Promoting Digital Teaching and Learning

Author(s):  
Nicole Luongo

This chapter explores various faculty development digital teaching and learning options that higher education institutions can offer distance learning instructors. The chapter explains specific methods of providing professional development opportunities for these educators. Some of these options are connected to promotion and tenure, acquisition of new technology, and personal satisfaction. Recently developed technological rewards such as digital badges and credentials are discussed in this chapter. The author explains how nationally recognized professional development programs can enhance professional development programs by offering new options to faculty. The author recommends that higher education institutions modify their current processes for offering professional development options for faculty who design and develop distance learning courses. The chapter suggests that faculty members need specific digital teaching and learning professional development training options when designing and teaching distance learning courses.

Author(s):  
Amy Payne

Professional development is an essential aspect of any career. Many professions have minimum standards or requirements of training each year to maintain a license and/or job. This chapter outlines the necessary components for effective professional development training in terms of technology use, and examines some reasons why certain professional development programs may be ineffective. The chapter also discusses ways to assess the overall efficiency of a professional development program and highlight some outstanding professional development programs/practices in existence. A comparison between professional development practices performed in the United States with other countries around the world is provided to offer an understanding how professional development can vary depending upon culture.


Author(s):  
Maria Northcote ◽  
Kevin P. Gosselin ◽  
Daniel Reynaud ◽  
Peter Kilgour ◽  
Malcolm Anderson ◽  
...  

In today's higher education environment, online education has become a rich and nuanced medium characterized by a dynamic and progressive use of technology. These technological advancements require research-informed guidelines and practices to facilitate understanding of how they can be used to foster positive outcomes in distance education contexts. By employing a mixed-methods multiphase design case study at Avondale College of Higher Education, the authors examine the challenges, self-confidence and threshold concepts, or transformative, conceptual understandings that academic faculty staff experience while engaging in distance education course design. The authors examine how these threshold concepts, attitudes and skills can be used to inform the design of professional development programs for academic staff who teach in online contexts. The results and associated recommendations of the six-year investigation are presented to inform professional development programs that aim to improve the quality of online teaching, course design and learning experiences of students.


2017 ◽  
pp. 593-615
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Sanders ◽  
Mark P. Orbe

At no other time in higher education have scholar researchers been called to demonstrate the value added of theoretically grounded diversity education. This signals the need for higher education to make deeper linkages between diversity education, learning outcomes and academic mission statements. By highlighting a few “TIPs” - attempts to move “theory into practice,” - the authors seek to answer the call to action. Through a case study approach the authors highlight a professional development program that fosters interactional diversity and serves as a catalyst for increasing awareness, mindfulness and positive organizational change. First, a diversity education initiative at a large mid-western university referred to as “The Institute” is described. Second, the theoretically grounded frameworks of anxiety/uncertainty management and relational dialectics theory is presented. Finally, the case study concludes by advocating for more robust professional development programs and initiatives that positively impact organizations. Implications for organizational leaders are discussed.


Author(s):  
Jared Keengwe ◽  
Leslie Ann Bieber ◽  
Gary Schnellert

The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of an effective State Interactive Video (ITV) program relating to teacher qualifications and strategies, student research and involvement, organization, economical benefits, and technical support. Evidence from this study suggests that ITV instructors need more organization and preparation than is typically required for face-to-face teaching in a traditional classroom and the ability of ITV instructors to adapt and learn new technology-based teaching techniques is critical for student academic success. These findings are beneficial to school administrators planning to design and implement sound ITV pedagogical and professional development programs and practices to enhance student learning.


Author(s):  
Katherine Carter ◽  
Michelle Maree ◽  
Geoffrey Shakwa

Few studies have examined the use and impact of technology in professional development programs in higher education. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the significance of technology as a tool for professional development in a postgraduate program in higher education in Namibia. Framed in the interpretive paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative approach. Data were collected through an open-ended qualitative questionnaire distributed to participants in the first four weeks of the postgraduate program and a second time six months afterwards. The findings reveal that the use of the flipped classroom approach and the use of the reflective e-portfolio enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the delivery of the postgraduate program as well as in the participants' teaching practice.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mphoentle Puleng Modise ◽  
Geesje Van den Berg

The Covid-19 pandemic provoked a paradigm shift never imagined by higher education institutions in the world, but especially in developing countries. Drawing on findings from a PhD study, this article aims to highlight the way in which Covid-19 accelerated professional development and training and technology adoption by academics in higher education institutions and large-scale open and distance learning institutions in Africa. A total of 20 academics and relevant stakeholders from two of Africa’s largest open and distance learning institutions were interviewed, and their views are reported. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show an increase in training and professional development of academics during the pandemic. The study also reveals the way in which Covid-19 fostered the speed and ease with which technology was adopted and used by academics for teaching and learning. The results of this research study may contribute to research of various topics on technology adoption and academics’ professional development and training and future approaches post-Covid-19.


Author(s):  
Isobel Green ◽  
Mirjam Sheyapo

It is evident that there is an increase in the enrolment of students with disability in Higher Education, particularly Students with Visual Impairments (SVI). However, it is also sad to note that, this group of students remain excluded and thus are less visible in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). The current pandemic (COVID-19) has put to test, the preparedness and pro-activeness of most higher education institutions to include students with disabilities in different modes of teaching and learning. This paper observed, reviewed, and analysed various legislatives to determine the preparedness of different ODL Centres of selected HEIs in Namibia. Amongst others, some national and institutional legislatives revealed lack of obliging guidelines to compel HEIs to commit to the inclusion of students with disabilities particularly the SVI. The paper concludes that there is lack of policy guidelines in HEIs toward inclusive education and consequently most institutions remain reluctant to prepare and be proactive to include SVI in the ODL programme. The paper calls for policy transformation at national, ministerial, and institutional, to move toward inclusive education through all modes of learning.


2014 ◽  
pp. 817-828
Author(s):  
Jared Keengwe ◽  
Leslie Ann Bieber ◽  
Gary Schnellert

The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of an effective State Interactive Video (ITV) program relating to teacher qualifications and strategies, student research and involvement, organization, economical benefits, and technical support. Evidence from this study suggests that ITV instructors need more organization and preparation than is typically required for face-to-face teaching in a traditional classroom and the ability of ITV instructors to adapt and learn new technology-based teaching techniques is critical for student academic success. These findings are beneficial to school administrators planning to design and implement sound ITV pedagogical and professional development programs and practices to enhance student learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (Suppl. 1) ◽  
pp. 301-311
Author(s):  
Cai Zhaohui ◽  
Anthony Anning

This research explored the factors that underlie Teachers? Professional Develop?ment in China?s Higher Education and their ramification on Students? achievement. The study was carried out in the Jiangsu Province of China where arguably there exist some of the topmost universities in China. Survey questionnaires were used to solicit views from 288 university teachers from (Jiangsu University, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Nanjing University and Nanjing Normal University) who participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model were used to analyze the data. It was found out that these teachers were familiar and interested in some specific professional development programs namely: Courses and Workshops, Reading of Professional Literature, Education Conferences and Seminars, Individual and Collaborative research, Observation visits to other Universities, Conflict Management, Classroom Management, and Building Students? Engagement and these positively influenced students? perfor?mance. It was revealed that what motivated these teachers to embark on these pro?fessional programs include: need to improve the instructional method, managerial skills, research abilities, and the interest for personal development. However, it was found out that some factors militate against teachers from participating in the professional development programs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document