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Innovating higher education teaching and learning is challenging due to structural, cultural, and resource-related reasons, and research indicates that university innovation benefits from a bottom-up approach as well as strategic alignment with university objectives. In this paper, we investigate such bottom-up innovation processes within higher education as supported by a specific tool: the University Innovation Canvas (UIC). Adapted from the Business Model Canvas and Lean Canvas, the UIC is designed to promote educational technology innovation and foster alignment of the innovation process with strategic objectives of the university: namely, sustainability and user orientation. An evaluation of the UIC based on interview and questionnaire data shows that its usage differs between innovation teams (on paper vs. digital, individual vs. collaborative, co-located vs. remotely, and synchronous vs. asynchronous). UIC usability is linked with these differences and with teams' experience in realizing innovations. Overall, the UIC is perceived to be useful by (particularly, less-experienced) innovation teams and is successful at supporting sustainable and user-oriented innovations, as 14/15 innovations are still in use after up to four years since completion. To maximize its potential, more effort needs to be devoted to improving understanding of the UIC and supporting different workflows of innovation teams in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of weblogs on individual learning processes in a university environment. It outlines experiences with weblogs as an instrument of learning reflection or a learning journal. This paper presents an innovative didactical concept based on the Web 2.0 paradigm and evolving technologies. Weblogs have emerged with the paradigm of Web 2.0 and user-generated content and have gained in importance through the various evolving application contexts, for example, the transfer of knowledge within enterprises, the communication and exchange of experiences with customers, and even the acquisition of projects by power bloggers. In this paper, weblogs are considered in the specificity of learning journals that focus on two objectives: first, supporting individual learning by means of reflection as the most effective method of individual learning; and, second, multiplying these efforts through interaction and discussion within a group of individuals with common interests. The latter is based on contribution-based pedagogies that maintain that collaboratively creating learning resources and sharing them with others are promising practices through which students can learn. Additionally, it is argued that this style of teaching relates to a growing trend in higher education in which the focus of learning is moving away from building a basic knowledge store and toward emphasizing a wider range of skills. We successfully applied the weblog approach to several academic courses during which qualitative and quantitative data were collected in an empirical study. This paper reflects our experiences with weblogs as a support for university lectures and is based on four semesters of exploration and adaptation. Within the scope of the research approach of design research (Hevner et al. 2004), it provides a structured method to support individual learning processes within a learning community realized by a weblog in the specificity of a learning journal. Verification with students and experts has led to a holistic method through which lecturers and coaches can successfully integrate weblogs into academic courses or even professional trainings. This paper addresses both academic learning and professional education management initiatives. Essentially, it aims at in-house trainings in enterprises, vocational schools, and universities. Interviews with experts will also reveal how to successfully align this method with professional trainings. In conclusion, this paper suggests a method with which to design a learning environment by means of learning journals to enforce increased individual learning. More specifically, it reveals that learning journals enable the achievement of level three (transfer to and application in the working environment) of Kirkpatrick's (1994) four-level model, which was generated to evaluate learning programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how an intelligent chip architecture has allowed a large cohort of undergraduate (UG) students to be given effective practical insight into integrated circuit (IC) design by designing and manufacturing their own ICs. To achieve this, an efficient chip architecture, the "Superchip," was developed, which allows multiple student designs to be fabricated on a single IC, and encapsulated in a standard package without excessive cost in terms of time or resources. This paper demonstrates how the practical process has been tightly coupled with theoretical aspects of the degree course and how transferable skills are incorporated into the design exercise. Furthermore, the students are introduced at an early stage to the key concepts of teamwork, exposure to real deadlines, and collaborative report writing. This paper provides details of the teaching rationale, design exercise overview, design process, chip architecture, and test regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the re-use of learning materials has largely focused on the development of materials. This paper explores how re-use can be stimulated after learning materials have been developed and made available. We searched for and developed guidelines that support staff and/or management most frequently adopt in cases of (un)successful re-use of existing digital teaching and learning materials and methods by teachers in higher education. In a grounded theory approach, we collected existing guidelines from 11 literature studies, and developed new guidelines from 19 (mainly Dutch) case studies. Through constant comparison, we developed 'low-level' guidelines, which were classified into high-level guidelines. Five high-level guidelines turned out to be robust when subjected to repeated comparison with the case studies. Further, this paper elaborates existing guidelines by showing specific elaborations of them in our case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last ten years e-learning has rapidly emerged as a potentially effective mode of higher education, but it is still unclear what factors are important in the design of an effective e-learning course. e-Learning has been described as being a "disruptive technology" that changes how learning is approached in higher education (Garrison and Anderson 2003). The extensive changes in the technologies over the last decade have the potential to influence the way we engage with knowledge, but the potential will only be realised if we integrate this with an understanding of learning, and design the use of e-learning technologies accordingly within different contexts (Laurillard 2005). This paper explores the influence of the areas of technology, pedagogy and context on e-learning practice in higher education. Three vignettes relating to e-learning are presented which represent the shifts in technology and the tensions and influences of this on context and pedagogy. These vignettes provide the background context within which to discuss the design of an e-learning alignment guide (eLAG). This guide is a navigational tool, which offers e-learning designers a perspective on navigating the e-learning topography. It is devised to assist practitioners when navigating the changing and complex terrain of e-learning and teaching. The key finding of this paper is that technology, pedagogy and context need to be closely aligned in order to realise the potential of e-learning in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This year sees the 40th anniversary of the first policy paper regarding the use of computers in higher education in the United Kingdom. The publication of this paper represented the beginning of the field of learning technology research and practice in higher education. In the past 40 years, policy has at various points drawn from different communities and provided the roots for a diverse field of learning technology researchers and practitioners. This paper presents a review of learning technology-related policy over the past 40 years. The purpose of the review is to make sense of the current position in which the field finds itself, and to highlight lessons that can be learned from the implementation of previous policies. Conclusions drawn from the review of 40 years of learning technology policy suggest that there are few challenges that have not been faced before as well as a potential return to individual innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber counselling or e-therapy has widely been adopted as the new approach to give an insightful guidance into the clients. In higher education (HE) level, this initiative seems to have rarely been involved due to some technical requirements and preparations. This paper aims to present the approach of e-therapy using mobile application design. The finding illustrates that promoting this model application can theoretically assist the transmission process of counselling in the academic circumstance where both students and advisors may have a continuous engagement with more convenient quality in solving the issues surrounding the academic purposes. The attainment of this paper is expected to contribute in enabling the process of academic counselling in the context of higher education (HE). Strengthening practical and relational value maintaining connection to facilitate the sensitive issues disclosure is expected to help students solve their academic issues, such as reflecting the learning achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current conditions, the digitalization of education in almost all countries of the world has become a vital strategy for the total restructuring of traditional forms, tools, methods and technologies of education. At the same time, the issue of financial literacy is one of the priorities in education since the level of social welfare and the level of economic development of the country depend on the level of financial literacy. The article is devoted to a thorough scientometric review of scientific publications on the digitalization of financial education, highlighting key ideas, trends in developing scientific views, prospects, and opportunities for further research. The bibliometric analysis was carried out using specialized methods and tools, in particular, in-built Scopus and WoS databases tools, VosViewer software, and the Google Trends web application. Publications were extracted from the two scientometric databases, Scopus and WoS, in the time interval from 1990 to February 2024. A dynamic analysis of research articles showed their intensive growth since 2020, which is due to increased attention to digital education in the context of global transformations, the COVID-19 pandemic, and military conflicts. A transnational representation of the research was identified, with key geographic centres in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. A country-by country analysis confirmed the connection between researchers due to similarities in educational strategies and geographical proximity. Using the results of the constructed bibliometric map, the thematic analysis identified 4 key clusters that confirm the central role of digitalization in financial education. Within the clusters, thematic groups of scientific publications were identified (innovations in education and digital technologies, socio-economic challenges in education, leadership and competitive advantages in education, financial and economic aspects of education, etc. The analysis identified promising research areas, including strategies to improve access to educational resources during crises, studying the impact of Industry 5.0 on financial education, studying financial innovations in education, and researching inclusive digital education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OpenCourseWare (OCW) and Open Educational Resources (OER) are two new and closely related educational technologies. Both provide open access to learning materials for students and instructors via the Internet. These are for the moment still very young technologies. While they have grown dramatically in just ten years there is still relatively little literature about their application in higher education. This paper will introduce the technologies, discus their potential, and offer some concepts for where researchers may take the topic in the future [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper which aims to explain the potential of Web 2.0 and its knowledge system or episteme to counter the transcultural learning zones in higher education in the context of internationalisation and massification. The study shows how non-foundational method of Web 2.0 provides capacity in constructing postcolonial transcultural learning zones that are open to knowledge discourse and systems. Results of the study show that socially oriented episteme of Web 2.0 allow educators to construct postcolonial transcultural learning zones in which privilege in knowledge system or discourse is not inherent.

Recognising and responding to behaviours and patterns of resistance is critical to the successful implementation of technology-enhanced learning strategies at higher education institutions. At institutional, academic and student levels, resistance manifests itself in a variety of forms, at best supporting a critical culture and at worst creating inertia and active disquiet. Through the lens of an institution-wide strategic learning innovation vision at the University of Greenwich, designed to enhance connectivity and collaboration, this paper will explore the modes and pathways of resistance that occurred in the process of implementing and embedding an openness agenda at a learning and teaching level. Through supporting experimentation and play with social media creation and sharing as a mechanism of curricula transformation, we identified a number of patterns of resistance to sharing and openness. Using an approach informed by grounded theory we have attempted to represent these patterns in the form of a model of institutional resistance to technology-led change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reports on research that has been carried out into the use, process, and effectiveness of an asynchronous online seminar within an undergraduate sports studies degree programme. Contemporary sources are used to justify the use of technology supported learning (TSL) in higher education and to inform a reflective and critical account of the planning and delivery of an asynchronous online seminar. Through student feedback gained from qualitative questionnaires, we conclude that the online seminar made a positive contribution to the learning experience of the majority of participating students. However, encouraging widespread participation was problematical. It was also clear that some participants only took part because of the extrinsic rewards on offer and that this might have had some impact on the quality of their learning experience (Biggs, 2003). Despite the benefits of the online seminar, we would also suggest that where student numbers are manageable, the benefits of a "blended" approach, delivering online seminars in conjunction with more traditional face-to-face seminars, should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to be able to cope with many authentic challenges in increasingly networked and technologically mediated life we need to construct opportunities for participants in higher educational settings to practice the advancement of self-directing intentional learning projects. In addition to teaching general strategies for carrying out these projects more emphasis should be put on acquiring some expertise regarding the selection and combination of a diverse set of technological means for own purposes. The various practices that are emerging around social media seem to be a promising field of experimentation in this regard. The knowledge and skills needed to select, use and connect different social media in a meaningful way form an important part of the dispositions in self-directing intentional learning projects. This paper argues for a course design in which participants are not simply engaged in developing knowledge, skills and orientations in regard to curricular subject matter and the use of technology but actively involved in self-directing intentional learning projects with the support of social media. The theoretical framework of this research is inspired by conceptual ideas developed within iCamp (http://www.icamp.eu) project. We will illustrate our line of argumentation with some empirical data collected from a pilot course taught at Tallinn University, Estonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online learning technologies now pervade higher education institutions, and the convergence of teaching and learning onto technological systems has created new work practices and a demand for staff development. Educational developers are located at a nexus between the institutional and pragmatic imperatives, from which tensions and incongruencies emerge and need to be resolved in daily practice. In this paper, this nexus is explored by analysing accounts of educational development practice from one institution, based on interviews with educational developers. This paper considers staff development practices in higher education in response to the processes of change associated with learning technology, and the strategies used to resolve incongruencies and conflicts that emerged from these practices were analysed. The discourse analytic method of "interpretative repertoires" (Potter & Wetherell, 1987) is used to explore the resolution of dilemmas in practice. In this case study, two contrasting repertoires are used to account for staff development: one that 'enables' academic staff in their use of learning technologies, and another which 'guides' staff in their online teaching towards specified technologies. The intersection of the two repertoires in the institution presented dilemmas for educational developers. The responses to these contexts and the implications for educational development are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalisation, together with readier access to capability-enhancing technologies and to technological insights once restricted to a few leading economies, are resulting in greater competition within Europe, and more widely within the developed world, for influence of all kinds (not just influence over the choices that foreign students make about the Higher Education courses on offer to them from Europe, but also influence of a more overtly imperialist kind, extending to the policies, incomes and futures of others). This article looks at trends in one important market for European Higher Education, the Middle East (particularly the GCC countries), which has many providers from North America and Australia. As observed by the late Edward Said, the USA is particularly forceful in the Middle East. Its technological superiority is accompanied by fervour to introduce American methods and curricula, and strong belief in their merit, reminiscent of the belief of the old French empire that ‘France had a “mission civilisatrice”, to civilize the natives”. The danger, highlighted in a recent UNESCO report ‘New Ignorances, New Literacies’, is that the natives will not be listened to. Is Europe listening more or less than the USA, and is it being listened to? Despite attention-gaining initiatives such as the proposed European Institute of Technology, EIT, and the commitment of EU governments to the Lisbon goals on competitiveness, there are indications of a drop in the influence of European Higher Education institutions in the Middle East. This paper explores the kinds of issues that may be at work, and the implications for European Higher Education policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on learning practices in higher education in relation to a digital participatory culture. Using key principles of critical education, the research set out to explore higher education students' sense of agency online -- or lack of it -as part of their formal learning practices. The research found that although students were proficient Web users, they did not exercise their learner agency beyond what they assumed to be expected of them, thus evidencing the stability of their learning habitus in relation to the learning conventions associated with the academic field. Perhaps more surprisingly, however, is students' perception of the Web not only as a space of student participation, but also as a space of student surveillance. Such perceptions constitute real obstacles to meaningful participation as a form learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to facilitate research on the processes of innovation and change in higher education, an area of scholarly endeavor which is attracting much interest of late. To meet this goal, a conceptual distinction is first drawn between the broad process of organizational change and the more specific processes of purposive change and innovation. Then, a typology of four research frameworks relevant to innovation and change is presented and illustrated through exemplary studies in the field of higher education. Using techniques of causal modeling, a prototypic flowgraph is constructed to capture the major features of each framework. Flowgraphs are cast in terms of posited relationships between generic variables which can be operationalized to suit the particular needs and setting of a given study. The authors further suggest that the most productive research on change and innovation in higher education will be based on sound theoretical reasoning employing combinations of the four frameworks. They argue that the specificity inherent in causal modeling can clarify important conceptual issues and thereby promote more informative investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In higher education (HE) settings, staff and students are often end-users of a variety of educational technologies, tools and platforms, including Learning Management Systems (LMSs). As technological evolution is constant, transitioning to a new system may be a familiar occurrence. For technology to support educational purpose more fully, further insight needs to be gained into how staff and students actually experience the process of transition. This article focuses on this area in the context of institution-wide transition to a new LMS. The study's aim was to explore how academic teaching staff and students experienced a university-wide technological change process: namely, a process of changing to a new LMS. Data were collected through a series of interviews with staff who were involved in the first stage of the change process. In addition, students enrolled in the first tranche of subjects undergoing transition participated in surveys. Data were analysed using a qualitative, comparative analysis approach; student and staff perspectives were compared, and the points of intersections and divergences between the viewpoints were located. Detailed analysis helped identify factors that contributed to a smooth transition, while also showing how staff expectations of student behaviours and needs were not always aligned with students' own approaches to technology-assisted teaching and learning, which tended to be predominantly pragmatic. Feedback gleaned from investigating stakeholders' transition experiences can contribute in a valuable way to informing change processes and support empowering change. The findings highlight how positioning LMS transition as a student-centred and education-led process, rather than as a large-scale technology project, has potential to support staff and students to have a positive and relatively seamless transition experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the professional identities of nine women academics from different universities and Latin American countries in their relationship with open education (OE) and the production of open educational resources (OERs) for teaching, as a significant key to understand the meaning of being an academic today in a social and economic context such as the Latin American one, and the perspectives this contributes to educational innovation. It arises from the need to deepen research on systemic structures of empowerment for open-access creation and publication, where gender is critical, considering the imbalances that are evident in other fields of educational technology, and specifically in the use of OERs. A qualitative methodology based on grounded theory was implemented, together with the biographical method and digital ethnography, with in-depth interviews with nine women academics from different areas of knowledge from Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Uruguay. The results offer an insight into their professional identities and how this is configured in relation to education, open educational resources, and educational innovation in university teaching. Participation in the open education movement provides a space for empowerment and mobilisation, which contributes to a transformative identity, as an emerging habitus, that underpins educational innovation in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian higher education has adopted a widening participation agenda with a focus on the participation of disadvantaged students, particularly those from low socioeconomic status (LSES) backgrounds. As these students begin to enter university in greater number and proportion than ever before, there is increasing interest in how best to facilitate their success. A recent national study employed semi-structured interviews to ask 89 successful LSES students what had helped them succeed. Twenty-six staff experienced in effectively teaching and supporting LSES students were also interviewed about what approaches they used in their work. Analysis of the study's findings indicates a strong theme related to the use of technology in effectively teaching and supporting LSES students. In particular, the use of a range of resources and media, facilitating interactive and connected learning, enabling personalised learning and assuring high academic standards were found to contribute to student success. The implications of these findings are discussed with a specific focus on promoting effective teaching practice and informing related policy. At a time when the diversity of the student cohort in Australian higher education institutions is increasing, the findings reported in this paper are both timely and critical for educators and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work seeks to support scholars interested in non-face-to-face modalities of higher education in making decisions about the use of digital and educational technologies (DET) to promote educational transformation (ET) in the context of their organizations. This organizational change deals with the implementation of technology-based flexible educational practices, focused on helping students develop competencies of interest for their personal and professional growth. With this in mind, in 2018 we identified and followed six leading higher education institutions on three continents that, for years, have carried out educational innovation experiences with the support of technology. Two of the analyzed experiences make use of eLearning, another of bLearning, and the others combine eLearning and bLearning as a complement to the face-to-face modality. The meta-analysis of the cases, carried out in 2019, followed suggestions from (Stake in The art of case study research, Sage Publications Inc., 1995) as well as from qualitative research that seeks to understand what is behind the cases from three dimensions: education, technology, organization. For each one, we determined what they do, how they do it, and what success factors must be considered. As the data was collected before the 2020 pandemic and this issue produced structural imbalances in society and in higher education, it was considered pertinent, at the end of 2020, to check the pulse of the ET mediated with DET in three of the six institutions studied. The purpose was to refine the findings of the meta-analysis and learn from the decisions made in the situation of forced change in environments, means, and strategies to continue providing quality higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews literature with relevance to the design and concept of blended learning practiced in Teacher Preparation Programs (TPPs). Blended learning was defined in this context and the authors explained an activity system with respect to an analytical framework. A method for choosing the studies is also explained. A discussion on usefulness of activity system in analyzing effectiveness of blended learning is also presented. The activity system framework provides information on components which should be examined and included by research. Online learning is emerging very fast in educational field, and is offered by many higher education programs.

In this paper the authors will discuss a pilot project conducted at the Tritonia Academic Library, Vaasa, in Finland, from September 2010 until May 2011. The project was designed to investigate the application of e-readers in academic settings and to learn how teachers and students experience the use of e-readers in academic education. Four groups of students and one group of teachers used Kindle readers for varied periods of time in different courses. The course material and the textbooks were downloaded on the e-readers. The feedback from the participants was collected through questionnaires and teacher interviews. The results suggest that the e-reader is a future tool for learning, though some features need to be improved before e-readers can really enable efficient learning and researching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although technology has become pervasive on most college campuses today, it has not been heavily infused in the activities of teaching and learning (Grabe & Grabe, 2008). Additionally, growing investments in educational technology (Cuban, 2001; Oppenheimer, 2003) requires a close examination of the way faculty and students use and integrate technology in the classroom. This paper is based on a recent study that examined students' technology use, skills, and expectations, as well as students' evaluation of faculty use of technology to support classroom instruction. Ideally, this article is intended to help faculty identify effective strategies that could improve and strengthen academic programs to meet the learning needs of all students, especially the net generation students. The study also provides an insight into how higher education faculty might model technology integration in their courses to enhance student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the need for systematic and replicable research methods for the examination of student learning using so called interactive whiteboard technologies. As a basis for these methods a model is developed of the cognitive concomitants evident in students' use of these technologies. While interactive whiteboards are shared spaces, it is important for educators to recognise individual cognitive outcomes from the interactions. Through extending an existing model of cognitive concomitants that has been used in the successful analysis of interaction in shared online discussion spaces, this paper outlines a systematic approach to the analysis of whiteboard interactions that can provide insights into the cognitive processing occurring. Recent notions of imprinting and cognitive tracks, drawn from research into online interactive behaviours, in the context of such methods, may inform the development of effective pedagogies for interactive board use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As new technologies become a part of the ‘landscape’ of universities and colleges, many questions arise concerning the transformation resulting from their utilization in these institutions. This paper discusses the increasing use of technology for education, training, and development in higher education, and challenges that higher education faces in its integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pixel-Bit, Revista de Medios y Educacion is the property of Pixel-Bit, Revista de Medios y Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Understanding the process of initiation, design, implementation and embedding of educational innovations in higher education is necessary to develop better strategies for sustainable, large-scale educational innovation. Often early initiated educational innovation projects are not evaluated well enough, making it hard to identify lessons learned. The aim of this study is to investigate how project leaders of innovation projects in Dutch higher education institutions are coping with organizational challenges. To address this we analysed qualitative focus group data with innovators that run projects at Dutch higher education institutions through the lens of contextual coping theory. Results show that the innovators identified challenges (primary appraisal), proposed possible solutions (secondary appraisal) and also were able to take concrete steps (coping efforts) to overcome challenges to design and implement open online educational innovations. From these findings it can be concluded that bottom-up initiatives can create awareness and are capable of finding local resources to establish support for embedding innovations locally, yet, appropriate, synchronized and timely top-down action is needed in order to create a sustainable and institution wide support system for experimentation and embedding of educational innovations. These findings will contribute towards developing better strategies to develop innovative educational practices and quality education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technologies in institutions of higher education is suggested, which is explained as a holistic dynamic process of organizing and stimulating the independent cognitive activity of students for mastering the skills of active transformation of the information environment, which involves the optimal use of the triad "student-teacher-librarian" consolidated personnel, logistical, educational, methodological, financial and information resources. The effectiveness of the implementation of resource-based learning in a health preserving educational environment of institutions of higher education is analyzed. The transformation of the information environment is understood as the study, analytical and synthetic analysis of the content of educational information, regrouping and changing its values and form, preparation of its new way (secondary data), convenient for future use. The implementation of information technologies in higher educational institutions with the established health preserving educational environment enables: a purposeful system of conditions for scholarly activity, which not only does any harm to the health, but also ensures its formation, preservation and strengthening in all participants of the educational process; application of active forms and methods of education aimed at creating a comfortable health-saving psychological atmosphere during classes; awareness of teachers and students about ways to preserve health and respect for their health keeping behavior; developing in students, in future specialists of value attitudes towards their own health and the health of their peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study illustrates how DS106, a computer science course in Digital Storytelling from the University of Mary Washington (UMW) and accessible as an open course on the web, is being explored in a corporate environment at 3M, an American multinational corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota, to build community, collaboration, and more effective global communication skills. Our assertion is that the pedagogy and assignments of DS106 can be adapted for use within a corporate intranet, using creation and communication tools available internally to all employees. Our approach is to work in a layered 'open organisational web' guided by a specialist facilitation role: that of the 'Salon Patroness' or network connector. This 3M-DS106 Salon model may help address challenges faced in a 'default closed' corporate environment, providing a zone of safety to encourage the evolution of a more open mind-set necessary for increased creativity and innovation. In its first iteration in Fall 2013 the 3M-DS106 Salon participants were interviewed at the end of the course. They identified learning, challenges, and a desire for integrating the course material into their professional work. The use of digital storytelling tools on 3M related projects in real time, within a community of learners to provide support, was deemed an effective practice. Via their internal blogs participants documented growth in media skills and an evolving reflective practice. Based on these initial results, 3M has sponsored a year long 3M-DS106 experience to address participant requests for more flexibility, time and practice while incorporating more 3M specific communication & collaboration tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of REMIE - Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research is the property of Hipatia Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As online learning in higher education continues to grow, the diversity of institutions offering such options also grows. However, small private institutions have been the slowest to adopt online learning (Allen & Seaman, 2006). The challenge for the smaller institution is often the lack of technological resources and support for faculty. The demand for online learning requires that smaller institutions find creative ways to successfully introduce online learning options. This paper examines the use of a Faculty Learning Community to introduce online learning at a small college and shares the outcomes of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As online distance education courses continue to increase in popularity for graduate programs it is becoming evident that retention issues are much greater in this format than in traditional face to face classes. Maintaining contact with students and overcoming feelings of isolation can be a major challenge for instructors and program coordinators. This paper describes an e-mentoring plan established for students in a Master's of Adult Education degree program with the purpose of maintaining enrollment while supporting students throughout their experience. The steps of the plan are described along with the rationale for each. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article seeks to clarify the meaning of mobile learning by applying its key concepts to learning experiences in post-school education. In other words, it seeks not to discuss one fixed meaning of mobile learning but to disassemble the basic components and provide an interpretation of the model in the context of higher education. The article argues that in order to comprehensively understand and define mobile learning, we should from the outset separate its key components and arrange them under three different concepts. The first concept relates to the mobility of the technology. The second concept hinges on increased learner mobility. The third concept examines the mobility and dynamism of the learning processes and the flow of information. The article concludes that knowledge in the modern world is transformed by the development of revolutionary technologies in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to present a systems-based mentoring model of technology integration that follows a research-based path. The model moves teachers through four specific stages of technology adoption toward using technology to support learning in more student-centered ways. The model describes how a mentor can negotiate the interplay of multiple barriers (time, beliefs, access, professional development, culture) on teachers who are learning to integrate technology and suggests a number of strategies for integrating technology, such as establishing a culture of technology integration, modeling technology use, and creating teacher leaders. Unlike previous mentoring approaches to integrating technology into the classroom, this model culminates with the establishment of a teacher-led community of practice that uses the resources currently available at a school to support and sustain the implementation of the system. Suggestions for implementing the model in a variety of K-12 and higher education settings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study are to examine faculty involvement in blended instruction and their attitudes towards the instructional method. The study also explored how universities support faculty in their current practices on blended instruction and the challenges in supporting faculty. The target population of this study was Institute of Higher Education (IHE) coordinators and faculty members of 151 extensive doctoral research universities classified by the Carnegie Foundations. Two online survey instruments, one for the coordinators and the other for faculty were administered to the target population. Of the 151 targeted population, 34 IHE representatives and 133 faculty members from 33 universities responded to the survey questionnaires. The study found that the most commonly selected blended method (64.4%) was face-to-face instruction with supplementary online instructional materials. In addition, faculty (95.9%) actively participated in designing, developing, and/ or maintaining their instructional materials. Most had positive attitudes towards blended instruction as they believed it played a role in improving the quality of their instruction. In addition, participating universities reported providing faculty with the necessary help such as an online help desk, workshops, instructional designers, and technology specialists in support of goals to increase the number of online or blended instruction. However, faculty workload (70.6%) and lack of faculty motivation and enthusiasm (61.8%) were the biggest challenges in pursuing the institutional goals. Based on the findings, suggestions are made to promote blended instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many universities implement e-learning for various reasons. It is obvious that the number of e-learning opportunities provided by higher educational institutes continues to grow in Korea. Yet little research has been done to verify the process of how university students adopt and use e-learning. A sample of 628 university students took part in the research. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed with the LISREL program to explain the adoption process. The general structural model, which included e-learning self-efficacy, subjective norm, system accessibility, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, and behavioral intention to use e-learning, was developed based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). The result proved TAM to be a good theoretical tool to understand users' acceptance of e-learning. E-learning self-efficacy was the most important construct, followed by subjective norm in explicating the causal process in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results in past studies comparing teaching time and effort in online and face-to-face (FTF) teaching environments have been inconsistent. This research study compares the instructional time and effort it took the authors to teach the same course online and FTF in their respective universities. The authors hypothesize that it takes more time to teach online courses. The results of the two-semester study show that both authors spent more time per student, approximately 20% more, in the online courses. In the total time spent per student online compared to the total time spent per student FTF, the paired-samples t -test showed a statistically significant difference (t(3) = 6.163, p = 0.009). The authors speculate a number of factors contributed to this difference and the perception that teaching in an online environment takes more time and effort than teaching in a FTF environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to gauge the current state of the academic developments in Educational Technology in order to identify pivotal issues and offer suggestions for future planning in Canada. This article explores the professional literature and the views of 25 senior faculty members from the twelve Canadian universities which offer or offered graduate degree programs in Educational Technology (and Distance Education). Findings from the study revealed one main category (challenges) connected to the academic field of Educational Technology in Canada with seven key sub-categories, namely, identity, standardization and professionalization, university politics, external influence, competition, funding, and teaching and learning. A synthesis of information sources is provided to delineate major patterns and generate new theory to help guide strategic program planning and evaluation. Recommendations suggest that greater attention should be invested in partnering and identity branding activities within the field to help leverage program success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an exchange of views between users of the American Association of Higher Education's listserv in the Internet computer network regarding the use of information technology in higher education. Reasons for the failure of information technology in the classroom; Lack of real support for educational innovation; Difference between innovators and adopters; Teachers as innovators in the classroom.

The author emphasizes the need for universities and colleges to meet the 21st century demands of higher education with a focus on summer session and continuing education. Topics covered include the need to meet the needs of non-traditional students, the use of technology for distance and blended course delivery and the call for faculty and administrators of traditional departments to collaborate with innovative colleagues in their departments.