An Evaluation of WebCT Course Content Management System at the University of Botswana

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeyinka Tella ◽  
S. M. Mutula ◽  
Athulang Mutshewa ◽  
Angelina Totolo
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Access Network ◽  
Content Management ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
The University ◽  
Network Server

This study evaluated a WebCT course content management (CCMS) system at the University of Botswana. Survey methodology was used and questionnaires were distributed to 503 students selected from six faculties, and an in-depth interview were conducted involving (20) twenty lecturers who teach via the WebCT platform. Findings reveal that, generally, WebCT CCMS is doing well at the University of Botswana and that the system has been a success. The results also confirm the quality of course materials uploaded on the system, that is, service quality and the quality of the teaching and learning via the system. Furthermore, by learning through WebCT, students are able to self regulate their learning and, given the opportunity, they are ready to use and continue learning using the WebCT platform. Results also indicate that generally students are satisfied with the performance of WebCT and that there are many benefits associated with the system in context to teaching and learning at the university. Problems associated with WebCT CCMS that are experienced by staff and students of the University include access, network /server failure, lack of link between ITS and WebCT, lack of teaching expertise using WebCT, and failure to remove completed courses from the system.

An Evaluation of WebCT Course Content Management System at the University of Botswana

2012 ◽  
pp. 205-232
Author(s):  
Adeyinka Tella ◽  
S. M. Mutula ◽  
Athulang Mutshewa ◽  
Angelina Totolo
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Access Network ◽  
Content Management ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
The University ◽  
Network Server

This study evaluated a WebCT course content management (CCMS) system at the University of Botswana. Survey methodology was used and questionnaires were distributed to 503 students selected from six faculties, and an in-depth interview were conducted involving (20) twenty lecturers who teach via the WebCT platform. Findings reveal that, generally, WebCT CCMS is doing well at the University of Botswana and that the system has been a success. The results also confirm the quality of course materials uploaded on the system, that is, service quality and the quality of the teaching and learning via the system. Furthermore, by learning through WebCT, students are able to self regulate their learning and, given the opportunity, they are ready to use and continue learning using the WebCT platform. Results also indicate that generally students are satisfied with the performance of WebCT and that there are many benefits associated with the system in context to teaching and learning at the university. Problems associated with WebCT CCMS that are experienced by staff and students of the University include access, network /server failure, lack of link between ITS and WebCT, lack of teaching expertise using WebCT, and failure to remove completed courses from the system.

scholarly journals The prevalence and characteristics of online assessment in Australian universities

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Byrnes ◽  
Allan Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Assessment ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The University ◽  
Australian Universities

<span>Assessment is one of the key elements of the teaching and learning process. It provides teachers with a means of evaluating the quality of their instruction. Students also use it to drive and direct their learning. Online teaching and learning will continue to become more important to Australian universities in order for them to remain competitive and economically viable. In the online environment, assessment is no less critical than in traditional face to face environments. However, assessment risks being overlooked or at least marginalised in the rush to place course content online. This paper provides a snapshot of the prevalence and characteristics of online assessment in Australian universities during 2004. It highlights useful information regarding the use of online assessment in the university sector and illustrates that overall this crucial area is not being given the attention or resources it requires.</span>

iMindMap as an innovative tool in teaching and learning accounting: an exploratory study

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Noor Hazlina Wan Jusoh ◽  
Suraya Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Course Content ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Conventional Teaching ◽  
Innovative Tool ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the use of iMindMap software as an interactive tool in the teaching and learning method and also to be able to consider iMindMap as an alternative instrument in achieving the ultimate learning outcome. Design/methodology/approach Out of 268 students of the management accounting at the University of Technology MARA (Terengganu), 97 students have participated in this survey to evaluate the effectiveness of iMindMap in teaching and learning. Findings Results indicate that the majority of the students acknowledged that iMindMap is more attractive than conventional teaching methods and found that iMindMap shows clearly how the points are all associated and linked together. Students could find that learning is an exciting experience and were able to visualize the whole course content remarkably via iMindMap. Originality/value This study presents an alternative instrument, which is innovative and interactive in teaching and learning, especially for accounting students where the students’ technology acceptance could also be viewed.

scholarly journals Theoretical bases for academics’ potential development: foreign and domestic experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
Yurii Skyba ◽  
Hanna Lebedynets
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Intangible Resources ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
Potential Development ◽  
Organizational Information ◽  
The University

Ensuring and improving the quality of teaching and learning, in particular the academics’ potential development, is reflected in strategic European and domestic documents, namely in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, the Paris Communiqué, the Strategy for Higher Education in Ukraine for 2021-2031 and others. The expediency for academics’ potential development is confirmed by the results of a national survey on the needs for the development of Ukrainian universities in the process of reforming higher education in the context of European integration. The article highlights the problems of academics’ potential development. Based on foreign and domestic experience, the theoretical bases for academics’ potential development, in particular the conceptual and terminological apparatus and structural components of teaching metacompetence are substantiated. The concept «potential of an academic» is defined as a set of intellectual, intangible resources, conditions and opportunities created for the production and accumulation of new knowledge, ideas, technologies, competencies and other productive properties at the university, which combines two levels of connections functioning in unity. The first level of connections are resources that are the result of past and present, and the second – opportunities, i.e. those abilities and connections that are future-oriented, constantly changing, evolving, forming new abilities, characteristics, including elements of the future development. The following components are distinguished in the structure of teaching metacompetence: prognostic; design; objective; innovative; pedagogical partnership; organizational; information and digital; reflexive; linguistic and communicative; inclusive; motivational; health-preserving; emotional-ethical and evaluative-analytical. The development of the above components of teaching metacompetence will help ensure the quality of higher education and increase the competitiveness of the university in the educational services market.

scholarly journals An Overview of Chemistry Teaching Transformation during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Experience from University of Botswana

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Girija S. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Mechanisms ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Chemistry Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
National University ◽  
The University ◽  
Teaching Transformation

COVID-19-related disruption in teaching in the University of Botswana led the school to prepare new strategies for running classes and to design innovative way of instruction.  The most notable change was to replace face-to-face lectures with online teaching at least partially (blended teaching and learning). This posed many challenges, especially in the teaching of science and technology subjects. In a laboratory-based discipline such as chemistry the problems encountered were especially daunting.  Moreover, writing mathematical equations, chemical reactions and reaction mechanisms posed their own difficulties.  The present communication provides a brief overview of how chemistry education at the University, the premier national university of Botswana, has been transformed during the last three semesters.  It is based on experience of the author and as judged by the feed-back received from colleagues and the students. Admittedly, the experience is limited and much discussion is still in progress to meet the unresolved challenges. Theory classes at undergraduate levels are now mostly taught online using packages such as Moodle and MS Teams. The tutorial and laboratory sessions have faced the greatest disruptions and the instructors continue to explore ways to conduct these virtually.  Online examinations were found to be limited in their effectiveness, especially in the assessment of drawing chemical structure and reaction mechanisms as well as the students’ ability in scientific writing.

Instructional Design and Quality

2013 ◽  
pp. 236-250
Author(s):  
Anna Busquets ◽  
Muriel Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Instructional Design Process ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
East Asian Studies

Quality in e-learning should be measured from three perspectives: technology, pedagogy, and management and administration. This paper examines the pedagogical and methodological perspective, specifically in the work developed by the professors of the course “East Asian Geography”, a compulsory course of the Programme of East Asian Studies. The authors consider that the teaching and learning methodology applied to the UOC model has reached the proper level of quality when students are satisfied, follow the courses and not drop out, and perform appropriately. In that sense, satisfaction, permanence, and academic performance are the three levels of measurement of the quality of the each course and program, as well as the UOC model in general. On the basis of the data obtained and results of the first two years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, in terms of performance and satisfaction of the students in the course “East Asian Geography”, is considered for revision and improvement. This process has two phases. In the first one, during 2005-2008, the authors focus on the instructional design process and the conceptualization of the course plan with new activities; in the second, from 2009 to present, the authors examine the design and diversification of course materials and e-learning activities.

Project-Based Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 161-178
Author(s):  
María Pache-Durán ◽  
Esteban Pérez-Calderón ◽  
Alicia Fernanda Galindo-Manrique
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Quality Of Learning ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Year

This study focuses on the results obtained from the teacher's assessment of Project-Based Learning, a methodological approach that implies a change in the university pedagogical paradigm that affects both the teaching and learning processes. To this end, a study is carried out taking as a sample university teachers during the academic year 2018-2019. Among the results obtained, it is worth mentioning that the teacher considers the Project-Based Learning a methodology that favours in the classroom, constituting a valid alternative to improve the quality of learning in university students.

'A place where open minds meet': The constraints of alignment and the effects of compulsory teacher training on teaching and learning in higher education

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulina Mihailova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Quality Of Teaching ◽  
Academic Practices ◽  
Disciplinary Expertise ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
The University ◽  
Shed Light

The article investigates how university lecturers taking part in the compulsory teacher training at Stockholm University (SU) conceive of the effects of standardised and formalised training on their teaching. The study explores the emotions and responses evoked among academics when everyone is required to embrace the same pedagogic philosophy of constructive alignment (Biggs 2003), adopt the language of learning outcomes and assign the same standards to diverse academic practices. The article attempts to shed light on different conceptions of the quality of teaching and learning in higher education and the interplay between the lecturers' values of academic freedom, collegiality and disciplinary expertise and the university leadership's values of efficiency, accountability and measurability of performance. The article considers how these conceptions coexist and are negotiated within the university as an organisation.

Challenging Lecturer Assumptions About Preservice Teacher Learning in Mandatory Indigenous Studies

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Thorpe ◽  
Cathie Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
Cultural Interface ◽  
The University ◽  
Preservice Teacher Learning

This paper explores and challenges our assumptions as lecturers about preservice teachers’ knowledge and beliefs entering a mandatory Indigenous Studies subject. A total of 38 focus groups were conducted over two years (2011–2012) with preservice teachers enrolled in teaching degrees at the University of Sydney. Findings were analysed to identify and critically reflect on our assumptions about preservice teachers' prior understanding of the content and approaches to learning. To challenge our assumptions, this paper applies Brookfield's (1995) student and autobiographical lenses to engage in critical reflection and Nakata's (2002, 2007) ‘cultural interface’ to better understand the complexities, tensions and transformations that occur for learners in the Indigenous Studies classroom. Findings illuminated that assumptions about the level of resistance and indifference to course content were often overstated and rather, many preservice teachers were more likely to be insecure and reticent to express their ideas in this complex and potentially uncomfortable learning environment. Implications from the study highlight the need for ongoing critical reflection of lecturer assumptions about preservice teachers’ dispositions and how they engage with the subject to better understand the diversity of their knowledge and experiences and what this means for teaching and learning in this context.

Evaluation in the course development process

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Van de Poel ◽  
Jessica Gasiorek
Keyword(s):  
Development Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
Course Development ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
The University

Evaluation is a critical but frequently underutilized part of the (language) course development process. Instructors’ reasons for avoiding it vary, but often include the concern that conducting evaluations will draw time and attention away from course content. Using All Write, a first-year writing course at the University of Antwerp, as a case study, this article shows how mechanisms for feedback and evaluation can be incorporated into course materials with minimal impact, as well as demonstrates the benefits of evaluation as both a validation process and a guide for course revision. Moreover, it will show how the stakeholders, primarily learners, but also teachers, may be drawn into the process and potentially benefit from it.

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