Constructivism Theory in Technology-Based Learning

Learning theories are conceptual frameworks describing how knowledge is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. This chapter will explore constructivism theory and how it determines impact on technology knowledge in instruction. Constructivism theory states that learning occurs when one constructs both mechanisms for learning and his or her own unique version of the knowledge. It states that knowledge must be constructed by the learner. The teacher can only assist the learner to do the construction. The construction of knowledge is a dynamic process that requires the active engagement of the learners who will be responsible for one's learning while the teacher only creates an effective learning environment. As students and teachers make use of technology in the learning process, these skills become necessary and the technology becomes a learning tool. Technology can serve as coaches by locating the problem and allowing for as much rehearsal, practice, and help as necessary to accomplish the task. Technology can enhance the cognitive powers of students.

Using Feedback on Formative Assessment to Support Student Learning and Improve the Curriculum for Material in a Civil Engineering Module

This chapter reports on the potential of using formative feedback on assessment to support student learning and improve the curriculum for material in a civil engineering module. Under this study, when the students were given the feedback of their assessment on a piece of coursework, they were asked to repeat the coursework taking on board all the comments and feedback provided by the lecturer in exchange for a better mark. The overall result from the quantitative data suggests that students overwhelmingly took the corrections on board and submitted a more improved laboratory report in order to have an improved mark. The students enjoyed the praise, progress, and critique comments on their feedback sheet. Their understanding of the module grew, and their motivation and performance increased. Generalized comments like referencing and citations unified the entire curriculum.

Introduction to Use and Analysis of Big Data in E-Learning

In today's world everything is connected and is either consuming data or generating data. The world is changing so fast that even one-year-old data may not be useful, and hence, big data analysis plays a very vital role for higher management of any organizations for decision making. Data warehousing helps in gathering and storing verifiable information into a single entity. Data can be of different types like speech, text, etc. It can be structured or unstructured. Each data point is characterized in terms of volume or variety. This chapter gives an overview of how to utilize the learner interaction data from a particular website and how patterns can be captured by analyzing learner interaction data with big data analytic tools. Big data has risen in the field of education and has many challenges like storage, combining, analysis, and scalability of big data. It covers tools and techniques that can be used. The results from this study will have implications for new learners to the e-learning website, website designers, and academicians.

Assessment of Challenges of Teaching and Learning Computer Programming in Tanzanian Higher Education

This chapter emanates from a study which sought to investigate challenges of teaching and learning computer programming in higher education. The study was conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture. The study had three specific objectives: first, to identify learners' prior knowledge on computer programming at the time of joining the university; second, to investigate learners' self-efficacy in computer programming course; the third objective was to evaluate the learning styles used by learners in the computer programming course. The study adopted a quantitative research method, grounded in experiential learning theory. The data was collected from respondents using questionnaires and the analysis of the data was done using statistical software. The findings indicate that inadequate computer laboratories, lack of competent staff in ICT-based instructional design, inadequate teaching and learning materials, and students' lack of prior knowledge on computer programming at the time of joining the university are the main challenges.

Ramifications of E-Learning Within Education

Change is an inevitable reality of life. Countries, cultures, ways of thinking and producing, relations, and nature are constantly changing. The human being is constantly changing. This change and transformation takes place even faster with the advanced technology today. Surely this change and transformation has influenced many aspects of life and brought innovations into education. As a result of this change and transformation, the education process in many countries has turned into a student-centered structure supported by technology, embracing alternative approaches instead of traditional learning-teaching approaches.

The Practice of Transmedia Storytelling Edutainment in Media-Rich Learning Environments

Transmedia (cross-media/cross-platform/multi-platform) storytelling edutainment involves the use of narratives as a critical-creative approach to learning. The storytelling framework is a viable solution to engage a universal audience in both seated and online environments. The inherent interactivity of the internet and interaction with story is a method that can reach learners with both focused and short attention spans in media-rich environments. An e-module case study and slide presentation is offered to demonstrate narrative practice.

Establishing a Learning Presence

Despite the overwhelming interest in the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, there is a lack of research regarding the role of students' self-directed learning (SDL) skills in a blended learning environment. This student self-regulation, therefore, serves as a basis for a new form of presence within the community of inquiry framework, described as “learning presence.” Although reports have been made on guidelines for the establishment of the initial presences in the community of inquiry framework, there is still a gap in the literature regarding the establishment of a learning presence. The purpose of this chapter is to report on what a learning presence is, and the authors propose a model as a guide to establish a learning presence. The findings of this qualitative study confirm that students can work self-directedly, and therefore, the combined blended learning design model can be used as a design tool to establish a learning presence.

Ever Green Generation at the Dawn of the 21st Century

Technology in education is somehow misconceived by many scholars who think that it replaces conventional knowledge and its transmission. From the onset of this chapter, the author admits that technology has a lot to offer and improve teaching and learning transaction in terms of curriculum design, curriculum implementation, and curriculum evaluation in all stages. It also sets a pace as an aid to learning especially during this era of technological savviness. To answer the question whether technology is a deciding factor on learning outcomes remains a work of further research and more so educational dialogue forums on the subject matter. However, this study has underscored the significance and usability of technology to learning and that without which learning outcomes become rather wanting. It is further argued that teachers who are half baked in the use of technology can bring more harm to education than good. To be precise, technology in education requires a “handle with care” machine. Teachers must be able to use the “machines” and not to be used by them.

Emerging Technologies in Teaching, Research, and Learning

A GIS is a tool for working with geographic information. Therefore, its primary purpose is to maintain data about geographic space. A GIS application deals with spatial information on a computer. GIS software presents earth features on a computer and then uses GIS to visualize, question, analyze, and understand this data about the world and human activity. Often this data is viewed on a map. This chapter shows the relationship between geographical information technology and society and provides educators and policymakers with a basic understanding of GIS, its relevance to teaching and learning, and suggest possible ways for implementing GIS technology in the classroom. This means that GIS has an educational agenda to meet, since this technology presents several opportunities for teachers to implement learner-centered approaches for various subjects.

Flipped Class Pedagogy as a Digital Pedagogical Strategy in an Open Distance E-Learning Environment

This chapter explores student teachers' performance and perceptions of a flipped classroom pedagogy vs. a lecture method in a teacher education course at an open distance learning university. The study used an explanatory mixed methods design, employed a pre-test and post-test online survey, and economics blog postings to collect data for the study. Only Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and Bachelor of Education (BEd: senior and further education and training phase) student teachers (n=371) were purposively selected. It is reported that the flipped classroom pedagogy group outperformed the lecture group in the final examination scores. Furthermore, the flipped classroom pedagogy encouraged an engaging atmosphere and accelerates a collaborative interactive synergy among student teachers. Finally, the findings revealed that the role of the teacher in the flipped classroom pedagogy design is crucial, promoting optimal learning experiences for student teachers in the course. Findings could not be generalized because this study employed only a small sample, but further investigation is needed to compare similar teacher education courses.