Exploring Student Support in a Completely Online Module Within an Open Distance eLearning Institution

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
Jabulani Owen Nene

Most first-year students lack technological skills, which hampers their learning. Within the University of South Africa (UNISA), as an open distance and e-learning (ODeL) institution, first-year students require support to succeed, particularly because they are responsible for managing their own time and studies. Using a signature course, such as ‘Language through an African Lens' (AFL1501), which is a completely online module offered by the College of Human Sciences, the author explores how qualtrics data and narrative analysis aid students in completing their coursework. The article further touches on the significance of UNISA tools and other online resources as fundamentals of connectivism, the theory of technology as an extension of human faculty, and transformative learning theory as a support mechanism. The contributions of the lecturer and teaching assistants in facilitating first-year students' success in the online module are invaluable, as is evident from this report involving 600 survey respondents from Unisa.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-178
Author(s):  
Heba Almbayed

The study aimed to analyze the reality of e-learning at Palestine Technical University-Khudouri/Tulkarem, and to identify the most important challenges facing students when using the education system, as well as to analyze the extent to which university students interact with the e-learning system, and to show the differences between the average opinions of the study sample on e-learning according to the study variables due to the nature of the study, the descriptive analytical approach was used, in order to reach practical results, and to achieve and analyze the reality of e-learning  a questionnaire consisting of (34) paragraphs was designed, where the study community consisted of (6,559) students, and a simple random sample of (522) students was taken, and the questionnaire was distributed electronically because it was not able to be distributed manually due to the prevailing conditions _ the spread of the Corona pandemic- at the time of the preparation of the study. The results of the study showed that (63.136%) of the researched believe that the reality of e-learning at the university suffers from different problems. The study indicated that (87.97%) among respondents, complaints have increased in the e-learning system after the Corona pandemic and that (81.36%) among the researchers, the infrastructure was one of the most barriers in e-learning. While (63.934%)of the researched that e-learning has a role to play in achieving Interaction among students, as the results of the study showed no differences Statistically significant to the reality of e-learning according to the gender variable, and there are no differences depending on the variable of the scientific qualification except in the field of e-learning reality, there are also no differences Statistics according to the variable of the academic level ,except for the field of Interaction with students. In the light of the results of the study, a series of recommendations were made, the most prominent of which were: 1.Include an e-learning system item in The computer course assigned as a university requirement for first-year students 2. Provide opportunities to train and develop the capabilities of all educational parties to use and apply E-learning.


Author(s):  
Gareth J Price ◽  
June Chalmers ◽  
Clare Goodfellow

For the past few years, we have been experimenting with an e-learning approach to our introductory laboratory classes for first year students. Our overall objective was to maximise students’ useful time in the laboratory. We considered that time spent with students gathered around a desk watching a demonstration is not an efficient use of staff or students’ time.It is well recognised that students’ performance in the laboratory can be enhanced if they are familiar with the background of the experiments which will be conducted, hence the use of ‘pre-labs’. We have been delivering our ‘pre-labs’ electronically by requiring students to work through a package before coming to the laboratory. As well as covering the theory and background to the experiment, short video clips have been included so that students will also have seen the experiment being performed. They should at least recognise the apparatus! The package concludes with a short assessment quiz which must be completed.The packages were mounted on the University network using WebCT and meant that students could undertake the exercises at a time (and place) of their choosing rather than being confined to set laboratory hours.This communication will describe the packages and our experiences as well as an initial evaluation of our approach. Although largely anecdotal, staff felt that they spent less time on more mundane aspects of laboratory work and more time discussing chemistry.Students also felt that they were better prepared for the experiments before they came to the laboratory. Some of the pitfalls and technical problems that had to be overcome willalso be described.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-188
Author(s):  
Aulia Faqih Rifa'i ◽  
Sumarsono Sumarsono

As an impact of Covid-19, the learning methods is shifting from conventional into e-learning. Therefore, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta as an educational institution have to implement online lectures for all students. This event causes the first year students to not having the opportunity to understand how lectures work. On the other hand, lecturers and the university did not yet have a picture of the readiness of new students to study with e-learning method. For that case, the university needs to know if the students are ready to be doing e-learning lectures. This descriptive quantitive research uses a questionnaire and e-learning readiness factors by Chapnik [1] to see the readiness of new students. As a result, the score of new students e-learning readiness is 45.09. Thus, new students of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta are not ready enough for studying in e-learning methods. This research also provides suggestions about how e-learning methods should be done for the lecturers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Channarong Intahchomphoo ◽  
Margo Jeske ◽  
Emily Landriault ◽  
Michelle Brown

AbstractThe Principles of Legal Research (PLR) website of the University of Ottawa's Brian Dickson Law Library is a bilingual (English and French) online learning tool for all first year students in both Common Law and Civil Law.1 Law librarians use this e-learning website to facilitate teaching components such as student assignments and assessments. This user experience study aims to investigate law students’ real experience with the system. Their feedback will be used for future development planning as well as analysing user behaviour trends. The authors investigate the following aspects: accuracy of information, interface design, navigation system, Web 2.0, social media, and smartphone version.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 154-178
Author(s):  
Heba Almbayed

The study aimed to analyze the reality of e-learning at Palestine Technical University-Khudouri/Tulkarem, and to identify the most important challenges facing students when using the education system, as well as to analyze the extent to which university students interact with the e-learning system, and to show the differences between the average opinions of the study sample on e-learning according to the study variables due to the nature of the study, the descriptive analytical approach was used, in order to reach practical results, and to achieve and analyze the reality of e-learning  a questionnaire consisting of (34) paragraphs was designed, where the study community consisted of (6,559) students, and a simple random sample of (522) students was taken, and the questionnaire was distributed electronically because it was not able to be distributed manually due to the prevailing conditions _ the spread of the Corona pandemic- at the time of the preparation of the study. The results of the study showed that (63.136%) of the researched believe that the reality of e-learning at the university suffers from different problems. The study indicated that (87.97%) among respondents, complaints have increased in the e-learning system after the Corona pandemic and that (81.36%) among the researchers, the infrastructure was one of the most barriers in e-learning. While (63.934%)of the researched that e-learning has a role to play in achieving Interaction among students, as the results of the study showed no differences Statistically significant to the reality of e-learning according to the gender variable, and there are no differences depending on the variable of the scientific qualification except in the field of e-learning reality, there are also no differences Statistics according to the variable of the academic level ,except for the field of Interaction with students. In the light of the results of the study, a series of recommendations were made, the most prominent of which were: 1.Include an e-learning system item in The computer course assigned as a university requirement for first-year students 2. Provide opportunities to train and develop the capabilities of all educational parties to use and apply E-learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Grogan

This article reports on and discusses the experience of a contrapuntal approach to teaching poetry, explored during 2016 and 2017 in a series of introductory poetry lectures in the English 1 course at the University of Johannesburg. Drawing together two poems—Warsan Shire’s “Home” and W.H. Auden’s “Refugee Blues”—in a week of teaching in each year provided an opportunity for a comparison that encouraged students’ observations on poetic voice, racial identity, transhistorical and transcultural human experience, trauma and empathy. It also provided an opportunity to reflect on teaching practice within the context of decoloniality and to acknowledge the need for ongoing change and review in relation to it. In describing the contrapuntal teaching and study of these poems, and the different methods employed in the respective years of teaching them, I tentatively suggest that canonical Western and contemporary postcolonial poems may reflect on each other in unique and transformative ways. I further posit that poets and poems that engage students may open the way into initially “less relevant” yet ultimately rewarding poems, while remaining important objects of study in themselves.


Author(s):  
Evgeniya N. Popova

The issue of adaptation of modern first-year students to the educational process at the university is one of the current pedagogical tasks. Successful adaptation significantly affects the quality of received education, the degree of formation of personal and professional qualities, contributes to the development of motivation, self-education, and self-development. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the criteria, indicators, and levels of adaptation of first-year students to the learning process at the university. The material for the study was the domestic scientific sources of studying the peculiarities of the adaptation process of students to educational activities in higher education. Research methods: analysis and generalization of psychological-pedagogical and educational-methodical literature on the research topic. We determine as the main criteria for the adaptation of first-year students to the university, the adaptive potential and professionally important qualities of students, consider these concepts, their structure, and their basic properties. On the basis of the analysis and generalization of the existing indicators of the implementation of the adaptive potential, we formulate the author's indicators for determining the level of its development. The degree of formation of professionally important qualities of students are low, medium, and high levels of development of emotional intelligence, negative communicative attitude, intellectual lability, and stress tolerance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Benjamin Amoakohene

Writing is considered as a daunting task in second language learning. It is argued by most scholars that this challenge is not only limited to second language speakers of English but even to those who speak English as their first language. Thus, the ability to communicate effectively in English by both native and non-native speakers requires intensive and specialized instruction. Due to the integral role that writing plays in students’ academic life, academic literacy has garnered considerable attention in several English-medium universities in which Ghanaian universities are no exception. It is therefore surprising that prominence is not given to Academic Writing and Communicative Skills at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In this paper, I argue for much time and space to be given to Academic Writing and Communicative Skills, a programme that seeks to train students to acquire the needed skills and competence in English for their academic and professional development. This argument is based on the findings that came out after I explored the errors in a corpus of 50 essays written by first year students of  UHAS. The findings revealed that after going through the Communicative Skills programme for two semesters, students still have serious challenges of writing error-free texts. Out of the 50 scripts that were analyzed, 1,050 errors were detected. The study further revealed that 584 (55.6%) of these errors were related to grammatical errors, 442 (42.1%) were mechanical errors and 24 (2.3%) of the errors detected were linked to the poor structuring of  sentences. Based on these findings, recommendations and implications which are significant to educators, policy makers and curriculum developers are provided. This study has implications for pedagogy and further research in error analysis. 


Author(s):  
Sanchit Ingale ◽  
Anirudh Srinivasan ◽  
Diana Bairaktarova

Spatial visualization is the ability of an individual to imagine an object mentally and understand its spatial orientation. There have been multiple works proving that spatial visualization skills can be improved with an appropriate training. Such training warrant a critical place in the undergraduate engineering curricula in many engineering schools as spatial skills are considered vital for students’ success in the technical and design fields [1–4]. Enhanced spatial skills help not only professionals in the engineering field but also everyone in the 21st century environment. Drawing sectional views requires mental manipulation and visual thinking. To enhance students spatial reasoning, one of the authors of this study, conducted a class in spatial visualization. The course-learning goal aimed at improving first-year engineering students’ spatial reasoning through instruction on freehand drawings of sectional view. During the semester, two teaching assistants had to grade more than 500 assignments that consisted of sectional views of mechanical objects. This was a tedious and a time consuming task. Motivated by this experience, this paper proposes a software aiming at automating grading of students’ sectional view drawings. The proposed software will also give live feedback to students while they are working on the drawings. This interactive tool aims to 1) improve the learning experience of first year students, with limited CAD knowledge, and 2) introduce a pedagogical tool that can enhance spatial visualization training.


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