Online Learning as a catalyst for reshaping practice – The experiences of some academics developing online learning materials

While tertiary teaching staff are familiar with teaching strategies used in traditional course delivery, the design and delivery of courses integrating new technologies such as online materials poses new challenges for many. Hence, although technology may be used, its use is often at a superficial level, failing to have significant impact on teaching practice. Motivated by the authors' belief that the development of online learning materials is an endeavour aimed at improving the quality of the learning environment, this paper explores the experiences of several lecturers within Griffith University as they engage in the design and development of online materials as part of the university's flexible learning initiative. Insights into the experiences and perceptions of teaching staff developing online materials are used to highlight issues that can then be used to inform appropriate professional development support for tertiary staff. This in turn will enable the integration of technology into the learning environment to act as a catalyst for positive changes to teaching practice.     

下一代的学习:愿景、创新和可能性——第七届亚洲地区数字化学习国际研讨会纪实

第七届亚洲地区数字化学习国际研讨会(eLFA2012)的主旨之一,是围绕教育教学创新、教学新技术、数字一代的学习、教学考核与评价等方面,邀请各国、各校学者介绍其成功的经验,共同反思探讨针对现存问题的可行性改进策略;主旨之二,是联系教育信息化的当前发展水平与趋势,探查未来教育技术领域可能的研究重点和热点问题,探索未来数字化学习的发展走向,并在此基础上共同展望与畅想"下一代"的学习者在我们共同努力营造的"下一代"的数字化学习环境中,能充分利用先进的学习支持技术,便捷地获取所需的学习工具与资源,真正实现人人、时时、处处及多样化地进行学习的美好愿景。本次大会的专家报告、学者视点精彩纷呈,通过全景扫描的综合视角对数以百计的与会人员所关注的话题及其相关讨论进行整理后发现,电子书包(或电子课本)、云学习、学习环境、社交媒体(或社交网络)、学习元、连接性的学习、学习风格、学习分析、学习反馈与绩效评估等及其相关支持技术,在可预见的数字化学习未来图景里,将得到长足的发展与持续关注。     

Working the system: Development of a system model of technology integration to inform learning task design

There has been extensive investigation into factors affecting digital technology integration in learning and teaching, but the complexity of integration continues to elude understanding. Thus, questions about how digital technologies can be best used to support learning persist. This paper argues that methods designed to address complex systems are needed to understand the interplay between teaching, learning and digital technologies. Starting with a developing system model of teachers' technology integration, this study revises the model to include factors of students' experience using digital technologies and beliefs about learning. The revised model is then used to demonstrate possible effects of student experiences in a technologically integrated group learning task. Analysis draws on data from a large-scale Australian study of technology innovation (N = 7406). Data mining techniques are used to identify patterns of students' technology use and perceptions of group work. Findings inform revision of the model to include factors of students' experience and learning and their effects on teachers' practice. Implications for learning design and students' learning experiences are explored.     

Mind,Brain, and Education in the Digital Era

Computers are everywhere, and they are transforming the human world. The technology of computers and the Internet is radically changing the ways that people learn and communicate. In the midst of this technology‐driven revolution people need to examine the changes to analyze how they are altering interaction and human culture. The changes have already permeated societies around the world, altering learning, teaching, communication, politics, and most aspects of human interaction. The possibilities for improving educational effectiveness seem powerful, as a result of an information revolution with online access to infinite information and numerous teaching and learning activities of adults and children at school, at home, and in public places. An urgent need is for systematic longitudinal studies of what happens with learning and teaching as people use computers and play with the Internet. Perhaps the new technologies make possible a new kind of constructive dialogue, with intertwining of teaching and learning in a dynamic double helix of questions and answers, of modeling and experimentation. This special section will deal with (1) uses of new technologies to help people teach and learn more effectively, (2) uses of individual laptops to help children learn, (3) creation of new tools for learning and assessment, and (4) techniques that image brain structure and activity.     

Situated Learning with Online Portfolios, Classroom Websites and Facebook

In this article we describe the evolution of an elective course designed specifically for undergraduate students in our pre-service teacher education program. This course is intended to prepare these undergraduate students as future teachers—helping them to make effective and creative uses of technology in learning settings. This course emphasizes learning to learn with and about technology, in the ever-changing context of educational technology. Generally speaking, we outline and describe three key goals of teaching young teachers to thoughtfully integrate technology into a real-world classroom. First, the course emphasizes learning to explore and learn proactively by engaging in learning by design activities. Second, students are given an opportunity to try a wide variety of innovative technologies through explorations of their own choosing. Finally, we attempt to leverage the power of online community building for learning by harnessing the ubiquity and convenience of tools like Facebook. We look into the future with great hope and enthusiasm that our preservice teachers will lead the way in integrating new technologies into their teaching in ways that will benefit their students, colleagues, and the greater education community.     

Creating partnerships for generative learning and systemic change: Redefining academic roles and relationships in support of learning

The adoption of information and communications technologies (ICT) is a catalyst for innovation and evaluation of teaching, and are driving many tertiary institutions towards a reconsideration of the nature of quality learning. While the technology of online delivery receives most attention, it is arguably the management of teaching and learning that requires new approaches. Universities which have been engaged in traditional forms of distance education are considering how best to integrate communications technologies that offer alternative forms of course delivery, communication, flexible pedagogies and new roles for teachers and learners. Institutional change issues are also linked to ICT adoption: developing students' generic skills, fostering lifelong learning and catering for greater flexibility in delivery of educational services is now core business in tertiary institutions across Australia. This paper argues that such changes require tertiary teaching staff to adopt a different mindset, that of facilitating and supporting learning while assuming new roles as managers, motivators, mentors and mediators of learning. The rationale for each of these roles within Web-based learning environments is presented within a constructivist framework, which affirms and extends good teaching practice. In addition to highlighting aspects of teaching and learning that are supported and transformed by constructivist, Web-based delivery, this paper proposes that professional development is essentially about establishing partnerships for renewal of teaching values, and that staff developers need to learn the craft of supporting change at various levels: at the individual level, at the course and unit level and at the institutional level through systemic contextualized affirmation of constructivist values. Professional development for adoption of Web-based teaching requires multi-dimensional thinking. Rather than acting as a driver of top-down change, effective staff development is participatory and supportive, seeking action research partnerships where more profound changes in teacher conceptions of learning must take place before online pedagogies become part of tertiary teaching culture.     

Music students’ perception of the use of multi-media technology at the graduate level in hong kong higher education

The core purpose of this paper is to draw together research issues and concrete problems with the use of multimedia technology at the graduate level in higher music education by examining one university’s responses to the challenges posed by the use of multimedia technology as a teaching and learning aid for music education. Between June and July 2006, this study conducted a simple questionnaire and interview survey of 16 postgraduate students. The results suggest that music students are confident in their abilities to use multimedia technologies but that many do not believe that the introduction of multimedia technologies into the curriculum will improve the quality of their education. Whilst students’ motivation to learn depends on their interest in the subject and their lecturer’s approach, the incorporation of technology should always be relevant to each individual module. The results of this case study could help other universities respond to the changes brought about by electronic learning and other educational multimedia technology.     

促进教育创新的关键技术与应用实践--2015-2020《地平线报告》的分析与比较

《地平线报告》系列自2004年起,每年持续发布,对教育领域的新兴技术应用趋势做了长期探索,曾为技术促进的教育创新和教学实践的推广,提供了前瞻性建议,具有极高的研究价值。最新的2020年《地平线报告》(教学版)框架做了重要调整,在衡量应用趋势时更加关注技术应用的教学实践、应用情景和影响因素。基于此变化,对该《报告》的解读应重在探讨关键技术在教学实践的应用趋势。为此,以2015-2020年《报告》中的关键技术案例为研究样本,选取各年度《报告》中提及的276份案例进行内容分析。根据技术促进教学创新的不同阶段,将分析维度界定为技术创新、教学创新、组织变革、绩效评估和影响因素等五个维度,并据此对自适应技术、人工智能、学习分析和扩展现实等四项技术的案例进行编码,并根据编码结果分析这些技术的研究主题的变化情况。对多年《报告》的解读表明:为满足高等教育领域对灵活、开放、多元的学习模式的需求,以及普及实现在线教育、促进教育公平和全纳性、降低成本等方面的诉求,技术的教育应用实践还将持续增长。通过对其趋势的观察,也为了解技术研究和实践方面的不足与走向提供了依据。     

Integrating Learning Technologies with Experiential Learning in a Postgraduate Teacher Education Course

This paper discusses how a postgraduate certificate course in third-level learning and teaching for academic staff in the Republic of Ireland has adopted a particular approach in teacher education. An important aspect of the successful integration and use of learning technology is the way in which it effectively reflects and articulates a given learning model; this course has its theoretical basis in the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle. The work illustrates that no one technology can support all types of tertiary-level learning and teaching; an effective approach is to combine a range of technologies. The self-study focuses on analyzing key experiences regarding the integration of a variety of learning technologies in an effort to determine how the teacher educator can integrate technology into the curriculum effectively. What I learned from this self-study will assist the course participants with some of the integration issues that they, in turn, will be dealing with as they move towards incorporating more learning technology into their own subject disciplines. Course tutors deliberately set out to model what we advocate to our own participants.     

Maximising the educational affordances of a technology supported learning environment for introductory undergraduate phonetics

New technologies afford a range of opportunities that can transform teaching techniques and offer enhanced possibilities for learning. This potential is often not grasped by the technologist or the educationalist when introducing new technologies into the learning situation and a situation arises which can be described as "New technology, no new pedagogy" This paper examines why this situation arises, before progressing to suggest a set of target areas the affordances of new technology ought to transform when introduced into the socio–cultural learning environment (Vygotsky, 1978). This set of target areas is illustrated through the presentation of a technology supported learning environment for introductory undergraduate phonetics. Each course module is discussed in relation to these targets and how the affordances of new technology are used to meet them. The student and lecturer reflections on the course indicate that the use of new technology as applied in this introductory undergraduate phonetics course was appropriate, although not always 100% successful.     

Flexible learning in teacher education: myths,muddles and models

While there has been widespread take‐up of the concept ‘flexible learning’ within various educational environments—and equally frequent references to the flexible ‘natures’ of the computer and communication technologies that often underpin flexible learning initiatives—the relationship between technologies and flexibility is not a simple one. In this paper we examine some of the more persistent myths about technologies that are intertwined with discourses of flexibility. We highlight some of the more common ‘muddles’ that these myths can lead us in to and argue that the ‘mess’ that so often results from well‐intentioned moves to ‘be more flexible’ is largely a result of the ways that CCTs, or indeed any new educational technology or strategy, is theorized. Drawing on a recent study of online teaching and learning in higher education, we outline a new framework for examining these and related issues as they apply to teacher education.     

Teaching and learning with technology in higher education: blended and distance education needs ‘joined-up thinking’ rather than technological determinism

In higher education (HE), some of the distinctions between conventional, campus-based universities and those dedicated to distance education are being eroded through the use of information and communication technology. Despite huge investments in technology to enhance teaching and learning, there has been a considerable lack of clarity about what this actually signifies in practice. Implementation decisions are frequently technology-led rather than being focused on clearly defined educational goals. This article attempts to examine key issues and synthesise a number of important debates relating to teaching and learning with technology in HE. It examines some of the key factors influencing how technology is utilised in HE teaching and learning. It argues that decision-making by managers and teachers with regard to technology use needs to be founded upon evidence that takes account of all of those factors, not just a narrow selection of them. Rather than just considering technical issues and/or the idealised promises made about technologies, ‘joined-up thinking’ is required to integrate the multiple contextual factors that all influence how technology is actually used in teaching and learning.     

Learning Technologies and the Issues for Management Education

abstract

Innovation in teaching and learning is an important feature of current general educational developments at all levels. This article will explore the literature regarding the development of new delivery systems, in particular those which are technology based, and will seek to identify the critical issues and implications involved in using emerging technologies in open learning. However, the author's specialism is post experience management development and thus the focus of the article is directed primarily towards the implications for learning in this area.     

Information Technology Courses in Teacher Education: the need for integration

ABSTRACT

Although computers have become common features of schools worldwide, their impact on education and learning has been far less than what could be expected from such a versatile and powerful technology. A significant deterrent has been teachers’ lack of skills and expertise with the new technologies but although computer education is increasingly becoming a significant component within teacher education programmes, this paper will argue that the direction and nature of the teaching and learning in many of these courses is counter‐productive and unable to provide the skills and expertise required from new teaching graduates. The paper posits that these skills can best be developed and achieved through instructional programmes in teacher education that mirror the models that student teachers will be required to embrace in their own classrooms. In order to achieve this, the IT component within teacher education must become an integral part of the programme.     

The Dialectical Relationship Between Place and Space in Education: How the Internet Is Changing Our Perceptions of Teaching and Learning

In this essay Michael Glassman and Jonathan Burbidge explore the idea of a dialectical relationship between the traditional place(s) of teaching/learning settings and the challenges to our perceptions created by the new spaces of the Internet. The authors examine this topic in the context of a three‐stage evolution of humans' relationship with new technologies: (1) fear of how new technologies will change our everyday actions, (2) recognition of emerging technologies as tools capable of offering new possibilities in our activities, and (3) integration of new technologies into productive everyday activities. The Internet is moving quickly through all three stages, but this process takes different forms with disparate populations. What makes recognition of the fast‐moving integration of Internet technology important in the field of education is that students and educators are often at different points in this process. It is critical that we are aware of the role technology is playing in the classroom, in particular the dynamic dialectical relationship between space and place.     

Educational technology and the world wide web in the pacific islands

Conclusion The United States and Japan are at the forefront of technological innovation, telecommunications and information management in the Pacific. This new era of “information” and “communication” raises disturbing questions: Whose information will be disseminated and heard? Can diversity be respected in a world driven by CNN World News and MTV world music? We do not have answers to these questions, but those of us who disseminate innovation and technology into the Pacific must engage in these dialogues with indigenous peoples. Pacific Island cultures must be taken into account as educators and others move toward international dialogue about educational technology, learning and “voice.” We hope this essay stimulates further thought and discussion in this area, as well as an impetus for developing partnerships between Pacific Island communities and institutions of higher education. Her research interests include learning and teaching with multimedia and web-based materials. His research interests include technologies for self-determination and voice.     

The Habits of Mind Necessary to Generate New Ways of Teaching in a Career of Constant Change

In this paper we explore the philosophy, pedagogy and implementation of the third year course sequence in the M.A. in Educational Technology program at Michigan State University. We discuss how “little-r” revolutions in teaching and learning, i.e., technology facilitated revolutions specific to individual classrooms and contexts, are used to introduce our students to the thinking patterns of designers and innovators. This is accomplished by an overlapping emphasis on learning by design, trans-disciplinary creative cognitive tools, innovative technology, and reflective practice. In this environment, we also transition our students from acting as consumers of educational media to being producers of educational experiences. That is, not only do the students construct new educational media, they consider the aesthetic and affective implications of technology use for teaching and learning. Finally, given the rapid evolution of educational technologies, we support students as they establish a foundational vision for the interplay of education and technology that will serve them into the future, as they, and their learners, adapt tonew and emerging digital environments.     

Using technology for enhancing teaching and learning in Bangladesh: challenges and consequences

The increasing use of media and technologies for enhancing teaching and learning is an important current trend to overcome the challenges of schooling and teacher training in the changing world. Many countries in the Global South are trying to adopt technologies in their school and teacher training systems to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. Though some recent research shows impacts of using technologies for enhancing teaching and learning in technology-poor contexts, no research actually addresses the challenges and difficulties associated with using the technologies in those specific contexts. This article presents interview data derived from secondary schools teachers in Bangladesh, in a context beset with many difficulties associated with technology use. In a pilot project, Apple iPods were introduced in 2009 to explore the challenges and consequences of using technology in schools. The data reveal the implications for the teachers’ professional development when they used the iPod as a multimedia player to access educational resources made available to support teaching and learning. This article has also thrown some light on current debates about using technologies for enhancing teaching and learning in technology-poor contexts.     

Use of Advanced Technology Videotapes in the Delivery of Structural Engineering Courses

A teaching and learning development project is currently under way at Queens-land University of Technology to develop advanced technology videotapes for use with the delivery of structural engineering courses. These tapes consist of integrated computer and laboratory simulations of important concepts, and behaviour of structures and their components for a number of structural engineering subjects. They will be used as part of the regular lectures and thus will not only improve the quality of lectures and learning environment, but also will be able to replace the ever-dwindling laboratory teaching in these subjects. The use of these videotapes, developed using advanced computer graphics, data visualization and video technologies, will enrich the learning process of the current diverse engineering student body. This paper presents the details of this new method, the methodology used, the results and evaluation in relation to one of the structural engineering subjects, steel structures.