scholarly journals Digital teaching tools and global learning communities

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Mary Williams ◽  
Patti Lockhart ◽  
Cathie Martin
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
User Survey ◽  
Teaching Tools ◽  
Plant Sciences ◽  
University Level ◽  
American Society

In 2009, we started a project to support the teaching and learning of university-level plant sciences, called Teaching Tools in Plant Biology. Articles in this series are published by the plant science journal,The Plant Cell(published by the American Society of Plant Biologists). Five years on, we investigated how the published materials are being used through an analysis of the Google Analytics pageviews distribution and through a user survey. Our results suggest that this project has had a broad, global impact in supporting higher education, and also that the materials are used differently by individuals in terms of their role (instructor, independent learner, student) and geographical location. We also report on our ongoing efforts to develop a global learning community that encourages discussion and resource sharing.

scholarly journals Digital teaching tools and global learning communities

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Mary Williams ◽  
Patti Lockhart ◽  
Cathie Martin
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
User Survey ◽  
Teaching Tools ◽  
Plant Sciences ◽  
University Level ◽  
American Society

In 2009, we started a project to support the teaching and learning of university-level plant sciences, called Teaching Tools in Plant Biology. Articles in this series are published by the plant science journal, The Plant Cell (published by the American Society of Plant Biologists). Five years on, we investigated how the published materials are being used through an analysis of the Google Analytics pageviews distribution and through a user survey. Our results suggest that this project has had a broad, global impact in supporting higher education, and also that the materials are used differently by individuals in terms of their role (instructor, independent learner, student) and geographical location. We also report on our ongoing efforts to develop a global learning community that encourages discussion and resource sharing.

Emergent constellations: Global citizenship education and outrospective fluency

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
First Century ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Global Citizenship Education ◽  
The Individual

Global citizenship education (GCE) is an essential element of twenty-first-century teaching and learning. For some, GCE signifies an attitude of cosmopolitan purpose, placing humanity ahead of self. For others, GCE embodies a fractured sense of both learner and educator identity. For a third group, GCE is a critical interrogation of pervasive norms. How schools practise GCE, despite globalised rhetoric, poses challenges for educators and students alike. In this article, research is presented from an ongoing study into the activation of GCE in a single international school. The conceptualisation developed as part of the research is aimed at reconciling the individual learner and the learning community, without losing the strengths of either. Underpinned by Habermas’ (1984) Theory of Communicative Action and Krznaric’s (2014) outrospective empathy, outrospective GCE features pathways towards mindful-yet-active global learning. The conceptualisation presented in this article, although reflective of universal ideas, does not account for all cases and contexts. Instead, outrospective GCE applies to educators seeking a means of engaging with and enlivening situated GCE innovation.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of a Google Group in enabling lesson resource sharing in a South African geography teachers’ professional learning community

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Paul Goldschagg ◽  
Di Wilmot
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
South African ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Geography Education ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
South African School ◽  
Teacher Professional

This article presents the findings of the initial phase of an ongoing exploratory study that responds to a national imperative, to create teacher-initiated professional learning communities (PLCs), to improve the professionalism and capabilities of South African teachers. The overarching goal of the study is to understand how an emergent PLC in the form of an online Google Group for South African geography educators may enhance geography education and teacher professional development. The contributions made to the Southern African Geography Teachers Network Google Group over a six-month period were analysed and categorized according to themes and topics in the Grade 10, 11 and 12 Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum. The findings, in shedding as they do, light on the curriculum sections receiving the most and least contributions, raise more questions than they provide answers. Areas requiring further research are identified. Our main contention is that the emergent PLC enabled through the Google Group offers exciting possibilities for teacher professional learning. As a bottom-up, online, easily accessible initiative, unrestricted by time or place constraints and with a growing membership, it may play an important role in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in South African school geography.

Developing Social Capital in a Cross-Cultural E-Learning Environment

2014 ◽  
pp. 269-282
Author(s):  
Youmei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Collaborative Relationships ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Fast Development ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Social Media Tools

With fast development of internet technology and social media tools, e-learning is expanding drastically. E-learning builds a unique global learning community that brings in students from all over the world, which creates an optimum opportunity for students to learn from each other, work collaboratively, establish shared norms and values, and build mutual trust and respectful relationships. The four major components of social capital as delineated by Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) are trust, norms, obligations, and identification, and its core value is about building trustworthy and respectful relationships among people. From this perspective, e-learning has raised the mission of education to a higher level – promoting the development of social capital. This chapter focuses on two sub topics: 1) building a global e-learning community to develop social capital and 2) creating purposeful and meaningful teaching and learning activities to build trustful and collaborative relationships among students.

Mobile Phones for Teaching and Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farooq AlTameemy
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Member ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Teaching Tools ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Smart Technologies

Mobile phones have become so ubiquitous that they turned into an important part of our life. According to Parsons, mobile subscriptions exceed 6 billion subscriptions globally. Similarly, Ipsos and Verizon (as cited in Tan & El-Bendary) found out that adopting mobile phones with smart technologies has increased fast which also coincided with a more utilization of their Internet capabilities. With the abundance of knowledge the Internet provides, mobile phones become an invaluable pathway for that knowledge. The fact that these gadgets are well-liked by students make them one of the best tools to be adopted by educational institutions. This study will investigate the actual academic use of mobile phones among students and teachers, their attitudes toward using them as learning or teaching tools, and if there is a significant difference in attitudes of the participants toward using mobile as learning or teaching tools based on the job criteria (Student vs. Faculty Member).

An exploration of the factors that contribute to learning satisfaction of first-year anatomy and physiology students

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saramarie Eagleton
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Community Support ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Effectiveness ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Learning Satisfaction ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Teaching Anatomy ◽  
Physiology Students

Lecturers have reverted to using a “blended” approach when teaching anatomy and physiology. Student responses as to how this contributes to their learning satisfaction were investigated using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of closed- and open-ended questions that were based on three determinants of learning satisfaction: perceived course learnability, learning community support, and perceived learning effectiveness. Regarding course learnability, students responded positively on questions regarding the relevance of the subject for their future careers. However, students identified a number of distractions that prevented them from paying full attention to their studies. As far as learning community support was concerned, respondents indicated that they were more comfortable asking a peer for support if they were unsure of concepts than approaching the lecturing staff. Most of the students study in their second language, and this was identified as a stumbling block for success. There was a difference in opinion among students regarding the use of technology for teaching and learning of anatomy and physiology. From students' perceptions regarding learning effectiveness, it became clear that students' expectations of anatomy and physiology were unrealistic; they did not expect the module to be so comprehensive. Many of the students were also “grade oriented” rather than “learning oriented” as they indicated that they were more concerned about results than “owning” the content of the module. Asking students to evaluate aspects of the teaching and learning process have provided valuable information to improve future offerings of anatomy and physiology.

scholarly journals The System Analysis in Language Teaching and Learning for Technical Students in Russia

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Sidorenko ◽  
Vladimir Yampolsky
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Technical Students ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
University Level ◽  
Personal Skills

Integration of the Russian system of engineering education into the global educational domain compelled Russian universities to enhance the importance of humanities in engineering programs with a special focus on foreign languages. However, it must be admitted that the system of language training in Russia at a university level comes up against serious problems of historical, economic or political backgrounds, for which reason there are processes in the system that hamper a solution of the tasks set before the university and the society. The solution requires strong and decisive initiatives capable to improve the situation with the language proficiency among the graduators. Therefore, there is a rapid need in essentially new approaches to teaching foreign languages attain the desired outcomes for engineers, which reflect not only subject-oriented knowledge but also personal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with an opponent or a partner. The need to identify barriers towards high-quality language courses at a university level motivated the authors to carry out a special research based on the methods that are typical to system analysis.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Analysis of High School Genetics Standards: Are States Keeping Pace with Modern Genetics?

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Dougherty ◽  
C. Pleasants ◽  
L. Solow ◽  
A. Wong ◽  
H. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Human Genetics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genetic Literacy ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Genetic Complexity ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Instruction And Learning ◽  
American Society

Science education in the United States will increasingly be driven by testing and accountability requirements, such as those mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, which rely heavily on learning outcomes, or “standards,” that are currently developed on a state-by-state basis. Those standards, in turn, drive curriculum and instruction. Given the importance of standards to teaching and learning, we investigated the quality of life sciences/biology standards with respect to genetics for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using core concepts developed by the American Society of Human Genetics as normative benchmarks. Our results indicate that the states’ genetics standards, in general, are poor, with more than 85% of the states receiving overall scores of Inadequate. In particular, the standards in virtually every state have failed to keep pace with changes in the discipline as it has become genomic in scope, omitting concepts related to genetic complexity, the importance of environment to phenotypic variation, differential gene expression, and the differences between inherited and somatic genetic disease. Clearer, more comprehensive genetics standards are likely to benefit genetics instruction and learning, help prepare future genetics researchers, and contribute to the genetic literacy of the U.S. citizenry.

scholarly journals The botanical content in the South African curriculum: A barren desert or a thriving forest?

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 112 (Number 1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia L. Abrie ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Plant Biology ◽  
The South ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Assessment Policy ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
Plant Sciences ◽  
American Society

Abstract Botanists who are interested in education have often expressed their dismay at how plant sciences are neglected in Biology curricula, despite the important roles that plants play. While botanists in several overseas countries have studied the ways in which plant sciences are represented in curricula, no research has been done on how botany is neglected in the South African curriculum. Currently, the South African curriculum is known as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) for Grades R–12. In this study, a comparison was made among the content that is generally taught in introductory plant sciences courses, the American Society of Plant Biologists’ principles for plant biology education and the relevant CAPS documents. The time spent on plant, animal or human-focused content was established and compared at both phase and grade level. It was found that while the curriculum addresses all the major concepts in the plant sciences, very little time was being allocated to exclusively plant-focused content as compared to animal and human-focused content. This neglect was particularly prevalent in the Foundation Phase. The way in which the content is structured and presented in the curriculum may in all likelihood not be sufficient to provide a strong knowledge and skills foundation in the plant sciences, nor will it encourage the development of positive values towards plants. While consensus regarding the content of a curriculum will be difficult to achieve, awareness of potential gaps in the curriculum should be brought to the attention of the botanical and educational communities.

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