ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Willingness to Engage in Open Educational Practices among Academics in Rwandan Public Higher Education and Responsive Actions
Author: Nkuyubwatsi, Bernard
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Technology,Shared Resources and Services,Instructional Materials,Resource Units,Higher Education,College Faculty,Teacher Surveys,Use Studies,Faculty Publishing,Teacher Participation,Knowledge Economy,Teacher Attitudes,Electronic Learning,Distance Education

Academics' engagement in Open Educational Practices (OEPs) is critical for opening up higher education. It is in this perspective that the willingness to engage in such practices among academics in Rwandan public higher education was investigated with an agenda to trigger responsive actions. Via convenience/availability and volunteer sampling, 170 academics were invited to participate in the study and 85 of them completed and returned an email self-completion questionnaire. The results revealed that the majority of participants were willing to contribute to Open Educational Resources (OER) by publishing their work under an open licence. Participants were also willing to engage in diverse OEPs including 1) finding OER and evaluating their quality, 2) participating in and evaluating open courses, 3) aggregating OER, 4) adapting OER and open courses, and 5) assessing accomplishment from open learning based on OER and open courses for credit. National and institutional policies were found to be the potentially most important enablers of academics' engagement in those practices. In the light of the findings, the researcher argues that the inclusion of more learners in the higher education system would make academics more impactful than simply the citation of their work, a stance that was reflected in subsequent responsive actions. This study may benefit institutions and policy makers who are interested in opening up higher education, especially the University of Rwanda that is expected to contribute significantly to the transformation of the country into a middle-income, knowledge-based society.
Turkish Teachers&apos; Awareness and Perceptions of Open Educational Resources
Author: Ozdemir, Ozgur
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Teacher Attitudes,Shared Resources and Services,Online Surveys,Interviews,Knowledge Level,Misconceptions,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Questionnaires,Semi Structured Interviews,Likert Scales,Statistical Analysis

The purpose of this study is to explore K-12 teachers' awareness of open educational resources (OER) as well as their perceptions of its potential opportunities and challenges for teaching practices. Data were gathered from 99 online survey respondents and six interviewees in this study. Findings showed that teachers are aware of OER to a certain degree; however, a misunderstanding exists between digital educational content on the Internet and openly licensed content compatible with the OER definition. Lack of knowledge regarding licensing mechanisms of OER is a major issue among teachers. Whereas, teacher perceptions that the use of OER leads to the improvement in student performance is highly beneficial, the time required to search, select, edit, and apply OER was discovered as the greatest challenge to OER utilization. Results of this study can inform potential OER movement contributors, such as teacher professional development specialists, developers of OER repositories, and academics interested in OER.
Social Networking Sites as Communication, Interaction, and Learning Environments: Perceptions and Preferences of Distance Education Students
Author: Bozkurt, Aras
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Web 2.0 Technologies,Distance Education,Student Attitudes,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Online Surveys,Student Surveys,Questionnaires,Social Media,Teaching Methods,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries,College Students

The advent of Web 2.0 technologies transformed online networks into interactive spaces in which user-generated content has become the core material. With the possibilities that emerged from Web 2.0, social networking sites became very popular. The capability of social networking sites promises opportunities for communication and interaction, especially for distance education students who are separated from their teachers, learning resources and other students in terms of time and/or space. Within this perspective, the aim of the study is to investigate distance education students' perceptions and preferences regarding use of social networking sites for communication and interaction purposes. In this context, the study employed a quantitative cross-sectional methodology. Research findings were derived from a sample of 2065 distance education students and the data were gathered through an online questionnaire. The research findings indicate that social networking sites (SNSs) can be used to support social learning processes.
Print2Screen Mobile App: Embedding Multimedia in Printed ODL Course Materials Using QR Codes
Author: Abeywardena, Ishan Sudeera
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Telecommunications,Social Media,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Multimedia Instruction,Handheld Devices,Coding,Distance Education,Programming

With the rise of OER and multimedia such as YouTube videos, many academic institutions are becoming mindful of the richness they bring into the teaching and learning process. Given that multimedia resources cannot be directly integrated into printed material, the only available alternative is to print hyperlinks, which teachers and learners can manually type into a web browser. This method becomes ridiculously ineffective as the length of the URL increases. To address this limitation with a special focus on print based ODL course materials, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), which is a regional center of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), developed an innovative solution to seamlessly integrate multimedia into printed material using Quick Response Codes (QR codes) or 2D barcodes and an Android mobile application named &quot;Print2Screen.&quot; This paper highlights the rationale behind Print2Screen, the development process, how the solution is implemented in a real world scenario and the benefits it will bring to the ODL community especially in rural and developing parts of the world where stable access to technology is still a costly commodity.
An Evaluation of the Usefulness and Ease of Use of the Aptus within the Samoan Education Context
Author: Mow, Ioana Chan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Technology Uses in Education,Access to Information,Usability,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Resources,Statistical Analysis,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Context Effect,College Students,College Faculty,Educational Technology

This paper describes the findings of the first trial of the Aptus device within the National University of Samoa. The Aptus is a device that enables wireless access to valuable educational resources in the absence of electricity and the Internet. The goals of this research were to explore the acceptance of using the Aptus to access e-resources within the context of education in Samoa, with user acceptance measured by evaluating the ease of use and usefulness of the Aptus. The findings of the trial indicated very positive perceptions of students and teachers at the university in terms of ease of use and usefulness of the Aptus within educational settings. From the results of Phase 1, a strong recommendation is made to adopt the Aptus as a technology for providing access to quality educational resources within the National University of Samoa. The study also recommends the need for training of teachers on the use of the Aptus and its applications, such as Moodle.
Community Engagement to End Child Early Forced Marriage--Experiences in Selected South Asian Countries
Author: Ferreira, Frances J.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Social Justice,Females,Marriage,Children,Gender Bias,Cultural Influences,Sustainable Development,Consciousness Raising,Equal Education,Womens Education,Community Organizations,Surveys,Out of School Youth,Rural Areas,Urban Areas,At Risk Persons,Poverty,Illiteracy,Cross Cultural Studies,Dropouts,Economic Opportunities,Attitude Measures,Equal Opportunities (Jobs)

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, &quot;achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls&quot;, emphasises the need for &quot;providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes [which] will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large&quot; (UN, 2015). Millions of girls are forced into early marriage for economic and cultural reasons and denied the opportunity for education. Within the context of sustainable development, it is critical to raise awareness among communities that child marriage has wide ranging negative consequences for development and that allowing girls to have education and training can add enormous value to their society as well as their personal and family lives. This study aims to identify the role of community engagement and local community organisations in contributing towards ending child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) through ensuring equitable access of marginalised and out-of-school girls to education and training. The study was based on data collected from surveys that had been administered to 755 out-of-school girls, affected by CEFM in both urban and rural areas of three selected South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) countries, that is, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.
Assessment of Experiential Learning and Teaching Approaches in Undergraduate Programmes at the School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda
Author: Nakelet, Opolot Henry
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Agricultural Education,Teacher Competencies,College Faculty,Student Centered Learning,Teaching Methods,Faculty Development,Questionnaires,Experiential Learning,Program Effectiveness,Barriers,Teaching Conditions,Student Attitudes,Preferences,Teacher Attitudes,Power Structure

Competent graduates are a critical input in enhancing the university's role in agricultural transformation. How graduates play their role in contributing to development mirrors on how they trained. Low quality graduates are believed to be a product of a more subject-centered and instructive style of teaching. The Makerere University Kampala School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS) made effort to improve and enhance the competence of its lecturers to use a learner centered teaching approach in its programmes through training. This paper presents an assessment of how the training influenced the lecturers to use different teaching practices toward producing quality responsive graduates. Data was collected from 120 students and 20 lectures from the SAS using a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings show that Training lecturers in experiential learning influenced their awareness and use of experiential learning approaches in delivery of the courses they taught. Effective application of experiential learning approaches was constrained by challenges of varied understanding and appreciation of the concept among lecturers, short class periods, large class sizes and financial limitations. In effect, the traditional lecture method remained dominant. Above all, application of experiential learning approaches is not institutionalized at SAS thus limiting the attainment of critical and reflective thinking for the attainment of lifelong learning abilities among students. To strengthen application of experiential learning approaches, training of all lecturers and curriculum review to integrate experiential learning practices as part of the general teaching quality assurance measures is critical.
Open Education and the Sustainable Development Goals: Making Change Happen
Author: Lane, Andy
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Sustainable Development,Shared Resources and Services,Educational Technology,Educational Practices,Higher Education,Postsecondary Education,Change Strategies,Power Structure,Access to Education,Partnerships in Education,Global Approach,Systems Approach,Theories,College Role,Foreign Countries,Distance Education,Technology Uses in Education,Models

Education for All has been a concept at the heart of international development since 1990 and has found its latest instantiation within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as SDG 4, &quot;Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all&quot;. Open education, in the form of resources and practices are both seen as contributors to SDG 4 as evidenced by the recent 2nd World Open Educational Resources Congress. The ambition for open education to contribute to the SDGs is clear from this and other gatherings but the means to make it happen are not as clear, and many have claimed that little has happened since the SDGs were launched in 2015. To help address this apparent gap, this paper: (1) sets out the scale and scope of the SDGs; (2) reviews the potential contribution of open educational resources and practices to support the SDGs, and (3) uses a framing of power and systems thinking to review the way open education activities might be fostered within tertiary education in all local, national and regional contexts in order to support the SDGs, and not just SDG 4. It will also tentatively propose a theory of change that brings together power relationships, systems thinking and open education as key components and provide a case study of how this might work in practice through a newly funded project proposal. It is hoped that this theory of change and proposal will be a starting point for wider debate and discussion on how to make change happen in this important arena.
Individual Innovation Competence: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda
Author: Hero, Laura-Maija
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agenda Setting,Literature Reviews,Journal Articles,Active Learning,Student Projects,Competency Based Education,Individual Characteristics,Orientation,Creative Activities,Thinking Skills,Interpersonal Competence,Leadership Qualities,Instructional Innovation

Learning for innovation is a central element in European policymaking in developing higher education. Students often learn in project settings together with work organizations developing new solutions, products and services. These authentic creative, social and collaborative settings offer an attractive learning environment. The aim of this study was to determine the factors involved in individual innovation competence to be able to design, tutor and assess the pedagogical processes where authentic open-ended tasks are being solved transforming novel ideas into usable products or services. After defining the extraction criteria using a limited sample of articles, a bias-assessed systematic review was conducted of empirical research articles published in 2006-2015. Twenty-eight journal articles were ultimately included in the review. Despite the volume of academic literature in this field, comparatively few studies providing findings addressing the review objectives could be found. There was, however a reasonable weight of research evidence to support the result. The findings suggest that personal characteristics, such as flexibility, achievement orientation, motivation and engagement, self-esteem and self-management, future orientation, creative thinking skills, social skills, project management skills, and content knowledge and making skills can be needed in collaborative innovation process. These findings have implications for pedagogical innovation processes and for competency-based assessment.
High Level of Emotional Intelligence Is Related to High Level of Online Teaching Self-Efficacy among Academic Nurse Educators
Author: Ali, Nagia
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Emotional Intelligence,Online Courses,Self Efficacy,Nursing Education,College Faculty,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Hypothesis Testing,Correlation,Teaching Experience,Age Differences,Educational Attainment,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Teacher Surveys,Statistical Analysis

This study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and online teaching self-efficacy among 115 academic nurse educators who teach online (totally, blended, or both). The sample was randomly drawn from the list of nursing schools accredited by Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) with baccalaureate, master's and/or doctoral programs. The hypothesis tested states &quot;Academic nurse educators who teach online and who report higher levels of EI would also report greater online teaching self-efficacy.&quot; Results showed a significant moderate relationship (r=0.446, p&lt; 0.01) between EI and online teaching self-efficacy. The coefficient of determination R[superscript 2] was 0.199, which indicates that about 20% of the variation in online teaching self-efficacy can be explained by EI contribution. The hypothesis was supported. Results also indicated that online teaching self-efficacy was positively related to duration of being an academic nurse educator (r = 0.212, p&lt;0.05) and duration of teaching online (r = 0.203, p&lt; 0.05). Further, there was no significant difference between the different age groups regarding EI and online teaching self-efficacy. Similarly, there was no significant difference among university degrees attained of participants regarding EI and online teaching self-efficacy. The Implications for enhancing EI and online teaching self-efficacy are discussed.
Faculty Perspectives in Saudi Arabia Pertaining to Attributes of Successful Universities and Future Learning Environments
Author: Kutbi, Ibrahim
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Environment,College Faculty,Universities,Success,Teacher Surveys,Gender Differences,Teaching Experience,Trend Analysis,School Effectiveness,Questionnaires,Educational Practices,Teacher Attitudes

Universities face the challenge of being relevant. This study investigates respondents' perspectives pertaining to attributes of successful universities and future learning environments. Data were collected using a specially designed survey during the 2016 academic year. The sample size was 518 King Abdulaziz University (KAU) academics. The results highlight critical attributes, management elements and dominant pedagogical and technological trends. The paper also reports significant differences between gender, discipline and years of experience sub-groups. The findings identify key themes, trends and perspectives that can be used as foundation for more in-depth research to discern possible strategies towards achieving success.
The Motivation Impact of Open Educational Resources Utilization on Physics Learning Using Quipper School App
Author: Sulisworo, Dwi
Date: 2017-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Resources,Physics,Open Source Technology,Blended Learning,Student Motivation,Quasiexperimental Design,Pretests Posttests,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Handheld Devices,Learning Motivation,Learning Activities,Teaching Methods,Instructional Innovation,Secondary School Science,Foreign Countries,Technology Uses in Education,Attention,Relevance (Education),Usability,Self Efficacy,Student Satisfaction,Likert Scales,High School Students

The distribution of the education quality in Indonesia is relatively uneven. This affects the quality of secondary school graduates. On the other hand, the national growth of Information Communication Technology usage in Indonesia is very high, including the use of mobile technology. This is an opportunity for the application of OER (Open Educational Resources) in learning. This study aims to look at the impact of the application of the concept of blended learning OER to motivate students, especially in learning physics. The LMS used is Quipper School. This research is the quasi-experiment using post test only for control group design. ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) models used in this study to observe the attention factor, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The analysis technique used is the analysis of variance (ANOVA). From this research, it is known that the application of the concept of OER in learning, will increase the motivation on the aspects of attention, relevance, and the confidence of the students. Meanwhile, the aspect of satisfaction on learning tends to be the same between applying the concept of OER when compared to the conventional learning face-to-face in the classroom. These findings indicate a positive impact of the application of the concept of OER in learning to student motivation.
Science Teacher Educators&apos; Engagement with Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Scientific Inquiry in Predominantly Paper-Based Distance Learning Programs
Author: Fraser, William J.
Date: 2017-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Teachers,Science Instruction,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Communities of Practice,Student Teachers,Distance Education,Scientific Principles,Biology,Instructional Materials,Biological Sciences,Intervention,Inquiry,Teaching Methods,Content Analysis,Credibility,Foreign Countries,Teacher Education

This article focuses on the dilemmas science educators face when having to introduce Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to science student teachers in a predominantly paper-based distance learning environment. It draws on the premise that science education is bound by the Nature of Science (NOS), and by the Nature of Scientific Inquiry (NOSI). Furthermore, science educators' own PCK, and the limitations of a predominantly paper-based distance education (DE) model of delivery are challenges that they have to face when introducing PCK and authentic inquiry-based learning experiences. It deprives them and their students from optimal engagement in a science-oriented community of practice, and leaves little opportunity to establish flourishing communities of inquiry. This study carried out a contextual analysis of the tutorial material to assess the PCK that the student teachers had been exposed to. This comprised the ideas of a community of inquiry, a community of science, the conceptualization of PCK, scientific inquiry, and the 5E Instructional Model of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The analysis confirmed that the lecturers had a good understanding of NOS, NOSI and science process skills, but found it difficult to design interventions to optimize the PCK development of students through communities of inquiry. Paper-based tutorials are ideal to share theory, policies and practices, but fail to monitor the engagement of learners in communities of inquiry. The article concludes with a number of suggestions to address the apparent lack of impact power of the paper-based mode of delivery, specifically in relation to inquiry-based teaching and learning (IBTL).