bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Personal learning environments and university teacher roles explored using Delphi
Authors: Shaikh Zaffar Ahmed , Khoja Shakeel Ahmed 
Published: April 2016

<p class="Following">This paper presents the results of research using an online Delphi method, which aimed to explore university teacher roles and readiness for learner-centred pedagogy, driven by personal learning environments (PLEs). Using a modified Policy Delphi technique, a group of researchers worked with 34 international experts who are university teachers by profession, but who are currently associated with PLEs as PLE-practising teachers, researchers, and developers. A questionnaire based on the relevant literature published between 2006 and 2012 was developed to serve the panel as the starting point for the Delphi debate. This questionnaire sought Delphi experts’ consensus on the names and task descriptions of 36 university teacher roles categorized into five core competencies. During the three rounds of this study, the experts changed the names of many roles and modified their task descriptions. The study concluded by identifying the 28 roles on which the Delphi panel was able to reach a consensus. The results also revealed that the university teacher today is ready to carry out the new roles suggested by this study.</p><p class="Following"> </p>
Exploring tablet PC lectures: Lecturer experiences and student perceptions in biomedicine
Authors: Choate Julia , Kotsanas George , Dawson Phillip 
Published: April 2016

<p>Lecturers using tablet PCs with specialised pens can utilise real-time changes in lecture delivery via digital inking. We investigated student perceptions and lecturer experiences of tablet PC lectures in large-enrolment biomedicine subjects. Lecturers used PowerPoint or Classroom Presenter software for lecture preparation and in-lecture pen-based inking. Using surveys and lecturer interviews, students and lecturers were asked to reflect on their tablet PC lectures in comparison to non-tablet lectures that used prepared images and a laser pointer. Quantitative survey responses suggested that students felt that the tablet lectures were more interesting, that they were more capable of keeping up with the lecturer, and they enhanced their understanding of the lecture content. Qualitative analysis of written comments indicated that students appreciated the real-time writing and drawings, particularly because these were visible on lecture recordings. When reflecting on their non-tablet lectures, most lecturers used the pen-based writing, drawing and highlighting tablet functions and reduced lecture pace and content for their tablet lectures. Long-term tablet use led to lecturers making more use of digital inking, with less use of prepared images. Our results support the idea that tablet PC-supported lectures are conducive to improved management of cognitive load via reduced lecture pace and content.</p><p> </p>
Learning in Facebook: First year tertiary student reflections from 2008 to 2011
Authors: McCarthy Josh 
Published: April 2016

<p>This paper reflects on the use of Facebook as an online learning environment for first year design students from 2008 to 2011. Between 2008 and 2010 three student cohorts from the University of Adelaide engaged with their peers through forums hosted by Facebook, submitting work-in-progress imagery and critiquing peers' submissions. In 2011 the study expanded to include national and international collaborators with first year cohorts from Swinburne University in Australia, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore also participating, allowing students to interact with their global peers. The online forum facilitated increased peer interaction, particularly between local and international students, and improved academic performance as a result of consistent feedback from a range of sources. At the end of 2011 students from the four participating cohorts between 2008 and 2011 were invited to take part in a survey reflecting on and evaluating the learning experiences in Facebook. The results highlighted many positive outcomes regarding the online forum, and have led to the establishment of a series of recommendations for the future use of Facebook as a learning tool, outlined at the conclusion of this paper.</p><p> </p>
An empirical examination of individual and system characteristics on enhancing e-learning acceptance
Authors: Lee Yi-Hsuan , Hsiao Chan , Purnomo Sutrisno Hadi 
Published: April 2016

<p>Due to the continued prevalence of e-learning underutilization in Indonesia’s higher education context, this study empirically examines individual and system characteristics believed to influence students’ acceptance of e-learning systems. The proposed research model is developed to examine the influence of five characteristics of the Technology Acceptance Model using the Structural Equation Modelling technique. This study found that both individual characteristics, computer self-efficacy and internet self-efficacy, play an important role, indirectly affecting perceived intention to use e-learning. The system characteristics including learning content and technology accessibility have been found to significantly influence learners’ acceptance behaviours. Both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were found to be significant predictors of perceived intention to use. Additionally, perceived usefulness was found to have more predictive power than perceived ease of use on behavioural intention to use. This study contributes to a better understanding of how to enhance e-learning acceptance through improvement in individual and system characteristics.</p><p> </p>
Users’ perspectives on tour-guide training courses using 3D tourist sites
Authors: Chen Yu-Fen , Mo Huai-en 
Published: April 2016

<p>Taiwan is currently attempting to develop itself into a twenty-first century tourist hub to take advantage of today’s thriving global tourism economy. In the coming years, Taiwan anticipates an urgent demand for tour guides, and there is a clear need for training solutions that can serve a rapidly growing population. Computer-mediated virtual 3D situated tourist sites (3D-STS) may provide an efficient solution. This study investigates users’ perspectives on a specially developed tour-guide training course employing 3D-STS technology. After participants completed the course, their responses to a survey questionnaire and follow-up interviews were compiled for statistical analysis. The results indicated that the overall experience of 3D-STS was satisfactory for trainees and showed a significant difference in the perspectives on 3D-STS of male and female trainees. However, one essential limitation of the study, that is, insufficient familiarity with the multiple advanced technologies, must be acknowledged. This could be a major obstacle for some users, interfering with their ability to access and process e-learning content. For more effective training outcomes for tour guides, the dynamic nature of 3D-STS as well as the characteristics of course content for tour guides should be considered carefully.</p><p> </p>
Social presence and motivation in a three-dimensional virtual world: An explanatory study
Authors: Yilmaz Rabia M. , Topu F. Burcu , Goktas Yuksel , Coban Murat 
Published: April 2016

<p>Three-dimensional (3-D) virtual worlds differ from other learning environments in their similarity to real life, providing opportunities for more effective communication and interaction. With these features, 3-D virtual worlds possess considerable potential to enhance learning opportunities. For effective learning, the users' motivation levels and social presence are important. In this study, the motivation and social presence levels of 42 prospective teachers were measured as they engaged in an Open Simulator 3-D virtual world. Related factors affecting motivation and social presence levels were also examined. An explanatory mixed method design was used in this study. Interviews and three different questionnaires were employed. The quantitative results show that the motivation and social presence levels of the participants were high. The qualitative results also revealed several pertinent factors that are related to motivation and social presence. These factors, which include the particular environment and participant satisfaction, clearly affected motivation while the participants were learning new information. Other factors, such as being relaxed, effective communications, and not feeling lonely in the environment affected the social presence measures. Lastly, the participants perceived the environment as warm and sociable. The results suggest that these factors should be taken into account when 3-D virtual learning environments are being designed.</p><p> </p>
Middle-school students' online information problem solving behaviors on the information retrieval interface
Authors: Yeh Yi-Fen , Hsu Ying-Shao , Chuang Fu-Tai , Hwang Fu-Kwun 
Published: April 2016

<p>With the near-overload of online information, it is necessary to equip our students with the skills necessary to deal with Information Problem Solving (IPS). This study also intended to help students develop major IPS strategies with the assistance of an instructor's scaffolding in a designed IPS course as well as on an Online Information Management (OIM) interface. Explicit strategies that students employed to organize information for final projects were identified and hierarchically leveled based on the cognitive complexity they required. Results from a correlation analysis showed a significantly positive relationship among students' project scores, IPS strategies (e.g. organizing information in a logical way), and explicit strategies (e.g. search terms), but no significant relationship involving implicit strategies. Further examinations showed the students with higher project scores had advanced IPS and implicit strategies, while those with intermediate or lower scores likely over- or under-estimated their utilisation of implicit strategies. That is, self-efficacy surveys can be discriminative instruments if students have good self-monitoring abilities. Another feature of the students with high proficiency on IPS was the use of full sentences when using search engines, which implied less demands for the exactitude in search term selection due to the advances of search engines.</p><p> </p>
The perspectives of major stakeholders on video enriched problem-based learning for Chinese teacher education
Authors: Ma Angela Kit Fong , O'Toole John Mitchell 
Published: April 2016

<p>The study described in this paper investigated how the major stakeholders of a teacher education institution responded to a particular suite of educational products that involved video-based educational learning objects. It aims to look into stakeholder attitudes to potential technological development in fostering student-centred learning in general and problem-based learning (PBL) in particular, with the ultimate goal of enhancing and improving the quality of teacher training. The research objectives are specifically focused upon (a) the experience of the major stakeholders when using multimedia technology and PBL pedagogy; (b) perceived benefits and challenges when applying the courseware in actual teaching situations; and (c) the possibility of these video-rich PBL cases being adjusted to better suit stakeholder needs and encourage their wider use in the particular context of this Chinese teacher education institution. The results show that previous training can exert a significant influence on the adoption of PBL by teachers and students. The data analysis is expected to form a useful baseline for a longitudinal study to determine the extent to which such multimedia educational courseware can affect the processes of learning, and to identify the learning outcomes that may be achievable through video-rich learning objects.</p><p> </p>
Quality experiences of inquiry in blended contexts – university student approaches to inquiry, technologies, and conceptions of learning
Authors: Ellis Robert A. 
Published: April 2016

<p class="NoSpacing1">Evaluating the quality of inquiry using technology in blended contexts at university is a complex phenomenon as there are many variables which could account for qualitative variation in the experience. This study looks at reasons for qualitative variation in the university student experience of inquiry using technologies. It considers approaches to inquiry and technologies, conceptions of learning and academic achievement. The results identify which aspects of the experience account for relatively more successful learning and which aspects of the experience tend to be related to less successful experiences. It offers a nuanced understanding of the contribution of technology to successful experiences. The results have implications for the design of activities which involve class and on-line contexts and the way we help students to be successful.</p><p> </p>
Enhancing learning outcomes through new e-textbooks: A desirable combination of presentation methods and concept maps
Authors: Huang Kuo-Liang , Chen Kuo-Hsiang , Ho Chun-Heng 
Published: April 2016

<p>It is possible that e-textbook readers and tablet PC’s will become mainstream reading devices in the future. However, knowledge about instructional design in this field of learning sciences is inadequate. This study aimed to analyse how two factors, that is, presentation methods and concept maps, interact with cognitive load and learning outcomes when the contents of e-textbooks are compiled. Further, it endeavored to suggest an adequate logic of instructional design based on the findings. An empirical method was adopted, and 78 participants – either undergraduates or graduates in college – were recruited. Regarding the compilation of e-textbooks, the findings can be summarised as follows: (a) Providing concept maps not only reduces learners’ cognitive load but also enhances their learning outcomes of cognition, affection, and psychomotor performance. (b) Overall, video (V) is superior to text and diagram interaction (TDI) in terms of learning outcomes, and TDI is superior to text and diagram (T&amp;D). Nevertheless, within the cognitive domain, learning outcomes produced by V are not necessarily superior to those produced by TDI. When learners are not provided with concept maps, TDI is superior to V in terms of learning outcomes. Conversely, if learners are provided with concept maps, V is superior to TDI.</p><p> </p>
Factors that influence the perceived advantages and relevance of Facebook as a learning tool: An extension of the UTAUT
Authors: Escobar-Rodríguez Tomás , Carvajal-Trujillo Elena , Monge-Lozano Pedro 
Published: April 2016

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p>Social media technologies are becoming a fundamental component of education. This study extends the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to identify factors that influence the perceived advantages and relevance of Facebook as a learning tool. The proposed model is based on previous models of UTAUT. Constructs from previous models were used such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and habit. Additionally, two new perspectives were added: perceived advantages and perceived relevance of Facebook as a social media platform. It provides some insights into students' behavioural intentions, and such an understanding can help faculty to examine their assumptions about the role of social media technologies in the teaching and learning process. The study participants were students enrolled in a Spanish public university. Data from 956 usable questionnaires were tested against the research model. Our results provide support to the model and reveal a good model fit. In light of these findings, implications for theory and practice are discussed.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"> </p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>
The role of feedback and social presence in an online peer coaching program for student teachers
Authors: Thurlings Marieke , Vermeulen Marjan , Bastiaens Theo , Stijnen Sjef 
Published: April 2016

<p>Feedback is essential in any kind of learning. This study focused on feedback in online learning and conceptualized feedback as a social interaction process. Online learning rests on social interaction, which is affected by feelings of social presence. Therefore, we investigated received and perceived online feedback, and the coherence between them. In addition, we studied the influence of social presence on feedback processes. Sixteen Dutch student teachers, who followed a 1 year customized postgraduate teacher education course, engaged in an online peer coaching program using Skype. Data could be collected from 8 different participants and 966 feedback utterances were analysed. In order to determine the quality of this received feedback, an observational instrument was used. In addition, questionnaires were filled in that addressed student teachers’ feedback perceptions and feelings of social presence. Findings showed that participants with higher feedback perceptions received more effective observed feedback than participants with lower perceptions. Feelings of social presence affected perceived and observed feedback, however the social presence items need further validation. This study has practical implications for providing effective online feedback as well as providing a more holistic view on the processes of feedback among teachers.</p><p> </p>
Using social networking environments to support collaborative learning in a Chinese university class: Interaction pattern and influencing factors
Authors: Lu Jie , Churchill Daniel 
Published: April 2016

<p>This paper reports a study that investigated the social interaction pattern of collaborative learning and the factors affecting the effectiveness of collaborative learning in a social networking environment (SNE). A class of 55 undergraduate students enrolled in an elective course at a Chinese university was recruited for the study. The participants used an SNE to support their learning activities over a semester. Data was collected through interviews, classroom observations, and from digital artifacts created in the SNE. Social network analysis and content analysis were adopted to analyze data. The results showed that social interaction in the SNE tended to be teacher-centered, social-oriented, fragmented, and short-lived. Pre-existing social relations, perceptions of the teacher and peer feedback, preferred learning approaches and collaboration strategies, nature of the task, and the individualistic nature of social networking technology were factors that influenced how students interacted with each other in collaborative learning mediated by the SNE. The findings have both practical and theoretical implications.</p><p> </p>
Investigating the structural relationship among perceived innovation attributes, intention to use and actual use of mobile learning in an online university in South Korea
Authors: Joo Young Ju , Lim Kyu Yon , Lim Eugene 
Published: April 2016

<p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of perceived attributes of innovation, that is, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability on learners’ use of mobile learning. Specifically, this study employed structural equation modeling in order to examine the causal relationships among perceived attributes of innovation, learners’ intention to use mobile learning and the actual use of mobile learning. Analysis of 200 college student respondents who registered for a course offered by an online university in South Korea revealed that relative advantage and complexity had significant effects on the intention to use mobile learning, whereas trialability and observability did not. Further, the intention to use mobile learning had a direct positive effect on learners’ actual use of mobile learning.</p><p> </p>
Blended learning in higher education: Three different design approaches
Authors: Alammary Ali , Sheard Judy , Carbone Angela 
Published: April 2016

<p class="Abstracttext">Blended learning has been growing in popularity as it has proved to be an effective approach for accommodating an increasingly diverse student population whilst adding value to the learning environment through incorporation of online teaching resources. Despite this growing interest, there is ongoing debate about the definition of the concept of blended learning. As a result, teachers in higher education have developed different understandings of the term and different design approaches have evolved. Selecting the most appropriate design approach for a blended course is a major challenge for many teachers in higher education institutions who are new to the idea of blended learning. This paper aims to provide guidance to help teachers of traditional face-to-face courses in selecting the most appropriate approach to use when designing their blended courses. Firstly, it discusses the different definitions of the term blended learning and how they have resulted in a number of design approaches. It then classifies these approaches into: low-impact, medium-impact and high-impact blends according to the potential changes to the existing teaching program and student learning experience. Finally, it describes the benefits and the challenges of applying each approach and provides recommendations about when and how each approach should be used.</p><p class="Abstracttext"> </p>
Relating use of digital technology by pre-service teachers to confidence: A Singapore survey
Authors: Yeung Alexander Seeshing , Lim Kam Ming , Tay Eng Guan , Lam-Chiang Audrey Cheausim , Hui Chenri 
Published: April 2016

Teachers today are expected to be able to apply a wide range of digital technologies in the classroom. Initial teacher education programs should prepare teachers to apply them with confidence. Pre-service teachers in Singapore responded to a survey on use of technologies in their personal lives and in their teaching, and how confident they were in using them. Among 17 applications, the most frequently used were those related to computer technology such as checking an online dictionary, web browsing and searching, emailing, and using computer software. Participants’ use of computer software was frequent; however it was more so in their personal lives than in their teaching. The least used items included audio recording, video recording and global positioning system (GPS). Usage was found to be positively correlated with confidence, and while participants often had confidence in using the applications, their confidence was relatively low for items such as video and audio recording which the yused the least. While teachers’ use of computers is important, their ability and confidence to use other modern technologies for effective teaching should not be neglected.