Volume 6, Issue 2, April 2015

ABSTRACT

In this exploratory study, we examined how undergraduate students experience learning in a learner-centered teaching environment and their perceptions of motivation towards learning material in an introductory public speaking communications course. Six faculty members participated in a semester-long study where their teaching strategies were observed. Three faculty members participated in a cognitive apprenticeship where they were taught how to implement learner-centered instructional strategies into their coursework. Participants were 109 students who were enrolled in an introductory public speaking course. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, and the administration of a survey. Our findings indicated that students who were engaged in learner-centered activities within the communications course demonstrate higher levels of motivation towards the course and are more actively engaged in their learning.

Keywords: Learner-centered instruction, Instructional sequencing, Teaching strategies, Student motivation

ABSTRACT

Emerging technologies are fueling a third paradigm of education. Digital, networked and mobile media are enabling a disruptive transformation of the teaching and learning process. This paradigm challenges traditional assumptions that have long characterized educational institutions and processes, including basic notions of space, time, content, and learning outcomes. Innovative educators have an opportunity to blend face-to-face and digital learning models to advance an engaged, effective, efficient and affordable model of learning in the 21st century. This emerging paradigm includes changes in at least five key teaching and learning dimensions, including the direction of communication, the level of interactivity, the media of communication, the constraints on the educational process, and the learning outcomes. Recommendations for implementing new teaching and learning techniques are offered.

Keywords: Digital technologies, Social media, Networked society, Mobile media

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this two-year quantitative study was to determine the usefulness of the micro-blogging tool Twitter in large classes for improving the students’ sense of community and belonging. Three instructors of large classes were recruited to test the outcomes of using Twitter as a learning tool, one each from the Departments of Geography and Psychology, and the College of Nursing. Twitter was used as a learning tool to allow students to engage in discussion and ask questions in real time during class as well as outside of class. The method used by the authors included surveys that measured students’ perception of their sense of community and belonging, their engagement with the Twitter portion of the course, and their thoughts on the use of Twitter for academic purposes in a higher-education classroom setting. Data about students’ use of Twitter was further collected using the Twitter Archiving Google Spreadsheet tool. The authors conclude this study showed that Twitter, if integrated into the course and supported by instructor and/or assistants who are familiar with the use of Twitter, improved the sense of community reported by students.

Keywords: Microblogging, Twitter, Learning technologies, Community, Large classes, Higher education

ABSTRACT

e-Learning is becoming more popular than ever with the advent of new technologies and new inventions for teaching and learning. Hence, competent e-Instructors are key to successful e-Learning implementations and they should have the appropriate skills and experience for the effective implementation of e-Learning and blended learning. e-Instructors are instructors who might well be very experienced in teaching-learning contexts and even possess a high level of technology literacy. However, being an experienced instructor and possessing advanced skills of using technology does not necessarily lead to an instructor becoming an effective e-instructor. The purpose of this article is to understand which competencies are needed to be an effective e-Instructor and how can we help individuals to acquire these skills? In order to answer these questions, a broad literature review will help understand what the accepted competencies are for e-Instructors, any existing strategies for professional development, possible challenges to this process and any known solutions. On-going professional development is essential for being a role model for learners and for effective usage of technological environments. Based on the facts and research results in parallel with the advancement in the technological world as instructors, they should keep themselves up-to-date according to e-competencies defined for instructors and continue searching to make this process easier for both instructors and learners to become more effective. Consequently, future research studies can focus on the strategies and methods for self-determined, self-paced and personalised instruction to cope with the e-instructor competencies.

Keywords: e-competency, e-instructor, e-instructor certification, e-instructor competency

ABSTRACT

English is one of the most spoken languages in the world and widely accepted as a foreign language in many parts of the world. However, though there has been a high demand for English as a foreign language in the 21st century, it has still been taught or learned through traditional methods and conventional pedagogical approaches. In the digital age, learner characteristics, learning environments, and learner needs have significantly changed and new pedagogical approaches or learning systems have emerged as a natural result of the paradigm shift. In this article, these changes were explained and suggestions were made for foreign language learning and acquisition based on the networked learning and the connectivist approach to learning.

Keywords: English as a foreign language, EFL, Web 2.0, Connectivism, Network based learning, New pedagogy

(no abstract)