ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Design and Evaluation of Student-Focused eLearning
Author: Bentley, Yongmei
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Electronic Learning,Feedback (Response),Satisfaction,Graduate Study,Business Administration Education,International Education,Partnerships in Education,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Program Design,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Program Descriptions,Longitudinal Studies,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Blended Learning,Web Based Instruction,Distance Education,Videoconferencing

This paper reports on the design and evaluation of a UK University's global eLearning MBA programme. The aims of the research were to investigate the learning experiences of the students on the course and to evaluate the effectiveness of the support system so as to improve the programme. The primary research method was a longitudinal semi-structured questionnaire survey, and data were collected from students taking the course during the years 2008-2010. Three rounds of survey were conducted, resulting in 149 valid responses. The first round showed a fairly high level of student satisfaction with the programme, but also indicated areas that needed further improvement. The impacts of subsequent changes in the programme and the learning support system were investigated in the second and third rounds of the survey. Feedback from these has helped develop additional changes in the learning content and delivery approach of the programme. Overall, the findings helped improve the course's delivery approach, enriched the course's content, enhanced its quality, and improved the satisfaction level of the students. It is hoped that these findings can provide useful insights to course managers and eLearning developers of other courses offered in a global context. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)
Using the Artistic Pedagogical Technology of Photovoice to Promote Interaction in the Online Post-Secondary Classroom: The Students' Perspective
Author: Edwards, Margaret
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Postsecondary Education,Educational Environment,Peer Relationship,Teacher Student Relationship,Learner Engagement,Graduate Students,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Mixed Methods Research,Teaching Methods,Visual Aids,Educational Technology,Focus Groups,Social Networks,Learning Theories,Data Analysis

This study explores the effect of the artistic pedagogical technology (APT) called photovoice (PV) on interaction in the online post-secondary classroom. More specifically, this paper focuses on students' perspectives regarding the effect of PV on student to student and student to instructor interactions in online courses. Artistic pedagogical technologies are teaching strategies based on the arts (Perry & Edwards. 2010). APTs use music, poetry, drama, photography, crafts or other visual media as the basis of teaching activities. Photovoice is the purposeful use of selected visual images and affiliated refection questions as an online teaching strategy. Social Development Theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and Janzen's Quantum Perspective of Learning (Janzen, Perry & Edwards, 2011) provide the theoretical basis of the study. The convenience sample included 15 graduate students from the Faculty of Health Disciplines at an online university. Participants completed a 4 month master's course in which PV was used. Data were collected after final course grades were official. Data were gathered using an online questionnaire based on an adaptation (with permission) of Rovai's (2002) Classroom Cohesion Scale (CSS) and Richardson and Swan's (2003) Social Presence Scale (SPS). A follow-up focus group with 6 of the original 15 participants was held. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected. This paper focuses on findings from the quantitative data with supportive qualitative comments. Data analysis of the quantitative data takes the form of descriptive statistics. Data analysis of the qualitative data used NVivo software. In sum, the majority of respondents did find that PV had a positive influence on course interactions, but also on their sense of community, comfort in the educational milieu, and on how well they got to know themselves, other learners, and the instructor. Questions for further research are posed. (Contains 1 figure.)
Implications of the Social Web Environment for User Story Education
Author: Fancott, Terrill
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Computer Software,Web 2.0 Technologies,Internet,Social Networks,Handheld Devices,Cost Effectiveness,Models,Constructivism (Learning),Higher Education,Planning,Cooperation,Time Management,Concept Mapping,Information Processing

In recent years, user stories have emerged in academia, as well as industry, as a notable approach for expressing user requirements of interactive software systems that are developed using agile methodologies. There are social aspects inherent to software development, in general, and user stories, in particular. This paper presents directions and means for incorporating the Social Web environment in user story education. In doing so, it proposes a methodology, SW4USE, for such integration. SW4USE consists of a user story process model, USPM, and Social Web technologies/applications that can contribute to the execution of the steps of USPM. A collection of scenarios of use, for both teachers in their classroom lectures and students in their team-based course projects, are presented, and potential learning outcomes are given. The ephemeral and essential challenges in the realization of SW4USE, particularly those related to quality, are highlighted. (Contains 10 figures and 1 table.)
Collaboration Creation: Lessons Learned from Establishing an Online Professional Learning Community
Author: Gray, Colin
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Professional Development,Social Networks,Learning Activities,Communities of Practice,Interprofessional Relationship,Computer Mediated Communication,Mixed Methods Research,Cooperative Learning,Surveys,Use Studies,Program Evaluation,Blended Learning

This paper describes the design, implementation, evaluation and further refinement of an ELGG-based social networking site to support professional development activity, project group and special interest groups, and the discussion and sharing of educational experiences and resources across Edinburgh Napier University in the United Kingdom. Beginning with a short overview of what online institutional communities might offer in sustaining good learning, teaching and assessment practice in-house, this paper then describes the rationale for and development of Edinburgh Napier Education Exchange (ENEE). The subsequent evaluation undertaken employed a mixed method approach involving online questionnaires and individual interviews with users of ENEE, and took place between January and April 2011. The evaluation had a twin focus on use and perceptions of ENEE in general, and how ENEE was beginning to be used to provide additional support opportunities for a diverse group of educators studying on Edinburgh Napier's online distance learning MSc Blended and Online Education (MSc BOE). Overall the evaluation highlighted a range of ways in which ENEE was proving effective particularly in helping users to &quot;keep abreast&quot; of educational practice across the institution, as well as in supporting small groups dedicated to specific purposes and activities. On the less positive side, the evaluation highlighted a number of issues and challenges around ease of use, engaging in &quot;multiple spaces,&quot; and achieving &quot;critical mass&quot; in meaningful use. These findings pointed towards a number of enhancements that were implemented over summer and autumn 2011, and the nature of these recent post-evaluation changes to ENEE and the MSc BOE group space are detailed in this paper. (Contains 14 figures.)
Correlating Questionnaire Data with Actual Usage Data in a Mobile Learning Study for High School Mathematics
Author: Kalloo, Vani
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Mathematics Curriculum,Student Attitudes,Learning Strategies,Questionnaires,Foreign Countries,Educational Technology,Computer Simulation,Correlation,High School Students,Mathematics Instruction,Educational Games,Teaching Methods,Handheld Devices,Telecommunications

A mobile learning research project was conducted in Trinidad and Tobago to determine if mobile learning can assist high school students in learning mathematics. Several innovative techniques were used in this research to address the problem of high failure rates of mathematics in high schools in the Caribbean. A mobile learning application was developed based on a subset of the high school mathematics curriculum used in the English-speaking Caribbean. Game-based learning, personalization and multiple learning strategies were used in conjunction with mobile learning to assist students in improving their performance in mathematics. Three evaluation studies were conducted with the mobile learning application. During the studies, usage data was captured automatically by the system and this was used to determine the extent to which the students actually used the mobile application. At the end of each study, a questionnaire was used to capture student opinions of the mobile learning application. Questionnaire data is based solely on student responses and there is no guarantee of its accuracy and reliability. This paper focuses on the responses of the students to the questionnaire and seeks to determine if the usage data can increase the reliability of the questionnaire data. It summarizes the behaviour patterns of the students gleaned from the usage logs and compares this to the students' responses to the questionnaire. Generally it was found that the students' responses agreed with the usage data, though there were occasions when the responses diverged. (Contains 9 figures and 3 tables.)
The Global Classroom Project: Learning a Second Language in a Virtual Environment
Author: Knutzen, Brant
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Behavior,Pilot Projects,Partnerships in Education,Foreign Countries,Virtual Classrooms,Educational Technology,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Language Teachers,Teacher Education Programs,Online Courses,Web Based Instruction,Computer Mediated Communication,Interaction,Cooperation

This paper reports the progress of a pilot project exploring the integration of a collaborative virtual learning environment (Second Life) with the instruction of English courses at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. An educational partnership was developed with two TESOL teacher-training courses at Texas A&amp;M University in the US. The project enrolled over 200 participants, with about half from each participating university. Coordination of online activities was done using the Moodle learning management system. A large non-traditional language learning facility was developed in the Second Life virtual environment in the style of a 1950's American diner on a private island, complete with Cadillac booths, traditional diner booths and tables, and outdoor campfire settings to facilitate conversational groupings. Both IM typed chat and VOIP voice interactions were explored inside the virtual environment. Student behavior observed during the study indicates the conditions which result in the most productive interactions, and also highlights several key problem areas which must be addressed before successful interactions can be achieved. This paper presents a process which has been developed and trialed, and the plans at Lingnan University to adopt it on a wider scale to support the development of language skills. (Contains 10 figures and 1 table.)
Principled Assessment Strategy Design for Online Courses and Programs
Author: McCracken, Janet
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Online Courses,Educational Theories,Theory Practice Relationship,Computer Assisted Testing,Peer Evaluation,Dental Health,Dental Schools,Electronic Learning,Feedback (Response),Teaching Methods,Alignment (Education)

As the demand for online learning environments grow in higher education, so does the need for systematic application of learning and educational theory to the design, development and delivery of assessment strategies within these environments. However, there is little guidance in the form of principled design frameworks that can assist the design practitioner in the development of online assessment strategies. From four cases, we have identified six design principles that represent the collective experience of our team of design practitioners in creating assessment strategies for online teaching and learning environments; (a) technology affordances, (b) alignment of objectives with assessment, (c) discipline-specific practices and approaches, (d) meaningful and timely feedback, (e) authenticity and transferability and (f) transparency of assessment criteria. We present in-situ qualitative case studies that articulate how these principles have informed our design practice in online assessment strategy development. (Contains 6 figures.)
Acquiring Software Project Specifications in a Virtual World
Author: Ng, Vincent
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Projects,Computer Software,Computer Interfaces,Engineering,Social Systems,Data Collection,Computer Simulation,Internet,Purchasing,Professional Services,Business Communication

In teaching software engineering, it is often interesting to introduce real life scenarios for students to experience and to learn how to collect information from respective clients. The ideal arrangement is to have some real clients willing to spend time to provide their ideas of a target system through interviews. However, this arrangement cannot be scaled up as it demands too much resource. Starting from 2008, we have used Second Life (SL) to create a virtual company, named SVG Corporation, which has multiple departments so as to simulate the real-world business environment. The development of this fictitious company not only provides a new experience in requirement collection to students, but also lowers the working effort of our colleagues in acting as external business clients. Students can practice their communication and fact finding skills during visits in the departments and interviews with the virtual "staff." The company has been used to support 2 subjects, Human Computer Interface and Foundations of Database Systems. The presence of SL acts as an online platform for students to access and acquire user requirements from staff (AI robots) of a virtual company, through a series of interviews, for system development. The roles of SL are twofold: to reduce the operational overheads in the project administration and to allow students to gain more hands-on experiences through working on a simulated real-life business cases. Hence, student could learn how to apply their knowledge and understand the software development process in the real business world. In this paper, we would like to report our experience and results of using SL in the software engineering student projects. Furthermore, the problems and the difficulties encountered during project period will be discussed for future enhancement. (Contains 11 figures and 3 tables.)
Constructive Disruptions for Effective Collaborative Learning: Navigating the Affordances of Social Media for Meaningful Engagement
Author: Rambe, Patient
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Cooperative Learning,Constructivism (Learning),Social Networks,Internet,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Opportunities,Inquiry,Communities of Practice,Ethnography,Learner Engagement,Student Behavior,Educational Technology

The essentialist view that new technological innovations (especially Social Media) disrupt higher education delivery ride on educators' risk averse attitudes toward full scale adoption of unproven technologies. However, this unsubstantiated logic forecloses possibilities for embracing the constructive dimensions of disruptions, and grasping the tremendous academic potential of emerging technologies. Community of inquiry and virtual ethnography were adopted as theoretical and methodological lenses for exploring the productive pedagogical impacts of appropriating Social Media in an Information Systems course at a South African University. Lecturer-student and peer-based postings on Facebook were examined to understand the influence of Facebook adoption on student meaningful learning and pedagogical delivery. The findings suggest that Facebook constituted a collective &quot;Third space&quot; for student enactment of counter scripts, augmented traditional academic networking, fostered &quot;safe&quot; havens for student democratic expression, and afforded learning communities for student co-construction of knowledge. Shortfalls identified include challenges of developing quality academic discussions and fostering student engagement at epistemological and conceptual levels to ensure deep learning. The study recommends a multi-pronged strategy that foregrounds contingent relaxation of academic authority, on-task student behavior, strategic alignment of powerful collaborative technologies with pedagogical designs, and learning needs and styles of students. (Contains 2 tables.)
Can Online Peer Review Assignments Replace Essays in Third Year University Courses? And If So, What Are the Challenges?
Author: Smith, Martin
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Essays,Research Papers (Students),Peer Evaluation,Postsecondary Education,Electronic Learning,Blended Learning,Feedback (Response),Cooperative Learning,Praxis,Computer Mediated Communication

Essays are a traditional component of the course requirements in many post-secondary courses. However, the practical and pedagogical disadvantages of essays are significant. These include the increasing ease with which essays can be plagiarized, the lack of peer involvement in the traditional essay submission and feedback process, the usual lack of meaningful instructor-student intellectual discourse in the essay development and feedback process, and the inability to include hyperlinks and non-text media in essays submitted on paper. It is suggested that as instructors make the transition from traditional to blended/online instruction, they consider jettisoning the traditional essay requirement and replace it with some form of "assignment essay/peer review" system such as the one described. Contemporary Learning Management Systems facilitate peer review and peer assessment approaches in ways that were not available in traditional offline education. This paper describes and discusses an online assignment system utilizing peer commentaries that addresses many of the shortcomings of these traditional essay requirement. The system is modeled after peer commentary academic journals such as "Behavioral and Brain Sciences" and "Current Anthropology". This system has successfully been used as a substitute for the traditional essay requirement in a number of third year psychology course sections platformed on both Moodle and Blackboard. The advantages, challenges and practicalities of instituting, managing and grading such peer-reviewed assignments are outlined, and the benefits of the system in terms of student engagement, intellectual modeling, and learning community enhancement are discussed. The peer reviewed assignment system is discussed in the context of recent research indicating some advantages of blended learning approaches compared to traditional approaches. Criticisms of peer feedback approaches are examined, and instructors are encouraged to provide students with detailed instructions and criteria regarding the peer review process. It is hoped that the discussion will be particularly useful to instructors who are in the process of moving from traditional face-to-face course context to the blended/online education environment. (Contains 10 figures.)
Recognizing Privilege: Rural, Urban, and International Perspectives
Author: Munn, Sunny L.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Whites,Females,Advantaged,Ethnography,Rural Areas,Urban Areas,Experience,Reflection,Foreign Countries,Adult Education,Higher Education

Forms of White oppression in the United States are hierarchically evaluated through male-dominated society. This paper concentrates on a different perspective--White, female privilege through the experiences and self-reflections of narratives from three geographical perspectives--rural, urban, and international. Within the theoretical frameworks of place and geography these stories come to life through an autoethnographic approach to establish that we can &quot;unpack the invisible knapsack&quot; in the arena of adult education. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Walking a Thin Line: White, Queer (Auto)Ethnographic Entanglements in Educational Research
Author: Mizzi, Robert
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Qualitative Research,Educational Research,Research Methodology,Social Science Research,Educational Practices,Research Projects,Research Problems,Ethnography,Sexual Identity,Experimenter Characteristics,Context Effect,Change Strategies,Sexual Orientation

This paper dives into the messy work of writing (our) sexualities into our qualitative research. We suggest that even though queering research methods opens up new ways of conducting research and sharing a queer identity with research participants there are some limitations to both notions. One such limitation is that queer identities and practices are not synonymous, and that what may be queer to the participant might be considered "unqueer" by the researcher. Autoethnography, therefore, becomes one method in which to facilitate a queer research project given the spectrum of identities and practices. We draw on examples from our graduate research projects to illustrate the curious tension that exists among queerness, race, identity and education within social science inquiry. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Concept Maps: Practice Applications in Adult Education and Human Resource Development
Author: Daley, Barbara J.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Constructivism (Learning),Concept Mapping,Research Methodology,Learning Strategies,Maps,Adult Education,Research Skills,Human Resources,Educational Strategies,Labor Force Development,Reflection,Case Studies,Computer Software

Concept maps can be used as both a cognitive and constructivist learning strategy in teaching and learning in adult education and human resource development. The maps can be used to understand course readings, analyze case studies, develop reflective thinking and enhance research skills. The creation of concept maps can also be supported by the use of the CmapTools software. (Contains 3 figures.)
Tenure Tensions: Out in the Enchanted Forest
Author: Tyler, Jo A.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Tenure,College Faculty,Homosexuality,Teacher Evaluation,Sexual Orientation,Academic Freedom,Self Disclosure (Individuals),Social Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes

The tenure track in higher education represents a path shrouded in a fair degree of mystery. This essay provides the perspective of a middle-aged, second-career tenure track faculty member on the vagaries of progressing down the track as an out lesbian. Three dialectics that build tension into the process--covering-creating, evaluation-liberation, and alienation-authenticity--are discussed.