Refugees and online education: student perspectives on need and support in the context of (online) higher education

ABSTRACT

Online education and in particular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are often regarded as a way to solve global educational challenges. In this article, we highlight the students’ uptake of such a ‘digital solution’. Presenting initial findings from a research project in Germany, we situate our investigation in the specific context of digital educational offers for refugees, using Kiron Open Higher Education as an example. Kiron has designed an innovative academic model, with MOOCs at its core, to ease refugees’ access into higher education. Drawing from student data of 1375 Kiron students we look at students’ actual usage of the offer and the accompanying support services as well as the difficulties refugee students face while navigating online higher education. Results show, amongst others, rather low completion rates in the online courses and point to a much more nuanced picture of how students make use of the offer – putting online education as an easy, straightforward formula to the integration of disadvantaged students into question.     

网络环境教育与电大基层工作策略

在网络环境下，电视大学系统中的基层分校为了有效地承担起远程教学任务，要做到转变观念、主动适应；委做好网络和其他教学媒体的整合，组织好对学习的支持服务；要利用好网络的互动功能；作好对学生的人关怀。     

Embracing distance education in a blended learning model: challenges and prospects

Abstract

Distance education reaches out to non-traditional students in geographically dispersed locations, who are unable to attend face-to-face classes. Contact institutions have been quick to realise the many advantages of distance (online) learning, such as easy access to learning materials, interactive activities, assessment and communication tools. However, the path to anything approaching dual-mode provision has not been without obstacles. In South Africa in the early 2000s, the Council on Higher Education reinforced the mandate of distance education universities and decreed that contact institutions should not encroach on this territory. Subsequently, various frameworks and guidelines emerged which can inform current consideration of dual-mode provision. This practitioner report presents two case studies (University of Pretoria, South Africa; and University of Oxford, United Kingdom) which explore the implications for contact institutions in expanding their provision to include distance education.     

Engagement with online self-tests as a predictor of student success

Online self-testing as part of the online learning environment (OLE) provides practice questions on key concepts with immediate feedback – in a ‘no-risk’ environment. OLE activity was analysed for 471 on-site and distance students enrolled in health science courses to determine total activity on the OLE and usage of online self-tests. The study also aimed to determine whether utilisation of self-tests differed by final grade, particularly between students who just pass (C grades and Restricted pass) and those who fail (D and E grades). Results indicated that on-site students were significantly more active on the OLE compared to distance students. However, these groups engaged similarly with self-tests and achieved a similar distribution of grades. A significant positive relationship was found between final grade achieved and percentage of self-tests attempted. This relationship was significant regardless of study status (on-site or distance), course studied or total activity logged. A more targeted analysis of C?+?R vs. D?+?E students showed that although these two groups were similar on overall usage of the OLE, C?+?R students utilised self-tests to a significantly greater extent. Recommendations from this study are that students (particularly those struggling to achieve academic success) should be directed towards online self-tests.     

Update your status: exploring pre-service teacher identities in an online discussion group

A substantial body of research indicates that a teacher’s identity is an essential aspect of their professional practice. As this body of research grows, researchers have increasingly sought to investigate the nature of pre-service teacher identities. This paper reports on a study that examined identities in the context of a pre-service cohort’s online discussion group. By examining the group, this study attempted to address a gap in research knowledge, as research to this date has been unable to investigate pre-service teacher identities in non-course-endorsed or instructor-occupied spaces. A thematic and quantitative analysis of online postings by and interviews with group members provided an insight into how identities performed and related to one another within the online discussion group. The findings indicate that one category of identities emerged from a commitment to the social expectations and values of the group, whilst another emerged out of a personal resistance towards the social norms of group participation and involvement. This study may be useful for teacher educators deliberating the use of online spaces to support pre-service teacher identity development.     

Fixing higher education through technology: Canadian media coverage of massive open online courses

The popularization of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has been shrouded in promises of disruption and radical change in education. In Canada, official partnerships struck by higher education institutions with platform providers such as Coursera, Udacity and edX were publicized by dailies and professional magazines. This print coverage of MOOCs captures the contemporary ideological struggle over the meaning of both technology and higher education. By means of a thematic analysis of the English Canadian print coverage of MOOCs (2012–2014), this paper shows that both online educational technologies and higher education are constructed through an economic frame. However, this frame does not go unchallenged. Where newspapers construct MOOCs as an easy fix for an allegedly inefficient and outdated higher education system, professional magazines question the relationship between technology, higher education and money. These different representations point to the efforts of academic communities to develop alternative social imaginaries of education as public good within a dominant neoliberal framing of MOOCs and of the higher education system. In conclusion, the paper reflects on how the academic community can create alternative discursive spaces by shifting the discussion of MOOCs from economic concerns to civic goals.     

Youth online political expression in non-political spaces: implications for civic education

ABSTRACT

Based on an in-depth qualitative content analysis of post-election discourse in three online creative communities (Scratch, Archive of Our Own, and hitRECord), we examine the significance of youth political expression in non-political online spaces, and its implications for civic education. We find that these spaces offer a valuable window into the main concerns experienced by youth around the election, which they voice through unique modes of expression. Online spaces facilitate connections between the personal and the political, while highlighting the social aspects of youth participation and learning in regard to civic issues. At the same time, participants exhibit uncertainty regarding the limits of online expression and the potential consequences of speaking out. We argue that online spaces should be acknowledged as a significant channel for youth political expression and socialization, and consider how the practices encountered there could shape our approach to civic education.     

对组织开放教育网上案例讨论的探索与思考

网上教学是现代远程开放教育的一个重要手段,它不仅在学校、教师与学生准分离的条件下为学生自主化、个别化学习提供强大资源支持服务,而且也在师生之间、学生之间以及学生与资源之间形成有机的三维互动并构筑起具有开放教育特色的校园文化平台。文章结合开放教育管理学基础课程网上案例教学方面进行的探索,对课程网上教学的内容及成效进行了分析,并从课程责任教师精心设计和准备、实时记录检查和引导以及及时做好评价与总结这三个方面对网上实时案例教学组织实施方法进行了思考。     

Bored with the core: stimulating student interest in online general education

Motivating students to learn in general education courses, particularly in an online environment, is a challenge for many colleges and universities. A general education curriculum, by definition, is wide-ranging in its scope of topics, disciplines, and applications, but many students enter college with specific personal interests or affinities for particular areas of academic study. This interest gap between individual student interests and general education offerings is frequently expressed by students in their desire to “get the core courses out of the way.” For those institutions that appreciate the role that a general education curriculum plays in providing students with a holistic liberal arts education, this “get them out of the way” attitude must be addressed. Through the application of text-based situational interest research, and creative writing principles and techniques to instructional design, this article offers educators theoretical insights and practical ways to stimulate student interest in online general education courses.     

Learner and instructor identified success factors in distance education

To better understand their perceptions of optimal tools and strategies for success, this research analyzed the experiences of learners and instructors in an online distance education environment. A qualitative constant comparative analysis methodology supported by an appropriate conceptual framework guided the study. Data were collected over multiple years and from multiple stakeholders. The study identified the following significant conclusions: the availability of multiple tools added flexibility to the learning environment; technology tools should appeal to multiple learning styles; collaboration, reflection, and building a learning community were important strategies supported by multiple tools; and participant satisfaction, appropriate prerequisite skills, and faculty and administrative involvement ensured programmatic success. According to this study, optimal distance education environments should address factors identified in the conceptual framework.     

Threshold concepts about online pedagogy for novice online teachers in higher education

ABSTRACT

The use of threshold concepts to define key points of curricula is a relatively recent development in educational research. Threshold concepts represent crucial stages of learning, the acquisition of which enables learners to progress from one level of achievement to another. In this context, the learner is described as passing through an unsettling liminal space in which they may encounter troublesome knowledge and experience uncertainty or anxiety. When applied to online pedagogy in higher education contexts, academic staff become the learners as they extend their on-campus teaching knowledge into the online realm. In this setting, the identification of threshold concepts has the potential to inform the content of professional development (PD) programmes for novice online teachers. Because little research has yet been reported on threshold concepts associated with online teaching, this study identified these threshold concepts and investigated their specific nature. Funded by an Office for Learning and Teaching Australia Grant, the project employed a mixed-methods research approach. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative data was gathered from responses to questionnaires and reflective journal entries provided by university educators who were teaching in online contexts. Also, experts in the fields of PD, online teaching and threshold concepts were consulted using a modified Delphi technique that incorporated two rounds of surveys. Results of this study are discussed in association with potential applications to PD design for novice online educators, informed by the most fundamental learning experiences encountered by their more experienced colleagues.     

Dimensions of student success: a framework for defining and evaluating support for learning in higher education

ABSTRACT

The capabilities students need for success during and beyond higher education extend far beyond specific discipline skills to include the development of productive mindsets, the management of life circumstances and the way they relate to others and identify with their profession. The provision of support for these capabilities at university can be both diverse in scope and diffuse in delivery. Consequently, the development of streamlined and integrated evaluation strategies to measure the extent to which these capabilities are being successfully delivered can be challenging. This paper describes how one Australian university used a collaborative process to design an evaluation framework for student learning services. The framework, a first for this university, represents the breadth of student support, including a typology of support for learning: connectedness, mindsets, self-management, professional identity and academic capabilities. These terms, coined as dimensions, form the scaffold of university-wide delivery of support for learning initiatives.     

Student performance in computing education: an empirical analysis of online learning in programming education environments

The benefits of using online exercises have been analysed in terms of distance learning, automatic assessment and self-regulated learning. In this study, we have not found a direct proportional relationship between student performance in the course exercises that use online technologies and the exam grades. We see that the average submission rate to these online exercises is not positively correlated with the exercise points. Yet, our results confirm that doing exercises along supports student learning and skill accumulation equipping them with the knowledge of programming. While the student performance in programming courses is affected by factors such as prior background in programming, cognitive skills and the quality of teaching, completing the course exercises via learning-by-doing is an indispensable part of teaching. Based on the student feedback from the course survey, the students are highly satisfied with using online technologies as part of learning.     

When inclusion excludes: a counter narrative of open online education

Open education aspires to democratize education, promote inclusion and effect change through social justice. These aspirations are difficult to realize in open, online environments, which enable multiple, and often conflicting, perspectives. This paper proposes a counter-narrative that surfaces certain operational norms of the internet and foregrounds their exclusionary nature. We offer an illustrative inventory of some social media interactional patterns to examine communication used in open online education communities. This examination leads us to conclude that language online is subject to a dialectical tension that both includes and excludes. We conclude that a different language is needed in open online educational environments; one that embraces exclusionary structures and strategic ambiguity, as well as the aspirations to further democratize education via digital means.     

美国网络高等教育质量保障中的政府角色

美国是当今世界网络高等教育最发达的国家,其质量保障问题一直是政府和社会关注的热点。美国政府从颁布法律法令、审核认证机构、提供财政拨款等方面对网络高等教育的质量保障进行监督和引导,同时与高等院校合作开展全国范围的实证研究并取得了阶段性成就。美国网络高等教育质量保障中的政府角色定位准确、方法得当,既给予了高等院校充分的发展自主权,又保证了网络教育的质量,值得我国借鉴。     

高职高专公共英语课程网络教学资源整合研究

现代教育技术的迅猛发展和我国高等职业教育战略重点与发展主题的转变给高职高专公共英语教学带来了机遇和挑战,其中高职高专公共英语课程网络教学资源整合研究已成为高职院校优化英语教育过程、促进英语教学改革、提高英语教学质量和推进英语教育现代化的有效手段和研究课题,其首要任务是确定响应的研究目标、内容和方法。     

Factors influencing faculty satisfaction with online teaching and learning in higher education

Faculty satisfaction is considered an important factor of quality in online courses. A study was conducted to identify and confirm factors affecting the satisfaction of online faculty at a small research university, and to develop and validate an instrument that can be used to measure perceived faculty satisfaction in the context of the online learning environment. The online faculty satisfaction survey (OFSS) was developed and administered to all instructors who had taught an online course in fall 2007 or spring 2008 at a small research university in the USA. One hundred and two individuals completed the web‐based questionnaire. Results confirm that three factors affect satisfaction of faculty in the online environment: student‐related, instructor‐related, and institution‐related factors.     

Reconceptualising higher education pedagogy in online learning

The purpose of this collaborative inquiry project was to examine teacher education practices in two early childhood degree programmes in a school of education at a regional university in Australia. All students are enrolled in these online courses as distance learners. The reconceptualised online pedagogy immersed students, peers and their lecturers in ‘teaching through assessment’ (Edwards, 2010) in a collaborative online environment that mirrors the complexity that students are experiencing in their workplaces. This article describes the pedagogical and conceptual underpinnings we used to reconceptualise our degree programmes. It also outlines our evolving conceptualisations of learning as knowledge creation (Hong & Sullivan, 2009) in the context of our teaching and learning in online courses.