BUILDING ACADEMIC STAFF CAPACITY TO SUPPORT ONLINE LEARNING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greig Krull ◽  
Brenda Mallinson
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
Web Technologies ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Practical Experiences ◽  
Online Communication Tools

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa face the challenge of responding to the expanding demand for tertiary education while maintaining or enhancing the quality of their course offerings. This has led to some HEIs introducing interactive web technologies to support their distance teaching and learning practices. However, academic staff at these institutions may struggle to provide sufficient support to online learners in part due to inadequate staff capacity in terms of familiarity with and use of online communication tools. This paper reports the practical experiences of building academic staff capacity within three southern Africa institutions, in order to initiate skills development and introduce foundational concepts in support of engaging online learners. The design of the course material is discussed and the experiences of the facilitators and participants are examined.

scholarly journals Pathways for improving support for the electronic management and marking of assignments

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Heinrich ◽  
John Milne ◽  
Bruce Granshaw
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Cognitive Fit ◽  
Tertiary Institutions ◽  
Assignment Management ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Management ◽  
Practical Experiences ◽  
Specific Implementation

<blockquote>This article investigates the support e-learning can provide for the management and marking of assignments. The work is contextualised in the importance of assessment with assignments in tertiary education, in the theories about high quality marking of assignments, and the practical experiences of academics at tertiary institutions. The tasks that need to be carried out as part of assignment management and marking are detailed. A set of requirements is derived based on the education literature and on practical needs established in interviews with academics. Possible architectures for an e-learning system implementing these requirements are suggested and arguments are provided towards using an architecture that combines existing learning management system functionality for assignments with a specialised assignment management and marking application. A specific implementation based on <em>Moodle</em>and <em>Lightwork</em> is introduced. The article concludes with thoughts on the cognitive fit of learning management systems for assignment marking tasks and their core roles in supporting teaching and learning.</blockquote><p> </p>

scholarly journals Professional Training Scheme in USUE: COVID-19 Pandemic Impact

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 01034
Author(s):  
Marina Vidrevich ◽  
Irina Pervukhina
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Tertiary Sector ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
The Past ◽  
Training Scheme ◽  
Rapid Shift

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.

scholarly journals Reviews

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Barker ◽  
John Knight ◽  
Ray McAleese ◽  
Philip Barker
Keyword(s):  
World Wide Web ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Online Communication Tools

The Internet and its many aspects, including the use of the increasingly media-rich World Wide Web and online communication tools is becoming increasingly central to teaching and learning across the whole educational spectrum. Nevertheless, despite directives such as the National Grid for Learning, which has led to near universal, if still uneven,DOI:10.1080/0968776030110208

scholarly journals Information technology skills in the workplace: Implications for Bachelor of Arts degrees

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Lawson ◽  
Christine De Matos
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Workplace Needs ◽  
It Skills

<span>Changing work practices have increased demands for information technology (IT) skills within non-IT professions. Many employers want experience in desktop publishing, spreadsheets, and Internet skills, in addition to the 'traditional' areas of file management, word processing and databases. The demand for these skills was evident in our survey of Bachelor of Arts graduates with a Computing Studies major. However, whether workplace needs are being met by non-IT tertiary degrees, such as the BA, is open to investigation. Therefore this paper proposes a re-thinking of computer literacy in BA degrees to a two-tier competence. It also seeks to promote discussion and debate on the integration of advanced IT skills into higher education, with a particular emphasis on BA degrees. Barriers to effective IT integration include technical issues, lack of training and incentives for staff, students' unpredictable IT skill level on entry to tertiary education, and their access to resources. The discussion is limited to administrative and teaching careers, as these were the dominant non-IT career choices of BA graduates in our survey. However, the issues related to the integration of IT across discipline areas in higher education to satisfy the needs of the workplace are quite generic. If the IT skills demanded by employers are to be supplied, then a higher priority needs to be placed on IT skills of academic staff, and on integrating advanced IT skills across and within the teaching and learning framework for students in tertiary education.</span>

scholarly journals Distance Teaching in Chemistry: Opportunities and Limitations

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-63
Author(s):  
Véronique Breguet Mercier ◽  
Ulrich Scholten ◽  
Richard Baltensperger ◽  
Ludovic Gremaud ◽  
Michal Dabros
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Chemistry Teaching ◽  
Know How ◽  
Quality Of Teaching ◽  
Teaching Content ◽  
Online Laboratories ◽  
High Level

Remote teaching in the tertiary education sector is a relatively common practice, and the implementation of digital solutions in chemistry teaching offers many new opportunities and tools. A survey was conducted after 3 months of emergency remote teaching linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and showed that half of the students estimated it was difficult to study remotely, and reported they had to invest more time compared to classroom teaching, which led to a drop in motivation. Professors also noted that the time necessary to invest in order to produce digital teaching content was enormous. Massive open online laboratories (MOOLs) and process simulators are interesting tools, but practical lab work and related know-how cannot fully be replaced by digital techniques. Finally, it appeared that the professor–student interaction is very important in the distance-learning process, and that a high level of pedagogical (inter)activity is mandatory to maintain motivation and better quality of teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Reinventing The Future Online Education Using Emerging Technologies

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36
Author(s):  
Regina Reine ◽  
Filbert H. Juwono ◽  
W. K. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Future

The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has forced the teaching and learning activities to be conducted remotely. Before the pandemic, many academic institutions had offered online distance learning for selected courses. However, in practice, most of these programs were delivered as blended learning program instead of a full-fledged distance learning program. Distance learning programs faced challenges and limitations in terms of communication, integrity, and interactions compared to the traditional face-to-face teaching and learning method. Despite the challenges and limitations in distance teaching and learnings, academic staff are expected to accomplish the same (or better) outcomes than the traditional face-to-face teaching and learning. Hence, distance learning method was not popular to many academic staff and students before the pandemic time. In order to improve the quality of  the full distance learning delivery, emerging technologies and more interactive platforms are being developed rapidly.  This article discusses the emerging technologies and strategies to make full distance learning or remote education competitive compared to the traditional teaching and learning method. The future potential teaching and learning technology, i.e., digital twins, is also briefly presented.

The impact on academic staff of the collaboration between a pathway provider and its partner university: An Australian case study.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79
Author(s):  
Louise Kaktiņš Ms ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Educational Models ◽  
Australian Case ◽  
The Impact

New educational models such as those involving a third party educational provider linked with an official university for purposes of providing a bridge (a pathway program) into a mainstream university degree, particularly for international students, have become part of the higher education landscape capitalising on the international demand for tertiary qualifications from Australia and other English-language-based universities. The perceptions of teachers employed in one such pathway program are the focus of this current paper – a research area that to date has been understudied. Such data are of great value in furnishing an in-depth view of the challenges involved in an educational model that is highly commercialised and the impacts it has on teaching and learning, especially on academic identity in terms of the specific key relationships – between teachers and third party provider, between teachers and partner university, between teachers and international students. Some of the more concerning issues revolve around the extent to which market imperatives impinge on pedagogical concerns, on teachers’ professional commitment to their vocation, on international students’ capacity to acquire an authentic tertiary education that supports rather than detracts their transition to mainstream university, and on whether such educational models can be genuinely sustainable long term.

scholarly journals TETFUND GRANTS: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF TETFUND FUNDING ON THE SCHOLASTIC SKILLS OF SCHOLARS

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-543
Author(s):  
Vincent, O. Asogwa ◽  
◽  
Emmanuel N. Ezugwu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
Tertiary Institutions ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Simple Regression Analysis ◽  
The Impact

The establishment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund is aimed at promoting education in Nigeria. It is achieving its objectives today by providing funding that enhances teaching and learning in tertiary institutions. This study aims to examine the impact of this funding on Nigerian scholars teaching and research abilities. Seventy-two academic staff of two Institutions of Higher Learning participated in the study. Data was collected using a self-developed instrument designed to ascertain Tetfund fundings influence on the lecturers motivation and commitment to teaching and research. The result of the simple regression analysis conducted revealed that Tetfund funding statistically significantly predicted teaching and research. The study concludes that Tetfund financing is crucial in teaching research in Nigerias academia. It is recommended that tertiary institutions encourage their academic staff to access the funding fully.

Using reflection. Mentoring midwifery students in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenda Hawley ◽  
Anthony Tuckett
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Constructivist Theory ◽  
Clinical Placements ◽  
Teaching And Learning Strategies ◽  
Global Health Care ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose: This study aims to offer guidance to lecturers and undergraduate midwifery students in using reflective practice and to offer a roadmap for academic staff accompanying undergraduate midwifery students on international clinical placements. Design: Drawing on reflection within the Constructivist Theory, the Gibbs Reflective Cycle (GRC) provides opportunities to review experiences and share new knowledge by working through five stages—feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. Findings:  The reflections of the midwifery students in this study provide insight into expectations prior to leaving for international placement, practical aspects of what local knowledge is beneficial, necessary teaching and learning strategies and the students’ cultural awareness growth. Implications: The analysis and a reflective approach have wider implications for universities seeking to improve preparations when embarking on an international clinical placement. It can also inform practices that utilise reflection as an impetus to shape midwifery students to be more receptive to global health care issues. 

scholarly journals Synchronous distance teaching of radiology clerkship promotes medical students’ learning and engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Alamer ◽  
Fawaz Alharbi
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Student Attendance ◽  
Perceived Satisfaction ◽  
Fourth Year Medical Students ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education in myriad ways, primarily leading to an abrupt paradigm shift in teaching and learning practices towards distance learning. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of teaching radiology to undergraduate medical students using synchronous distance learning compared to traditional on-campus learning through exploring students’ perceived satisfaction and concerns. Students’ perceptions were correlated with their attendance, grades, and frequency of technical difficulties. Methods The study was designed as an observational study involving fourth-year medical students (2019/2020) from two institutions. The cohort students were exposed to traditional learning, distance learning, or both. Students completed an online self-administered questionnaire concerning their perceptions of distance learning. Students’ attendance, engagement, technical difficulties, and post-clerkship knowledge assessments were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results A total of 145 participants completed the clerkship using the following strategies: traditional learning (n = 66), both traditional and distance learning (n = 67), and distance learning alone (n = 12). The most important result indicates that the abrupt transition to distance learning was well perceived. Most students preferred distance learning over traditional learning in the radiology clerkship (p = .05). During the synchronous sessions, student attendance was high, reaching to 100%. Technical difficulties were limited (1.9%), and they did not affect learning. Conclusion Synchronous distance teaching promotes learning, interaction, and enjoyment in undergraduate radiology education, and it can be as effective as traditional on-campus learning. The technical difficulties encountered, although they were limited, can be overcome by recording the synchronous sessions.

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