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Archive for the ‘Higher Education’ Category

Unfitting, uncomfortable, unacademic: a sociological reading of an interactive mobile phone app in university lectures

Scholarly literature on education technology uptake has been dominated by technological determinist readings of students’ technology use. However, in recent years there has been a move by sociologists of education to highlight how the contexts in which educational technologies are introduced are not tabula rasa but socially and culturally complex. This study approaches technology as […]

Students’ Approaches to E-Learning: Analyzing Credit/Noncredit and High/Low Performers

Aim/Purpose This study examines differences in credit and noncredit users’ learning and usage of the Plant Sciences E-Library (PASSEL, http://passel.unl.edu), a large international, open-source multidisciplinary learning object repository. Background Advances in online education are helping educators to meet the needs of formal academic credit students, as well as informal noncredit learners. Since online learning attracts […]

We still trust in Google, but less than 10 years ago: an eye-tracking study

Introduction. The purpose of this study is to replicate a study from 2007, which found that student users trust in Google’s ability to rank results more than in their own relevance judgements. Method. In a between-subjects experiment using eye-tracking methodology, participants (n=25) worked on search tasks where the results ranking on search engine results pages […]

Game design for visually-impaired individuals: Creativity and innovation theories and sensory substitution devices influence on virtual and physical navigation skills

This action research study examined the design elements of three VR games that used an HTC VIVE VR helmet, two HTC game controllers, and a VR horse simulator for functionality and transferability to orientation and mobility (O&M) education for visually impaired individuals. The functionality of the VR games was tested with a visually-impaired individual based […]

Promoting Critical Reading using Google Tools – a Community of Inquiry Approach

Creating a community of learning can enhance critical reading in a classroom environment. Task design plays a critical role in the effectiveness of this process. This paper presents a case study of a face-to-face literature course that used a host of Google tools to create such a community. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) principles of […]

RAND Education Assessment Finder

The RAND Education Assessment Finder is a web-based tool that provides information about assessments of K-12 students’ interpersonal, intrapersonal, and higher-order cognitive competencies. Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can use it to explore what assessments are available, what they are designed to measure, how they are administered, what demands they place on students and teachers, and […]

ProctorU and SmarterServices Partner to Offer Flexible Proctoring Solutions

ProctorU, the world’s largest provider of online proctoring and identity management services, is partnering with SmarterServices, a full-spectrum assessment services company. The ProctorU integration with SmarterServices’ SmarterProctoring platform allows organizations to use a single interface for scheduling, administration and reporting of proctored exams regardless of how they are delivered. ProctorU

Who’s Taking Nondegree Courses — and Why?

Alternative credentials pose an increasing threat to the supremacy of the traditional degree as the key that unlocks a career path. But available options and student preferences haven’t solidified, and they’re evolving so quickly that it can be difficult to keep track of the increasingly convoluted market. A new report published last month by two […]

Putting Standardization Second (or Lower) in Online Learning

I’m amazed. And concerned. Over the past six months, I’ve been to several conferences and workshops, where I participated in discussions with leaders of online learning, and the same few themes kept coming up: standardization, adoption rates, faculty impediments and limited budget. Inside Higher Ed

Making Real-Time Rendering Less Daunting: Unreal Engine Online Learning

When you see new software that can speed up your workflow, it’s fun to imagine what you can do with it. But in reality, many of us don’t want to be among the first to try it out, especially if documentation is lacking. No one wants to spend countless hours fighting with mysterious features only […]