Blending Professional Development for Rural Educators An Exploratory Study

Blended learning is a process by which educators use varied web-, print-, and classroom-based techniques to present a specific set of skills to a group of adult learners. In this chapter, the author argues that Rossett, Douglis, and Frazee’s (2003) blended learning model is superior to others’ as it is based on adult-learning principles. In March, 2007, the researcher and one colleague conducted a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) federal study on teacher supply and demand issues in Northern Canada. As part of the questionnaire and interview data, the participants (n = 113) were asked to comment on professional development models currently used and models to be considered. In particular, comments on the use of blended learning as a viable method of e-professional development model were favourable. In follow up to those comments, the main researcher provided professional development model exemplars and asked the participants to discuss the advantages and disadvantages for the rural professionals. The results of this study are promising as the majority of participants chose blended learning as their primary choice for professional development.

Meeting the Challenges in Evaluating Mobile Learning

We propose six challenges in evaluating mobile learning: capturing and analysing learning in context and across contexts, measuring mobile learning processes and outcomes, respecting learner/participant privacy, assessing mobile technology utility and usability, considering the wider organisational and socio-cultural context of learning, and assessing in/formality. A three-level framework for evaluating mobile learning is proposed, comprising a micro level concerned with usability, a meso level concerned with the learning experience, and a macro level concerned with integration within existing educational and organisational contexts. The article concludes with a discussion of how the framework meets the evaluation challenges and with suggestions for further extensions.

Affective Tutoring System for Better Learning

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) are still not as effective as one-on-one human tutoring. The next generation of intelligent tutors are expected to be able to take into account the emotional state of students. This paper presents research on the development of an Affective Tutoring System (ATS). The system called “Easy with Eve” adapts to students via a lifelike animated agent who is able to detect student emotion through facial expression analysis, and can display emotion herself. Eve’s adaptations are guided by a case-based method for adapting to student states; this method uses data that was generated by an observational study of human tutors. This paper presents an analysis of facial expressions of students engaged in learning with human tutors and how a facial expression recognition system, a life like agent and a case based system based on this analysis have been integrated to develop an ATS for mathematics.

M-Learning Generations and Interview Study Results of a Mobile Context-Aware Learning Schedule Framework

Mobile learning applications can be categorized into four generations – ‘non-adaptive’, ‘learning-preferences’-based adaptive, ‘learning-contexts’-based adaptive and ‘learning-contexts’-aware adaptive. The research on our Mobile Context-aware and Adaptive Learning Schedule framework is motivated by some of the challenges within the context-aware mobile learning field. These include being able to create and enhance students’ learning opportunities in different locations by considering different learning contexts and using these as the basis for selecting appropriate learning materials for students. The authors have adopted a pedagogical approach for evaluating this framework – an exploratory interview study with potential users consisting of 37 university students. The authors targeted primarily undergraduate computing students, as well as students within other departments and postgraduate students, so that a deep analysis of a wider variety of users’ thoughts regarding the framework can be gained. The observed interview feedback gives us insights into the use of a pedagogical m-learning suggestion framework deploying a learning schedule subject to the five proposed learning contexts. Their data analysis is described and interpreted leading to a personalized suggestion mechanism for each learner and each scenario, and a proposed model for describing mobile learning preferences dimensions.

Supporting Awareness in Ubiquitous Learning

This chapter focuses on awareness in computer supported ubiquitous learning environments. In ubiquitous learning, awareness is a key process in individual and/or collaborative learning. Awareness is structured into social, task, concept, workspace, knowledge, and context. This article introduces four systems for supporting various kinds of awareness and concludes with some discussion and proposals for future work.

A Model of Collaborative Learning Scripts Instantiated with Mobile Technologies

Scripts are pedagogical methods for triggering productive interactions during computer-supported collaborative learning. SWISH is a pedagogical design model for constructing scripts: it articulates the nature of expected interactions to the nature of task division enforced by the script. This model is applied to mobile learning: different task divisions are supported by a distributed simulation environment, in which the client runs on mobile phones or PDAs. This contribution maps the computational architecture of the learning environment to a model of collaborative learning.

Designing Participant-Generated Context into Guided Tours

This article presents an interdisciplinary framework for designing participant-generated context into guided tours. The framework has been developed in parallel to practice-led research in the design of mobile learning tours with young people based in London. The article draws on art, architecture and urbanism to outline productive concepts, ‘seeding’ and ‘threading’, which support mobilised learning in tours of the built environment. In this, context is explored as an active and dynamic idea in developing attributes of the mobilised learner in the design of tours around buildings and the built environment. 150 words or less.

M-Learning and Y Generation

This chapter explores “Y generation” students’ attitudes to mobile technologies in the context of education, and use of podcasts on their handhelds in particular. The authors’ intention is to investigate how students use mobile devices to support their formal and informal learning practices. One of the “Big Issues” in mobile learning that the authors address here is the co-existence of personal informal learning and traditional classroom education. After conducting two experiments and a survey, they conclude that the diversity of student attitudes towards using podcasts in education means that they are in the time of “in between years”. Learning “anytime/anywhere” and “digital natives” prove as yet to be a myth for many. The current challenge for podcasting in education is to move from information transmission to knowledge construction and sharing within a formal setting.

Exploring the Effects of Web-Enabled Self-Regulated Learning and Online Class Frequency on Students’ Computing Skills in Blended Learning Courses

Web-based courses have shown to be successful in providing quality distance education. However, due to a national education policy, pure online courses are not permitted in Taiwan. In addition, there exists a lack of appropriate design and delivery of blended learning courses. In this study, the authors conducted a quasi-experiment to examine the effects in applying blended learning (BL) with web-enabled self-regulated learning (SRL) to enhance students’ skills of deploying database management system (DBMS). Four class sections with a total of 172 second-year students were taken as four distinct groups. The results showed that students in the SRL and BL groups with 5 online classes had the highest grades for using DBMS among the four groups. Students who received the treatments of web-enabled SRL also outperformed a control group that did not have the benefit of instruction in SRL. The implications of this study are also discussed. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]

Transforming Pedagogy Using Mobile Web 2.0

Blogs, wikis, podcasting, and a host of free, easy to use Web 2.0 social software provide opportunities for creating social constructivist learning environments focusing on student-centred learning and learner-generated content creation and sharing. Building on this foundation, mobile Web 2.0 has emerged as a viable teaching and learning tool, facilitating engaging learning environments that bridge multiple contexts. Today’s dual 3G and wifi-enabled smartphones provide a ubiquitous connection to mobile Web 2.0 social software and the ability to view, create, edit, upload, and share learner-generated Web 2.0 content. This chapter outlines how a Product Design course has moved from a traditional teacher-centred face-to-face, studio-based learning environment to one using mobile Web 2.0 technologies to enhance and engage students in a social constructivist learning paradigm.