Hard Fun

Current pedagogical theory promotes deep learning environments in online instruction as well as authenticity. This chapter discusses the pedagogical framework, academic issues and logistics of a deep learning resource that is “hard fun,” to use a phrase of Seymour Papert, because it challenges and immerses students in real life learning environments through community problem solving. Success of the learning resource is largely due to the intrinsic motivation and cognitive engagement afforded through civic engagement, allowing students to pursue personally relevant knowledge in familiar milieus, their residential communities. Technology plays a role in increasing intellectual self-esteem and digital literacy by allowing students the opportunity to become bloggers and Web publishers.

Creating a Multimedia Instructional Product for Medical School Students

Because most medical school textbooks do not adequately address pain management, the Academy wanted to create TOP MED, an online textbook that would address this need for different specialties and which also could be used as a textbook for an Introduction to Pain Management course. This online textbook would cover eleven topics and consist of the latest findings from the most renowned experts in the different disciplines of pain medicine. This case study is a description of the process of designing and producing the online textbook.

Investigating Patterns of Cognitive and Interactive Acts in an Online Student Cooperative Program

Student co-op programs are being increasingly developed to enhance employability skills of college and university students. While most of these programs are taught face-to-face, some universities and colleges are now offering co-op programs online. This article investigates the implementation of a pilot online co-op program, the Bridging Online (BOL), at the Simon Fraser University, in Burnaby, B.C., Canada. A research methodology, based on transcript analysis of participants’ messages and interviews, was used to address the research questions. Participants in the pilot project found the online version to be a valuable tool to support co-op students in learning and developing employability skills, including problem defining and solving, planning and goal setting, improved interpersonal communication skills and self assessment, and peer feedback skills.

The "Pastoral" in Virtual Space

Two online undergraduate media and communications projects, one in Australia (1999-2003), and the second from New Zealand (2004-5), are analysed and compared in this chapter. Written by two flexible-learning practitioners, the case study gives the background and contexts of the two projects. We describe how we developed intercultural, pastoral pedagogies suited to contrasting ‘internationalised’ cohorts, despite trends in new ‘market-driven’ universities. The framework used is Michel Foucault’s ‘pastoral’ power, as modelled by Ian Hunter in studies of the milieu of the face-to-face English classroom, and the agency of the teacher in constructing self-reflexive subjectivities (Hunter, 1996). The development of valuable intercultural skills in the student depends in part on the composition of the ‘internationalised’ student groups themselves, and on their and their teacher’s awareness of the formative nature of the software being used. Learning software has the potential to mediate conduct the choice of what kind of relationships ensue rests with the e-practitioner.

Fiji Implements Blended E-Learning as Appropriate Flexible Learning

This chapter describes a learning environment that implements a learning design that promotes an adaptive approach towards e-learning. A theoretical model describes the interactive components of an e-learning environment. This model can be used as a designing tool for implementing an effective framework to support the social aspects of human-computer interaction. It discusses the institutional and national context of the e-learning programme offered by a school in Fiji that is accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organization. A zoom-lens approach is taken by the year-5 classroom teacher to encourage her students’ experiential learning. However, alternative instructional strategies are required when the Internet becomes unstable. This means extra activities are required that do not involve computers. Some of these tasks are self-reflection diary entries that produce added interest for the students as they prepare for their presentations at the school assemblies.

An E-Workshop Model for Teacher Training

In China, teacher training plays a very important role for the improvement of education. E-Learning, as a new and effective life-long learning method, plays an increasingly important role in teacher training. It is well known that Teacher Training and E-Learning are all open and developing domains. So, the integration of two domains will certainly bring about many new problems. The case focuses on how does the e-workshop model, which is designed specially for Teacher Training by Distance Education College of East of China Normal University find a way to solve the problems? By way of analyzing the successful factors of e-workshop model and following the problem clues of the above-mentioned two domains, this chapter shows the corresponding solutions.

Project-Based Learning in Chemical Engineering Education Using Distance Education Tools

This chapter will exhibit the experience of applying project-based learning in different subject matter, identifying and comprehending the efficiency of this teaching methodology from an analysis of the activities undertaken. The subjects focused on were transport phenomena and unit operations in chemical processes. The methodology of project-based learning is to associate concepts acquired during classes and integrate them with other subjects in order to integrate the parts into the whole. It develops a variety of skills in addition to technical ones, such as cooperation, communication, involvement, knowledge construction, decision making and problem solving. All these skills being supported by the use of distance education tools. The creation of the subjects in a virtual environment sustains student materials previously required for project development. It also monitors of student activity (access by frequency statistics), and facilitates communication. The motivation and interactivity aspects have been shown to be positive with students and professors systematically involved in the constructive evolution of both individual and group knowledge.

Experimentation and Challenge

The on-line course on criminological topics carried out in an undergraduate course for “Security and Social Control Operators” (Faculty of Political Science “Ruffilli”, University of Bologna) represented a real challenge for three different reasons: 1) it was inserted in the syllabus of a three year undergraduate course which was the first university course in Italy intended for the training of operators to carry out an activity which calls for being able to manage modern investigative, security and control strategies; 2) it dealt with the teaching of criminology and it is useful to emphasise that, in Italy, criminology has a difficult time freeing itself from similar disciplines (legal medicine, criminal law, sociology, psychology), even while knowing that it has to maintain a good relationship with them; and 3) it dealt with one of the first on-line courses activated at the Faculty “Ruffilli”. The case study describes and critically analyses the implementation of the online criminology course.

Introducing Integrated E-Portfolio across Courses in a Postgraduate Program in Distance and Online Education

This chapter presents a description and analysis of salient issues related to the development of an integrated e-portfolio application implemented at Massey University to help students track and accumulate evidence of skills developed over their period of study, particularly associated with the three core papers in the program. The web based e-portfolio project was initiated to help students provide evidence required by employers and research supervisors in a progressive and reflective manner by identifying the links across different papers and demonstrating their own conceptual understanding. Administrative issues are discussed, as well as considerations for future developments based on the experiences of this study.