Why some teachers easily learn to use a new virtual learning environment: a technology acceptance perspective

After a decade of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education, many teachers still use only a minimum of its affordances. This study looked at how academic staff interacted with a new and unknown VLE in order to understand how technology acceptance and support materials influence (perceived and actual) task performance. In an experimental design, 36 participants were split into a control (online help) and experimental (instructor video) condition and completed five common teaching tasks in a new VLE. In contrast to most technology acceptance model research, this study found that perceived usefulness of the VLE was not related to (perceived) task performance. Perceived ease of use was related to intentions and actual behaviour in the VLE. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the two conditions, although the experimental condition led to a (marginal) increase in time to complete the tasks.     

How children learn to use language

There have been many theories about how children learn to use language. Professor Narasimhan proposed a theory of child language acquisition based on behavioural pragmatics. In this article we present a simplified version of his theories about how children learn to communicate, to describe, manipulate and explore the world around them from exposure to variety of language utterances and non-verbal inputs such as gestures and pointing. We also discuss the method he used to substantiate his ideas, and briefly present a computational model of the ideas arising from his work. Raman Chandrasekar has been with Microsoft Research, Redmond, USA. since 1998. His current research interests are at the intersection of information retrieval, natural language processing and machine learning. He received his PhD from TIFR, Bombay.     

Learning in virtual worlds: Using communities of practice to explain how people learn from play

Although there is interest in the educational potential of online multiplayer games and virtual worlds, there is still little evidence to explain specifically what and how people learn from these environments. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the experiences of couples that play World of Warcraft together. Learning outcomes were identified (involving the management of ludic, social and material resources) along with learning processes, which followed Wenger's model of participation in Communities of Practice. Comparing this with existing literature suggests that productive comparisons can be drawn with the experiences of distance education students and the social pressures that affect their participation.     

Learning How to Learn in a Technology Course: A Case Study

There is a growing interest in helping students to become better learners, and this article describes how the team designing an Open University distance-learning course set out to create a course that would explicitly attempt to help students acquire the learning characteristics of mature and capable practitioners in the field. The article discusses how the course team went about this task in ways that turned out to be consistent with both experiential and constructivist perspectives of learning. It explains how the learning-to-learn goals of the course were explicitly articulated to students and how the course structure and the assessment policy sought to 'impel' students to acquire and deploy learning skills that would stand them in good stead after graduation. The article ends by reviewing the evidence, available from students' marked assignments and from surveys, of how well students actually did 'learn how to learn'.     

International students using online information resources to learn: complex experience and learning needs

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that investigated 25 international students’ use of online information resources for study purposes at two Australian universities. Using an expanded critical incident approach, the study viewed international students through an information literacy lens, as information-using learners. The findings are presented in two complementary parts: as a word picture that describes their whole experience of using online information resources to learn; and as a tabulated set of critical findings that summarises their associated information literacy learning needs. The word picture shows international students’ resource use as a complex interplay of eight interrelated elements: students; information-learning environment; interactions (with online resources); strengths-challenges; learning-help; affective responses; reflective responses; and cultural-linguistic dimensions. In using online resources, the international students experience an array of strengths and challenges, and an apparent information literacy imbalance between their more developed information skills and less-developed critical information use. The critical findings about information literacy needs provide a framework for developing an inclusive informed learning approach that responds to international students’ complex information using experiences and needs. While the study is situated in Australia, the findings are of potential interest to educators, information professionals and researchers worldwide who seek to support learning in culturally diverse higher education contexts.     

学会学习、学会研究、学会创新——对本科生、硕士生、博士生素质教育的思考

针对社会发展对不同层次人才的不同素质需求,指出我国高等院校在开展素质教育时应不同层次区别对待.提出本科生应重点学会学习、硕士生应重点学会研究、博士生应重点学会创新的素质教育培养目标,同时就如何实现相应的素质教育培养目标提出建议.     

Improved learning efficiency and increased student collaboration through use of virtual microscopy in the teaching of human pathology

The implementation of virtual microscopy in the teaching of pathology at the Bloomington, Indiana extension of the Indiana University School of Medicine permitted the assessment of student attitudes, use and academic performance with respect to this new technology. A gradual and integrated approach allowed the parallel assessment with respect to both the virtual and optical microscopes. Student survey data indicated that the virtual imaging technology was enthusiastically received, and aggregate grade comparisons with the previous classes showed no decrease in content mastery. Survey questions assessing a variety of parameters reveal improved time and resource utilization, as well as increased student collaboration. Even so, 50% of the respondents indicated having both optical and virtual microscopes available was preferable. Anat Sci Ed 1:240–246, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

道德生活体验:青年道德学习的实践基础

道德学习应该是一种贴近生活的实践活动。联系青年的生活实际,通过创设一个个具有真实性的道德体验情境,引发青年自主探究,在实践中激发情感体验,是青年道德学习的一种有效途径。     

Conceptualisation of learning to learn competence and the challenges of implementation: The Estonian experience

The importance of students' learning to learn competence for academic achievement, as well as their well-being at school and in life, is increasingly emphasised by educators and policy makers in national curricula and educational strategies. In an uncertain and complex world, learners need to become autonomous, be able to analyse challenges and apply knowledge in different contexts, address complex tasks, and create new knowledge. This article explores concepts and approaches to the development of students' learning to learn competence in the context of education in Estonia. First, the conceptualisation, model and dimensions of learning to learn competence are described and related challenges for teachers are analysed. Second, an overview of Estonian teachers' current practices, beliefs, knowledge, skills and occupational standards relevant to students' learning to learn competence is provided. We discuss how Estonian teacher education policy may enhance or inhibit the work of teachers when supporting students to develop learning to learn competence. Future directions for teacher educators and how to prepare teachers to support the development of students' learning to learn competence are suggested.     

让学生在体验中学习数学

教学环境充分民主自由，数学内容走进学生生活，数学学习融于自主活动。     

The experience of collaboration: Writing and instructional design in distance education

The instructional design process in a distance education context has been well documented within the distance education literature, although most of this literature is written from the perspective of the distance education specialist. There have been few explorations of the experiences of the academic teacher in the writing process and the relationship between an instructional designer and the writer/teacher has seldom been explored from the point of view of the writer/teacher. This paper documents a collaborative process of preparing course materials for a distance education subject on curriculum. The process is described through the eyes of both the instructional designer and the writer/teacher, so capturing the procedural aspects of the event as well as the interpersonal aspects. Many facets of the process which are normally hidden from view are included in the paper as are some of the less obvious outcomes of the collaboration. The literature which calls for a consultative relationship between instructional designer and teacher is used to analyse the observations made.     

如何利用因特网更好的学习英语

随着因特网的普及,电脑辅助语言学习得到了进一步的应用。利用因特网学习英语同其他的手段相比,有许多优点,本文对此进行了讨论并提出了一些具体的方法和建议及注意事项。     

Teachers' self-directed learning and teaching experience: What,how, and why teachers want to learn

This study focused on teachers' self-directed learning; a concept derived from adult learning theories that accommodates for the idea that teachers formulate their own learning needs and consequently direct their learning. Teachers from 11 Dutch secondary schools (N = 309) were asked about their preferred learning domains (‘what’), their preferred learning activities (‘how’), and their reasons to learn about a selection of learning domains (‘why’). In regression analyses we tested for linear and non-linear relationships between teachers' teaching experience with their self-directed learning. Early- and late-career teachers showed higher preferences compared to mid-career teachers to learn about classroom management domains.     

Reasoning as a scientist: ways of helping children to use language to learn science

Sociocultural researchers have claimed that students' learning of science is a discursive process, with scientific concepts and ways of reasoning being learned through engagement in practical enquiry and social interaction as well as individualized activity. It is also often claimed that interacting with partners while carrying out scientific investigations is beneficial to students' learning and the development of their understanding. The research we describe investigated the validity of these claims and explored their educational implications. An experimental teaching programme was designed to enable children in British primary schools to talk and reason together and to apply these skills in their study of science. The results obtained indicate that (a) children can be enabled to use talk more effectively as a tool for reasoning and (b) talk‐based activities can have a useful function in scaffolding the development of reasoning and scientific understanding. The implications of the findings for educational policy and practice are discussed.     

Writing to Learn: Benefits and Limitations

Writing to learn is a pedagogical approach grounded in the belief that the reasoning required to write about a topic or concept will help students gain understanding. However, research indicates that the impact writing has on student learning depends on context. Using a mixed-method, quasi-experimental, repeated measures design, we examined how embedding writing-to-learn pedagogy in a required college course impacted students’ learning as well as their perceptions of writing to learn. Our quantitative analysis revealed that writing to learn did not have a differential effect on student achievement of course goals. However, qualitative analysis revealed evidence indicating students valued writing to learn as a way to make sense of course content by reasoning through their ideas and responses to class experiences. From the instructor's perspective, writing to learn also helped build rapport with students. Our results indicated that in our context, writing to learn pedagogy had benefits and limitations. We offer practical implications and pedagogical suggestions based on our experiences and findings.     

Adults who learn: sharing literacy project experience from South-western Nigeria

The paper reports the outcome of a funded non-formal, functional adult literacy project embarked upon in the university-based Ìsoyà rural development programme area in south-western Nigeria from 2005–2007. It specifically presents the approaches used in legitimising the literacy project amongst community people; and reports the positive impact of the project on community empowerment. A case study design was used to carry out the study amongst adult literacy class participants. It was found that the average income of learners per month in Nigerian Naira (NGN) at the commencement of the adult class increased from NGN 39,083.33 (～US$ 253.71) to NGN 54,409.09 (～US$ 353.19) after the first phase of the project. Also, participant learners realised that they had acquired basic reading and writing skills and have, thus, acquired self-esteem in addition to experiencing some socio-economic progress as well as the ability to better understand their ecological environment. Well over 88.0% of the adult learners perceived that they became more politically conscious as a result of the adult class they attended.