Serious games are becoming emerging tools of educational support in the digital age. In this sense, the objective of this study is to evaluate the game about Computer Networks Security CyberCIEGE, in a higher education environment, to identify strengths and weaknesses in its use as a pedagogical tool. It was applied evaluations of the different game aspects. The research showed positive results that can assist in developing strategies for future serious games’ use in the educational field.
Distance education (learning and teaching by distance modes of information exchange) is often characterised by having higher attrition rates (often labelled as “drop-out” or “withdrawal”) compared to traditional face-to-face (or “on-campus”) education. It has been claimed that no area of research in distance education has received more attention; such is the concern surrounding attrition. This chapter suggests that a holistic understanding of the numerous, complex, and interlinked factors that may contribute to a learner choosing to discontinue their studies continues to elude researchers. Furthermore, attrition may not always be a negative outcome; for example, a learner may have achieved the desired skill set from their studies. In the current higher education climate it is imperative for universities to maintain student enrolments. Attrition directly impacts upon wasted expenditure and loss of revenue for an institution. Additionally, withdrawing from tertiary studies can have consequences for the distance learner. This chapter explores underlying concerns and identify key questions and gaps regarding attrition in distance education for the digital age.
With the phenomenal developments in information and communication technologies, higher education has been facing an unprecedented challenge that affects all the stakeholders. Faculty is no exception. The authors synthesize the demographic, economic, and pedagogical factors that lead to a paradigm shift in higher education and the global trends in digital technologies that impel digital transformation in higher education. They then provide a snapshot of how higher education institutions respond to this challenge and change, and the impact of these factors on the roles and competencies of faculty that need to be covered in faculty development initiatives in the digital age. Finally, examples of faculty development programs and initiatives that address the digital competencies of faculty are provided along with a summary of faculty development models for teaching and learning in the digital age.
Learning analytics has vast potential as a tool to further unlock the effectiveness of education in a digital age. The amount of data that can be gathered from varying access points can provide new insight and knowledge into how learners are interacting with course materials, learning systems and even fellow classmates. Research and experimentation is uncovering forms of best practice and possible factors on which to centre the analysis of students in an effective way, however learning analytics has yet to be comprehensively implemented country-wide in the United Kingdom.
This chapter reveals the roles of lifelong learning and knowledge management (KM) in global higher education, thus explaining the theoretical and practical concepts of lifelong learning and KM; the application of KM; and the significance of lifelong learning and KM in global higher education. The utilization of lifelong learning and KM is necessary for higher education institutions (HEIs) that seek to serve students and faculties, increase educational performance, strengthen competitiveness, and achieve continuous success in global higher education. Therefore, it is essential for HEIs to examine their lifelong learning applications, develop a strategic plan to regularly check their practical advancements, and immediately respond to lifelong learning and KM needs of customers in modern HEIs. Applying lifelong learning and KM in global higher education will significantly enhance organizational performance and reach strategic goals in the digital age.
Research on academic literacies has predominately focused on writing practices in higher education. To account for writing practices in the digital age, this paper emphasizes the importance of extending the focus of academic literacies beyond writing to include multimodal composition.
Drawing on social semiotics, we put forward a framework for understanding and analysing multimodal academic argument. This framework views argument in relation to features that make up text, namely mode, genre, discourse, and medium. We also look at ways in which multimodal resources are appropriated
into argument through citation. Becoming more explicit about the ways in which academic argument is constructed is important for enabling student access into the discourses and practices of academia.
While critics of the new computer-mediated learning styles utter jeremiads about the impending apocalypse of higher education in general, technophiles argue that the changes are all salutary. In fact, some see no difference between faculty cultures and online and traditional schools (Johnstone, 2001). In the same vein, the proliferation of digital classrooms across the instructional spectrum and online learning have touched off a firestorm of controversy concerning the “effectiveness” of new computer-mediated pedagogies versus traditional face-to-face, or “presential,” instruction. Various studies have been conducted and the findings circulated (Smith, Smith, & Boone, 2000).
The Issues Japanese Higher Education Face in the Digital Age—Are Japanese Universities to Blame for the Slow Progress towards an Information-based Society?