Creating a Global and Innovative Higher Education Environment

Since the first generation of distance learning the format of distance education has changed a lot. Actually, with the increasing use of web technology to interact online the learning environments have been radically changed. The emergence of MOOC and its adoption by well-known universities has also influenced the change. Of course, the adoption of technology in education is not happening in the same way and at the same time and pace in all educational institutions. In fact, the success of adoption of technology depends on several factors related to the organization where it is implemented and with the individuals involved. In this chapter, the authors present the creation of a global and innovative higher education environment case study, the evolution of the solutions offered concerning distance learning, the actual offers, and the concerns for the future. They identify the factors that enabled or constrained this evolution as well as raise some questions that are still unanswered and point out some clues for future research in the field of creating a global learning environment.

Virtual Laboratory Work for Discovering Gas Solubility in Water

Compared to hands-on experiments, virtual laboratory work has the advantage of being both more cost- and time-effective, but also invokes questions about its explorative capacities. The aim of this chapter is to study how students' scientific reasoning was contingent on altered guiding structures within a virtual laboratory experiment. The virtual laboratory was developed through a design experiment involving three successive versions with altered guiding structures. Analysis of 12 dyads' reasoning about gas solubility in water revealed that the problem was not primarily for the students to realize how the volume of gas changed, but rather to understand the concept of solubility of gases. It was also observed how the guiding structures within each version influenced the students' reasoning about the studied phenomenon in certain trajectories.

The Impact of Instructor Twitter Use on Course Performance Indicators

An exploratory quasi-experiment of college-level students was used to examine the difference in a variety of course indicators among instructors when they did not use Twitter as a supplement to their courses, when they moderately used Twitter, and when they used Twitter a great deal in their courses. When instructors used Twitter in their classes, perceived learning via technological mediums, perceived classroom community with regard to technological media, perceived pedagogical affect, perceived course effectiveness, perceived learning performance, and perceived perception of learning from Twitter were all greater than when they did not use Twitter in their courses. Overall results of this study recommend further research and a continued focus on the usage of Twitter in the higher education classroom.

The Politics of E-Learning

The goal of this chapter was to study the political strategies utilized in the context of e-learning. The research is based on the e-learning political strategies (ELPoS) model. The model is based on two dimensions: (1) the direction of the political strategy (upward or downward) and (2) the scope of the political strategy (individual or group based). The model assumes that the interaction between these dimensions will define four different types of e-learning political strategies, which, in turn, will lead to different outcomes. The model is presented in the context of the literature on e-learning and is accompanied with four short case studies that demonstrate its political strategies. The discussion and conclusions section integrates the findings from the case studies and outlines the rules that govern the utilization of political e-learning strategies in different organizational contexts.

Using Web 2.0 Tools to Engage Content, Promote Self-Efficacy, and Implications for Intentional Student Learning

This chapter defines Web 2.0 tools, their use in student learning, results from a study with university undergraduate students, and their implications for intentional student learning. Treatment subjects used a discussion board style site called TitanPad® to respond to a journal prompt after reading an article and before attending a subsequent class to discuss the journal article. Results are discussed for likelihood to read the assignment, amount of time spent reading, perception about being ready to discuss the material, perceived contribution to in-class work, and comprehension of the material. One inference was that with no additional time investment, instructors might increase student in-class participation using a Web 2.0 tool and students' self-efficacy with material in their profession. This has important implications for the manner in which students interact with text and content as significant intersubjective actors in the learning process.

Collaboration-Driven Management Education

Business leaders, accrediting bodies, and management educators alike are calling for a radical change in the delivery of management education because of globalization, unprecedented economic uncertainty, changing demographics, and new learning technologies. The traditional one-size-fits-all educational approach of the past is being replaced with a customized and flexible learning paradigm that focuses on student outcomes and performance. Collaboration networks can assist in this transformation. The primary function of a collaboration network is to provide the management education community with access to curriculum innovation, cloud-based resources, intelligent tutors, and implementation strategies. The purpose of this chapter is to outline the role of cloud-based collaboration networks in helping shape the future of management education.

Emergent Technologies Shaping Instructional Design

This chapter discusses emergent technologies that are currently shaping or expected to shape the field of instructional design in the near future. The discussion begins with a brief overview of instructional design as a professional field over the past century, then focuses on current and promising trends for the field based on advances in technologies supporting instructional development. This chapter intends to provide a centralized literature review of multiple pathways currently being carved in the field, encompassing several parallel trending areas, such as adaptive learning, digital storytelling, gamification, simulation technologies, augmented and virtual reality, cybernetics, the xAPI standard, mobile and ubiquitous learning, and offer a glimpse of how they are shaping or expected to shape the future of all those involved in designing and delivering learning or effecting human behavior and performance change.

Use of Facebook in Primary Teacher Training

This chapter presents a study carried out to describe and determine the relevance of the Facebook network as a tool for development of the teaching-learning processes in the teacher-training classroom, and knowledge of the same for use in a research model. This study is based on an analysis of the latest research on the use of social networks in higher education to describe an experiment performed in a group of future primary teachers at a Spanish university in which Facebook was used as a resource to improve the teaching-learning processes. The outcomes point towards a positive evaluation of Facebook as a resource for the creation of collaborative learning communities, improving teaching-learning processes, knowledge construction and social learning, the classroom climate, tutoring among peers and with faculty, foreign-language practice, and digital competence. Among the initial conclusions, the authors highlight the need to demonstrate tools like Facebook to student teachers to ensure their appropriate professional and personal development.

Tutors' Perspectives on Online Facilitation of ESL Courses in Distance Education

Online facilitation in distance education presents many challenges that involve both the learners and instructors. Through these challenges, the roles tutors' play and their best practices used in online facilitation should be looked into to improve the distance-learning experience. In view of this, this chapter attempted to examine the perspectives of experienced tutors engaged in the university's virtual learning environment, WawasanLearn. Based on the interview findings of eight tutors, several emergent findings highlighted the roles and challenges of effective online facilitation. As this research is based on the guidelines of the prominent Salmon's model, the findings also highlighted antecedents that substantiate best practices of online facilitation. Findings indicated that understanding the dynamics of online facilitation among relevant stakeholders is critical to improve the teaching and learning experience in distance education.

Still Forgotten Teachers in K-12 Online Learning

Like many K-12 online learning programs, the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) began by utilizing vendor content to populate its online courses. In its fourth year, the IVHS began a concerted effort to design more of its own online course content internally. The aim of this chapter was to examine the support needed and application of tools used by IVHS course developers. The data consisted of a two-part, web-based survey and telephone interviews that were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive analysis. The results showed these developers had a strong desire to use interactive elements in their course as well as working in cooperative teams. Further, developers were opposed to using a forced template, but indicated a need for general structural guidance and additional professional development. Finally, developers recommended that subject matter teacher-developers and multimedia specialists be split into two separate roles, and these individuals work together as a part of a team. Further research should be conducted on the intended use of technology tools requested.