Method™ is predominantly used in social sciences. By integrating it into a hard science context, it allows students to engage visually in a critical reflection of their learning process. Using the Fotofeedback Method™’s reflective photography approach, students collected data by taking a photograph of a specific challenge they had encountered during the execution of their projects. Afterwards, they reflected on the visually captured problem and how they had resolved it. By means of a questionnaire, students critically reflected on the meaning of their problem-solving experience while viewing the visual material. The questionnaire was firstly validated by 10 groups before requesting ethical clearance. Thereafter, the students in the module were requested to complete the questionnaire and forward a photograph related to the questionnaire to the lecturer. Completion of the survey was voluntary, and 116 (29.07%) of the groups completed the survey and submitted a photograph through their group leaders. The researchers analyzed the students’ feedback on their photographs of the challenges they had encountered to identify themes according to systematic problem-solving and decision-making steps to determine what the students had learnt. The Fotofeedback Method™ is an acknowledged research method and is a highly flexible data-gathering tool. Photography is combined with narrative discourse related to a topic or experience. This process empowers students to experience their preservation of that moment through the photograph as a moment in time and structure their reflective thoughts. In a service-learning module, reflection plays an essential role in the educational process of student learning. The paper will discuss how the Fotofeedback Method™ can be used for critical reflection in the Community-based Project module for undergraduate students in engineering, the built environment and information technology. The study concludes that the Fotofeedback Method™ can be successfully implemented in a large-class service-learning module as an additional reflective assignment. It will give students the opportunity to critically reflect on their learning process visually.https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/cgrn/242/248hj2022Education InnovationInformatic

Less (in Context) is more (Creativity):M-learning as a Short LIved Traveling Idea at the University of Pretoria

Technological innovations in ICTs have unleashed new educational practices worldwide. Most higher education institutions nowadays use different kinds of e-learning. In this paper we will show that constraining local conditions have triggered fast adoption of mobile technology in the distance education – coined m-learning - by the University of Pretoria. Because many distant students in South Africa only have a mobile device instead of a computer at their disposal, the University of Pretoria was prepared to adopt m-learning quite early. While ten years ago most South African distance students only had simple mobile devices, without the possibility to access internet, the UP resorted to m-learning, even before the conditions for optimal use of m-learning were present. This was only possible by transforming the innovative idea of m-learning in a first experimental phase to the local South African context. Because the m-learning experiments at the University of Pretoria consisted of both elements of adoption and transformation, the introduction of m-learning should be framed a traveling idea. We will also show that the process of adaptation stopped once the local constraints vanished, that is, once more distance students obtained smartphones

Best practices for learning analytics initiatives in higher education

This article aims to summarise international best practices for implementing a learning analytics (LA) strategy in a higher education institution (HEI). Universities have always collected data for reporting purposes. LA collects data while students are learning, enabling targeted interventions with potentially at-risk individuals or students with the ability to excel. LA has been made possible by the widespread use of technology, particularly learning management systems (LMSs) that enable the electronic collection of data. Such data can be combined with more traditional sources of data, such as student demographics or academic success plus qualitative information to produce analyses for decision making.Book chapter in :'Best practices for learning analytics initiatives in higher education' in Kilfoil, W.R. (Ed.). (2015). Moving beyond the hype : a contextualised view of learning with technology in higher education. Pretoria : Universities South Africa.hb201

Best practices for learning analytics initiatives in higher education

This article aims to summarise international best practices for implementing a learning analytics (LA) strategy in a higher education institution (HEI). Universities have always collected data for reporting purposes. LA collects data while students are learning, enabling targeted interventions with potentially at-risk individuals or students with the ability to excel. LA has been made possible by the widespread use of technology, particularly learning management systems (LMSs) that enable the electronic collection of data. Such data can be combined with more traditional sources of data, such as student demographics or academic success plus qualitative information to produce analyses for decision making.hb201

Student Success at the University of Pretoria, 2009-2019: A Systemic, Intentional and Data-Informed Strategy

Preface: In essence, the publication provides an exposé of the evolution of an increasingly complex and comprehensive student success strategy developed by a South African university (viz the University of Pretoria). The problem facing the University in 2009 was common across the higher education sector in South Africa: the phenomenon of student success. This publication is a case study or series of case studies of how the University of Pretoria intentionally integrated its student support and development programmes between 2009 and 2019, and how it innovated and improved the holistic programme over the decade. The outcome was a gradual increase in the student success rate as measured by both module pass percentage (defined as the number of students who passed v the number who enrolled for the module) and minimum time to completion of individual cohorts (‘cohort’ defined as a group of first-time entering students followed through to graduation). The chapter reflects on contextualised approaches to student success initiatives that are similar to those found at other institutions, nationally and internationally. Using case studies shows how initiatives develop over time within a unique context, as well as challenges and successes. This publication has both a descriptive and exploratory approach in its case studies. Existing but siloed initiatives within the University were uncovered, interrogated, improved and integrated into a broader programme between 2009 and 2019. The cases might provide some insights into the phenomenon of student success that other South African institutions could contextualise

Analysis of Three Different Models Used to Acquire Three E-Learning Solutions at the Same University

The Universtiy of Pretoria has been using anelectronic assessment system since 1991 and a learningmanagement system (LMS) since 1998. Both systemsrequired urgent upgrading. In 2003 a further need arose inthe Faculty of Health Sciences, for an electronic portfoliosystem. The Department for Education Innovation (EI) hasthus implemented three new systems during the past threeyears: a new electronic assessment system, an upgradedLMS, and an electronic portfolio system. This paperanalyzes the advantages and challenges experienced in eachof the three different implementation models adopted.Recommendations are suggested, not as guidelines forinformation technology specialists, but rather for otherindividuals who are responsible for, or may consideracquiring, a new e-learning system

Innovative training and support interventions with respect to a commercial learning management system

During 2006, the University of Pretoria embarked on an upgrade from WebCT Campus Edition to WebCT Vista 4, now called the Blackboard learning management system. The customised name for the system at the University of Pretoria is clickUP. The ethos behind the choice of name, besides the incorporation of the UP acronym, is to spread the idea of ‘clicking up’ teaching practice, ‘clicking up’ assessment strategies and ‘clicking up’ with ICTs. The project implementation team followed the recommendations of the WebCT (UK) consultants (Dark & O'Brien, 2005), which included establishing various task teams to handle all aspects of the upgrade. This paper reports on the strategies of the Training and Support task team. Innovations in the training strategy include lunch times sessions, just-in-time and customised training for lecturers, a help website, fact sheets and the use of props, analogies and storytelling during face-to-face training sessions. Participant feedback is exceptionally positive. The main support intervention was the establishment of an e-support office to support lecturers with technical and administrative tasks in the electronic environment and to provide one central point for assistance. The members of the team developed and matured in their understanding and usage of clickUP, including best practices which were incorporated in the training strategy. Important lessons were learned by the instructional design team, which are shared in this paper. It is possible for other training and support teams to modify many of these ideas and resources for their own needs.http://www.zaw3.ac.z