scholarly journals Assuring the quality of online teaching and learning: The case of Wawasan Open University

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liew Teik Kooi ◽  
Teoh Ai Ping
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Open University ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Efficient Delivery ◽  
The Web

The dynamic business environment and powerful market forces in the 21st century are challenging leaders at open universities to compete successfully in the national and global higher education stage. The notion of quality is becoming an important and overriding issue with the paradigm shift in the education landscape due to the rapid penetration of Internet usage. Open universities are experiencing pressure from numerous stakeholders to become more client-focused, particularly in their provision of technology-enhanced education to systematically support the learning experience of open distance learners. In the pursuit of establishing institutional and national/regional-based quality assurance practices, Asian open universities should pay particular attention to one of the key components within the overall QA framework; that is, the web-based teaching and learning on the online learning management system (LMS). The assurance of quality in the web-based teaching and learning component is vital to support the effective and efficient delivery of open and distance education within the blended approach adopted by many open universities. In this study, the authors first examine the dimensions of quality assurance of key services that are closely associated with web-based education in the online LMS of Wawasan Open University (WOU). The authors then analyse the pattern of interactions in the LMS to determine the actual activities of learners in the web-based environment. By synthesising the findings, indicators that address diverse facets and components of quality relevant to web-based teaching and learning in the LMS are identified. The authors then discuss the application of the quality components within the overall QA framework in WOU to further enhance the quality of its web-based teaching and learning component. Assessment of learners' satisfaction in WOU is carried out to determine the effectiveness of the QA components in the LMS. The QA components identified in the web-based teaching and learning within the LMS are then recommended to Asian open universities for integration into their overall QA framework.

scholarly journals Online language teaching and learning: Anglistics students' perspectives on the new educational environment imposed by the COVID 19 outbreak

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-248
Author(s):  
Marijana Prodanović ◽  
Valentina Gavranović
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Education Environment

This paper focuses on students' perspectives on the quality of online teaching and learning environment, created, and organized as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which unexpectedly interrupted the traditional face-to-face education context and changed the delivery and mode of classes overnight. The aim of this research is to gather information pertaining to students' learning experience in an online education environment, and to gain a deeper insight into the nature of online delivery of classes as perceived by students who had not had any similar learning experience prior to this newly created educational context. The theoretical framework of the paper states the latest EU education policies passed as an immediate and urgent response to the pandemic and its aftermath. This pilot study relies on a qualitative research which includes the analysis of a corpus of questionnaires taken by a group of 52 undergraduate students majoring in English. The main part of the questionnaire is composed of open-ended questions, and the respondents were asked to write their own answers, thus providing a valuable resource for the analysis; the other part relies on one Likert-scale question measuring the overall attitude of the respondents to the online learning. The students' answers are analyzed and classified into several categories according to their common denominator. Not only do the results show the students' opinions related to the benefits and drawbacks of online delivery of classes, the comparison of online and traditional form of teaching and learning, types of courses which are more suitable to be delivered in one of these modes, and the students' suggestions how to improve the quality of online classes, but they also shed light on different aspects of online teaching and its complexities enhanced by social and psychological factors involved.

Introduction to Online Teaching of Technology-Based Courses

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Lee Chao
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Computer Labs ◽  
The Web

With the improvement of the Internet and computer technologies, online or Web-based teaching has become an important teaching and learning method in educational institutions. In various degrees, online teaching has been implemented in almost every higher education institution. To better understand online teaching systems and how they are related to the book’s main topics, online computer labs for technology-based courses, we will take an overview about online teaching and technology-based courses in this chapter. We will take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Web-based teaching (WBT) systems. We will also investigate the roles played by these Web-based teaching systems in teaching technology-based courses. The investigation of these aspects will lead to the discussion to the book’s main topics.

Using Data Analytics to Foster the Instructional Quality of Online Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
B. Jean Mandernach
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Instructional Quality ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Using Data

The growth of online learning has spurred interest in how administrators can (and should) utilize data to drive teaching evaluations, decision-making and program oversight. Within the realm of higher education administration, online learning programs offer a distinct advantage over their campus-based counterparts: tangible artifacts. The reality of online teaching and learning is that every interaction creates a digital footprint of the teaching-learning dynamic. While researchers have actively explored how the data from these digital footprints can be used to enhance student learning, less attention has been given to how administrators can utilize data analytics to foster the instructional quality of online education. Beyond learning analytics, teaching analytics provide valuable insights that allow administrators to efficiently evaluate the quality of online teaching, proactively support faculty, and make informed program oversight decisions to maximize the online learning experience.

scholarly journals "A website for my subject": The experiences of some academics' engagement with educational designers in a team based approach to developing online learning materials

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Torrisi-Steele ◽  
Glenda Davis
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Development Teams ◽  
Multimedia Development

<span>In recent years Australian universities have increased their focus on flexible delivery and online learning. Successful development of online teaching materials requires both knowledge of pedagogy as it applies to multimedia technologies as well as knowledge of the capabilities of current software and hardware. While academics are familiar with the skills and approaches required to operate in traditional environments they are often not equipped to meet the new demands of web authoring and online course design. Consequently, the potential of the online learning environment to improve the quality of the learning experience often remains unrealised.</span><p>To address this issue Griffith University, as part of its focus on flexible learning, has established campus based production centres. The centre offers academics the services of multimedia development teams. An educational designer is allocated to work collaboratively with the academic to assist with the design of the online materials and the integration of the online resources into courses.</p><p>This paper explores the expectations, experiences and perceptions taken from the perspective of ten lecturers within Griffith University, as they engage with the educational designer to develop online learning materials. Motivated by the authors' belief that the development of online learning materials is an endeavour aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning, this paper seeks to raise some of the issues and concerns which educational designers, as staff developers, need to consider in order to guide interactions with academic staff toward a more fruitful end.</p>

scholarly journals Students’ satisfaction with learning experience in Covid-19 imposed virtual learning environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (29) ◽  
pp. 124-131
Author(s):  
Marijana Prodanović ◽  
Valentina Gavranović
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
University Students ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Students Satisfaction

The organisation of the overall teaching and learning process during the ongoing pandemic has brought to light a complex range of educational aspects which need to be considered while reexamining and reevaluating the quality of teaching practices. The unavoidable criterion relevant for creating a meaningful educational context includes students’ perspectives and thoughts on these aspects of the processes they are active participants of. This paper focuses on university students‘ satisfaction with various aspects of online teaching and learning organisation. It reports on the answers the respondents, students majoring in English, gave to the Students‘ Satisfactory Survey, which consisted of a set of five-point Likert scale and one open-ended questions. The aim of this study is to investigate how satisfied the university students are with the online teaching-learning context – its overall organisation and the quality of lectures organised, delivered and assessed in a virtual environment. The results to a set of closed-ended questions are represented with statistic data and followed by the descriptive narrative, and the answers to the open-ended question are classified according to a common denominator, and subsequently analysed and discussed. The answers analysis shows that the majority of students have a rather positive attitude towards the online learning environment, and it also points to the aspects which can be improved.

scholarly journals Can Web Based Learning be the New Normal for the National Radiology Didactics in Singapore during COVID-19? 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Che Hao Seng ◽  
Soon Yew Sia ◽  
Daniel Wong ◽  
Charlene Jin Yee Liew ◽  
Jocelyn Yan Fen Sim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Teaching Material ◽  
Web Based ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Web Based Learning ◽  
Quality Of Learning ◽  
Radiology Residents ◽  
The Web

Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study aims to quantify and share the experiences of the residents and tutors during the transition to web-based learning during this time of COVID-19. Normally radiology residents would visit the different public hospitals to attend the different didactic teachings. However this is no longer possible and web-based learning has been implemented instead. Methods: Online anonymized surveys were given to the residents and tutors to gather feedback regarding the web-based learning exercise to help quantify the effectiveness of the sessions and to gather suggestions for improvement going forward. Results: The feedback from the web-based learning experience was generally positive from both the tutors and the residents and quality of learning was not compromised. Issues faced gradually improved as participants get more accustomed to web-based learning. The quality of learning also increased as tutors started to get more familiar and integrated their teaching material with the tools available in the software. Conclusions: As such, it is strongly recommended that the use of web-based learning should be considered the new norm going forward, even as the end of social distancing measures locally and worldwide remain uncertain.

scholarly journals Online teaching: a reflection

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sam Baddeley
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Personal Reflection ◽  
Remote Education ◽  
The Past

This article, written at the start of April 2021, is a personal reflection on what has and hasn't worked in remote/online education. I have drawn on my own experience of teaching over the course of the past year, observations of classroom practice I have undertaken as a mentor and middle leader with responsibility for teaching and learning in my school, and conversations I have had with colleagues in my school and elsewhere; it is, therefore, highly anecdotal, and the reader is asked to bear in mind the fact that, like many others, my journey into online teaching was enforced by the closure of schools during the first nationwide lockdown in March 2020. My core aim during both lockdowns was to provide for my students the best experience possible until such a time as we could all return to the physical classroom. As it became clear towards the end of 2020 and the start of 2021 that we were going to need to return to remote education, I began to think more deeply about the strategies I was employing in my online teaching, how effective they were for my students, and what I might do to maximise their learning experience and outcomes.

scholarly journals The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Learning Quality and Practices in Higher Education—Using Deep and Surface Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 462
Author(s):  
Salah Alhammadi
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Class Discussion ◽  
The Face ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Future Of Education

This paper explores the student learning experience using technology as an e-learning tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article utilized qualitative methods to examine the quality of student learning using deep and surface approaches to understand what influences student engagement with technology. Interviews were conducted with 21 students from various academic majors using deductive content analysis to evaluate their responses. The findings show that technology increased student engagement with class discussion, and students became more informed about lecture material. It is noteworthy that there were some variations in the students’ interpretation of the learning experience with technology, indicating a gap in the quality of learning. Notably, there was an improvement in grades compared to the last online session and the face-to-face learning experience prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there were fewer missing quizzes and late assignments. These outcomes may be used to enhance teaching strategies and problem solving within teaching and learning to develop a new mode of delivery. In addition, these findings are important for the future of education in a post-pandemic world.

Modern University Education: Administrative and Bureaucratic Pressures and Their Consequences

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4-1) ◽  
pp. 113-128
Author(s):  
Andrey Ivanov ◽  
◽  
Irina Fotieva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
University Education ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Quality Of Teaching ◽  
Russian Higher Education

The article considers two interrelated problems of modern Russian higher education: the strengthening of administrative coercion and control as well as the introduction of distance education. As a theoretical and methodological basis of the study, the authors rely on the socio-philosophical analysis of the problems of education in the famous S.I. Hessen’s work, where three basic principles of the effective functioning of the university are highlighted: the completeness of scientific knowledge, the freedom of teaching and learning, and self-government. The authors substantiate the view that at present all these principles are violated. Violation of the first of them is manifested in a decrease in hours devoted to the teaching of fundamental disciplines and in a general orientation toward the graduation of a “narrow” specialist; the second principle is incompatible with the extremely increased reporting of universities and overly formalized indicators of the quality of their work. Violation of the third principle is manifested in the gradual elimination of university autonomy, in particular, free election of rectors. The most negative manifestation of administrative pressure, according to the authors, today is the forced introduction of distance learning. The authors critically analyze the main arguments put forward in favor of this project: saving university budgets, ensuring a higher quality of teaching, the need to follow the general logic of modernization of education as a whole. The solution to financial problems, according to the authors, should not be based on forced economy, but on the competent organization of the country’s economic life. An appeal to a higher quality of teaching, which, it is argued, must be provided by teachers from the country’s central universities, is based on biased and unproven ideas. In addition, for mastering critical and systematic thinking skills, conducting scientific discussions, direct communication between teachers and students is necessary, which is not feasible in the conditions of online teaching with a very large number of students. In addition, the authors highlight the idea that nobody takes into account the need for close knowledge of a particular audience by a teacher to choose an adequate style of lecturing or conducting practical classes. The article concludes that the current administrative-bureaucratic style of managing higher education, in which not only the basic principles of the successful functioning of the latter are violated, but also destructive reforms are carried out, is destructive not only for education as such, but also for the state itself.

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