Academic Research Student Handbook for the Students of Academic Master Study Programme “Digital Humanities”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Platonova ◽  
Tatjana Smirnova ◽  
Zane Seņko

The Academic Research Student Handbook has been designed as the manual providing guidance on curricular and extracurricular academic research activities, focusing particularly on the development of the Master Thesis. The book is intended for students, academic staff, scientific advisers and reviewers of graduate papers and the members of the final examination commission of the Academic Master Study Programme “Digital Humanities”, Faculty of E-Learning Technologies and Humanities, Riga Technical University.

Author(s):  
Asteria Nsamba

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is one of the distance education universities that is shifting from open distance learning (ODL) to open distance e-learning (ODeL). UNISA started as a correspondence institution in the 1950s and it has since evolved into an ODeL university. The aim of this research was to assess and determine the maturity levels of UNISA lecturers’ and tutors’ explorations of various forms of e-learning technologies to support students in an ODeL environment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 academic staff members. A hybrid approach involving inductive and deductive reasoning was used to guide the whole research process. The online course design maturity model (OCDMM) was modified and adapted in order to guide data collection, data analysis, and the interpretation of results. The results of the study indicate that the maturity levels of UNISA’s student support e-learning technologies are at the basic levels of the maturity assessment framework for open distance e-learning. It is hoped that the results of this research will serve as a starting point that the University can use to constantly measure improvements made in advancing e-learning activities.  


Author(s):  
Ahmed Al-Azawei ◽  
Patrick Parslow ◽  
Karsten Lundqvist

<p class="2">Although the implementation of e-learning initiatives has reached advanced stages in developed countries, it is still in its infancy in many developing nations and the Middle East in particular. Recently, few public universities in Iraq have initiated limited attempts to use e-learning alongside traditional classrooms. However, different obstacles are preventing successful adoption of this technology. The present research aimed to highlight challenges that hinder effective implementation of e-learning in Iraq and recommend possible solutions to tackle them. A total of 108 respondents voluntarily participated in this research. They consisted of academic staff (N=74), professors in charge of e-learning (N=3), and undergraduate students (N=31). Three methods were used to collect data: a survey instrument, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. Data was then analyzed and reported quantitatively and qualitatively. This provided in-depth understanding to the current status of e-learning in public Iraqi universities and highlighted major hindrances of its successful application. Based on this analysis, the study proffered many recommendations that should be considered in order to fully benefit from e-learning technologies.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (SPE3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iurii V. Kornilov ◽  
Dmitriy A. Danilov ◽  
Alla G. Kornilova ◽  
Aleksei I. Golikov ◽  
Ilya B. Gosudarev

The processes of online learning implementation, including e-learning and distance learning technologies in higher education have been revealed. The experience of the development of the first online courses at M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University is described. As a part of the study, the main approaches to the development of online learning in higher education are identified. The authors of the study focus on the work of the advanced training courses for the academic staff as the opportunity for professional competencies development in the context of online education.


Author(s):  
Mncedisi Maphalala ◽  
Nhlanhla Mpofu

While there is evidence of a burgeoning research output on academic staff’s e-learning acceptance and usage in universities, there is a paucity of studies that seek to understand the South African experience. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of academic staff with the uptake and use of e-learning innovations in teaching and learning in the context of a university in South Africa. Theoretically, the study was underpinned by activity theory. The study was qualitative in nature and an exploratory single case study design was employed. The participants comprised six purposively selected academic staff at a South African university. In the study, we used semi-structured interviews to gather the data required to answer the research questions. We analysed data using an inductive thematic framework following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach. The following themes emerged from the analysis: challenges with technology infrastructure and internet accessibility on campus, technical support for students and staff, staff development and training, difficulty in creating e-learning content, and challenges with non-resident students. Based on the findings we recommend an increased interactive and context-dependent e-learning support system for academic staff. In addition, to accelerate the acceptance and effective use of e-learning technologies there is a need for collaborative and peer-oriented activities that develop the knowledge of academic staff.


Author(s):  
Roisin Donnelly

This chapter critically explores the design and implementation of a blended problem-based learning (PBL) module for academic professional development in higher education. A core aspect of the chapter is the overview of the design framework used for the application and specific use of learning technologies in the PBL module. As it would appear that E-Learning courses are often lauded on the basis of their constructivist approach to learning, but in reality sustained inter-student contact and discussion can be difficult, an underlying purpose of the chapter is to show how interactional analysis helps in understanding the potential of transformative pedagogy within blended PBL. This chapter aims to highlight how emerging constructivist theories of learning may be applied to the blend of PBL and E-Learning. It addresses the need for an analysis of the interactions taking place in blended PBL with a specific focus on academic staff who are engaged in professional development in higher education in Ireland. It applies the relevant constructivist theories to the face-to-face PBL tutorials, online discussions, focus group interview texts and reflective papers generated over two years in a professional development module involving 17 academic staff. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the difference that the blended delivery made to both tutors and participants and discusses the design implications of a blended PBL model for the practice of academic development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 06001
Author(s):  
Marek Cała ◽  
Marek Borowski

The AGH University of Science and Technology collaborates closely with other universities, economic units, governmental and local administrative bodies. International cooperation plays a very important role in the academic research. The AGH University of Science and Technology has signed many collaboration agreements. They aim at multidimensional cooperation in the fields of education and academic research. AGH UST has always focused on collaboration with business and industry. In recent years, the global economy is undergoing massive transformations, what creates new challenges to companies and educational institutions that cater to the needs of industry. The expansion of business enterprises is largely dependent on their employees’ expertise, skills and levels of competence. Certified engineers are provided by universities. Therefore, the qualifications of the graduates are determined by the curriculum and teaching methods, as well as the available educational and research facilities. Of equal importance is the qualified academic staff. Human activities in the field of engineering require finding solutions to problems of various nature and magnitude. An engineer’s work consists in the design, construction, modification and maintenance of useful devices, processes and systems, using scientific and technical knowledge. In order to design complex engineering solutions, an engineer uses his imagination, experience, analytical skills, logical reasoning and makes conscious use of his knowledge. At the Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow, 15 engineers from Vietnam are studying Mining and Geology at the second-cycle studies (specialization: mine ventilation). The solutions proposed in the field of the engineers’ education guarantee that foreign students gain both engineering knowledge and problem-solving skills. Therefore, the study programme was complemented by a series of practical aspects.


2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gráinne Conole

This special issue contains six articles from international leading lights in the field of e-learning, so it provides a valuable snapshot of current thinking and research activities. It had arisen out of keynote and theme speaker presentations at two key e-learning conferences last year: ALT-C 2004 ‘Blue Skies and Pragmatism—learning technologies for the next decade’, which was held in Exeter; and the Colston Symposium entitled ‘The Evolution of Learning and Web Technologies: survival of the fittest?’, which was held in Bristol.DOI: 10.1080/09687760500376330


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Kostikova N.A.

Currently, in the context of the widespread use of e-learning technologies and distance educational technologies, it is necessary to train future teachers, taking into account the peculiarities of solving professional problems in an electronic information and educational environment, to develop students' relevant competencies, including network communicative competence. Despite the large number of studies devoted to the communicative aspect of the teacher's activities, the problem of the formation of network communicative competence in the electronic information and educational environment has not been sufficiently studied. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the results of the questionnaire survey of students, some methods of forming network communicative competence in future teachers in the study of various disciplines, in the course of teaching practice, and scientific research are proposed. The analysis of the conditions and factors that determine the choice of methods for the formation of the specified competence has been carried out. These factors are associated with the teachers' perception of the peculiarities of communication in the electronic information and educational environment, the didactic and communicative potential of resources and tools of the electronic information and educational environment, the choice of methods and technologies for organizing interaction, the selection of educational material that allows the development of components of network communicative competence, the design of tasks and exercises for the development of network communicative competence, the choice of modes, schemes and forms of organization of interaction, the organization of feedback, control of the level of formation of the network communicative competence, the implementation of reflection. The formed network communicative competence will contribute to a more effective solution by the teacher of communicative tasks in the electronic information and educational environment, which will improve the quality of training of future teachers in the electronic information and educational environment.


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