title: Designing an e-portfolio environment for assessment of a collaborative technology project

authors: Edwards, Richard

abstract: E-portfolios can be used to record both the development process and the outcomes of technology design projects. Preparation of an appropriate e-portfolio environment, including the choice and set-up of the software, provision of both formal and informal support, and alignment with the assessment task, all require deliberate attention to design principles. This paper draws from the literature to identify important design considerations for an e-portfolio environment being used in an investigation of the feasibility of using e- portfolios for assessing individual performance in a collaborative technology project. It explores similar e- portfolio development projects and theoretical positions to develop a set of specifications and key considerations as a framework for the current project and as a contribution to ongoing discussions in this area.

text: Designing an e-portfolio environment for assessment of a collaborative technology project E-portfolios can be used to record both the development process and the outcomes of technology design projects. Preparation of an appropriate e-portfolio environment, including the choice and set-up of the software, provision of both formal and informal support, and alignment with the assessment task, all require deliberate attention to design principles. This paper draws from the literature to identify important design considerations for an e-portfolio environment being used in an investigation of the feasibility of using e- portfolios for assessing individual performance in a collaborative technology project. It explores similar e- portfolio development projects and theoretical positions to develop a set of specifications and key considerations as a framework for the current project and as a contribution to ongoing discussions in this area.

year: 2015

title: Investigating Indonesian Teachers' Experience, Motivation, and Confidence in English-Medium Content Teaching through a Professional Development Blended Learning Environment

authors: Aritonang, Mangasa

subjects: Blended learning

abstract: A blended learning approach has been adopted in many English language learning environments in secondary and higher education because it is seen as having the potential to maximise the benefits of both face-to-face and online learning. This research investigated a blended learning approach for the professional development of teachers working at Indonesian vocational schools who learned English so they could teach their subject in that language. This research was prompted by the lack of preparedness and confidence among Indonesian teachers in vocational high schools to use English as a medium of instruction in the classroom, even though they had attended training courses in a face-to-face mode. The face-to-face training programme was a one-off brief course with limited capacity, able to accommodate only one teacher from one school. After the training programme was concluded, teachers returned to their home schools; were isolated from their peers in the training course; and consequently the learning interaction was not maintained.
To understand the teachers’ learning and thinking in the blended learning programme, the conceptual framework for the research was developed based on social constructivist and adult learning theories that were applied in the blended learning course.  The development of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in an English-medium teaching environment, the quality principles of a blended learning approach, and the concepts of motivation and confidence were considered to better understand the complexities involved in the blended learning model. 
As this research sought to discover the subjective experiences and multiple perspectives perceived by the teacher participants undertaking a blended learning course, a qualitative case study approach was adopted. A case study method allowed me to work closely with the teacher participants to obtain their perspectives and was helpful to understand complex phenomena such as motivation and confidence. Sixteen teachers from three Indonesian vocational schools participated in an English language learning course using a blended learning approach. Data were collected through pre- and post-surveys, semi-structured interviews, teachers’ reflective journals, classroom observations, and documents, and analysed using thematic data analysis and an inductive approach. 
The findings of the research were categorized according to the research questions. Teacher participants reported that peer interaction and collaboration both in face-to-face and online sections of the blended learning course were the technology-mediated learning activities that contributed to the enhancement of their teaching skills in an English-medium content teaching environment. Teacher participants also reported that their motivation to learn and confidence to use English for content teaching increased. The teachers’ self-reports were consistent with observation data. Factors that contributed to the increased motivation and confidence were reported, including the learning experiences of the teacher participants, peers feedback, and positive responses from students subsequently taught by teachers who undertook the course. Online cohort-based interaction was reported as having contributed to the gradual increase of using English for content teaching. The learning experience in the blended learning course inspired the teachers to integrate social networking sites such as Facebook and Edmodo in their teaching practice. 
This discussion of blended learning practice is structured around several key themes and topics. The first looks at how mediated interaction occurred in the blended learning course, including social mediation, self-mediation, and artefact mediation. The second examines factors that made collaboration occur in the blended learning course. A third theme is that of the increased confidence of the teachers involved. The transformation of instrumental into integrative motivation through factors such as social interaction is a fourth topic of interest. The fifth is how teachers developed their PCK in an English-medium content teaching environment. How English language learning was sustained through online interaction, in relation to important issues of behavioural change and social presence, constituted the sixth topic. Lastly, the research will discuss the social constructivist perspectives involved in the blended learning course. 
The research suggests a blended learning design has the potential to enhance the teaching skills, motivation, and confidence of Indonesian teachers in an English-medium content teaching environment. The design of a blended learning course should promote peer interaction and collaboration and lead to meaning-making and knowledge co-construction.

text: Investigating Indonesian Teachers' Experience, Motivation, and Confidence in English-Medium Content Teaching through a Professional Development Blended Learning Environment A blended learning approach has been adopted in many English language learning environments in secondary and higher education because it is seen as having the potential to maximise the benefits of both face-to-face and online learning. This research investigated a blended learning approach for the professional development of teachers working at Indonesian vocational schools who learned English so they could teach their subject in that language. This research was prompted by the lack of preparedness and confidence among Indonesian teachers in vocational high schools to use English as a medium of instruction in the classroom, even though they had attended training courses in a face-to-face mode. The face-to-face training programme was a one-off brief course with limited capacity, able to accommodate only one teacher from one school. After the training programme was concluded, teachers returned to their home schools; were isolated from their peers in the training course; and consequently the learning interaction was not maintained.
To understand the teachers’ learning and thinking in the blended learning programme, the conceptual framework for the research was developed based on social constructivist and adult learning theories that were applied in the blended learning course.  The development of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in an English-medium teaching environment, the quality principles of a blended learning approach, and the concepts of motivation and confidence were considered to better understand the complexities involved in the blended learning model. 
As this research sought to discover the subjective experiences and multiple perspectives perceived by the teacher participants undertaking a blended learning course, a qualitative case study approach was adopted. A case study method allowed me to work closely with the teacher participants to obtain their perspectives and was helpful to understand complex phenomena such as motivation and confidence. Sixteen teachers from three Indonesian vocational schools participated in an English language learning course using a blended learning approach. Data were collected through pre- and post-surveys, semi-structured interviews, teachers’ reflective journals, classroom observations, and documents, and analysed using thematic data analysis and an inductive approach. 
The findings of the research were categorized according to the research questions. Teacher participants reported that peer interaction and collaboration both in face-to-face and online sections of the blended learning course were the technology-mediated learning activities that contributed to the enhancement of their teaching skills in an English-medium content teaching environment. Teacher participants also reported that their motivation to learn and confidence to use English for content teaching increased. The teachers’ self-reports were consistent with observation data. Factors that contributed to the increased motivation and confidence were reported, including the learning experiences of the teacher participants, peers feedback, and positive responses from students subsequently taught by teachers who undertook the course. Online cohort-based interaction was reported as having contributed to the gradual increase of using English for content teaching. The learning experience in the blended learning course inspired the teachers to integrate social networking sites such as Facebook and Edmodo in their teaching practice. 
This discussion of blended learning practice is structured around several key themes and topics. The first looks at how mediated interaction occurred in the blended learning course, including social mediation, self-mediation, and artefact mediation. The second examines factors that made collaboration occur in the blended learning course. A third theme is that of the increased confidence of the teachers involved. The transformation of instrumental into integrative motivation through factors such as social interaction is a fourth topic of interest. The fifth is how teachers developed their PCK in an English-medium content teaching environment. How English language learning was sustained through online interaction, in relation to important issues of behavioural change and social presence, constituted the sixth topic. Lastly, the research will discuss the social constructivist perspectives involved in the blended learning course. 
The research suggests a blended learning design has the potential to enhance the teaching skills, motivation, and confidence of Indonesian teachers in an English-medium content teaching environment. The design of a blended learning course should promote peer interaction and collaboration and lead to meaning-making and knowledge co-construction.

year: 2016

title: Te tukuihotanga o te reo Māori: He aronga motuhake – ngā mokopuna a Te Kapunga

authors: Dewes, Te Kuru o te Marama

subjects: Reo Māori

abstract: Ko te tāhū o tēnei rangahau ko te reo Māori. Ko te ariā matua ko te tukuihotanga o te reo Māori, arā, ko te tuku iho o te reo ki rō whānau mai i ngā mātua ki ngā tamariki, ā, tae rawa iho ki ngā mokopuna. Kia whakawhāiti i te kaupapa, he aronga motuhake tēnei kei te titiro hāngai atu ki ngā whānau e whā ki ngā tāone e toru o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Tāmakimakaurau me Te Rotorua-Nui-a-Kahumatamomoe. Nā te hurahura i ngā āhuatanga reo i roto i ngā kāenga o ngā whānau e whā i kitea mehemea kei te tutuki tēnei tūāhua te tukuihotanga o te reo Māori. Tuia, he aha ngā momo āhuatanga kei te taunaki i tēnei mahi, ā, he aha hoki ngā ārai e whakahōtaetae ana i a ia.  piti atu, i noho ki te ketuketu i ngā whakaaro o ngā mātua e pā ana ki tēnei kaupapa te tuku iho i te reo ki ngā tamariki mokopuna. Kāre i aro ki te kounga o te reo, he kaute noa i ngā whakamahinga reo Māori me whakamahinga reo Pākehā. Kia whakaritea ngā āhuatanga reo o ngā whānau me ngā tamariki, i tū ngā mahi whakarongo ki ngā wāhi e toru, arā, ki rō kāenga, ki rō kura, ka mutu, i tū ki wāhi kē atu hoki. Nā runga i te whakaaro kei te mōrearea tonu te reo Māori, kua herea tēnei kaupapa ki te ahurea me te tuakiri Māori, te mana motuhake me te tino rangatiratanga.

text: Te tukuihotanga o te reo Māori: He aronga motuhake – ngā mokopuna a Te Kapunga Ko te tāhū o tēnei rangahau ko te reo Māori. Ko te ariā matua ko te tukuihotanga o te reo Māori, arā, ko te tuku iho o te reo ki rō whānau mai i ngā mātua ki ngā tamariki, ā, tae rawa iho ki ngā mokopuna. Kia whakawhāiti i te kaupapa, he aronga motuhake tēnei kei te titiro hāngai atu ki ngā whānau e whā ki ngā tāone e toru o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Tāmakimakaurau me Te Rotorua-Nui-a-Kahumatamomoe. Nā te hurahura i ngā āhuatanga reo i roto i ngā kāenga o ngā whānau e whā i kitea mehemea kei te tutuki tēnei tūāhua te tukuihotanga o te reo Māori. Tuia, he aha ngā momo āhuatanga kei te taunaki i tēnei mahi, ā, he aha hoki ngā ārai e whakahōtaetae ana i a ia.  piti atu, i noho ki te ketuketu i ngā whakaaro o ngā mātua e pā ana ki tēnei kaupapa te tuku iho i te reo ki ngā tamariki mokopuna. Kāre i aro ki te kounga o te reo, he kaute noa i ngā whakamahinga reo Māori me whakamahinga reo Pākehā. Kia whakaritea ngā āhuatanga reo o ngā whānau me ngā tamariki, i tū ngā mahi whakarongo ki ngā wāhi e toru, arā, ki rō kāenga, ki rō kura, ka mutu, i tū ki wāhi kē atu hoki. Nā runga i te whakaaro kei te mōrearea tonu te reo Māori, kua herea tēnei kaupapa ki te ahurea me te tuakiri Māori, te mana motuhake me te tino rangatiratanga.

year: 2017