scholarly journals The search for meaningful e-learning at Canadian universities: A multi-institutional research study

Author(s):  
Vincent Salyers ◽  
Lorraine Carter ◽  
Alanna Carter ◽  
Sue Myers ◽  
Penelope Barrett

<p>While e-learning is now characterized by a past and trends within that past, there continues to be uncertainty about how e-learning is defined and conceptualized, whether or not we like e-learning, and whether or not it is as meaningful to us as face to face learning. The purpose of this study was to document the e-learning perceptions of students at three Canadian post-secondary institutions. Key components of e-learning courses including ease of navigation, course design, resource availability, and adequacy of e-learning supports and their impact on the student learning experience were also evaluated. Based on a survey of students (n= 1,377) as well as their participation in focus groups, the following are presented as important findings: the majority of students studying in e-learning courses at the three institutions represented in the study were women; ease of navigation, course design, and previous experience with e-learning consistently demonstrated a statistically significant predictive capacity for positive e-learning experiences; and students expressed less preference for e-learning instructional strategies than their faculty. Study findings hold implications for e-learning faculty, instructional designers, and administrators at institutions of higher education in Canada and elsewhere where e-learning is part of the institutional mandate. Additionally, further research into student perceptions of and experiences with e-learning is recommended.</p>

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Uwes Anis Chaeruman ◽  
Santi Maudiarti

Blended learning is not just simply combining online learning with face-to-face learning. It is dynamic and context dependent. It can be viewed from different contexts and perspectives. Different context has different needs and characteristics. It needs different blend of blended learning. But, blended learning has one same ultimate goal, i.e. to determine the most appropriate blend to make optimum learning experience occur. Recent literatures and studies showed that e-learning and blended learning are synonymous with synchronous and asynchronous learning. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of blended learning design and its definition viewed from the perspective of those learning setting. This conceptual model, called quadrant of blended learning. It consists of four quadrants, i.e.: 1) quadrant 1: live synchronous learning; 2) quadrant 2: virtual synchronous learning; 3) quadrant 3: collaborative asynchronous learning; and 4) quadrant 4: self-directed asynchronous learning. As a conceptual model, it is expected that it can provide framework and idea for instructional designers in designing effective blended learning strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Krzyszkowska ◽  
Maria Mavrommati

: Education authorities in Norway endorse online courses for in‑service teachers to raise education standards and to promote digital competence. Naturally, these offerings present teachers with opportunities to integrate new theoretical perspectives and their professional experience in an online learning community. The inquiry into one's professional practice, enhanced by critical reflection in a group of fellow professionals, is considered essential for a lifelong learning practitioner, however, the emerging examples of instructional design tend to prioritise content delivery rather than professional discourse. In this paper, we demonstrate how the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework could be adopted to transform learning design, which prioritises the delivery of individual assignments, into a more collaborative learning experience. Using the CoI instructional design principles and the associated questionnaire, we have investigated student perceptions of learning via an online course and formulated recommendations about how the course design can be refined to promote learning in the community. Despite the modest evidence, this investigation can serve as an example of how a concrete learning design can be improved based on this validated e‑learning model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Rasika Manori Jayasinghe ◽  
Indika Priyanthi Thilakumara ◽  
Dhanushka Leuke Bandara ◽  
Gishan Edirisinghe ◽  
Manil Christopher Nishan Fonseka ◽  
...  

Introduction: E-learning resulted in a revolution in dental education with continuous educational experiences. General objective of this study was to assess the perspective of undergraduate dental students on effectiveness of e-learning in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programme. Specific objectives were to identify students’ opinion on the factors that promote e-learning, awareness on the effectiveness of using different platforms and social media, barriers imposed and suggestions for the improvement of e-learning in the BDS programme. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study among undergraduate dental students of the Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka using a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire administered via a web-based survey form. Frequencies and percentages were obtained for categorical data and Chi-square test was used to determine the association between variables. Results: The majority received the e-learning experience well. Fifty-four percent of the participants felt it was better compared to traditional face-to-face learning and the difference between the semesters (p=0.000) and genders was statistically significant (p=0.000). Difference in overall satisfaction on e-learning material across the different semesters was statistically significant. Students felt that e-learning should be used as a supplementary tool mainly by means of procedural videos during delivery of the skill component. Fifty percent participants felt that conducting assessments online is fair for all the students. Conclusion: A positive learning experience was achieved through the e-learning modalities in comparison to traditional face-to-face learning though in terms of skills training, e-learning modalities should only be considered as a supplementary tool.


Author(s):  
Zamzami Zainuddin

This article aims to review the potential of a Blended learning model implementation in Indonesian higher education institutions during the time of Covid-19. This conceptual paper attempts to explain the concept of Blended learning in terms of theory and practice, based on the literature discussed in several reputable international journals. Blended learning is defined as a learning model integrating face-to-face instruction with an online learning environment or e-learning. Initially, this model proposes to improve the deficiencies of a traditional learning model which is lack of technological resources, and at the same time to develop the gap of e-learning practice which is lack of a face-to-face learning experience. In the blended instruction, students will learn through face-to-face interaction in the classroom and supported by digital media such as a Website, Video, or Learning Management System (LMS). Meanwhile, the use of technologies is ordinarily applied for students' learning and peer-interaction outside of the class, especially for online discussion and homework submission. This method emphasizes that learning activity should not only occur in the classroom but also outside of the class through the digital device.


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Ginsberg

Abstract This qualitative study examined student perceptions regarding a hybrid classroom format in which part of their learning took place in a traditional classroom and part of their learning occurred in an online platform. Pre-course and post-course anonymous essays suggest that students may be open to learning in this context; however, they have specific concerns as well. Students raised issues regarding faculty communication patterns, learning styles, and the value of clear connections between online and traditional learning experiences. Student concerns and feedback need to be addressed through the course design and by the instructor in order for them to have a positive learning experience in a hybrid format course.


Author(s):  
R J Singh

This article reports on the use of blended learning in higher education. Blended learning has become popular in higher education in recent years. It is a move beyond traditional lecturing to incorporate face-to-face learning with e-learning, thereby creating a blend of learning experiences. The problem is that learning in higher education is complex and learning situations differ across contexts. Whilst there is face-to-face contact at some institutions, others offer distance learning or correspondence learning. In each context, the mode of learning may differ. The challenge is to cater for various learning opportunities through a series of learning interactions and to incorporate a blended approach. The aim of this study was to examine various ways of defining blended learning in different contexts. This was done through an examination of experiences of the use of blended learning in different higher education contexts. The study presents a case of blended learning in a postgraduate course. The experiences from all these cases are summarised and conclusions and recommendations are made in the context of blended learning in higher education in South Africa.


Author(s):  
Leanri van Heerden

After the #FeesMustFall strikes that have been haunting South African universities since 2015, Instructional Designers felt pretty confident that they can drive their institutions through any dilemma. Along came the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic and they realised they have been playing in the kiddie pool all along. On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown level 5 to start on 26 March 2020 (Department of Health, 2020). Three days head start for a three-week lockdown (which was eventually extended till the time of writing) was a logistical nightmare for even the most technology driven universities. All staff were sent home with only enough time to grab their office plants and laptops and no idea how they were going to move forward. The issue with staff and students all working from home is that the lecturers working at the Central University of Technology (CUT), being primarily a face-to-face delivery university, was completely unprepared for moving their traditional and blended approaches to completely online. In their study, Mogeni, Ondigi and Mufo (2020) found that most of the investigated teachers were not empowered enough to deliver instruction fully online and either needed to be retrained, receive further specialised training or be trained completely from scratch. A lack of confidence in the delivery mode of instruction will cause even the most knowledgeable subject spcialist to fail in their task. At the CUT lecturers needed a way of quickly acquiring the necessary skills to deliver their content and assessments on the institution Learning Management System (LMS). The aim of this paper is to measure participant perspectives of an emergency intervention to facilitate the process of online delivery skills acquisition quickly and online. To ensure relevant results a systematic process of designing an intervention and recording participant perspectives is necessary. This extended abstract will take a look at the methods used to drive the paper, briefly discuss the results and findings, and lastly explore the implications and significance of the research for the use of higher education institutions for emergency LMS training. Keywords: LMS training; e-Learning; Online Instruction; Instructional Design


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Favrin ◽  
Elisabetta Gola ◽  
Emiliano Ilardi

Abstract Nowadays, at the time of convergence culture, social network, and transmedia storytelling – when social interactions are constantly remediated – e-learning, especially in universities, should be conceived as a sharing educational activity. Different learning experiences should become smoother and able to fade out the closed learning environments (as software platform and classrooms (either virtual or not)). In this paper, we will show some experiences of the Communication Sciences degree program of the University of Cagliari, which is supplied through an e-learning method. In the ten years since its foundation, the approach has evolved from a blended learning with two kinds of traditional activity (online activities and face-to-face lessons) to a much more dynamic learning experience. Many new actors (communication companies, local government, public-service corporations, new media and social media) – indeed – have been involved in educational and teaching process. But also these processes changed: collaborative working, new media comprehension, self-guided problem solving are examples of the new literacies and approaches that can be reached as new learning objectives.


Author(s):  
Brahim Faqihi ◽  
Najima Daoudi ◽  
Rachida Ajhoun

In the field of learning, we are witnessing more and more the introduction of new environments in order to better meet the specific needs of the main actors of the process. The shift from face-to-face learning to distance learning or e-learning has overcome some of the challenges of availability, location, prerequisites, but has been rapidly impacted by the development of mobile technology. As a result, m-learning appeared and quickly evolved into p-learning. The arrival of the "Open Software" concept has given birth to several "open-something" initiatives, among which are the Open Educational Resource (OER) and the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC). These learning resources have also made progress, although they are fairly recent. Admittedly, this diversity of environments offers a wealth and a multitude of pedagogical resources. However, the question of the capitalization of contents, knowledge and know-how of each of these environments is necessary. How can the exchange and reuse of pedagogical resources be guaranteed between these different learning environ-ments? otherwise-said how to guarantee the interoperability of these resources? In order to contribute to the creation of an pedagogical heritage, we propose to design a case-based system allowing the author, when creating a course in a particular context and environment, to exploit the resources that are already available. The goal is to put in place an intelligent production system based on case-based reasoning. It is based on four phases ranging from indexing to reuse, through the similarity measurement and the evaluation. In the first part, we will detail the evolution of learning environments. In the second part, we will review the existing course production platforms, their prin-ciples and their challenges. In the third part, we will present case-based reasoning systems, and then we will introduce our target system.


Author(s):  
Brenda Anak Lukas ◽  
Melor Md Yunus

Education sector in Malaysia had put emphasis on the use of online learning or e-learning with technology and devices as a mediator of communication to replace face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, with the improvement of learning technologies, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers faced various challenges in language teaching. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the challenges ESL teachers faced in implementing e-learning during COVID-19. Using a qualitative approach, this research was a case study which involved 20 primary ESL teachers. Data collection was done through an in-depth interview to explore teachers’ e-learning experiences and challenges in teaching the English language. Based on the findings, the majority of teachers expressed that the use of e-learning was effective with various limitations such as teachers’ readiness to adopt e-learning, accessibility to mobile phones and Internet connectivity, classroom management in term of low students’ participation and assessment. Thus, the researcher recommended more studies to highlight teachers’ insight regarding the significance of e-learning. ESL teachers, stakeholders, policy makers, and institutions can benefit from the results of the study and come out with practical strategies to utilize online sources for education in the pandemic situation.


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