Some Insights into the Impact of ICTs on Learning Agency and Seamless Learning

Author(s):  
Hitendra Pillay ◽  
John A. Clarke ◽  
Peter G. Taylor

The learning capacity of individuals is becoming recognised as the most valued commodity in a knowledge and information society and this has fostered an increased attention on the innovation, transfer, and management of knowledge. To explain these processes, it is necessary to move beyond what has traditionally been conceived of as a learning environment and to develop alternative models that acknowledge and accommodate the learning competencies required to successfully engage with a contingent and dynamic learning culture, the changing nature of knowledge, and the influence of the cultural background of learners. Such models need to explain the lifelong and continuous nature of learning as learners move seamlessly among a range of diverse learning environments. This chapter proposes the concept of learning agency which incorporates the intelligence inherent in learning environments as a mechanism to explain seamless learning within and across environments, particularly those that are rich in technology.

Author(s):  
Hitendra Pillay ◽  
John A. Clarke ◽  
Peter G. Taylor

The learning capacity of individuals is becoming recognised as the most valued commodity in a knowledge and information society and this has fostered an increased attention on the innovation, transfer, and management of knowledge. To explain these processes, it is necessary to move beyond what has traditionally been conceived of as a learning environment and to develop alternative models that acknowledge and accommodate the learning competencies required to successfully engage with a contingent and dynamic learning culture, the changing nature of knowledge, and the influence of the cultural background of learners. Such models need to explain the lifelong and continuous nature of learning as learners move seamlessly among a range of diverse learning environments. This chapter proposes the concept of learning agency which incorporates the intelligence inherent in learning environments as a mechanism to explain seamless learning within and across environments, particularly those that are rich in technology.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Saifullah Khalid ◽  
Qi Zhanyong ◽  
Jannat Bibi

Purpose This study aims to assess the socio-cognitive transformation and subject knowledge development of international students studying in China's universities with diverse learning environment. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected through on-line survey and quantitative approach was adopted on a Likert scale to assess students' cognitive and social development as a responsible mind-set, ethical awareness, understanding cultural diversity and subject knowledge development. The assessment scale consisted of 25 statements to cover the foundational indicators that represent socio-cognitive transformation. The questionnaire was pilot tested for internal consistency by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis was applied to ensure the traits of the construct intended to measure. A total of 316 participants responded to the survey. With descriptive statistics, X2 of association and Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance by rank was applied to test the hypothesis. Findings This study argues that diverse learning environment has positive impact on learners’ socio-cognitive transformation. It enhances students' capability to understand cultural values to accept diversity and awareness about global community issues and also subject knowledge skill development. Originality/value In the current century, study abroad programs have increased the mobility of international students, and the role of higher education institutions has become immense, multifaceted and dynamic. Universities are taking a position to play a considerable role in creating learning opportunities for awareness of societal issues and transform social behavior. Studying abroad programs is a growing concept in response to learners' cogitative and socialized transformation. There is an absence of research conducted to explore the impact of a diverse cultural environment on the socio-cognitive transformation of international students. Therefore, the current study focused on exploring the cognitive and societal development of international students studying in China.


Author(s):  
Kathryn Woods

Advances in technology have increased opportunities for students to participate in online courses. While some instructors are beginning their careers teaching only online courses, others are discovering a need to teach sections of courses online after they have enjoyed a long career teaching in a traditional classroom. In either situation, it is important for instructors to recognize that students in online learning environments require the use of different strategies for encouraging engagement and participation in class. In this chapter, the author describes the challenges that students and instructors face specifically in the online learning environment as well as strategies for success, including how to maximize the impact of students' experiences and prior knowledge, using multiple platforms to deliver information, discouraging procrastination, setting clear expectations, encouraging individuality, capitalizing on diversity, and providing and utilizing helpful resources.


Buildings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhonghua Gou ◽  
Maryam Khoshbakht ◽  
Behnam Mahdoudi

A Good learning environment should support students’ choices and attract them to stay. Focusing on outdoor views, this research explores two questions: How important outdoor views are in seat selection in learning environments? How do the view elements influence students’ seating behaviors in learning environments? A seat preference survey and view elements and occupancy rate measurements were conducted in a university library building in Gold Coast, Australia. This study not only echoes the previous research indicating that territory and privacy are important factors for choosing seats in a learning environment; more importantly, this study contributes to the literature with evidence that outdoor views might be an important factor for seat preference. Specifically, sky views and shading views were found positively related to occupancy rate. Based on this point, open views with appropriate shading were found as an optimal outdoor view composition. The singularity of greenery views would less likely be attractive to building occupants.


Education ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea H. Parrish

In Toward a New Learning Ecology: Teaching and Learning in 1:1 Environments (cited under General Overviews), one-to-one learning environments are described as classrooms in which every student has access to a personal computing device (such as a laptop or a tablet) and continuous access to the Internet. This model for student computing was first discussed in educational research beginning in the 1980s, most notably in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) project, a research collaborative among public schools, universities, and research teams funded by Apple and outlined in The Evolution of Teachers’ Instructional Beliefs and Practices in High-Access-to-Technology Classroom: First-fourth Year Findings (cited under Origins of One-to-One Technology: Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow [ACOT]). The original premise, based on the work of computer scientist and mathematician Seymour Papert, is rooted in the idea that ubiquitous access to technology can create more dynamic learning environments. In recent years, the proliferation of mobile technology has caused a renewed interest in one-to-one computing, as the improved portability and functionality of technology tools coupled with advances in wireless Internet capability makes one-to-one computing attainable for many schools and districts. Despite the continued debate about the impact of technology on learning, the U.S. Department of Education elevated the concept of a one-to-one technology ratio from unique innovation to moral imperative in its document, Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update (cited under Resources). Even before this, the prevalence of one-to-one computing initiatives increased, both in the United States is discussed in The New Digital Learning Playbook: Understanding the Spectrum of Students’ Activities and Aspirations (cited under General Overviews) and around the world in Large-Scale 1:1 Computing Initiatives: An Open Access Database (cited under International Perspectives on One-to-One Technology). The growth of these initiatives has been accompanied by an increase in peer-reviewed research and evaluation reports that document the impact of one-to-one technology on teaching and learning. A topic that was once dominated by white papers and evaluation reports now boasts a growing body of peer-reviewed studies, research syntheses, and government reports. The references cited in this article provide a cross-section of these various forms of literature that depict the use of one-to-one technology in K-12 classrooms, including implementation resources for districts and key empirical findings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Scheidecker ◽  
Ariane Gernhardt ◽  
Hartmut Rübeling ◽  
Jona Holtmannspötter ◽  
Heidi Keller

The present study investigated the impact of young adolescents’ learning environment on their culturally mediated view of themselves as expressed in their self-drawings. The sample consisted of 83 young adolescents, 35 male and 48 female, aged 10 to 14 years with an overall average of 12 years living in three diverse ecosocial contexts within the Southern region of Madagascar: 28 participants were recruited in rural villages, 14 adolescents lived in a small town, and 41 adolescents were raised in a large city. The participants did not differ in age or gender distribution. The analyses revealed significant differences in the adolescents’ emotional expressions, drawing styles, visual appearances, and figure sizes in their self-depictions, which were in line with ecosocial variations in their learning environments. The findings are interpreted in light of the participants’ varying socialization experiences, access to formal education, and exposure to modern media and a Western lifestyle.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Bryce Antony

Containerization: Practical infrastructure and accessibility efficiency for the Virtual Learning Environment  Context and motivation: Containers are transforming modern application infrastructure, providing advantages for accessibility and allow many instances of existing legacy applications to be run at the same time on the latest operating systems. This can implement an ideal virtual learning environment which offers a dynamic learning space where instructors upload activities and resources to enhance learning. The goal is to provide a structured learning environment suited to both the student and the instructor, where materials are easily accessed, and that many files can be transferred at one time. The system should cope with the demands of many students occupying the same virtual learning space, providing each student with individual learning experiences. There are challenges when instructors attempt to adapt the learning environment to meet the learning objectives. Technology barriers to the education provider, primarily in the form of high cost of technology infrastructure requirements need to be overcome before widespread adoption of a virtual learning environment is seen. The potential to overcome these barriers through the application of containerisation provides the motivation behind this presentation (Katz & Council of Independent, 2016; Puvaneswary & Siew Hwa, 2019).   What will be demonstrated in this presentation? The use of containers provides the ability to supply many instances of the same application running on a single machine. Each instance is isolated, along with any associated dependencies, allowing efficient utilisation of system resources, such as processing and memory. The presentation will demonstrate how many instances of the same application can be activated and the resource advantages gained. The presentation will show a system that has been used to provide a complex structured virtual learning environment to level 7 students and discuss how the system was utilised to provide a positive, individualised learning experience to the students. Security and confidentiality is maintained within each containerized instance. The presentation will show how the system can be configured to be self-healing, respond to scheduling, and to automatically restart single instances as required.   The implications for future practice The presentation will show how the advantages of containerization can be integrated at many levels of the virtual learning environment, providing many separate and individual instances of the same application. The number of instances can be easily adjusted as required, and resources are automatically allocated, reducing support overhead and cost of infrastructure. The implications are that each instance can provide a unique experience to each student, whilst reducing the workload of the instructor, and minimizing the cost to the education provider.     References Katz, P. M., & Council of Independent, C. (2016). High-Tech or High-Touch? Online Learning and Independent Higher Education. Innovations in Teaching and Learning. Research Brief 5: Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED569215&site=eds-live Puvaneswary, M., & Siew Hwa, Y. (2019). Navigating the Shortcomings of Virtual Learning Environments Via Social Media. International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPLE), 9(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJVPLE.2019070101    


Author(s):  
Dirk Ifenthaler ◽  
David Gibson ◽  
Eva Dobozy

Learning design has traditionally been thought of as an activity occurring prior to the presentation of a learning experience or a description of that activity. With the advent of near real-time data and new opportunities of representing the decisions and actions of learners in digital learning environments, learning designers can now apply dynamic learning analytics information on the fly in order to evaluate learner characteristics, examine learning designs, analyse the effectiveness of learning materials and tasks, adjust difficulty levels, and measure the impact of interventions and feedback. In a case study with 3550 users, the navigation sequence and network graph analysis demonstrate a potential application of learning analytics design. Implications based on the case study show that integration of analytics data into the design of learning environments is a promising approach.


Author(s):  
 Ahmed bin Mustour bin Saleh Al Ghamdi - Akram Fathi Mustafa

The aim of the research was to identify the impact of developing a system of personal learning environments on developing the skills of employing web applications in teaching teachers. The research sample consisted of (33) computer teachers in Unaiza governorate. The experimental sample was taught through a learning environment Personalized on Netvibes platform (Netvibes). The results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05) between the arithmetic mean of the observation card and the arithmetic mean of the remote observation card in favor of the remote observation card.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-188
Author(s):  
Carolyn Halpin-Healy

This paper presents a report from the field of museum education programs for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and their caregivers. Research is beginning to document the impact of museums on the cognitive and emotional health of people with dementia (PWD) and those who care for them. At the Studio Museum in Harlem, Arts & Minds programs have created a dynamic learning environment for the very forgetful through dialogic interpretation of art and expressive art making. The stories recounted here reveal the powerful potential of multi-cultural dialogue in the museum space to create transformative learning experiences for participants and educators alike.


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