scholarly journals Acid Test of Ghana’s Educational Institutions Operating Distance Learning Programs

Author(s):  
William K Koomson ◽  
Naa Kai Amanor-Mfoafo

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented blow to the Ghanaian Educational System. Following the closure of all educational facilities in Ghana in March 2020, the country’s President ordered for the adoption of distance learning. This poses the question: how prepared are Ghanaian institutions to carry out distance learning using online teaching approaches? Most institutions in Ghana offering distance learning programs currently adopt the usage of the tutorial method where there is minimal or no usage of online learning technologies. This article discusses the potential usage of mobile learning by Ghanaian Educational Institutions operating distance learning programs in the wake of combating the COVID-19. It proposes a model to support the use of WhatsApp Messenger as an online tool to support distance learning programs. The proposed model is a summary comparison between a typical Learning Management System (LMS) using Jurado’s classification and the proper application of the use of WhatsApp Messenger as a mobile learning platform in a Ghanaian context.

Author(s):  
Gerard L. Hanley ◽  
Sorel Reisman

Educational institutions have made significant progress in enabling student success in distance learning by delivering academic programs utilizing course management systems, accessing electronic library resources, and through a wealth of student services that use help desks and campus portals. Enabling instructor success in researching and designing curricula for teaching in distance learning programs is an area where institutions still face significant challenges. This chapter presents a number of these challenges and describes how MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching), an international consortium, can facilitate successful teaching and learning with technology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (SPE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Nikolaevna Poddubnaya ◽  
Elena Leonidovna Zadneprovskaya ◽  
Svetlana Sergeevna Voevodina ◽  
Nadezhda Alexandrovna Ilyinova ◽  
Fatima Ramazanovna Khatit ◽  
...  

Today, the digitalization of education is one of the main tasks of the state social policy and an urgent sphere of life in modern society. At the beginning of 2020, the spread of COVID-19 forced educational institutions to introduce urgently all levels of distance learning technologies focused on the possibility to learn remotely and in real-time. The research focuses on the need to create an effective mechanism for organizing distance learning in the context of the globalization of education. The purpose of the research is to reveal the experience of distance learning in the context of globalization of education (based on the analysis of using the online learning platform Moodle). The results of the research reveal the prerequisites for the popularization of distance learning technologies in the practice of educational institutions, present the experience of using Moodle in the university educational process and determine the prospects of distance learning in educational practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurii STEZHKO ◽  
Nadiia GRYTSYK ◽  
Maryna MYKHAILIUK ◽  
Hanna TEKLIUK ◽  
Olha RUSAVSKA ◽  
...  

The article is devoted to innovative postmodern requests for the liberalization of education. Postmodernism influenced education not only methodologically, but also by changing the very pedagogical culture of teaching. Now the relevance of the research topic is due to the problems of forming information content and methodological support for the introduction of distance learning technology in mobile form. The introduction of IT in education, the improvement of smart devices, the formation of an electronic information and educational environment have created the basis for such forms of education as mobile learning and blended learning. In both cases, the student situationally himself forms the educational process, turns from an object of training into its subject. The humanistic potential of mobile learning in the sense of ensuring equal access to education for people with different abilities is noted. The opinion is expressed about the importance of student motivation and IT competence of teachers to provide information content, intensify the introduction of e-learning and mobile-oriented learning technologies. It is argued that learning based only on mobile learning technology, using smart devices without classroom or office work, real communication with the teacher is not didactically self-sufficient, which would provide adequate language skills. Effectiveness in learning foreign languages is achieved by synergy of technologies distance mobile and traditional classroom or classroom training, real communication with the teacher.


Author(s):  
Zoriana Dziubata

The paper covers the problem of distance learning of English as a Second Language (ESL) in higher agro-technical educational institutions in Ukraine. Integration of distance ESL learning into the educational process in higher agro-technical educational institutions has been considered from the perspective of its current inevitability due to the COVID-19 quarantine. The most effective ways of implementing online learning of ESL into the curricula have been discussed. Synchronous and asynchronous learning have been considered. Having analyzed the forms of online teaching as well as the requirements for their implementation, teaching the approved course materials online in multiple environment (combined synchronous and asynchronous learning) has been defined to be the most effective one. The authors’ experiences in designing and teaching synchronous and asynchronous distance learning ESL classes for non-linguistic specialties in higher agro-technical educational institutions provide an insight into the characteristics, benefits, and limitations of these two modes of distance learning. Effective synchronous distance learning classes can be modeled according to the teaching style and course materials used in traditional classes through use of the Internet. Asynchronous distance learning classes require quite a different model built around provided course materials and short «lectures» delivered via streaming audio and graphics. However, lecturing cannot provide effective interaction, which is vital in ESL learning. Thus, the approach must be significantly redefined and multiple environment should be created for delivering effective distance learning ESL classes.


Author(s):  
Michael Maurer

This article outlines the state of the art of mobile blended learning apps. It describes recent progress in this area, and explains the potential of mobile blended learning for schools and educational institutions. Furthermore, it presents an innovative solution, eSquirrel, which is developed by an Austrian inter-disciplinary start-up. eSquirrel is a blended learning platform that combines mobile learning with gamification. It blends the concepts of classroom teaching, eLearning and learning from books into a native Android and iOS course app, and enables teachers to learn their students’ progress.


Author(s):  
Elena Dolzhich ◽  
Svetlana Dmitrichenkova ◽  
Mona Kamal Ibrahim

<p class="0abstract">The higher education system around the world is being rapidly developed towards digitalization – from computers to laptops, from laptops to tablets and smartphones. Accordingly, traditional delivery of instruction is being shifted towards blended learning that is being gradually replaced with distance learning, i.e. higher education is moving forward with mobile learning (m-learning) technologies. The introduction of mobile learning became the most topical event in 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to which many countries had to completely move to distance learning in higher education. The purpose of the study is to analyze the prospects for the widespread use of mobile applications in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Russia to Russian and Arab learners. In the course of the study, an online survey based on a questionnaire consisting of four open and closed questions was conducted. An empirical method was applied to collect the research data.  The survey was conducted at the Department of Foreign Languages of the Engineering Academy of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (EA PFUR). The total research sample included 200 participants and consisted of: 50 potential employers, 50 Russian and Arab students of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia studying Linguistics (training program code 035700), 50 faculty members, namely teachers of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Moscow State Pedagogical University and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, as well as 50 administrative staff of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. The purpose of the survey was to collect information about the use of mobile applications (Smartphone Apps) and the introduction of mobile learning technology (m-learning) in the process of teaching EFL to students. According to the results of the survey, instructors are actively using mobile technologies in their professional activities and all participants in the learning process are receptive to their introduction in education. At the same time, respondents believe that technical challenges are the major obstacle to the adoption of mobile applications; these problems must be overcome in order to enable more productive use of mobile applications. In this regard, the study of mobile applications that are suitable for specific aspects of learning a foreign language, such as spoken language, reading comprehension, listening or writing, can be considered a promising research area.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (33) ◽  
pp. 404-422
Author(s):  
B. M. AITBAYEVA ◽  
A. M. MAULENOVA ◽  
Z. B AKHMETZHANOVA ◽  
Z. A. KENZHEBEKOVA ◽  
B. O. RAKHIMBAYEVA

Distance education is essentially the basis for the development of educational institutions that provide innovative services, which cannot be obtained elsewhere. It is believed that distance education is a substitute for the traditional as part of simplifying and cheapening the learning process. At the same time, the leading global trends suggest the need for the development of elements of self-education and the expansion of the geographical nature of educational offers. The relevance of the study is that it is necessary to distinguish between the use of distance education methods in the traditional sphere and the sphere of training professionals. The paper presents the concept of the need to integrate elements of distance education in the process of preparing university teachers. The authors believe that teachers in drawing up courses and applying learning technologies use the same techniques as in distance learning. Therefore, the use of distance learning technologies can be shown as the basis for the development of advanced training programs and additional professional education. The authors proposed a study on the need and sufficiency of the use of distance education technologies and the possibilities for their integration into the process of postgraduate education. The practical significance of the work is determined by the fact that the possibilities of self-development of teachers are fully disclosed, not only as subjects of the educational process but also as subjects of training.


Author(s):  
Athra Sultan Alawani

Teachers' professional development programs need to be reconsidered to meet their expectations in the new digital era. Thus, there is need to consider the importance of offering mobile, informal, and social learning in the workplace through smart utilization of the emerging mobile technologies. This chapter introduces the features of an innovative mobile and social learning platform, which aims at improving teachers' performance in the UAE and the Arab world by promoting knowledge and skill through better integration of ICT in the teaching and learning process and better adoption of learner-centric learning. A smart mobile learning platform called “Wamda” is providing micro-courses that are relevant to the curriculum, experiential, and immersive. It is designed to utilize the power of mobile learning technologies, artificial intelligence techniques, and social networking approach. Through this chapter, the critical pedagogical and technical aspects of creating a smart mobile learning environment were elaborated and checked against a list of attributes of smart systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Fouad Hossain Sarker ◽  
Rafi Al Mahmud ◽  
M. Saiful Islam ◽  
Md Kabirul Islam

Purpose Although e-learning has already been accepted globally as an effective medium of delivery of quality education and ensure optimum student participation, Bangladeshi higher educational institutions are still at a very early stage of adopting such technologies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically examine the suitability of implementing effective e-learning through learning management system (LMS) at the tertiary educational institutions in Bangladesh, and how both students and teachers experience and respond to this new learning platform. Following mixed-methods techniques, data for this study were collected from students and respective course teachers of a private university in Bangladesh by administering questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The findings of this paper reveal that e-learning has been well accepted by most of the students as they are found routinely spending time on the LMS on a regular basis for watching lecture videos, viewing course information, reading postings of the fellow students in the forum. However, there are constraints as well, since the learning materials are poorly designed that do not allow much interaction between students and lecturers. There are also some technical problems such as poor internet connection which restrict access to e-learning platforms. To harness the optimum benefit of e-learning, this paper recommends a concerted effort by all stakeholders, such as students, lecturers, administrators and policy makers so that each of their priorities and expectations are reflected in the designing and implementing e-learning platforms. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the qualitative evaluation of Education 3.0 platform. Primary data were collected from the students using a well-structured survey questionnaire, and the findings of the survey have subsequently been cross-referred and supplemented by non-participatory observations with semi-structured interviews which allowed a better in-depth understanding of the issue at hand. Findings The findings of the study suggest that a majority of the students are found to be highly enthusiastic about the online courses. They are eager to participate and interact in the online platforms, which are somehow limited in the traditional classroom settings. However, there are several institutional, administrative and technical limitations of implementing e-learning in Bangladesh. It is recommended that better orientation of the users, quality content distribution though user-friendly systems and enhanced asynchronous interaction between the lecturers and students are the key pre-requisites to harness the optimum benefit from e-learning technologies in Bangladesh. Originality/value The data have been analyzed and discussed using qualitative framework which allows an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the use of e-learning technologies at the higher educational institutions in Bangladesh.


2011 ◽  
pp. 1917-1925
Author(s):  
Seung Youn (Yonnie) Chung

Distance learning is often referred to as taking training or education courses that are either synchronously or asynchronously delivered via various media such as audio, video, or computer, especially Internet technologies in recent years. The number of corporate training programs delivered via Internet technologies (a.k.a., e-learning) has dramatically increased over the last several years. According to ASTD reports (2002, 2003), the percentage of e-learning programs delivered in the Benchmark Service companies in the U.S. increased from 8.8% of total training hours in 2000 to 10.5% in 2001. The number of distance programs offered at degree-granting educational institutions in the U.S. has also gradually increased each year. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2003), 56% of two-year or four-year degree-granting educational institutions offered distance education (DE) courses during the 12-month 2000-2001 academic year, and during the time period, about 2.8 million students were enrolled in college-level credit-granting DE courses, the majority of which were Internet-based courses. Internet-delivered instruction has gained credibility during recent years as well. Research has shown that there seems to be no significant difference in terms of the effectiveness of instruction delivered in traditional classroom settings and the effectiveness of instruction delivered via the Internet (van Schaik, Barker & Beckstrand, 2003). Such research findings, coupled with potential benefits such as cost-effectiveness and convenience, have likely contributed to the increasing popularity of Internet-delivered distance learning programs.


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