Online training of TPACK skills of higher education scholars: a cross-institutional impact study

Higher education institutions should provide adequate training for teachers in order to increase their awareness of the complex interplay between technology, pedagogy and the cognitive knowledge in their disciplines. However, research has shown that providing effective staff development from teacher educators to support these teachers’ skills is not straightforward. An online teacher training programme created and implemented by a team of 14 teacher educators in a cross-institutional programme in the Netherlands was followed by 67 teachers. Data were gathered using a TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge) instrument in a pre-post test design. Furthermore, (perceived) learning satisfaction was measured in order to determine whether the design was appropriate. The results indicate that the teachers’ TPACK skills increased substantially. Furthermore, most participants were positive about the design and implementation of the online professionalisation programme. Nonetheless, not all teachers were able to effectively learn in this context, requiring further fine-tuning and research.     

Developing online problem‐based resources for the professional development of teachers of children with visual impairment

This article presents a summary of the results from phase 1 of a two‐phase research project. Drawing on the principles of problem‐based learning (PBL), the aims of phase 1 were to design, develop and evaluate a set of flexible online teaching resources for use within a virtual learning environment. Participants in the project (n = 10) were volunteers from students registered on a two‐year distance education programme of study for specialist teachers of children with visual impairment. Two case scenarios were developed for the project, each of which was based around a fictitious support service for teachers of children with visual impairment. Following a campus‐based study day, the participants were assigned to one of two ‘PBL Activity Groups’ and completed a series of tasks within each case scenario. Participation in the project was supported by members of the Project Team over a period of one semester, following which participants were asked to provide feedback through an online questionnaire. A summary of the feedback is presented, and key findings discussed. The results suggest that, with appropriate resources, adequate preparatory training and effective tutor support, online PBL can be an effective method for supplementing the continuing professional development of specialist teachers studying through distance education.     

There is no business model for open educational resources: a business model approach

The economic proverb ‘There is no such thing such as a free lunch’ applies also to open educational resources (OER). In recent years, several authors have used revenue models and business models to analyse the different sources of possible funding for OER. In this article the business models of Osterwalder and Chesbrough are combined with research on the motives of the participants of OER to analyse possible funding models. If the motives of governments (knowledge economy), educational institutions (efficiency, marketing), individual producers (reputation, academic interests) and users (intermediary educational products, learning) are combined, it is shown that the only long-term sustainable independent business model is based on subsidies. However, this conclusion depends both on the definition of openness (in the sense of at no cost) and on motives. More research on both aspects could alter these conclusions.     

Evaluating intelligent interfaces for post-editing automatic transcriptions of online video lectures

Video lectures are fast becoming an everyday educational resource in higher education. They are being incorporated into existing university curricula around the world, while also emerging as a key component of the open education movement. In 2007, the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) implemented its poliMedia lecture capture system for the creation and publication of quality educational video content and now has a collection of over 10,000 video objects. In 2011, it embarked on the EU-subsidised transLectures project to add automatic subtitles to these videos in both Spanish and other languages. By doing so, it allows access to their educational content by non-native speakers and the deaf and hard-of-hearing, as well as enabling advanced repository management functions. In this paper, following a short introduction to poliMedia, transLectures and Docència en Xarxa (Teaching Online), the UPV’s action plan to boost the use of digital resources at the university, we will discuss the three-stage evaluation process carried out with the collaboration of UPV lecturers to find the best interaction protocol for the task of post-editing automatic subtitles.     

Mind‐Mindedness and Theory of Mind: Mediating Roles of Language and Perspectival Symbolic Play

Relations among indices of maternal mind‐mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind‐related comments) and children's: (a) internal state vocabulary and perspectival symbolic play at 26 months (N = 206), and (b) theory of mind (ToM) at 51 months (n = 161) were investigated. Appropriate comments were positively associated with ToM, but were unrelated to internal state language and perspectival symbolic play. Nonattuned comments were negatively correlated with internal state language and perspectival symbolic play, but were unrelated to ToM. Path analyses indicated that the best fit model assumed: (a) indirect links between nonattuned comments and ToM via children's perspectival symbolic play, (b) a direct link between appropriate comments and ToM, and (c) an indirect link between appropriate comments and ToM via children's concurrent receptive verbal ability.     

NASTY,BRUTISH AND LONG: ADVENTURES IN OLD AGE AND THE WORLD OF ELDERCARE By Ira Rosofsky

Nurses play a significant role in geriatric care. However, as the aging population and demand for geriatric nurses increase worldwide, shortages of nurses seem to arise. This creates the need to assess and address the motivation and attitudes of nurses toward geriatric care. The intent of this qualitative study is to surface the essence or the “lebenswelt” that describe the motivation and attitudes of a selected group of Filipino nurses toward geriatric care. A total of six registered nurses who had experienced taking care of elderly patients voluntarily participated as respondents of this study. A two-part instrument developed by the researchers was made to elicit necessary data and information. The first part comprised of the robotfoto intended to establish the baseline characteristics of nurses under study. The second part consisted of a semistructured individual in-depth interview using “aide memoire” to probe into the motivation and attitudes of the nurse respondents. Field texts were phenomenologically reduced via repertory grid. Two distinct and interesting themes, namely Geriatric Service Motivation Typology and the Yin-Yang of Geriatric Attitudes emerged. The first theme includes the Single Loop and Double Loop type of motivation The former involves a transactional and unidirectional process, while the latter constitutes a two-way relational and transformational process. The second theme consists of a harmonious combination of the two sides of the nurses' attitudes toward geriatric care. Through this study, the human side of nursing is seen and captured, thus increasing the awareness and knowledge of nurses, improving provision of optimum geriatric care, and inspiring nurses to pursue geriatric nursing with a yearning to serve the elderly with and from the heart.     

Filipino Nursing Students' Behavioral Intentions Toward Geriatric Care: A Structural Equation Model (SEM)

Anchored on the key constucts of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (1985 Ajzen , I. ( 1985 ). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior . In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action-control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11 – 39 ). Heidelberg , Germany : Springer .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), this paper seeks to test a model that explores the influence of knowledge, attitude, and caring behavior on nursing students’ behavioral intention toward geriatric care. A five-part survey-questionnaire was administered to 839 third and fourth year nursing students from a comprehensive university in the Philippines. To delineate the underlying dimensions of knowledge, attitude, and caring behavior, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out. The resulting factors were integrated in the proposed model prior to structural equation modeling (SEM). The emerging model shows that while knowledge did not directly influence intent, it had a direct impact in the development of attitudes. Impliedly, by delineating the variables through EFA, new relationships between specific knowledge, attitude, and caring behavior dimensions can be observed. As shown, a nursing student's intent to care for older people can be increased if he/she sees them as powerful and wise. On the other hand, if one sees older people as demanding in nature, he/she is less likely to pursue geriatric nursing in the future. Interestingly, the resulting structural model in this study has successfully and clearly delineated the positive and negative determinants of nursing students’ intent to care for geriatric patients. The researchers hope that the model be used as an assessment tool for various nurse populations in order to effectively plan innovative strategies when introducing geriatric nursing.