bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The evolving landscape of learning technology
Authors: Conole Gráinne
Published: January 2012

This paper provides an overview of the current and emerging issues in learning technology research, concentrating on structural issues such as infrastructure, policy and organizational context. It updates the vision of technology outlined by Squires' (1999) concept of peripatetic electronic teachers (PETs) where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide an enabling medium to allow teachers to act as freelance agents in a virtual world and reflects to what extent this vision has been realized The paper begins with a survey of some of the key areas of ICT development and provides a contextualizing framework for the area in terms of external agendas and policy drivers. It then focuses upon learning technology developments which have occurred in the last five years in the UK and offers a number of alternative taxonomies to describe this. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues which arise from this work.DOI:10.1080/0968776020100302
Reviews
Authors: Law Derek , Foggin Chris , Mogey Nora , Yong Louisa , Barker Philip
Published: January 2012

Peter Jarvis is Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Surrey and a distinguished authority in this field. In this work he attempts to analyse what constitutes a 'real university' and whether the social changes which have impacted on traditional universities and the growth of other types of university represent a crisis and/or a failure to meet societal needs. Corporate universities have grown into a major business because the traditional university failed to meet the demands of corporate business for education and training. He stresses the need for universities to be true to their own identity in the face of such pressure.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110107
Enriching accounts of computer-supported collaboration by using video data
Authors: Blake Canan Tosunoglu , Scanlon Eileen
Published: January 2012

This paper will discuss the approach to the evaluation of computer-supported collaborative learning developed in our group over the past ten years. This approach depends on the collection of video data to allow the analysis of key features of problemsolving behaviour within groups of students working on collaborative learning tasks. Our theoretical framework derives from two sources- the CIAOl framework for evaluating examples of CAL and an analysis of appropriate methods of evaluating computersupported collaboration. Our work in this area has been supported by developing the data capture facilities for the CALRG (Computers and Learning Research Group) at the Open University. We will draw on a number of studies to illustrate this approach and will present a brief case study from work done on a computer-supported learning environment for statistics where we use video records of video-mediated collaboration. This case study gives an example of the rich data that can be collected using video recording and analysed to increase understanding of computer-supported collaboration.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110202
From videocassette to video stream: issues involved in re-purposing an existing educational video
Authors: Shephard Kerry , Ottewill Roger , Phillips Peter , Collier Richard
Published: January 2012

This paper draws upon our experience of converting an existing educational videocassette into a video stream and presents a case study of the important issues that arose. The process was undertaken to apply some potential benefits of a new technology to support learners in higher education (HE). It was, however, by no means unproblematic and the issues that arose need to receive serious consideration if the potential of streaming technology is to be harnessed for more effective learning opportunities for students. 'Streaming' is a way of transmitting video (or other media files) across the Internet (or by similar means). It is an alternative to downloaded delivery of these media and viewers do not have lengthy 'download waits'. A more comprehensive definition is provided elsewhere (Brown, 2002). The term used here to describe the processes involved in enabling a video recording, made for delivery via videocassette recorder (VCR), to be transmitted across the Internet is 're-purposing'. One process within this broad remit is that of making specific changes to the content of the video recording. This is referred to as 're-engineering'. The authors all have a strong commitment to the use of video in HE and have actively participated in the re-purposing reported here. They feel that since the Joint InformationDOI:10.1080/0968776030110203
Editorial: a new direction for ALT-J
Authors: Conole Gráinne
Published: January 2012

The Association for Learning Technology celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and it can now be said that learning technology is a recognized research field, with a growing body of researchers and associated conferences and journals. Over the past two years as an editorial team we have undertaken a review of the position of ALT-J in relation to other journals in the area and considered the nature and scope of the papers we publish. We continue to expand our list of referees and have provided them with more detailed review forms to help guide them when considering recommendations on submissions and to encourage detailed, critical (and hopefully!) helpful feedback to authors. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the referees for their involvement and commitment to the journal and for their continued work on refereeing papers. As part of the review process we will be moving to a new publisher, Taylor and Francis, commencing with Volume 12; this is, in part, driven by a desire to increase our international profile and readership, as well as seeking to have a better online presence including electronic access to all papers. We are, after all, a research journal on learning technologies! We are looking forward to taking the journal forward with Taylor and Francis but would also like to take this opportunity to thank our current publisher, University of Wales Press, for all their support and professional work over the years; it has been very good working with them.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110301
Activating Boxmind: an evaluation of a Web-based video lecture with synchronized activities
Authors: Joiner Richard , Durkin Catherine , Morrison Derek , Williams Lisa
Published: January 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of synchronous computer-mediated communication activities in a video e-lecture. Previous research has reported that learning is facilitated when communication activities are added to a video lecture. Twelve postgraduate students participated in the study and they viewed a video e-lecture on the perspective-taking theory of communication. The lecture consisted of a video image of the lecturer, an audio track, slides, the transcript and a number of communication activities. They were given a pre-test a week before the lecture and a post-test a week after. They were also asked to rate the helpfulness of various aspects of the lecture. Students' post-test scores were statistically significantly higher than their pre-test scores. They found the audio track, transcript, slides and activities helpful. The most helpful aspects were the communication activities. The implications of these findings are discussed.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110303
Webs of activity in online course design and teaching
Authors: Peruski Lisa , Mishra Punya
Published: January 2012

In this study, we followed three faculty members’ experiences with designing and teaching online courses for the first time. In order to complete the activity, the faculty members had to work collaboratively with others across the university. Activity theory provided a framework within which to study faculty members’ collaborative activities with members of different activity systems that had different goals, tools, divisions of labor and accountabilities. In concordance with activity theory, such differences led to contradictions, disturbances, and transformations in thinking and work activities. The results of the study have implications for individuals and systems undertaking technology integration in teaching.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000211520
Creating virtual communities of practice for learning technology in higher education: a response by the author
Authors: Dempster Jacqueline A.
Published: January 2012

Cathy Gunn’s response to the paper was highly gratifying and raises a set of interesting points that I welcome the opportunity to explore more deeply. There were many considerations too complex to address in the paper and we accept the danger of oversimplification. Our summary of the RESULTs Network development was effectively a first attempt to match human values and behaviours to technical systems. Gunn suggests that a key element missing from our scenario is in having ‘a compelling reason for users to access the resources and participate in the communities provided’. The factors at play in terms of ‘motivation to participate’ were extensively researched in the user participation study. A full reading is available in Beetham (2001). Nevertheless, there remains an important question about the process of adoption and participation. I would like therefore to take up the challenge of considering further the idea that communities of practice must ‘evolve’ and cannot be ‘created’.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000211566
e-Pedagogy: the pedagogies of e-learning
Authors: Mehanna Wassila Naamani
Published: January 2012

The aim of this research was to establish effective e-learning practice in higher education. This was achieved by looking at examples of different pedagogic techniques employed in several cases. The effectiveness of these techniques was established by looking at the students’ outcomes on these courses. This study has adopted a sequential mixed methodology characterized by an initial phase of qualitative data collection and analysis, which was followed by a phase of quantitative data collection and analysis. The first phase of the study involved collecting a year of data from a postgraduate programme. A grounded approach was used to analyse one million words of online conferences or discussions, and led to the emergence of 29 pedagogic behaviours. These pedagogic behaviours were then developed into a coding instrument. The second phase, hypothetico-deductive analysis, confirmed their presence in three other cases, five million words of online interactions, and established their associations with students’ learning and outcomes. The findings suggest seven clusters of pedagogies correlated with students’ grades and the effect size calculation revealed an educational significance for all of them. This indicates that if they are employed in online classrooms they are likely to enhance students’ learning and outcomes.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000259582
Understanding and using technological affordances: a commentary on Conole and Dyke
Authors: Boyle Tom , Cook John
Published: January 2012

The paper by Conole and Dyke sets the context by pointing to a number of problems that inhibit the widespread, effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to support learning. They argue that this situation highlights the need to explore a theoretical basis for the use of ICT to support learning. The central argument of the paper is that the notion of affordances can make a significant contribution to this endeavour. The paper aims to articulate the potential impact of these affordances primarily through the development of a taxonomy. It draws on social constructivist theory to help understand and articulate the impact of these affordances. The concept of affordances is potentially both rich and provocative. Conole and Dyke provide a refreshing and diverse look at the theoretical basis for the use of ICT to support learning. We have structured our commentary around six questions that are provided by Conole and Dyke in their Discussion section. Whilst examining these questions we highlight various issues raised by the paper, which we believe, need further consideration and clarification.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000259591
New pedagogies for e-learning?
Authors: Oliver Martin
Published: January 2012

The question of how technology affects pedagogy is not new, but has started to become a focus for attention again. The UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee, for example, has spent the past two years supporting a programme of research into this topic, both from the perspective of the teacher (understanding designing for learning) and more recently from the perspective of the learner (understanding the learner’s experience).DOI: 10.1080/09687760600668453
Learning patterns and learner profiles in learning object design
Authors: Green Steve , Jones Ray , Pearson Elaine , Gkatzidou Stavroula
Published: January 2012

The questions that Andy Heath has posed are challenging and need more time for reflection than is possible here. The questions posed will inform the research as it develops further. However, in the interests of debate we would like to give our initial replies. We agree in general with Andy Heath’s assessment of the limitations of the approach we are adopting. We recognise that this approach uses a very limited response to AccessForAll principles: our Transformation Augmentation and Substitution Service (TASS) is localised, not global, and relies on a limited set of learning patterns matched against a small subset of the potentially infinite set of learner profiles. Our intention is certainly not to reproduce the considerable efforts of the IMS AccessForAll or Dublin Core Adaptability working groups, but to interpret their potential impact on the thinking of courseware designers, tutors and students.DOI: 10.1080/09687760600668651
The use of electronic voting systems in lectures within business and marketing: a case study of their impact on student learning
Authors: Masikunas George , Panayiotidis Andreas , Burke Linda
Published: January 2012

This article presents a case study of the impact on student learning of introducing an electronic voting system (EVS) into large-group lectures for first-year undergraduate students undertaking degrees in marketing and business systems. We discuss the potential for using EVS-style interactive lectures in marketing and business programmes. We then describe how we planned the session and selected and implemented the EVS system. We go on to present an evaluative research project, which was undertaken on the innovation using case-study methodology, and assess its impact on student learning. Data for the evaluation were collected through questionnaire and focus groups with a sample of students. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show how students perceived the use of EVS in large lectures and how their learning was affected. A ‘threefold typology’ emerged that explains how students related to the EVS and how their perceptions of EVS changed over time. The discussion links these findings to the literature on different paradigms of learning and teaching, using Renshaw’s framework, and examines how the EVS-style lectures promote deep and active learning within the constructivist, social constructivist and metacognitive learning paradigms identified in Renshaw’s model. The conclusions show how the use of a userfriendly EVS in large lectures motivates students, develops students’ cognitive and social learning skills, and improves learning effectiveness.DOI: 10.1080/09687760600837090
Reviewers for volume 14
Authors: Seale Jane , Oliver Martin , Conole Gráinne
Published: January 2012

The editors would like to thank the following reviewers for their contribution to volume 14 of ALT-J:
Barriers and enablers in integrating cognitive apprenticeship methods in a Web-based educational technology course for K–12 (primary and secondary) teacher education
Authors: Dickey Michele D.
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of a cognitive apprenticeship model into an educational technology Web-based course for pre-service primary through secondary teacher education. Specifically, this study presents an overview of methods, tools and media used to foster the integration of a cognitive apprenticeship model, and presents the types of barriers and enablers encountered when attempting to participate in a computer-mediated cognitive apprenticeship. The methodological framework for this investigation is a qualitative case study of an educational technology course for pre-service primary through secondary teacher education. The findings of this study reveal that various tools, methods and media were used to varying degrees of success to foster cognitive apprenticeship methods in a Web-based learning environment. The goal of this study was to better understand the pragmatics, suitability, affordances and constraints of integrating cognitive apprenticeship methods in a Web-based distance education course for teacher education.DOI: 10.1080/09687760701482218
Methodological issues in using sequential representations in the teaching of writing
Authors: Lee Chien-Ching , Bopry Jeannette , Hedberg John
Published: January 2012

This study looks at a specific application of Ainsworth’s conceptual framework for learning with multiple representations in the context of using multiple sequential graphic organizers that are student-generated for a process-writing task. Process writing refers to writing that consists of multiple drafts. It may be a process of re-writing without feedback or re-writing based on feedback where the teacher or peers will provide feedback on the original draft and then the students will revise their writing based on the feedback given. The objective was to explore how knowledge of students’ cognitive processes when using multiple organizers can inform the teaching of writing. The literature review analyzes the interaction of the design, function and task components of the framework; culminating in instructional approaches for using multiple organizers for classes with students of different writing abilities. Extended implications for designers of concept mapping tools based on these approaches are provided.DOI: 10.1080/09687760701482234
Web-based lecture technologies: blurring the boundaries between face-to-face and distance learning
Authors: Woo Karen , Gosper Maree , McNeill Margot , Preston Greg , Green David , Phillips Rob
Published: January 2012

Web-based lecture technologies (WBLT) have gained popularity amongst universities in Australia as a tool for delivering lecture recordings to students in close to real time. This paper reports on a selection of results from a larger research project investigating the impact of WBLT on teaching and learning. Results show that while staff see the advantages for external students, they question the extent to which these advantages apply to internal students. In contrast both cohorts of students were positive about the benefits of the technologies for their learning and they adopted similar strategies for their use. With the help of other technologies, some external students and staff even found WBLT useful for fostering communication between internal and external students. As such, while the traditional boundary between internal and external students seems to remain for some staff, students seem to find the boundary much less clear.Keywords: web-based lecture technologies; staff perception; student perception; distance education; external students; internal students; LectopiaDOI: 10.1080/09687760802315895
Teaching models and local-area networks
Authors: Jones Tom , Parker Brant
Published: January 2012

The thesis of this paper is that new advances in both microtechnology and LAN technology can now provide teachers with flexible and exciting instructional tools which allow for a powerful integration of teaching model, curriculum content and technology. The first section describes some of the current applications of school-based LANs. The second section discusses various teaching models, and describes an in-depth example of how a teacher may go about providing instruction by combining a LAN and these models. The third section addresses the feasibility of such an instructional approach.DOI:10.1080/0968776940020102
KnowledgePro Windows: the order of merit?
Authors: Reynolds Martin
Published: January 2012

The producers of KnowledgePro look set with their latest release of KPWIN (KnowledgePro Windows) to fulfil Richard Hale-Shaw's prophecy that it will become 'one of the most powerful visual development environments' (Hale-Shaw 1992). Comparisons are drawn in this paper between the KPWIN family of products and other authoring tools. The conclusion is that KPWIN is worthy of being included in any courseware developer's tool set. Reasons for preferring a tool from the KnowledgePro family of products for courseware development over three main competitors - Authorware, Toolbook and Visual Basic - are explained, and the merits of KPWIN and KPWIN++ (a version that generates C++ code) are examined.DOI:10.1080/0968776940020108
Editorial
Authors: Jacobs Gabriel
Published: January 2012

The President of the USA and I have something in common: we play the saxophone. And having briefly heard Clinton play, I would say we are at roughly the same acceptable, though unmistakably amateur, standard. Nevertheless, we are no doubt both so attuned to the sound of the saxophone that it would not be easy to fool either of us into believing that a real instrument is being played if in reality the sound of the instrument had been electronically synthesized. Certain instruments are easier to synthesize than others. For instance, it is hard even for sensitive ears to distinguish between a genuine church organ and a church-organ sound coming out of a good synthesizer. This is partly because the sound quality of the organ is not dependent on the organist: a two-year-old child who presses an organ key achieves no better or worse sound quality with that key than the most gifted organist. On the other hand, a synthesized solo saxophone (like most synthesized instruments) tends to have a certain unnatural, mechanical quality which is difficult to pin-point but which to the saxophonist immediately rings false. It was therefore with astonishment that I recently listened to two solo saxophone pieces, one played on a real tenor saxophone by a top-flight jazz saxophonist, the other the result of some keyboard input and clever programming by computer scientists who may well have had only a rudimentary knowledge of music and perhaps no playing skills whatsoever. I was quite unable to say which of the two was synthesized even after repeated listenings. The fact is that the perceived perfection achieved by a professional saxophonist is not perfection at all but an amalgam of skill, flexible reactions and numerous little human errors, and provided that this skill, these reactions and these errors can be identified and quantified - clearly, they can - they can all be coded so that the result is perceived perfection. In short, perceived perfection in instrumental synthesis seems to be merely a matter of how long a programmer is willing to spend on fine-tuning the program code.DOI:10.1080/0968776940020201
Educational software reflecting two philosophical approaches to ethics education
Authors: Hettinga Marike , Collis Betty
Published: January 2012

Ethics education can vary considerably in its instructional strategies based on differences in the theoretical positions underlying the approach to moral development being stressed. Two such approaches are the 'justice' approach as exemplified by Kohlberg's six stages of moral development, and the 'care ethic' approach as exemplified by Gilligan's work on empathy as a base for moral decision-making. Each of these approaches can be demonstrated through different instructional strategies in the ethics education course, but each strategy is often difficult to execute in practice, given time and resource constraints.DOI:10.1080/0968776940020202
Reviews
Authors: Warren Lorraine
Published: January 2012

Europe in the Rotmdis a hypertextuall hypergraphical database of facts about Europe, biased towards education and training, but taking in its stride many peripheral areas relevant to anyone considering living and/or working in, or even visiting, a member state of the EU - population, economy, institutions, geography, climate and so forth - all making up thousands of interconnected screens. These screens contain maps with a selection of zooms and hotspots, all kinds of facts and figures about available educational and vocational courses (presented both textually and, where appropriate, as graphs, bar charts and such like), details of life in each EU member state, details of cities and what they have to offer, and a lot more. There are also extra facilities, such as being able to set currency exchange rates or to create customized notebooks.DOI:10.1080/0968776940020208
Interactive learning in biology with PhotoCD and associated software
Authors: Baggott Linda , Wright Bruce
Published: January 2012

PhotoCD is a novel electronic format which uses digital technology to scan colour or monochrome photographs, store them on compact discs, and then display them as highquality images on a TV or on a monitor screen. A technical description of this technology can be found in Beisner (1993), Bowers (1994) and Chen (1993). Supporting software is available to access and manipulate the images for use in interactive learning.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030110
ELF: the Electronic Learning Facilitator
Authors: Kirby R. , McAndrew P. , Kilgour A. , Taylor H. , Mayes J. T.
Published: January 2012

Recent years have seen an unprecedented increase in the use of the Internet and other 69 global networks of computers. We have seen estimates of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 new users each month joining the Internet. Predominantly these are information seekers, but the figures do also represent a significant increase in the number of information providers. For learners, we now have a significant set of information sources, albeit obscured by a lot of noise.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030111
Multimedia courseware: never mind the quality how much will it cost to develop?
Authors: Marshall I. M. , Samson W. B. , Dugard P. I.
Published: January 2012

Baker (1994) humorously described the failure of teachers, companies, organizations and governments over the last twenty-five years to deliver the volume of courseware which would spark the active-learning revolution. Hardware now exists to deliver multimedia, but the cost of developing quality courseware remains high. What chance does multimedia-based active learning have of widespread adoption if developers cannot reliably estimate the development effort of multimedia courseware? This paper presents expert estimation of development effort to learner time ratios found in the literature, before investigating four alternative methods for estimating multimedia development effort. The results of the estimates are then compared against the actual project data.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030118
Reviews
Authors: King Terry
Published: January 2012

Traditionally, the development of computerbased instructional materials has relied on the use of programming languages and computer programmers. This has often made development prohibitively difficult, time-consuming and expensive. It has also meant that it has been difficult for enthusiastic subject experts to develop their own teaching materials. In order to address these problems a wide variety of authoring systems have been produced which allow the rapid development of instructional materials by reducing the amount of low-level coding necessary for their implementation. A problem which arises from this proliferation, however, is that subject experts find it hard to identify the best tool for a particular development task. This book has been written essentially with the aim of providing potential educational software authors with a brief background to instructional design, an overview of some currently available authoring systems, and a means by which an informed choice of authoring system can be made.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030120
Rich environments for active learning: a definition
Authors: Grabinger R. Scott , Dunlap Joanna C.
Published: January 2012

In today's complex world, simply knowing how to use tools and knowledge in a single domain is not sufficient to remain competitive as either individuals or companies. People must also learn to apply tools and knowledge in new domains and different situations. Industry specialists report that people at every organizational level must be creative and flexible problem solvers (Lynton, 1989). This requires the ability to apply experience and a definition knowledge to address novel problems. Consequently, learning to think critically, to analyse and synthesize information to solve technical, social, economic, political, and scientific problems, and to work productively in groups are crucial skills for successful and fulfilling participation in our modern, competitive society.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030202
Dissertations and databases: the historian as software engineer
Authors: Phillips Gervase
Published: January 2012

The final weeks of the summer term see the normal frantic rush of second-year students looking for a suitable topic for a dissertation. Traditionally, the aim is to produce a piece of work from ten to fifteen thousand words, comprising a significant amount of original research, drawn from primary material, and demonstrating the ability to formulate and sustain a cogent argument, evaluate evidence and communicate original ideas. All this should be within the conventional, scholarly framework, logically structured and scrupulously referenced.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030205
Reviews
Authors: Barker Philip , Hawkridge David , Bell Margaret , Unwin Derick , Seels Barbara B. , Richey Rita C.
Published: January 2012

This review differs from others we have so far published in ALT-J. In order to offer a multiple perspective on a contentious area, we approached three reviewers. We then asked Barbara Seels and Rita Richey, in the light of the reviews we received, to reconsider their position set out in their book. In addition, Ray McAleese (Heriot- Watt University) has commented both on the reviews and on the reactions to them by Seels and Richey. We welcome any comments you may have.DOI:10.1080/0968776960040207
Is there a way?
Authors: Jacobs Gabriel
Published: January 2012

I am currently a member of a working party set up in my own university to look into a range of IT matters, including learning technology, with the aim of producing a mediumterm institutional plan. At many of the meetings I attend, I hear about the urgency of focusing our CAL effort, but the conviction around the table is often tempered by lecturers' complaints that the off-the-shelf courseware they have tried either does not work well, or does not fit their particular needs, or both. So a suggestion is made: we should move in the direction of developing our own high-quality educational software tailored to our individual requirements. And since these requirements are very diverse over the whole campus, we should establish a Centre for Educational Technology, a Courseware Resources and Advice Unit, a Virtual Learning Development Laboratory, an Institute for Computer-Based Academic Practice . . . call it what you will. It should be staffed by experts who can advise departments and produce for them, or help them to produce, the exact software they require. It should be supported by a battalion of technicians, and should not only be equipped with white-hot multimedia but also backed by sufficient financial resources to ensure continuous upgrades so as to remain in a permanent state of state-of-the-art. The bank balance is not as healthy as it might be (whose is?), but the university management must nevertheless somehow be convinced of the necessity of spending money on the project.DOI:10.1080/0968776960040301
Designing software to maximize learning
Authors: Somekh Bridget
Published: January 2012

I take it as axiomatic that those involved in developing educational software intend that it should maximize learning. The evaluation of educational software, therefore, needs to focus mainly on this central issue. There are still, however, two ways in which 'maximization' can be measured: either in terms of the increase in the amount of learning, or in terms of the increase in the quality of learning. In either case, an important contributory factor in the evaluation of educational software is the amount of take-up in terms of purchase and use. The crude indicator of BSH (number of Bums on Seats for number of Hours) is of some value, because if software is not used it cannot have any impact at all on learning. But it is an indicator which should only be used with caution because badly designed software used frequently presumably does less to maximize learning than well designed software used infrequently. I am concerned here with the design of software which maximizes the quality of learning. I will also deal briefly with the issue of sensitivity to the context of use, but the wider problem of the take-up and use of software, although important and interesting, is beyond the scope of this paper. The paper is based on a review of key texts in the literature on learning, including some which relate directly to software development. I hope it will make some contribution to both the design and the evaluation of educational software.DOI:10.1080/0968776960040302
An online electronic journal for teaching purposes
Authors: Meadows Jack , Rowland Fytton , Yates-Mercer Penny
Published: January 2012

Electronic channels are rapidly taking off as a means of accessing journal literature (Lancaster, 1995). Behind the interest lies the increasing concern of academic libraries with the mounting cost of purchasing printed journals. Some commentators believe that higher-education institutions themselves will move into the electronic publishing field in order to control expenditure on journals (Okerson and O'Donnell, 1995). This rapid growth in the number of electronic journals available raises the immediate question - how will all those concerned with journals, as authors, editors, or readers, be trained? The prime purpose of the project described here is to explore the problems of providing such training. It was also planned that student feedback would assist the construction of an online teaching package.DOI:10.1080/0968776970050103
Knowledge Tree: putting discourse into computer-based learning
Authors: Brailsford T. J. , Davies P. M.C. , Scarborough S. C. , Trewhella W. J.
Published: January 2012

The learning process One of the most fundamental aspects of education is the dialogue that occurs between teachers and the students. Laurillard (1993) has discussed this in depth, and has concluded that any teaching strategy should make provision for a dialogue which reveals the conceptions of both the teacher and the student. This allows the teacher to analyse the students' understanding, and to use this information to form the basis of subsequent dialogue.DOI:10.1080/0968776970050104
Editorial ALT-J non-electronica
Authors: Jacobs Gabriel
Published: January 2012

The ALT Executive Committee has discussed on a number of occasions the question of making ALT-J wholly available in electronic form on our Web site (at present only the editorial and abstracts of papers appear), and even of turning it into a full-blown electronic journal. I have gently but consistently opposed this move, on occasions to the intense irritation of some of my fellow members, and always at the risk of appearing to be a Luddite. Explicitly ('Who, if not we as learning technologists, should be in the forefront of the soon-to-happen electronic-journal revolution?') and implicitly ('It is estimated that within two years, paper-based journals will be considered the dinosaurs of the academic world'), I have increasingly come under pressure to accede to an apparently unstoppable, apparently imminent change in the method and form of scholarly publication. I set out here my reasons for my continued resistance.DOI:10.1080/0968776970050201
Integration of computer technology into the medical curriculum: the King's experience
Authors: Aitken Vickie , Lewis Alex , Booton Paul
Published: January 2012

Recently, there have been major changes in the requirements of medical education which have set the scene for the revision of medical curricula (Towle, 1991; GMC, 1993). As part of the new curriculum at King's, the opportunity has been taken to integrate computer technology into the course through Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL), and to train graduates in core IT skills. Although the use of computers in the medical curriculum has up to now been limited, recent studies have shown encouraging steps forward (see Boelen, 1995). One area where there has been particular interest is the use of notebook computers to allow students increased access to IT facilities (Maulitz et al, 1996).DOI:10.1080/0968776970050207
Reviews
Authors: Barker Philip , McAleese Ray , Collis Betty , Jacobs Gabriel , Somekh Bridget , King Tom
Published: January 2012

This composite review is intended to give readers a number of different perspectives on an important book. The technique, which was used in an earlier ALT-J review (in Volume 4 Number 2, 1996, pages 61-72), is a development of what Spiro et al (1988) call 'traversing the terrain'. Each reader will bring to a book bis or her own perspective, each of which may be a legitimate way of making sense of the ideas and arguments it contains. In order to give ALT-J readers a sense of others' views, we asked three different reviewers to consider the book, each from a different standpoint. Betty Collis, who has written extensively on educational innovation and new media has taken a pedagogical point of view. Gabriel Jacobs, Editor of ALT-J and a prolific writer on educational media, has taken a technical view. Bridget Somekh, recently appointed as Dean of Education at Huddersfield University and an internationally known educational researcher and writer on evaluation methodology, has taken a general philosophical view. Each of these views - pedagogical, technical and philosophical - represents one way of reading Managing Change in Higher Education: there are of course other ways, and readers will have their own points of view. To complete the multiple perspective, the Editor of the book, Tom King from the Interactive Learning group at ICL, was asked to respond to the reviewers' comments. His role was not to be so much to rebut others' remarks but to give a fresh impetus to the initial arguments in the book.DOI:10.1080/0968776970050208
A model for hypermedia learning environments based on electronic books
Authors: Aedo Ignacio , Díaz Paloma , Catenazzi Nadia
Published: January 2012

Current hypermedia learning environments do not have a common development basis. Their designers have often used ad-hoc solutions to solve the learning problems they have encountered. However, hypermedia technology can take advantage of employing a theoretical scheme - a model - which takes into account various kinds of learning activities, and solves some of the problems associated with its use in the learning process. The model can provide designers with the tools for creating a hypermedia learning system, by allowing the elements and functions involved in the definition of a specific application to be formally represented.DOI:10.1080/0968776970050302
Editorials
Authors: Jacobs Gabriel
Published: January 2012

In this special conference edition of ALT-J, I would like to say that we have moved forward. And in many respects we have. The technology is progressing at a pace which is increasingly difficult to comprehend. The software 'revolution' continues unabated to produce increasingly complex integrated applications. These daunting developments increase the pressure on academics, their institution and inevitably the student. To this we can add the problem of decreasing finance to universities and educational establishments in general. We, as practitioners in learning technology, must utilize the best features of communications and applications to reduce the pressures on ourselves and our colleagues. Are we succeeding? What is success? How is it monitored, measured and evaluated?DOI:10.1080/0968776980060101
Active paper for active learning
Authors: Brown Heather , Harding Robert , Lay Steve , Robinson Peter , Sheppard Dan , Watts Richard
Published: January 2012

Paper documents have great advantages in readability, portability and familiarity, but are necessarily static and slow to update. Much recent research has concentrated on the dynamic demonstrations, immediate feedback, and easy updating that can be provided by electronic teaching material. Although an increasing number of teaching packages make use of both paper and electronic documents, the two are typically accessed by completely separate interfaces. We have been taking a different approach and investigating the use of a DigitalDesk (Wellner, 1991; Wellner, 1993) as a means of integrating normal paper teaching material with electronic versions of the same material. Many printed books also exist in electronic form, and our goal is to allow these books to be used as natural interfaces to any additional information that may be present in the electronic version.DOI:10.1080/0968776980060114
Reinventing the university
Authors: Brown Stephen
Published: January 2012

Since significant new resources are unlikely to be available to most UK institutions to develop online operations, existing internal resources need to be re-engineered to bring them into line behind the chosen venture. Small scale, bottom-up experiments are unlikely to succeed in re-engineering sufficient resources to achieve lasting institution-wide change. Re-engineering the campus requires a culture change, which needs to be led from the top, through an unbroken chain of champions down through the organization, including the resource managers at middle management level. A minimum of two years needs to be allowed for evaluation of the impact of change. During that initial period central coordination of, and support for, individual projects is essential to ensure delivery against targets of time, cost and quality. Nevertheless institutional change can best be achieved by encouraging local ownership, which means allowing local autonomy and avoiding premature imposition of standards.DOI:10.1080/0968776980060305
Reviews
Authors: McAleese Ray , Barker Philip , Arnott David C. , Klein J. Douglass
Published: January 2012

There is something curious about a book title that associates the terms 'university' with 'learning' - at least in the way Bowden and Marton have chosen. While most would agree that universities serve society through 'teaching, research and community service', it is the simple description of a new breed of institution that is about learning - not teaching or research or community service, that is disconcerting. The authors have a principled reason for so doing. After all - what is the outcome of teaching - but learning? What is the outcome of research if not better informed debate and 'learned' scientists? What is the outcome of community service if not people better able to make sense of the world in which they live? But a University of Learning . . . that is a different matter - or so it has been up to now. Universities must address the needs of learners. Learning as we now tend to see it - is about '. . . the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience' (Kolb, 1984). The needs of learners require teachers to construct challenging opportunities. Opportunities for learners to puzzle and reflect. Through experimentation and conceptualization, learners transform events, ideas, experiences into testable hypotheses - setting their reflections against personal frameworks.DOI:10.1080/0968776990070111
Interactive learning aided by JavaScript
Authors: Wise A.
Published: January 2012

In recent years, the use of information technology to support learning in nutrition education has moved from mainframe-based programs to PC and Internet-based systems (Wise, 1986,1998). Many lecturers are now exploring the use of the Internet and Intranets for education and this adds a new potential method for providing support to students. A search of the Internet for a technical term frequently links to pages containing notes for students. Some of these pages contain interactive elements that test whether students have learned the material. This paper is a case study that attempts to show how simple it is to build interactivity for students using JavaScript. Many programs can be written using the language Java, but the browser needs to be specially configured and considerable programming experience is required. Java is frequently confused with JavaScript, which is actually a language supported entirely within the browser itself. A browser will interpret code in JavaScript that is simply included within appropriate HTML tags on the page. JavaScript is used to provide simple interactivity and most people will have spotted its common features: buttons and text entry used on forms to provide feedback to the originators of Web pages. An advantage of JavaScript is that browsers are able to use this language, whatever the operating system, not only in Windows.DOI: 10.1080/0968776990070206
Reviews
Authors: Barker Philip , Goolnik Geoff , Ravat Harish , Ritchie Gordon , Robertson John , Starr Beryl , Schaik Paul Van , Whatley Janice
Published: January 2012

For many people, the terms 'multimedia' and 'Internet' are now quite familiar expressions that trigger many different thought patterns and associations. Very often, the associations that we make depend critically upon our backgrounds and prior experiences - particularly within hybrid areas such as multimedia, computing and information technology. Glossaries and dictionaries are therefore useful tools for providing a common level of meaning for the technical terms and jargon that we use in particular subject domains. This particular book offers a guide to the terminology associated with the Internet and multimedia applications.DOI: 10.1080/0968776990070209
Reviews
Authors: Baker Ramsey , Barker Philip , Jones Chris R. , Morss Kate , Pearson Elaine
Published: January 2012

This book is written from the viewpoint that learning technology, although perceived of immense value, is not being exploited to its full potential, nor are its effects on student learning fully understood. Obtaining as accurate a picture as possible in order to correctly to influence policy and practice is an activity that is rightly receiving increased attention. No one could expect a 'how to do it' book for this subject area.as outcomes (be they of learning, cost-effectiveness or of more abstract influence) are dictated by a wide range of factors. Martin Oliver (from the LaTTD group at the University of North London) has gathered a wide range of interesting papers (derived from the Evaluation of Learning Technologies conference, 1998) to demonstrate the diversity of approaches in this field. The book comprises some 242 pages that are arranged into 14 chapters, written by those involved in related projects.DOI: 10.1080/0968776990070310
New literacies and future educational culture
Authors: Pincas Anita
Published: January 2012

The argument in this paper is based on the view that, even though traditional classroom teaching and lecturing are likely to remain the norm, there is a recognized and growing place for the use of technology in educational provision in schools and universities. Online course design is still very much open to discussion, since traditions of delivery have yet to develop. But new software developments are arriving so quickly, that educators have barely time to experiment with one mode of delivery before they are overtaken by another.DOI:10.1080/0968776000080208