scholarly journals Editorial: Ireland’s Online Learning Call

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Fiona Concannon ◽  
Tom Farrelly ◽  
Eamon Costello ◽  
Steve Welsh

The editorial board of the Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL) would like to use this opportunity to thank each and every one of you working through a very challenging time over the past twelve months of the pandemic. It is a significant event, a critical incident, that will take some time to document and reflect upon in future journal editions.  So many words have already been written about this past year that try to capture the disruption and change. However, to summarise even a scintilla of what has happened across Irish higher education is a slightly daunting prospect. We have seen various terms used to describe the rapid shift to teaching and learning online, such as milestone, pivot, emergency remote teaching. None of these fully encompass the myriad of ways that those of us working in education have had to become resilient, responsive and supportive of colleagues during this period.  Considering the response from members of the educational technology community within Ireland, one could argue that the term overwhelming is a good starting point. For a start, a tsunami of work ensued, that at times threatened to engulf individuals.  Education ‘pivoted’ from a position where online was generally a supplementary or complementary activity to one where in an online mode, we became the campus. Systems and processes were hastily altered, modified or expanded far beyond anybody’s expectations. While some of those have creaked and groaned, we have managed to teach classes, run meetings and carry out assessments; run on-campus labs and social distanced teaching; in short, we have kept going. People have been inventive, innovative and extremely hard working. But above all else, they have been generous; generous with their time, their expertise and generous in spirit. 

Author(s):  
Lesley S. J. Farmer

Textbooks can serve as a good starting point for learning concepts or serve as a reinforcing reference tool for students. However, to address the various academic needs of students, as well as to affirm the richness and depth of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions in online courses, online instructors should complement and supplement textbooks with other resources in various formats. Education has a growing need for digital resources, starting with digital textbooks, and expanding to other kinds of educational resources. Open educational resources, in particular, provide cost-effective and flexible tools for teaching and learning.


Author(s):  
Sibitse Mirriam Tlhapane ◽  
Sibongile Simelane

The case discusses the challenges of introducing technology-enhanced learning in geographically dispersed learners, most of who are situated in rural areas. These are post-diploma nursing learners with minimal computer literacy. They also have limited or even no access to computers at the university because they attend part time, have full-time jobs and stay far from the university and so cannot even visit computer labs after hours. Despite these challenges, these students end up being motivated to learn computers so that they can access learning material and also use them for lifelong learning. The case also covers computer training, e-applications used, online learning, studies done, partnerships between faculty and the directorate and teaching and learning with technology. The value of simple, cheap technologies like an interactive CD-ROM in initiating students to e-learning and overcoming their bandwidth problems is emphasised, including the gains made from the project. Both staff and managerial challenges are discussed and recommendations are made.


Author(s):  
Pauline Rooney

Information and communication technologies are fundamentally changing the way we live our lives. However, despite these huge societal changes, it is widely recognised that the potential of ICTs for enhancing teaching and learning has not yet been capitalised on in higher education, with traditional pedagogical methods still predominating. However it is crucial that educators are receptive to the potential of ICTs and that they have a sound understanding of this potential and how to capitalise on it. TELTA (Technology-Enhanced Learning, Teaching and Assessment) is a fully online eight-week course offered by the Dublin Institute of Technology which aims to address these issues by giving participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in existing and emerging learning technologies. This paper provides a case study of the TELTA approach, exploring key areas including target audience, module goals, underpinning pedagogical framework, assessment methodologies, technologies utilised and future plans for further developing the initiative.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Andy Buchenot ◽  
Tiffany Anne Roman

Active Learning Classrooms provide several advantages for teaching and learning by offering many physical and technological affordances that one can choose from when designing instruction. For courses where student writing is central activity to course learning outcomes, a challenge exists in that the innovative digital technologies may hide the opportunity to incorporate non-digital tools, such as paper-based student writing. We argue that treating student writing as a technology can increase opportunities for active learning within technology-enhanced learning environments. In this article, we describe an approach to writing instruction that builds intentional connections between paper-based texts and digital technologies, describing the rationale for the design decisions in an introductory composition course through a design case model. Classroom applications are discussed for physical learning spaces where student writing is incorporated into overall course learning activities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 01034
Author(s):  
Marina Vidrevich ◽  
Irina Pervukhina

Over the past decades, the Russian tertiary sector has undergone profound changes caused by economic and social factors. The paper focuses on the challenges that modern universities are facing nowadays. One of the challenges is pedagogical and methodological professional development of academic staff, which has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. However, a rapid shift to online teaching and learning has offered new opportunities to capacity building of staff and faculty who have learned and tested new tools and systems to enable distance teaching and learning. USUE case is considered.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Visvizi ◽  
Linda Daniela

The inroads of sophisticated technologies and related applications in the field of education trigger several developments related not only to the processes of managing education institutions across levels and domains but also pertaining to approaches to teaching and learning. As advances in technology impact all aspects of life, when adopting and adapting to these advances, the education sector is expected to respond to issues and processes that current technological revolution triggers in the entire society. Hence, effective and forward-looking manner of managing technological advances in the education sector today is a necessity to ensure sustainability of that sector in the future. The objective of this Special Issue was to reflect on these issues, to identify the key questions that have to be addressed in this context, and to encourage new critical insights into these developments.


Author(s):  
Diana Laurillard ◽  
Elizabeth Masterman

This chapter focuses on supporting university teachers in the UK in the more innovative use of digital technologies. Although the use of these technologies is now widespread and increasing, it is not always optimised for effective learning. It is important that teachers’ use of technology should be directed towards innovation and improvement in teaching and learning, and should not merely replicate their current practice in a digital medium. The authors therefore make the case for an online collaborative environment to scaffold teachers’ engagement with technology-enhanced learning. The chapter outlines the findings of our recent research into a blended approach to TPD, and use these to identify the requirements for an online collaborative environment: tools for learning design, guidance, and access to relevant resources to support teachers in their discovery of new forms of technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Such an environment, they argue, would provide a framework for a “community of innovation” in which teachers participate both as learners and researchers.


Author(s):  
Shafika Isaacs

This essay prompts critical thinking on the way ICT-enabled education programs in Africa have been conceptualized and implemented. It reflects mainly on the experiences of the African SchoolNet movement over the past decade. It highlights important lessons and demonstrates the beneficial effects of technology-enhanced learning programs on African learners and teachers who have had the privilege of being included in SchoolNet initiatives. However, it also shows that the accumulated interventions and programs to date remain insignificant in scale to catalyze a resounding shift toward resolving the crisis in Africa’s education systems; it makes the case for integrated system-wide, locally led approaches that soberly takes account of the challenges imposed by globalization. The chapter traces the historical evolution of frameworks to promote African inclusion in the information society, and allusions are specifically made to the emergence of the NEPAD eSchools, and the Global eSchools and Communities Initiative of the UN ICT Task Force, which hold the potential for advancing the frontiers of learning in Africa. Here, the author emphasizes, however, that these new initiatives need to draw on the accumulated learning and experience of the SchoolNet movement over the past 10 years in Africa to succeed. Finally, the chapter raises the dearth of evidence-based research made in Africa by Africans who would verify or refute the case for stronger investment in ICTs for education. It then proffers suggestions on areas for further research.


Author(s):  
Julia Sargent ◽  
Antonio Calderón

Purpose: In this review, the three components of pedagogy (i.e., teaching, learning, curriculum) were used to critically investigate what is argued to be “enhanced” by digital technology. Method: Using a critical methodology, an answer was sought to the question, “What aspect(s) of pedagogy is claimed to be enhanced by the use of digital technology in PE?” The final set of papers are presented in terms of the claimed technological enhancement in teaching, learning, and curriculum. Findings: Interestingly, technology enhancements are presented most prevalently in terms of “enhancing student learning” in areas such as health or motivational variables. Technology was mainly used as a substitute for the teacher and not transformative of teaching and learning. Discussion/Conclusion: A critical analysis regarding what is done in the “name of PE.” This paper concludes by presenting suggestions on how to move the field forward and to debate the roles of digital technology in PE.


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