Online Learning Update

by Young Park, Gyeong Mi Heo and Romee Lee; Education, Technology and Society

This study defines a blog as a contemporary web-based environment that can make a difference in adult informal learning practice. An online survey with 70 adult bloggers in Korea was undertaken to understand the nature of adults’ blogging and its meanings in terms of learning. This study investigates (a) adults’ blogging experiences related to learning, (b) bloggers’ perceptions of the usefulness of blogging in terms of four perspectives on learning processes (i.e., learning as an acquisition process, a reflection process, a practice-based community process, and an embodied co-emergent process), and (c) the link between adult informal learning and blogging. The findings show that the majority of participants became aware of positive changes, including learning experiences, in everyday life after blogging. Among the four perspectives on learning processes, bloggers perceived blogging mainly as acquisition and/or reflection oriented learning process. Also, adult bloggers identified the characteristics of learning through blogging as ‘self-directed,’ ‘practical,’ ‘situative,’ ‘unlimited and accessible,’ and ‘self-regulated,’ which are distinguished from those of formal education in schools. This study therefore implies that the blog can be a meaningful learning environment and the blogging can be a significant factor in having the informal learning for adults more enriched and fulfilled.

http://www.ifets.info/journals/14_2/13.pdf

By Bridget McCrea, Campus Technology

Coordinating a geographically dispersed student body that learns primarily online is just one of the key challenges that modern institutions of higher education are facing. With more education taking place online–and in some cases, all of that education happening on the Web–colleges are being forced to rethink their classroom and student management strategies. At Capella University, a recently upgraded Web portal serves as the center point for the virtual school’s student and course management activities. The new system replaces a portal platform that was delivered through the school’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/05/18/managing-students-virtually.aspx

By Fred Stielow, Raymond Uzwyshyn, Campus Technology

The debate over electronic textbooks and ever-increasing costs for traditional textbooks continues to rage. Part of these Web-era dilemmas ironically involves the willingness to face contradictions from the university’s past. Reliance on textbooks is the rub. It can be understood as a legacy of the post-WWII GI bill. Schools needed industrial-strength solutions to handle the unprecedented waves of new students.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/05/25/the-changing-paradigm-for-college-textbooks-and-libraries.aspx

David L. Neumann, Michelle M. Neumann and Michelle Hood: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

The discipline of statistics seems well suited to the integration of technology in a lecture as a means to enhance student learning and engagement. Technology can be used to simulate statistical concepts, create interactive learning exercises, and illustrate real world applications of statistics. The present study aimed to better understand the use of such applications during lectures from the student’s perspective. The technology used included multimedia, computer-based simulations, animations, and statistical software. Interviews were conducted on a stratified random sample of 38 students in a first year statistics course. The results showed three global effects on student learning and engagement: showed the practical application of statistics, helped with understanding statistics, and addressed negative attitudes towards statistics. The results are examined from within a blended learning framework and the benefits and drawbacks to the integration of technology during lectures are discussed.

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet27/neumann.html

by Zixiu Guo and Kenneth John Stevens: Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

This study reports the findings of an investigation of the factors influencing the use and usefulness of wikis in an introductory, undergraduate information systems course. Informed by the media choice, technology acceptance model from information systems research, and group collaborative learning research from the education literature, a survey instrument was developed and administered across the entire course. The study found that wiki use was influenced by the student’s prior expertise with wikis, with their perceived usefulness of wikis being strongly influenced by their teachers’ attitudes towards the technology, and the ease of access to the wikis. The students’ overall attitude towards wikis was largely influenced by the extent to which they saw wikis as helping with their assignment work, and their intention to use wikis in the future was driven by their perception of wiki’s usefulness. The paper concludes with an outline of the lessons learned from the study and recommendations for instructors who are thinking of using wikis in their teaching.

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet27/guo.html

by Chun-Min Wang, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology

The latest networking technologies have made it easier to provide authentic learning experiences for intercultural collaboration. However, more guidance about how to conduct a successful online, cross-cultural collaboration is needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the instructional design for forming a cross-cultural group and designing the assignments for online cross-cultural collaboration projects. By investigating two collaborative classes of college students from the United States and Taiwan, the study analysed two different grouping strategies and various types of assignments to examine the level of students’ learning satisfaction. The study adopted the action research approach, and collected data from an online survey and the students’ reflection essays. The findings indicate the importance of building a sense of learning community and taking advantage of integrating multimedia for assignment design. The findings also suggest that instructors should have strict requirements for communication between partners, and take advantage of Web 2.0 tools for informal communication. More details about the challenges encountered and suggestions for improvement are discussed in the article.

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet27/wang.html