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Archive for the ‘Research’ Category

Social presence in online learning communities: the role of personal profiles

Online communication is increasingly used in education, but it is not without problems. One significant difficulty is a lack of social presence. Social presence relates to the need for users of technology-based communication to perceive each other as real people. Low social presence can be a particular issue in text-based, asynchronous systems such as discussion […]

Open badges for education: what are the implications at the intersection of open systems and badging?

Badges have garnered great interest among scholars of digital media and learning. In addition, widespread initiatives such as Mozilla’s Open Badge Framework expand the potential of badging into the realm of open education. In this paper, we explicate the concept of open badges. We highlight some of the ways that researchers have examined badges as […]

Quality Experiences Of Inquiry In Blended Contexts – University Student Approaches To Inquiry, Technologies, And Conceptions Of Learning

Evaluating the quality of inquiry using technology in blended contexts at university is a complex phenomenon as there are many variables which could account for qualitative variation in the experience. This study looks at reasons for qualitative variation in the university student experience of inquiry using technologies. It considers approaches to inquiry and technologies, conceptions […]

Peer Grading in a MOOC: Reliability, Validity, and Perceived Effects

Peer grading offers a scalable and sustainable way of providing assessment and feedback to a massive student population. However, currently there is little empirical evidence to support the credentials of peer grading as a learning assessment method in the MOOC context. To address this research need, this study examined 1,825 peer grading assignments collected from […]

Understanding Social Learning Behaviors via a Virtual Field Trip

This is a multidisciplinary study investigating how a virtual rather than face-to-face field trip can be conducted in a real-world setting and how students respond to such a social learning opportunity. Our participants followed a story of a stroke patient at her virtual home and in a virtual hospital via a teaching vignette. They were […]

Digital Cameras and Information Literacy: Innovations from the Field

The authors describe a learning exercise for an English composition information literacy instruction session that merges technology with active learning and is fun and engaging. Librarians introduced digital cameras into library instruction. Students filmed one another as they searched the online catalog to locate call numbers, investigate subject headings, and find books on the shelves. […]

A case study of blended teaching and learning in a New Zealand secondary school, using an ecological framework

This paper reports on the findings of a case study that investigated how blended teaching and learning was implemented in a New Zealand secondary school. An ecological perspective was taken, in an attempt to clarify the complexity of blended teaching and learning implementation, by researching the roles of students, teachers, school leaders and other educational […]

It is (More) About the Students: Faculty Motivations and Concerns Regarding Teaching Online

There is increasing interest, if not demand, from universities and students for faculty to teach using online technologies. However, many faculty members are reluctant to teach online. In this paper, we examine data collected from a broad range of faculty (part-time, tenure track, new and more experienced, in education, business, and liberal arts) to explore […]

University virtualisation in Latin America

This article analyses the process by which higher education in Latin America is being digitalised, and how it is radically changing the educational dynamics in the region. The incorporation of digital technology implies a transformation of traditional distance education and the creation of new distance education dynamics. Indeed, some institutions are now offering fully online […]

SIMULACRE: A proposal for practical training in e-learning environments

This article describes an educational innovation project called SIMULACRE, funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) through a grant awarded under APLICA 2011. This project focuses on the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a new methodology for practical […]