Archive for the ‘Learning Design’ Category

Comparative Analysis of Pedagogical Strategies Across Disciplines in Open Distance Learning at UnisaODL at Unisa

Re-engineering technological strategies in teaching and learning in an open distance learning (ODL) environment is paramount as the demand for access to quality higher education escalates drastically on a year to year basis. The organisational framework requires change in order to accommodate the increasing number of students. In view of the changing higher education landscape […]

How people learn in an asynchronous online learning environment: The relationships between graduate students’ learning strategies and learning satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between learners’ learning strategies and learning satisfaction in an asynchronous online learning environment, in an attempt to shed some light on how people learn in an online learning environment. One hundred and sixteen graduate students who were taking online learning courses participated in this study. […]

Student communication and study habits of first-year university students in the digital era

This paper reports on research into how first-university students communicate with peers and professors and their general study habits and to examine the possible relationship between students’ use of digital technologies. The research is positioned in the interpretive paradigm. We conclude that most students feel comfortable with digital technologies and they see Facebook/MySpace as more […]

A Computational Model of Learners Achievement Emotions Using Control- Value Theory

Game-based Learning (GBL) environments make instruction flexible and interactive. Positive experiences depend on personalization. Student modelling has focused on affect. Three methods are used: (1) recognizing the physiological effects of emotion, (2) reasoning about emotion from its origin and (3) an approach combining 1 and 2. These have proven successful only in labs, or use […]

Affective Behavior and Nonverbal Interaction in Collaborative Virtual Environments

While a person’s internal state might not be easily inferred through an automatic computer system, within a group, people express themselves through their interaction with others. The group members’ interaction can be then helpful to understand, to certain extent, its members’ affective behavior in any case toward the task at hand. In this context, a […]

Learners’ Interpersonal Beliefs and Generated Feedback in an Online Role-Playing Peer- Feedback Activity: An Exploratory Study

Peer feedback affords interaction and critical thinking opportunities for learners in online courses. However, various factors prevent learners from taking advantage of these promising benefits. This study explored learners’ perceptions of the interpersonal factors in a role-playing peer-feedback activity, and examined the types of peer feedback that learners generated when playing a role. Participants were […]

Evaluation of Intelligent Grouping Based on Learners’ Collaboration Competence Level in Online Collaborative Learning Environment

In this paper we explore the impact of an intelligent grouping algorithm based on learners’ collaborative competency when compared with (a) instructor based Grade Point Average (GPA) method level and (b) random method, on group outcomes and group collaboration problems in an online collaborative learning environment. An intelligent grouping algorithm has been added in a […]

Twitter-Based EFL Pronunciation Instruction

This paper looks at the use of Twitter as a language teaching/learning tool. It describes the results of a study aimed at testing Twitter’s effectiveness for pronunciation teaching. The purpose of the study was to determine whether Twitter can foster online participation and whether it may have a positive effect on the pronunciation of a number of words commonly mispronounced […]

Language Learning Through Social Networks: Perceptions and Reality

Language Learning Social Network Sites (LLSNSs) have attracted millions of users around the world. However, little is known about how people participate in these sites and what they learn from them. This study investigated learners’ attitudes, usage, and progress in a major LLSNS through a survey of 4,174 as well as 20 individual case studies. […]

The rhizome: A problematic metaphor for teaching and learning in a MOOC

Deleuze and Guattari’s principles of the rhizome were used to inform the design of a massive open online course (MOOC), Rhizomatic Learning: The Community is the Curriculum, which came to be known as Rhizo14. In a previous paper about learner experiences in this course our reported findings from a qualitative survey (which enabled anonymous responses) raised […]