From e‐learning space to e‐learning place

In this paper, it is argued that e‐learning environments are currently more like ‘buildings’, ie, learning spaces, rather than ‘schools’, ie, places for learning. The concepts originated from architecture and urban design, where they are used both to distinguish static spaces from inhabited places, and more importantly, as design objectives. The transformation from space to place is supported and enabled by social interactions between the (learning) community members. We argue that this distinction between the concepts explains some of the problems with current e‐learning systems and propose issues to consider when designing new systems. By acknowledging the importance and characteristics of a place, designers and researchers can justify the need and support for social interactions in learning space, consequently enabling social community building in e‐learning environments, and most importantly, supporting the development of a user‐friendly and motivating e‐learning place.     

Critical success factors: How one multinational company develops global e‐learning

This research study examined how a multinational company determined what the critical success factors (CSFs) were for developing global e‐learning. The study analyzed how these CSFs were grouped together to make their management more efficient. There were 21 participants in the study who were key stakeholders from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The results demonstrated that not all CSFs were deemed critical for every program and that what were considered CSFs early in the project often changed by the end of the project. In addition, the study showed that grouping the CSFs into common categories allowed the program development stakeholders to be more consistent and thorough in their ability to manage and address those CSFs throughout the project. Finally, the results demonstrated that for the study company, the best way to manage CSFs was to expand existing best practices and standard operating procedures to address global CSFs.     

Measuring the quality of e‐learning

This paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure the quality of e‐learning. Six volunteers (all of them 3rd‐year medical students) took part in a programme of e‐learning designed to teach the principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their understanding of MRI was measured before and after the course by the use of concept mapping. The quality of change in individuals' maps was assessed using criteria developed to distinguish between meaningful and rote‐learning outcomes. Student maps were also scored for evidence of conceptual richness and understanding. Finally, each map was compared directly with the content of the electronic teaching material. The results show that many of the student misconceptions were put right in the course of their learning but that many of the key concepts introduced in the teaching were ignored (or sometimes learnt by rote) by the students. This was because the teaching material locked these new ideas in structures and terminology that precluded meaning‐making among non‐experts. Our data suggest that students' prior knowledge is a key determinant of meaningful learning. We suggest that this must be acknowledged if the design and use of electronic teaching material is also to be meaningful. Ultimately, measures of student learning are the only authentic indicators of the quality of teaching through technology.     

Factors determining e‐learning service quality

e‐Learning courses are fast becoming common‐place, yet the success of these online courses varies considerably. Since limited research addresses the issue of e‐learning quality (ELQ) of service in higher education environments, there is an increasing need to effectively assess ELQ. In this paper, we argue that to obtain a satisfactory e‐learning student experience, we must offer more than access to learning material. The research proposes an extended SERVQUAL model, the ELQ model, which in addition to key service constructs, facilitates consideration of both information and system quality factors. Exploratory Factor Analysis is conducted to investigate the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and multiple regression analysis is used to test the research model. Data analysis reveals that Assurance, Responsiveness, Tangibility, Course Website and Learning Content have a positive correlation with the perception of ELQ. e‐Learning students value a stable, and easy to use e‐learning environment, yet do not perceive empathy and reliability as significant to student perception of ELQ.     

How learners produce data from text in classifying clickbait

Text provides a compelling example of unstructured data that can be used to motivate and explore classification problems. Challenges arise regarding the representation of features of text and student linkage between text representations as character strings and identification of features that embed connections with underlying phenomena. In order to observe how students reason with text data in scenarios designed to elicit certain aspects of the domain, we employed a task-based interview method using a structured protocol with six pairs of undergraduate students. Our goal was to shed light on students' understanding of text as data using a motivating task to classify headlines as “clickbait” or “news.” Three types of features (function, content, and form) surfaced, the majority from the first scenario. Our analysis of the interviews indicates that this sequence of activities engaged the participants in thinking at both the human-perception level and the computer-extraction level and conceptualizing connections between them.     

Experiencing research‐informed teaching from the student perspective: Insights from developing an undergraduate e‐journal

This paper reports the findings of a science e‐journal initiative to publish undergraduate research and assesses student evaluations of this experience. Students in this (post‐1992, non‐research‐intensive) institution overwhelmingly reported that research was a key feature of their course at the point of the e‐journal introduction and that they were involved in research in a variety of ways (especially honours projects, lab work and fieldwork). Research‐informed teaching from the student perspective involved two specific categories of pedagogic activities: things that students did and things that tutors did. Students largely understood research‐informed teaching as an activity where tutors impart knowledge about their own and others' research (a research‐led approach). Yet, what students wanted was a more active involvement in the research process (research‐oriented/research‐based). The e‐journal initiative enabled some students to acquire this additional experience and without great cost so could be adopted elsewhere. There is some debate about equality of access to research opportunities in higher education, and an e‐journal has the potential to be more widely accessible than, for example, research apprenticeships (especially if students can be involved as reviewers and as active contributors via Web 2.0 technologies). However, there is still an element of elitism about selection for the publication process.     

Conceptions of e‐learning and professional development for e‐learning held by tertiary educators in New Zealand

The conceptions an individual holds about a phenomenon can influence and determine associated behaviours and perspectives. Consequently, they have a bearing upon how learning about a phenomenon is undertaken and how that phenomenon is experienced and applied in context. A phenomenographic research approach was used to gather the expressed experiences of e‐learning and professional development for e‐learning held by teachers and support staff from institutions across New Zealand. Five conceptions of e‐learning (as tool and equipment; as a facilitator of interaction; as learning; as a reduction in distance; and as a collaborative enterprise) and four conceptions of professional development for e‐learning (as training; as opening up possibilities; as collaboration; and as relevant and purposeful) were discovered. In this report, we discuss the conceptions, and show how they are interrelated through outcome space. Implications for the professional development of tertiary teachers and teaching support staff are outlined. The study provides some insights for individuals, institutions and those responsible for planning and implementing professional development programmes to help them to support the development and progress of e‐learning in appropriate and rewarding directions.     

Supporting social awareness in collaborative e‐learning

In the last decade, we have seen the emergence of virtual learning environments. Initially, these environments were a little more than document repositories that tutor used unicast to the students. Informed in part by social constructivist theories of education, later environments included capabilities for tutor–student and student–student, synchronous and asynchronous communication. The initial research of this paper reports the typical low usage of these capabilities. The main research attempted to ameliorate this problem by the provision of tools to promote a sense of social awareness as self‐presence and copresence, and evaluation techniques to analyse e‐learners' interactions. Data was obtained from prepost questionnaires, log files and social network analysis which augmented the data provided by the tools embedded in Moodle. The results indicate the importance of social awareness in effective e‐learning; the quality of active participation can be increased by the use of associated tools. The e‐tutor's role is still pivotal to facilitate and to support such engagement towards collaborative learning. Implications for future research suggest that social awareness tools and evaluation techniques can create awareness cues in an interface with a potential impact on learning.     

Trends of e‐learning research from 2000 to 2008: Use of text mining and bibliometrics

This study investigated the longitudinal trends of e‐learning research using text mining techniques. Six hundred and eighty‐nine (689) refereed journal articles and proceedings were retrieved from the Science Citation Index/Social Science Citation Index database in the period from 2000 to 2008. All e‐learning publications were grouped into two domains with four groups/15 clusters based on abstract analysis. Three additional variables: subject areas, prolific countries and prolific journals were applied to data analysis and data interpretation. Conclusions include that e‐learning research is at the early majority stage and foci have shifted from issues of the effectiveness of e‐learning to teaching and learning practices. Educational studies and projects and e‐learning application in medical education and training are growing fields with the highest potential for future research. Approaches to e‐learning differ between leading countries and early adopter countries, and government policies play an important role in shaping the results.     

Use of interactive sessions and e‐learning in teaching anatomy to first‐year optometry students

Students enrolled in the Optometry program at the University of Manchester are required to take a functional anatomy course during the first year of their studies. Low mean scores in the written examination of this unit for the past two academic years energized staff to rethink the teaching format. Interactive sessions lasting 20 minutes each were introduced during the two hour lecture sessions. In these sessions students reinforced their anatomical knowledge learned in lectures, through playing games such as anatomy bingo and solving anatomical anagrams. In addition, five e‐learning modules were also introduced for students to complete in their own time. A pre‐ and postcourse questionnaire were distributed to obtain student views on their expectations of the course and interactive sessions. Comparisons were made between written examination results from 2008 to 2009 to written examination results from the previous five academic years to see if the interactive sessions and e‐learning modules had any impact on student knowledge. In addition, comparisons were made between student performances on the functional anatomy course with their performance in all of the other assessments taken by the students during their first year of study. Analysis of the questionnaires showed that student's expectations of the course were fulfilled and the interactive sessions were well received by the majority. There was a significant increase (P ≤ 0.01) in the mean examination score in 2008–2009 after introduction of the interactive sessions and e‐learning modules compared with scores in previous years. The introduction of interactive sessions has increased student enjoyment of the module and along with the e‐learning modules have had a positive impact on student examination results. Anat Sci Educ 3:39–45, 2010. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

The myths about e‐learning in higher education

Proponents have marketed e‐learning by focusing on its adoption as the right thing to do while disregarding, among other things, the concerns of the potential users, the adverse effects on users and the existing research on the use of e‐learning or related innovations. In this paper, the e‐learning‐adoption proponents are referred to as the technopositivists. It is argued that most of the technopositivists in the higher education context are driven by a personal agenda, with the aim of propagating a technopositivist ideology to stakeholders. The technopositivist ideology is defined as a ‘compulsive enthusiasm’ about e‐learning in higher education that is being created, propagated and channelled repeatedly by the people who are set to gain without giving the educators the time and opportunity to explore the dangers and rewards of e‐learning on teaching and learning. Ten myths on e‐learning that the technopositivists have used are presented with the aim of initiating effective and constructive dialogue, rather than merely criticising the efforts being made.     

e‐Learning in universities: Supporting help‐seeking processes by instructional prompts

University students are more responsible than school students for their own learning. The role of self‐regulated learning increases in virtual e‐learning course environments. Academic help‐seeking is an important strategy of self‐regulated learning, but many students fail to use this strategy appropriately. A lack of information and a perceived threat of help‐seeking may cause this effect. Among others, giving prompts is an instructional means to support students to adequately apply academic help‐seeking . A study is presented in which the effect of giving prompts on the quantity and quality of academic help‐seeking was experimentally investigated in a blended university learning course of educational science. Compared with students who received no prompts, students with prompts about the relevance of active help‐seeking had better learning outcomes, participated more actively in online learning activities, more explicitly referred to learning contents in the forums and took more initiative in starting discussions. The perceived threat of help‐seeking could not be reduced, however.