Students' perceptions about assessment using an e-learning platform.

SCAP’s Information Systems Department is composed of about twenty teachers who have, for several years, been using an e-learning environment (Moodle) combined with traditional assessment. A new e-assessment strategy was implemented recently in order to evaluate a practical topic, the use of spreadsheets to solve management problems. This topic is common to several courses of different undergraduate degree programs. Being e-assessment an outstanding task regarding theoretical topics, it becomes even more challenging when the topics under evaluation are practical. In order to understand the implications of this new type of assessment from the viewpoint of the students, questionnaires and interviews were undertaken. In this paper the analysis of the questionnaires are presented and discussed

Critical events and pivotal factors as tools for analyzing the sustainability of online study programs

A critical aspect of designing and running online study programs is the identification of factors and elements that could potentially threaten the continuation of studies. In this study, we first identified a set of critical events that occurred in the running of a Finnish online doctoral study program over 16 years. Next, we analyzed the events using a four-pillar sustainability model, which consisted of the economic, social, environmental, and ethical pillars. We detected several contextually relevant and dynamic pivotal factors related to each of the pillars, which had effects on the sustainability of the program at the time of the critical events. The analysis revealed that positive pivotal factors in one sustainability pillar can be used to compensate for negative pivotal factors in the other pillars. Two aspects that were crucial for the sustainability of the online doctoral study program were the resilience and shared commitment of the community involved in its activities, which helped in overcoming any challenges encountered. Based on this study, we recommended that future research should design novel solutions that help online study programs to proactively identify potential critical events and related pivotal factors. Furthermore, studies should find creative approaches for constructively coping with critical events that have been identified

Analysing and improving mathematical formulation of webavalia: a self and peer assessment tool

Recently, Problem-based learning has been increasingly used, and with those practices, self and peer evaluation tasks have gained more importance. This method of learning assists learners in the acquisition of skills and competencies. In order to support self and peer evaluation tasks, there are some different software offers in the market. The ease use of them is demanded since these tasks are an important part of evaluation. With the literature emphasis on the importance of assessment and critical spirit, it arises the possibility to implement formulas to increase the efficiency on the methodology applied and satisfaction of students and teachers. This paper introduces formulation problems about marks weighting in self and peer evaluation. It presents the advantages and disadvantages of different solutions for the formulation and suggestions of adapting them among tools, feedback surveys, and teacher’s methods of evaluation. It is also expected that the formulation, which was implemented in the software tool WEBAVALIA, has a great impact on feedback, improving user experience, and both efficiency and flexibility.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enabling Factors and User Requirements for Microcredit Services through Mobile Devices - Dar es Salaam Tanzania Context.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play a considerable role in providing capital to micro businesses (MBs) through microcredit services. However, the interplay between MFIs and MB owners has been hindered by several factors, such as challenges with information sharing. The current study aims at identifying the specific challenges of microcredit services in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and also at determining the enabling factors, preferred features, and general requirements for a mobile technology solution to support the interplay between MFIs and MBs. The participants in the study were 91 MB owners and 22 MFI officers, and the data for the study were collected via a questionnaire. The study confirmed that the interaction, communication, and relationship between MB owners and MFIs is affected by various challenges. It was confirmed that digital technology can be used to address the identified challenges, and that a tailor-made mobile technology solution would be appropriate for supporting the interaction, communication, and relationship between MFIs and MBs

The impact of mobile devices for learning in higher education institutions : Nigerian universities case study

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are becoming increasing popular among students, setting out a new way to communicate, collaborate and learn. The use of portable devices has the capability to inspire new approaches to learning. It is therefore important to examine the students’ viewpoints about the educational use of mobile technology in supporting the learning process. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of mobile devices for learning purposes by exploring the kinds of interactions that students in Nigerian universities have with their portable gadgets. A sample of 240 higher education students participated in the study by completing the researchers’ questionnaire. The results of the study indicate the students use their portable devices to exchange education-related messages and academic files with classmates, search the internet and library databases for academic materials, practice online quizzes or tests and hold discussions with classmates among others. The statistical analyses result show that there is no significant difference in the students’ use of mobile devices based on gender

Discovering students mobile learning experiences in higher education in Nigeria

M-learning plays a progressively significant role in the advancement of teaching and learning in higher education. However, the effective implementation of m-learning in higher education will be based on users’ experiences and motivation to use this technology. Though m-learning has become global, developing countries such as Nigeria are yet to enjoy the full potential offered by m-learning. This study is focused on ascertaining students’ experiences with m-learning, determining the influence of m-learning on students’ motivations and interests, and identifying factors that are limiting m-learning adoption in Nigeria. We investigated these experiences by analysing questionnaires collected from undergraduate and postgraduate students of six universities in Nigeria. The results from our study show that the students own and use diverse mobile devices to engage in educational activities and other social networking purposes. Some of these learning activities are sending SMS messages, playing educational games, social learning, reading e-books/pdfs, and completing assignments and quizzes. Students expressed their satisfaction with m-learning especially for supporting them to learn anywhere, anytime. They further confirmed that m-learning motivates, interests, and inspires every aspect of learning. Furthermore, the students acknowledges that the interactivity, flexibility, convenience and engagement of m-learning were authentic learning experiences

Serious Storytelling - Serious Digital Storytelling

Storytelling has a lengthy old tradition, and the reasons why stories have been told are manifold: for entertainment, to transfer knowledge between generations, to keep cultural heritage, or as warnings for others. The emergence of digitalization of media brought many new possibilities to tell stories – also in serious and non-entertainment contexts. Serious gaming, thus gaming without an entertainment purpose, is just one simple example. Within the scope of this paper, we introduce the term serious storytelling as a new potential media genre – serious storytelling, thus storytelling without entertainment purpose

The role of ICT and its pedagogical contributions in Finnish education: Advances in educational innovation for inclusion and technological literacy from the perspective of stakeholders

This chapter investigates the role of ICT (by which we refer to technologies such as software and hardware solution in general) as a pedagogical support tool in the Finnish education sphere. Qualitative research  method based on interview was conducted with four (4) experts whose background varied from education to ICT. The result of the content analysis indicated that the use of ICT in Finnish education is widely spread and some of the respondents have cautious attitudes in adapting ICT as a part of their profession. Besides, this study identifies that the greatest barrier to implement ICT based solutions in schools are the funds. Based on the interviews and researches presented previously we conclude that digital literacy among the teachers in Finland is high as in many knowledge societies in general. Based on the interviews, also the use of ICT based innovations in schools in increasing in Finland. Keyword: ICT, Finnish education, Inclusion

Smartphone Use in Financial Management among Women’s Informal Saving Groups in Dodoma, Tanzania

Diffusion of smartphone technology has created multiple opportunities for economic development. This research investigated the use of smartphones in financial management among women’s informal saving groups in Dodoma, Tanzania. Qualitative data were collected from 10 groups, derived from 15 interviews and 3 focus group discussions (FGDs) with 22 participants and thematic analysis was done. The findings revealed that research participants were using smartphones to access WhatsApp, the camera, mobile money applications and the calculator for coordination, recording, calculation, and payment. It was also found that untrustworthy communications, high charges and mobile fraud were challenges experienced by the groups. Familiarity, ease of use and nature of the group were identified as important reasons for the smartphone use in financial management. The research contributes knowledge regarding digitizing informal saving groups although smartphone use was not strongly linked to financial management success. This suggests a need for improved skills and technological empowerment to achieve sustainable growth