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Archive for the ‘Research’ Category

Teacher-Student Perspectives of Invisible Pedagogy: New Directions in Online Problem-Based Learning Environments

Universities and institutions of higher education are facing economic pressures to sustain large classes, while simultaneously maintaining the quality of the online learning environment (Deming et al, 2015).. Digital learning environments require significant pedagogical shifts on the part of the teacher.. This paper is a qualitative examination of the nature of teaching in the digital age, and the […]

The Forms and Functions of Teaching and Learning Innovations on Blackboard; Substantial or Superficial?

This study is an Information and Computer Technology evaluation of the Blackboard Learning Management System into teaching and learning at an institution of higher education in South Africa. In view of the institution’s objective of developing a context-driven, transformative, and innovative teaching and learning practices involving the integration of technology, the study sought to classify and evaluate the […]

Redesigning Design: Field Testing a Revised Design Rubric Based of iNACOL Quality Course Standards

Designers have a limited selection of K-12 online course creation standards to choose from that are not blocked behind proprietary or pay walls. For numerous institutions and states, the use of the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses is becoming a widely used resource. This article presents the final phase in a three-part study to test […]

Strengthening Deeper Learning Through Virtual Teams in E-learning: A Synthesis of Determinants and Best Practices

Globally, e-learning is gaining popularity as its potential contributions to economic and social development are recognised. However, its full potential has not been realised, as most e-learning practices merely replicate traditional existing teaching methods and have not fully exploited the interactive and social components of peer learning. Recently, there has been an increased focus on […]

Exploring the transformative potential of Bluetooth beacons in higher education

The growing ubiquity of smartphones and tablet devices integrated into personal, social and professional life, facilitated by expansive communication networks globally, has the potential to disrupt higher education. Academics and students are considering the future possibilities of exploiting these tools and utilising networks to consolidate and expand knowledge, enhancing learning gain. Bluetooth beacon technology has […]

Shaping the future of learning using the student voice: we’re listening but are we hearing clearly?

Student voice data is a key factor as Manchester Metropolitan University strives to continually improve institutional technology enhanced learning (TEL) infrastructure. A bi-annual Institutional Student Survey enables students to communicate their experience of learning, teaching and assessment on programmes and specific units studied. Each cycle of the survey contains approximately 40–50,000 free text comments from […]

Emergent Evaluation: An initial Exploration of a Formative Framework for Evaluating Distance Learning Modules

Evaluation of student learning is becoming ever more important in higher education, partly because of increasingly performative structures within universities, and partly as the result of a developing interest in rolling development of curricula and teaching resources. Historically, for both face-to-face provision and distance learning, such evaluation has generally been captured by end-of-module questionnaires. Whilst […]

Motives and tensions in the release of open educational resources: The UKOER program

Open educational resources (OER) have been promoted as a path to universal education, supporting economic development and intercultural dialogue. However, to realise these benefits requires greater understanding of the factors that influence both OER supply and use. This paper examines an aspect of the supply side of the OER lifecycle – the motives prompting release […]

Modelling relationships between students’ academic achievement and community of inquiry in an online learning environment for a blended course

With the advancement in technology, learners are spending a substantial amount of time on online learning. Guided by the community of inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 1999), this study examined the relationships among students’ perceived teaching element, social element, cognitive element, satisfaction, continuous academic-related online performance, and academic achievement. A revised form of […]

An Empirical Framework for ePortfolio Assessment

This research focuses on ePortfolio assessment strategies that yield important accountability and reporting information. Under foundational categories of reliability, validity, and fairness, we present methods of gathering evidence from ePortfolio scores and their relationship to demographic information (gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status) and criterion variables (admission tests and course grades) as a means for stakeholders […]

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