Geodesy Students in Slovenia and Information & Communication Technology

The implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in university curricula is important for the development of graduates' competences and their preparation for the labour market. ICT use encourages the development of collaboration, creativity, leadership, and other generic and subject-specific competences. In this paper, the results of a survey among Slovene geodesy students conducted in 2009 are presented. The survey focuses on the modes in which students use ICT in learning and on their views of the impact that ICT use has on their studies. The results cover (1) ICT literacy and competences for learning with ICT, (2) actual ICT use in learning and other activities, (3) preferences for ICT use in learning, and (4) assessment of the impact ICT use has on university studies. The results are significant for higher education policy planners, curriculum designers and for ICT infrastructure-related managerial and administrative decision making in higher education institutions; they are also an important source of information for teachers who want to modify their teaching methods. The results of similar surveys in the UK, Germany, the US and Australia are also presented. Findings of the survey among Slovene geodesy students show that they rank their general ICT literacy higher than their competences for learning with ICT. They believe that ICT literacy and competences for learning with ICT should be further developed. Results show that preferences for ICT use are higher than actual ICT use. The impact assessment of ICT use in the study shows that orientation to ``digital'' approaches to learning and the actual use of such approaches are ranked higher than those in which ICT is used for assisting traditional study approaches

Student teacher rapport

Med posameznimi disciplinami, pa tudi znotraj njih je medosebni stik opredeljen precej različno, kar velja tudi za področje visokošolskega izobraževanja. Učinkovito poučevanje je velik izziv in zahteva visoko pedagoško usposobljenost visokošolskih učiteljev. Učitelj naj bi bil, poleg obvladovanja različnih didaktičnih in pedagoških pristopov, zmožen ustvariti za učenje ugodno okolje in med drugim vzpostaviti stik s svojimi študenti. V tem kontekstu se pojavljajo številne nenatančne, slovarske in zato laične definicije, ki ne ponujajo možnosti jasne operacionalizacije ter razvoja kakovostnega merskega pripomočka. V prispevku smo predlagali novo opredelitev medosebnega stika med visokošolskimi učitelji in študenti, oblikovano na podlagi edinega obstoječega modela medosebnega stika ter na podlagi relevantnih dognanj. Medosebni stik smo opredelili kot interakcijski pojav med učiteljem in študentom oz. študenti. Poudarek je na subjektivnem doživljanju medosebnega stika, kljub temu da ga je moč oceniti tudi prek različnih besednih in nebesednih znakov. Izkušenjski vidik se izraža prek občutkov in misli oseb v interakciji. Ker je učitelj vodja procesa, nosi tudi odgovornost za vzpostavitev medosebnega stika s študenti. V novi opredelitvi smo uporabili enake strukturne komponente, kot avtorja edinega obstoječega modela medosebnega stika (Tickle-Degnen in Rosenthal, 1990), vendar smo jih priredili za visokošolsko izobraževanje in jih podrobno opisali. To so pozitivnost, vzajemna pozornost in koordinacija. Če pogledamo obstoječa pojmovanja medosebnega stika v visokošolskem prostoru z vidika omenjenega modela, vidimo, da se vsi elementi navezujejo bodisi na komponento pozitivnosti bodisi na komponento vzajemne pozornosti, medtem ko je komponenta koordinacije skoraj povsem odsotna. Po našem mnenju ravno ta loči medosebni stik od kakovostnega medosebnega odnosa - koordinacija v interakciji in koordinacija v procesu učenja. Nova opredelitev medosebnega stika predstavlja pomemben korak k poučevanju, usmerjenem na študenta, ki je že dalj časa teoretično izhodišče v šolstvu nasploh. Na koncu smo predstavili vprašanja, ki še ostajajo odprta, in začrtali smernice za nadaljnje raziskovanje.Various definitions of rapport can be found between different disciplines and also within a certain discipline, including higher education. Effective teaching is a challenging task and requires a skilled teacher. In addition to managing a variety of didactic and pedagogical approaches, teacher should also be able to create a positive learning environment, including creating a good rapport with his/her students. Unfortunately, numerous imprecise definitions of student-teacher rapport in higher education, usually taken from dictionaries, are used by researchers in this field. We belive this is the reason why they dont provide possibilities for clear operationalization and development of a proper instrument for measuring the quality of student-teacher rapport. In this paper we proposed a new conceptualization of student-teacher rapport in higher education, built on the existing model of general rapport and on the basis of relevant findings from the field of higher education. We defined rapport as an interactive phenomena and placed the emphasis on the subjective experience/insiders perspective, although the quality of rapport can also be estimated through various verbal and non-verbal clues. This experiental aspect is expressed in feelings and thoughts of interactants. Since the teacher acts as a leader of the teaching/learning process he/she is responsable for creating good rapport with his/her students. In the proposed conceptualization we\u27ve used same structural components as L. Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal (1990) used in their model of rapport and adapted them for the context of higher education. These are positivity, mutual attention and coordination. Looking at the existing concepts of student-teacher rapport in higher education through the prism of the aforementioned model, it can be seen that all elements relate either to positivity or mutual attention, while the component of coordination is almost completely absent. In our opinion, it is coordination which differentiates rapport from a general good interpersonal relationship. With coordination we refer to coordinated and smooth interaction and also to coordination in the process of teaching and learning.The new conceptualization of student-teacher rapport in higher education represents an important step toward student-oriented approach to teaching and learning a current paradigm in education in general. Questions which remain open are presented anddirections for further research outlined. Keywords: higher education, teacher studen

The use of information - communication technology among nursing students during their course of study

Uvod: Na področju izobraževanja za zdravstveno nego se danes srečujemo s študenti, ki pripadajo generaciji, ki celo življenje živi obdana z informacijsko tehnologijo. Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti, v kolikšni meri študentje zdravstvene nege informacijsko-komunikacijsko tehnologijo uporabljajo v učne namene. Metode: Raziskava je temeljila na deskriptivni in neeksperimentalni metodi. Instrument raziskave je bil vprašalnik zaprtega tipa s 55 vprašanji. Vprašalnik je bil zmerno zanesljiv (Cronbachov koeficient alfa = 0,7). Raziskava je potekala na namenskem vzorcu študentov dodiplomskega študijskega programa zdravstvene nege (n = 110) Fakultete za vedeo zdravju Univerze na Primorskem od januarja do aprila 2012. Podatki so bili obdelani na podlagi deskriptivne, bivariatne in multivariatne statistike. Rezultati: Anketiranci informacijsko-komunikacijsko tehnologijo največkrat uporabljajo za spletno prijavo na izpit, spremljanje ocen in dostop do elektronskega indeksa (n = 96) ter najmanj za pisanje zapiskov (n = 51). Menijo, da so njihove zmožnosti najboljše pri uporabi elektronske pošte (x = 2,86, s = 0,40) in uporabi programa za pripravo računalniške predstavitve (x = 2,72, s = 0,56) ter najmanj pri uporabi spletne bibliografske zbirke (x = 2,45, s = 0,61). Faktorski model je pri sklopu uporabnosti informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije med študijem podal pet faktorjev, s katerimi lahko pojasnimo 61,78 % variance (KMO = 0,74). Pri sklopu pomembnosti informacijsko-komunikacijska tehnologija med študijem je faktorski model podal tri faktorje, s katerimi lahko pojasnimo 63,24 % variance (KMO = 0,81). Diskusija in zaključek: Anketiranci med študijem informacijsko-komunikacijsko tehnologijo uporabljajo predvsem za logistične potrebe, kot so prijava na izpit ali dostop do elektronskega indeksa. Raziskava odpira novo raziskovalno vprašanje, zakaj je študentom kljub napredkom v informacijsko-komunikacijski tehnologiji tradicionalni način učenja bližji ter katera znanja in veščine so potrebna, da bi lahko informacijsko-komunikacijsko tehnologijo med študijem kar najbolje uporabljali.Introduction: In present times the applications of information-communication technology affect people in all walks of life and the health care environmentsare becoming increasingly technological. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of information-communication technology amongst nursing students for study purposes, its relevance and the factors enhancing its use. Methods: The study is based on a descriptive and non-experimental method of empirical research. The research instrument employed was a questionnaire with fifty-five closed-ended questions divided into thematic sections. One hundred and ten undergraduate nursing students participated in the study. Results: The findings of the study based on factor analysis show that the respondents use the information-communication technology mainly for online exam application and registration, to view the exam results and to access the electronic student transcript (n = 96), and to a lesser extent for writing notes (n = 51). They seem to be most confident in writing email messages (x = 2.86, s = 0.40) and in using the programmes for computer powerpoint presentations (x = 2.72, s = 0.56). The use of online bibliographic system and services was found to be the least frequent. The factor analysis yielded five separate factors related to the use of information-communication technology (61.78 % of variance explainedKMO = 0.74) and three factors related to the relevance of the informationc-ommunication technology for study purposes (63.24 % of variance explainedKMO = 0.81). Discussion and conclusion: In nursing education little empirical evidence is available on the impact of information-communication technology on learning results. The respondents of the study used information-communication technology mainly for logistical needs, such as online examination application or to access the electronic student transcript. The research results concoct new research questions why the students still prefer the traditional way of learning and what requisite knowledge and skills are necessary to enhance the students\u27 wider use of information-communication technology for study purpose