ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Adding Value: Open Online Learning and the MBA
Author: Fitzgerald, Rachel
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Masters Programs,Business Administration Education,Educational Quality,Open Education,Student Recruitment,Profiles,Electronic Learning,Standards,Institutional Advancement,Models,Sustainability,Program Design,Curriculum Design,Teacher Attitudes,College Faculty,Educational History,Foreign Countries

Evidence suggests that MOOCs are being used as a strategic tool to explore alternative models of course delivery (Allen &amp; Seaman, 2013) and this paper shares insight into an example of such innovation for Business School Education. Gateway MBA draws on examples of open learning worldwide to create a MOOC to extend the MBA distance learning programme for Northampton Business School. The Gateway MOOC offers open online access to MBA education to develop recruitment to the MBA internationally and to raise the profile of the university. While there are risks in this strategy, the Gateway project team see potential to introduce and market the MBA to a global audience through open online learning, raising the university brand profile and expanding the eLearning horizons of those involved in the project and beyond.This paper will consider recurring themes in the literature in the context of the design and delivery of the Gateway MBA. It is clear that reconciling MOOC values and aims with educational quality and learner satisfaction standards is problematic so this paper considers how we develop and embed innovations in the areas of technology and academic cultural practices in order to meet this challenge. Finally we will consider the issues and challenges in the use of the Carpe Diem (Salmon et al, 2013) as a model for the design and delivery of a MOOC and will offer further considerations for sustainability.
Developing Confidence in the Use of Digital Tools in Teaching
Author: Greener, Sue
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Faculty,Teacher Effectiveness,Self Efficacy,Technological Literacy,Technology Uses in Education,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Technology Integration,Computer Software,Student Attitudes,Feedback (Response),Teacher Surveys,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,Focus Groups,Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Semi Structured Interviews

In this study Higher Education teachers were offered new mobile devices with very few conditions attached. The aim was to introduce staff to mobile technology and how it could be used to support teaching and learning within a small, interdisciplinary campus. The study hypothesized that by offering staff the simple incentive of new mobile devices for professional and private use, they will be keener to adopt new practices. The only conditions required were the adoption of two items of software--SharePoint as a file repository, and the VLE provider's mobile learning application which provides access to the VLE for both learners and staff. There were three stages to the project; Stage 1 involved presenting staff the results of student feedback from their own courses, where the students set out their preferences for using learning technologies. Stage 2 involved surveying staff opinions on the impact of the mobile devices once they were issued. Stage 3 followed up with a selection of interviews, focussing on concepts of interest gained from the questionnaires. Overall results from this study suggested there was an undeniable enthusiasm amongst teaching staff for using mobile technology, however there were still issues surrounding digital confidence and the pedagogical reasoning for integrating such technologies. There is still a divide on the role of mobile technologies within the classroom, most likely stemmed from the lack of knowledge surrounding their potential purpose. In conclusion, staff enthusiasm alone is not enough to result in adoption and integration of mobile technology within teaching and learning, there must be a focus on pedagogy and relevance for teaching staff to engage fully.
Affordances of Learning Technologies in Higher Education Multicultural Environments
Author: Arenas, Edilson
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Technology,Higher Education,Information Technology,Educational Benefits,Transformative Learning,Ethnography,Blended Learning,Student Diversity,Computer Science Education,Student Attitudes,Preferences,Learning Activities,College Students,Data Analysis,Technology Integration,Semi Structured Interviews,Observation

A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (action possibilities) and the influence information and communication technologies (ICT) may have on students' learning experiences and outcomes. Such studies have given rise to the implementation of a wide range of educational frameworks with a great deal of empirical evidence on the benefits of using technologies to improve learning. However, these benefits do not appear to have fulfilled higher education expectations for more meaningful and transformative learning experiences. In this paper, I argue that part of the problem is either the content or teacher-centric perspective of these frameworks and the need to explore the benefits from a more student-centric perspective. Learning is contextual, with learners having different abilities to learn and varying preferences for educational technologies with greater potential to facilitate their learning activities. Drawing on an ethnographic study of culturally diverse computing students and teachers within learning environments that blend online and face-to-face pedagogies, I argue that our understanding of what ICT has to offer for the design and implementation of transformative learning activities is a far more complex issue than is often anticipated, particularly in the design and implementation of learning for computer science programs.
It Takes a Community to Develop a Teacher: Testing a New Teacher Education Model for Promoting ICT in Classroom Teaching Practices in Chile
Author: Charbonneau-Gowdy, Paula
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Teacher Education Programs,Best Practices,Technology Uses in Education,Information Technology,Grounded Theory,Models,Longitudinal Studies,Educational Practices,Educational Change,Social Networks,Second Language Learning,Language Acquisition,Technology Integration,Private Colleges,Ethnography,Power Structure,Qualitative Research,Case Studies

This paper adds to the emerging dialogue on best practices in teacher education for preparing future teachers to use technology to promote grounded theory-based practices in their classrooms. In it, I report on an evolving model for such training that resulted from a longitudinal case study examining how teacher trainees' identities, learning and teaching practices changed when exposed to the use of a variety of social networking technologies for language learning in the context of their teacher preparation program. The 12-month classroom-based case study was conducted at a private university in Chile, using a variety of ethnographic tools. I investigated how the integration of certain ICTs into content courses, as opposed to more traditional stand-alone courses on technology use, mattered both in terms of the way the participants viewed themselves as learners and as future teachers of language, as well as of their evolving perspectives on the use of technology for learning and teaching. My aim in conducting the study was twofold: 1) to determine whether innovative technology-infused (TI) courses would serve to enable the beginning teacher participants to shed their traditional, passive, rather narrow cultural mindset as individuals and learners that are contrary to the identities of effective, 21st century teachers; and 2) to see whether opportunities to use a variety of innovative technologies for learning would have an influence on the pedagogies these individuals employed in their teaching practices. While the longitudinal study provided encouraging signs on both accounts within the teacher preparation program, questions remained about whether the model would be supported where it mattered--in &quot;real&quot; classroom teaching. In this article, I report on followup qualitative and numbers-based findings that suggest that, generally, the positive changes were not sustained. These findings provide strong support for the need for teacher education models to be tested in &quot;real&quot; practice. Importantly, they also uncover the essential ingredient for promoting future teachers' uptake of effective use of ICT's--collective support from all stakeholders within the Teacher Education community
Online Formative Assessment in Higher Education: Its Pros and Cons
Author: Baleni, Zwelijongile Gaylard
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Blended Learning,Computer Assisted Testing,Formative Evaluation,Higher Education,Educational Benefits,Mixed Methods Research,Questionnaires,Student Improvement,Feedback (Response),Time on Task,Undergraduate Students,Foreign Countries

Online and blended learning have become common educational strategy in higher education. Lecturers have to re-theorise certain basic concerns of teaching, learning and assessment in non-traditional environments. These concerns include perceptions such as cogency and trustworthiness of assessment in online environments in relation to serving the intended purposes, as well as understanding how formative assessment operates within online learning environment. Of importance also is the issue of how formative assessment benefits both the student learning and teaching within pedagogical strategies in an online context. This paper's concern is how online formative assessment provides teaching and learning as well as how lecturers and students benefit from it. A mixed method questionnaire on formative assessment with a main focus on how formative assessment within online contexts operates was used to collect data from courses using Blackboard. Lecturers and students at a comprehensive university were the population. Various techniques for formative assessment linked with online tools such as discussion forums and objective tests were used. The benefits that were famous comprise improvement of student commitment, faster feedback, enhanced flexibility around time and place of taking the assessment task and importance in the procedure for students and lecturers also benefited with less marking time and saved on administrative costs. The crucial findings are that effective online formative assessment can nurture a student and assessment centred focus through formative feedback and enrich student commitment with valued learning experiences. Ongoing trustworthy assessment tasks and interactive formative feedback were identified as significant features that will deal with intimidations to rationality and trustworthiness within the milieu of online formative assessment.
Language Proficiency, Reading Development, and Learning Context
Author: Li, Liu
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Language Proficiency,Study Abroad,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Reading Strategies,Second Language Learning,Chinese,College Students,Language Tests,Reading Tests,Protocol Analysis,Profiles,Pretests Posttests,Scores,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Second Language Instruction,Observation,Semi Structured Interviews

In the era of globalization, the number of students studying abroad is increasing dramatically. Accordingly, there is an increasing interest among researchers in students' language gains in the study-abroad (SA) context. To deepen our understanding of second language (L2) reading acquisition in different contexts, it is necessary to examine students' reading development in the SA context and at home (AH) context, as well as to find out the effect of context on reading development. Therefore, this study attempted to find the relation between language proficiency, reading development, and learning contexts through careful investigation of potential connections between contact with language and culture outside of class and reading strategy development. This study made use of a variety of instruments to collect both quantitative and qualitative data to gain a better understanding of how reading develops and of what factors influence that development in AH and SA contexts. Multiple objective measures, plus some qualitative methods, such as observation and research interviews, were employed for investigation. Together, these methods provided a clearer picture of how contexts influence reading development of learners of Chinese at different proficiency levels.
How Does Short-Term Foreign Language Immersion Stimulate Language Learning?
Author: Savage, Baron L.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Immersion Programs,Second Language Instruction,Summer Programs,Educational Benefits,Skill Development,Language Skills,Pretests Posttests,Scores,Listening Comprehension Tests,Reading Tests,Universities,Chinese,Partnerships in Education,Military Training,Program Effectiveness,College Students,Foreign Countries,Mixed Methods Research,Interviews,Questionnaires,Statistical Significance

The events of September 11, 2001, shocked the nation and forced the United States government to acknowledge its tremendously inadequate capability in foreign language proficiency and global cultural awareness. Post 9/11 military operations reinforced the reality that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs a significantly improved capability in non-western European languages and dialects and a surge capacity to expand its language capabilities. In recent years, colleges and universities have experienced a significant growth in short-term foreign language immersion programs however, fewer government educational grants means that more students are working to pay their way through school, and keeping a job is much easier when the student is gone for a few weeks rather than for a few months or a year. Furthermore, short-term summer immersion programs are very attractive to students who major in challenging subjects with little or no credit for language classes. Still, a fundamental question remained: How do student participants in short-term foreign language immersion programs actually benefit from the experience? This study combined a quantitative assessment with a qualitative evaluation in an attempt to provide a meaningful judgment of how short-term language immersion programs stimulate the language acquisition process. The results showed all program participants, whether first-time participants or repeat students, indicated that the short-term language immersion program provided them with myriad opportunities to improve their language skills. This study revealed that language immersion participants experienced a statistically significant improvement in both listening and reading scores from pre-test to post-test.
U. S. Government Factors Influencing an Expansion of Study Abroad in the Middle East/North Africa
Author: Lane-Toomey, Cara
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Study Abroad,Cultural Awareness,Foreign Policy,National Security,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Federal Aid,Government Role,Uncommonly Taught Languages,Foreign Countries,Government Employees,Educational History,Area Studies,Educational Finance,Federal Legislation,Undergraduate Students,Scholarships,Online Surveys,Student Attitudes,Correlation,Focus Groups

As the United States continued to grow as a world power throughout the later part of the twentieth century, government funding for international education grew more closely connected to its national security needs. Federal funds have contributed to the growth of Area Studies and studying Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs). Within the last ten years the U.S. study abroad population selecting the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has grown by over 500% from 2000/01 to 2008/09. This remarkable growth is occurring at the same time as national security and foreign policy goals of the United States have become increasingly focused on the MENA region. Many scholars have marked events of September 11, 2001 as a critical point in U.S. history in regards to the explosion of general academic concern about the MENA region and the need for governmental personnel who are well trained in critical languages and Middle East Studies. This study therefore examines several concepts drawn from a survey of U.S. study abroad students in the MENA region and in destinations in Western Europe and Australia conducted during the fall of 2010. Employing a historical review, this research described how government has played a role in the expansion of study abroad in this area of the world by increasing the amount of area and language education available at U.S. institutions. In addition, this review has demonstrated ways in which the U.S. government has provided funds for students to study abroad in regions of the world which relate to current national security needs; areas which often are outside of the common destinations in Western Europe and Australia. (The study contains a bibliography.)
Inclusive Excellence and Underrepresentation of Students of Color in Study Abroad
Author: Sweeney, Karyn
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Study Abroad,Minority Group Students,Disproportionate Representation,Equal Education,Racial Differences,Self Concept,Socioeconomic Status,Individual Development,Cultural Differences,White Students,College Students,Excellence in Education,Access to Education,Gender Differences,Sexual Identity,Educational Environment,Campuses,Educational Experience,Student Participation

Dialogue regarding the participation of students of color in study abroad must move beyond a focus solely on numbers, access, and deficits of students of color. The inclusive excellence scorecard found in this report can be used as a tool for institutions to examine the participation and success of students of color in study abroad through the interconnected areas of access and equity, climate, diversity in the curriculum, and learning and development. It is crucial that institutions start efforts to impact underrepresentation by first considering conditions on their own campuses. These self-assessments can be shared to contribute to the larger body of knowledge regarding students of color and study abroad. Not all of the indicators are relevant or appropriate to every institution/organization. This scorecard was developed from the author's experience working in a U.S. university setting. While many of these indicators can be useful for program providers and host universities, additional indicators can be developed that are more applicable to the work and spheres of influence of these types of institutions. Additional research is needed to address the experiences of students of color abroad, as well as similarities and differences among different racial and ethnic groups and subgroups. While the focus of this scorecard is limited to students of color, it is also important to recognize that multiple identities play a part in the study abroad experience, including gender identity, socioeconomic status, generational status in the U.S. and in college, and sexual orientation, to name a few. There are also many other underrepresented groups in study abroad, and the concept of inclusive excellence can be utilized to examine the participation of these groups as well. Until institutions have a clear understanding of the experiences, challenges, and opportunities on their own campuses and study abroad programs, they cannot effectively create change to better serve students of color in the pre-departure, in-country, and reentry phases of study abroad. In order to be successful, these efforts must be coordinated as part of larger institutional efforts toward creating an inclusive campus. While students of color who do not study abroad miss out on individual opportunities for growth, underrepresentation also impacts institutions, industry, the country, and communities abroad, who all fail to benefit from the contributions of students of color.
Emerging Issues Commentary: Teaching Our K-1 Students and Ourselves about Sustainable Development as We Raise Questions to Develop a Nuanced Understanding
Author: Molitor, Jessica
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Education,Sustainable Development,Sustainability,Elementary School Science,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Scientific Concepts,Learning Activities,Teaching Methods,Evaluation Methods,Pretests Posttests

&quot;Sustainable&quot; development refers to development that meets our needs, while making it possible for future generations to meet their needs. Societal and personal choices will dictate if sustainable development will be possible, or, rather, if the environmental, economic and social impact of our continual lifestyle demands will lead to irreversible strain on our world, with consequences that may make human and other life unsustainable. Recent infl uential science standards, including the Next Generation Science Standards, recognize the need for our students to understand these ideas, and our work with kindergarten and 1st-grade students has shown that such understanding is possible. We present background about sustainable development along with a three-day unit and activities, learning assessment measures, and evaluation results. We also discuss the questions that teachers must consider to have a nuanced view of sustainable development.
Laboratory Practices of Beginning Secondary Science Teachers: A Five-Year Study
Author: Wong, Sissy S.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Beginning Teachers,Beginning Teacher Induction,Secondary School Science,Secondary School Teachers,Science Instruction,Science Laboratories,Teaching Methods,Teacher Competencies,Statistical Analysis,Science Process Skills,Inquiry,Computer Uses in Education,Correlation,Methods Courses,Teacher Education,Laboratory Equipment,Interviews

During the beginning years of teaching, science teachers develop the knowledge and skills needed to design and implement science laboratories. In this regard, this quantitative study focused on the reported laboratory practices of 61 beginning secondary science teachers who participated in four different induction programs. The results demonstrated an increase in inquiry-based laboratories while the participants were engaged in a science-specific induction program. Nevertheless, after the program concluded, the teachers reported enacting more skill-based and verification laboratories rather than continuing with the inquirybased laboratories. Other findings included an increased use of computer equipment over time for all teachers and a positive correlation between the number of science methods courses that the teacher had taken and the use of professional laboratory equipment. The results of this study support the notion that science-specific induction matters and that this support should be sustained beyond two years. The authors call for further research on ways to support beginning secondary science teachers in their use of laboratory practices to promote students' acquisition of science knowledge, skills, and literacy.