Supporting seamless learning: Students' use of multiple devices in open and distance learning universities

El propòsit d'aquesta tesi doctoral és entendre els hàbits i comportaments d'aprenentatge dels estudiants que utilitzen diferents dispositius per a aprendre amb la finalitat de determinar com duen a terme les activitats d'aprenentatge utilitzant les diferents tecnologies de què disposen en els diferents llocs on es mouen, a més de diagnosticar els diferents tipus de suport que requereixen durant l'aprenentatge. La recerca utilitza com a mostra d'estudi dues universitats d'aprenentatge obert i a distància (AOD): una situada a Espanya i una altra situada a Sud-àfrica. Els resultats demostren que els estudiants són capaços de continuar l'aprenentatge en múltiples contextos i ubicacions fent servir múltiples dispositius (tecnologies mòbils i personals) i internet. En aquest sentit, l'aprenentatge és ininterromput. Així, doncs, les universitats d'AOD necessiten redefinir el seu disseny d'aprenentatge i els serveis de suport a l'estudiant durant l'aprenentatge.El propósito de esta tesis doctoral es entender los hábitos y comportamientos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes que utilizan diferentes dispositivos para aprender con el fin de determinar cómo llevan a cabo las actividades de aprendizaje utilizando las diferentes tecnologías de las que disponen en los distintos lugares donde se mueven, además de diagnosticar los diferentes tipos de apoyo que requieren durante el aprendizaje. La investigación utiliza como muestra de estudio dos universidades de aprendizaje abierto y a distancia (AAD): una situada en España y otra situada en Sudáfrica. Los resultados demuestran que los estudiantes son capaces de continuar el aprendizaje en múltiples contextos y ubicaciones usando para ello múltiples dispositivos (tecnologías móviles y personales) e internet. En este sentido, el aprendizaje es ininterrumpido. Así, pues, las universidades de AAD necesitan redefinir su diseño de aprendizaje y los servicios de apoyo al estudiante durante el aprendizaje.The objective of this doctoral thesis is to understand the learning habits and behaviours of students using different devices in their learning in order to determine how they move between technologies, locations and learning activities, and the types of support they require. A mixed methods case study was conducted at two open and distance learning (ODL) universities, one in Spain and one in South Africa. Students are able to continue their learning experiences across different contexts and settings with the aid of mobile and personal technologies, together with internet services. This fulfils the aim of seamless learning. The results of the study will enable universities to design better learning experiences or offer improved support services to better meet the needs of students using multiple devices

An investigation of the development and adoption of educational metadata standards for the widespread use of learning objects

This research investigates the development and adoption of educational metadata standards for the widespread use of learning objects. Learning objects, metadata, the related IEEE standard and the various application profiles derived from the standard are discussed. A number of standards and specifications for educational metadata used to describe learning objects are explored, namely the Dublin Core, IMS, SCORM, ARIADNE, CanCore and the UK LOM Core. Three metadata editors and the experience with using one of them, RELOAD, is described. These educational metadata specifications are used in a practical metadata implementation scenario and the experiences are extrapolated to derive a localised instance of the generic IEEE standard. A new application profile is proposed, “RU LOM Core”, for the South African higher education context. Some existing results are confirmed about the complexity of using the IEEE standard and it is demonstrated that it is possible to instantiate the standard for South African conditions. The results are largely qualitative and based on practical experience. However, the results concur with results from related research. Although the development of an application profile is certainly not new, the development of RU LOM Core illustrates that the IEEE standard, developed largely within the northern hemisphere, can be adapted to work in the South African scenario. RU LOM Core has been developed for the South African higher education environment and takes linguistic and cultural diversity and the low rate of technological literacy into consideration. The lessons learned and the proposed LOM core can be built upon in further research and collaboration to use and support the use of such standards within South Africa

An OER Online Course Remixing Experience

This paper describes the authors’ experience of remixing two existing OER courses to provide an OER course for a particular purpose and context. The developing country target environment is stated as well as the original resources’ provenance. The motivation for remixing these OER is explored, and the design of the adapted resource is described followed by notes on the implementation and evaluation of the remixed ‘Facilitating Online Learning’ pilot course. Lessons learned include that remixing existing OER courses with similar licenses is an achievable undertaking, and OER will be reused if they are deemed to be contextually relevant. It follows that the content, nature, and deployment environment of the OER is important as is its licensing for reuse. The practical illustration of a simple remix experience is significant, as there is little literature available on remixing OER. Sharing this experience is intended to encourage and inform other such remix projects