Volume 20, numéro 2, avril 2019

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Given that the most students spend considerable time on social networks, many educational institutions use this habit as a basis for educational purposes. Increasing students’ active participation in learning activities is one of the main goals of education. The purpose of this research was to investigate to what extent crowdvoting techniques can increase students’ participation and interest in the e-learning process. Additionally, we set out to explore social networks as a medium for crowdvoting, contests, and collaboration among students. The research participants included 131 students in the information technologies area of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade who participated in contest related to their 3D modeling projects. Voting was performed via Facebook. The students voted for particular projects primarily based on the quality of the project itself. Additionally, the competition was an incentive for students to prove themselves to colleagues, but also to provide an opportunity for teamwork, additional engagement, and acquisition of new skills and knowledge. The research results indicate a generally positive attitude among students towards the competition and rewards.

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Recent findings have provided strong evidence that retrieval-based learning is an effective strategy for enhancing knowledge retention and long-term meaningful learning, but it is not a preferred learning strategy for the majority of students. The present research analyzes the application of learning gamification principles in online, open-book, multiple-choice tests in order to motivate students to engage in repeated retrieval-based learning activities. The results reveal a strong positive correlation between the number of successful retrieval attempts in these tests that cover content from the course textbook, and long-term knowledge retention as demonstrated in a live, final, closed-book, cumulative exam consisting of multiple-choice, labeling, definitions, and open-ended questions covering the content of both textbook readings and lectures. The presented results suggest that online, open-book tests designed using gamification principles, even when covering partial course content and one type of questions, are an effective strategy for using educational technology to motivate students to repeatedly engage in retrieval-based learning activities and improve long-term knowledge retention, regardless of the course delivery mode.

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Media diversity within video lectures has been shown to have an effect on students who participate in both flipped classes as well as online courses. While some research claims that content delivered through multiple sources leads to more learning, contrasting research makes the claim that too much media hinders cognitive processing. The present study investigated the effects of varying levels of instructional media delivered to students (n=110) within a flipped scientific writing course to investigate the relationship between higher levels of media diversity and student performance. Results showed that more diversity led to lower levels of performance. It was also found that higher levels of media diversity correlated with higher levels of students’ scanning between different forms of media, possibly contributing to the lower levels of performance. The implications of these results provide insight into the optimal level of media diversity, and on student behavior that can affect learning.

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Despite the importance of interpersonal contact to students’ sense of community, little is known about how online students form relationships outside of class. Drawing on interviews with 20 students from one online doctoral program, I explore the ways in which distance learners create community outside of class. In the case study I explore how students use social media and group texting apps to develop relationships with peers. I also explore how online students connect in-person at study groups and sporting events. Lastly, I consider the ways in which a three-day, in-person orientation helped online students connect on and offline. Findings indicate that online students’ perceptions of community were not limited to their in-class experiences. In addition to their in-class interactions, online students were impacted by their extracurricular interactions in digital and physical spaces.

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Just as they have in face-to-face courses, parents will likely play an important role in lowering online student attrition rates, but more research is needed that identifies ways parents can engage in their students’ online learning. In this research we surveyed and interviewed 12 online teachers and 12 on-site facilitators regarding their experiences and perceptions of parental engagement. Guided by the Adolescent Community of Engagement framework, our analysis found that teachers and facilitators valued parents’ engagement when parents advised students on course enrollments, nurtured relationships and communication with and between students, monitored student progress, motivated students to engage in learning activities, organized and managed students’ learning time at home, and instructed students regarding study strategies and course content when able. Teachers and facilitators also identified obstacles that parents faced when attempting to engage in their children’s online learning as well as obstacles that teachers and facilitators encountered when they attempted to support parents.

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Academics are increasingly encouraged to use social media in their professional lives. Social networking sites are one type of tool within this; the ability to connect with others through this medium may offer benefits in terms of reaching novel audiences, enhancing research impact, discovering collaborators, and drawing on a wider network of expertise and knowledge. However, little research has focused on the role of these sites in practice, and their relationship to academics’ formal roles and institutions. This paper presents an analysis of 18 interviews carried out with academics in order to discuss their online networks (at either Academia.edu or ResearchGate, and Twitter) and to understand the relationship between their online networks and formal academic identity. Several strategies underpinning academics’ use of the sites were identified, including: circumventing institutional constraints, extending academic space, finding a niche, promotion and impact, and academic freedom. These themes also provide a bridge between academic identity development online and institutional roles, with different priorities for engaging with online networks being associated with different career stages.

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MOOCs are presented as an affordable and easily accessible modality that offers the opportunity to democratize education in our time; however, this convenience training favors a low completion rate of the participants. Faced with this situation, scholars have suggested that it is necessary to deepen the construct of academic engagement, a concept that has been addressed in the study of face-to-face training, to better understand how students participate in this educational modality. This article systematically explores the existing literature, in the period of 2015-2018, about the construct of academic engagement in online, massive and open learning courses, through a Systematic Mapping of Literature, a method which aims to identify the characteristics of production in a given subject. The results show that there is a considerable increase in published articles that associate academic engagement and MOOCs, mainly from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Most of the mapped publications employ qualitative methods, with an exploratory approach, although there are several correlational studies. The study of participation patterns and instructional design appear as the main topics of interest in the field. In addition to providing a general overview of production on the subject, the research provides accurate information that will identify works for more in-depth reviews. Thus, it also offers a replicable and flexible literature search method for different research interests.

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This paper investigates the degree to which different variables affect the completion of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Data on those variables, such as age, gender, English proficiency, education level, and motivation for course enrollment were first collected through a pre-course survey. Next, course completion records were collected via the Coursera database. Finally, multiple binomial logistic regression models were used to identify factors related to MOOC completion. Although students were grouped according to their preferences, working in groups did not affect students’ likelihood for MOOC completion. Also, other variables such as age, the institution hosting the MOOC, academic program alignment with students’ needs, and students’ intention to complete the course all affected their probability of MOOC completion. This study contributes to the literature by indicating the factors that influence the probability of MOOC completion. Results show that older participants (age > 50 years old) have higher probability of completing the MOOC. Students’ MOOC completion also increases when the MOOC provides experiences that add to students’ current academic backgrounds and when they are hosted by institutions with a strong academic reputation. Based on these factors, this study contributes to research methods in MOOCs by proposing a model that is aligned with the most important factors predicting completion as recommended by the current MOOC literature. For the next phase of assigning learners to work in groups, findings from this study also suggest that MOOC instructors should provide assistance for group work and monitor students’ collaborative processes.

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The purpose of this study was to explore non-thesis Master’s students’ perceptions and expectations of good tutors and advisors in distance education programmes. It also examined whether these perceptions and expectations are related to student characteristics including age, gender, university, programme, semester, and previous online learning experience. The current study was conducted within the framework of Transactional Distance Theory. Using a mixed methods approach, a questionnaire was administered to 143 students in four programmes in two universities in Turkey and interviews were conducted with 11 of these students. Results showed that good tutors and advisors in distance education provide a stimulating student-centred learning environment, have a caring and individualised interaction and communication with students, and have subject expertise and basic technology skills. The results of this study will improve distance education tutors and advisors’ practices in supporting graduate students’ education and research.

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This article discusses the need to innovate education due to global changes to keep its status as a human right and public good and introduces Open Education as a theory to fulfil these requirements. A systematic literature review confirms the hypothesis that a holistic quality framework for Open Education does not exist. For its development, a brief history and definition of Open Education are provided first. It is argued that Open Education improves learning quality through the facilitation of innovative learning designs and processes. Therefore, sources of learning quality and dimensions of quality development are discussed. To support the improvement of the learning quality and design of Open Education, the Reference Process Model of ISO/IEC 40180 (former ISO/IEC 19796-1) is introduced and modified for Open Education. Adapting the three quality dimensions and applying the macro, meso, and micro levels, the OpenEd Quality Framework is developed. This framework combines and integrates the different quality perspectives in a holistic approach that is mapping them to the learning design, processes, and results. Finally, this article illustrates potential adaptations and benefits of the OpenEd Quality Framework. The OpenEd Quality Framework can be used in combination with other tools to address the complexity of and to increase the quality and impact of Open Education. To summarize, the OpenEd Quality Framework serves to facilitate and foster future improvement of the learning design and quality of Open Education.

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This article examines the effect of two Open Educational Resources (OER) - Khan Academy Collection and a teacher-authored open textbook - on mathematical course performance and attendance amongst first-year higher education Chilean students. It also aims to find out about teachers’ and students’ views on the use of OER in order to understand how these resources are used and valued. To this end, quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. Findings indicate that students in face-to-face classes who used Khan Academy resources obtained better examination grades than students who used the open textbook or relied on traditional proprietary textbooks. Moreover, it was also found that students who used both types of OER had significantly lower attendance levels than students who relied on traditional proprietary textbooks. Finally, it was observed that teachers and students had very positive opinions on the use of both the Khan Academy Collection and open textbook resources.

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This study investigates how and where distance learners use handheld devices and the impact this has on learning habits, access to learning content and quality of work. It analyses the spatial dimension of anytime-anywhere learning and, with a focus on anywhere learning, it explores students’ ongoing negotiation of the flow between and across study locations. The study concludes by proposing two new concepts: the flow of places and place of space. These should help direct the framing of future studies into the places, spaces, and mobility of formal and informal seamless learning. A dataset comprising 446 responses from undergraduate students enrolled at the UK’s largest distance learning university was analysed in respect to three research questions. All age groups, study levels, and disciplines were represented. Five key findings are: most students now use handheld devices for study-related learning; the distribution of study-related learning tasks was similar in all seven study places; there is a strong, statistically-significant correlation between the number of study places in which handheld devices are used and the number of study task types performed; two fifths of students using a handheld device for learning have noticed a change in study habit and benefit to learning; and multiple regression analysis shows three variables (number of study places, number of study tasks, and change in study habits) are predictors of finding it easier to access learning materials and improved quality of learners’ work.

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The advancement of mobile communication technology has contributed to an increasingly interconnected world; however, these devices are not being used as effectively as they could be to improve global challenges. One challenging issue is the lack of preparation college graduates receive to positively contribute to the needs of an interdependent global society. Organizations such as UNESCO, NAFSA, and the OECD have recently declared the critical need for the rising generation to strengthen their global competence, the capacity to examine societal issues and work alongside those of various backgrounds to make a change. School instructors are crucial to preparing students to thrive in multicultural societies and address present day issues. With a staggeringly high rate of cellular device ownership among college students, mobile devices could be optimally positioned as a multi-functional tool ready to assist students in gaining these skills. This paper proposes that, while mobile devices may have contributed to a growing need for globally competent individuals, they can also be used to expand these capacities within university students. The PISA global competency framework developed by the OECD is used to propose how instructors can use mobile technology and research grounded practices to strengthen global competence in students.

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YouTube is one of the most prevalent social media sites across the globe. However, there is a lack of research on factors influencing educational use of YouTube. This study examines high school students’ educational use of YouTube with unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Using structural equation modeling, the proposed model is tested. Results demonstrate that performance expectancy and social influence are the significant predictors of behavioral intention to use YouTube. Furthermore, behavioral intention is the significant predictor of actual usage. The results suggest that students intend to use YouTube for improving their academic performance. Social influence also contributes to their intention. Based on previous literature, the results are discussed.

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Medical education in Africa is in desperate need of reforms, evident in widespread diseases, and an inability to mobilise and train the required medical workforce to deal with these health issues. However, the exponential rise in the use of mobile technologies due to the spread of the Internet and increased telecommunication networks offer an opportunity for the transformation of medical education and practice through the deployment of mobile devices as a medium for learning and conveying health care services to the remote and resource-constrained locations of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper reviewed articles on the affordances of m-learning for distributed medical education in SSA published between 2010-2018. Results from 18 articles identified in the review revealed a slow-paced ascendancy of practice and research in the field; it further exposed competing priorities, infrastructural deficit, and chronic workforce shortages as the bane of m-learning implementation in the subregion. This paper makes recommendations that will enhance the growth of mobile-based distance medical education and practice in SSA.

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As education progresses in the digital era and in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, learning will be adaptive and individualized to meet the needs of individual learners. This is possible because of emerging technology, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things. This study is making significant contribution to future education by identifying forces that are shaping education and developing a competency profile for the digital teacher of the future. The research conducted focus groups and interviews with education experts from six countries to identify the forces shaping education in the future and the competencies required by the digital teacher to function effectively. The Competency Profile for the Digital Teacher (CPDT) can be used to train and orient the digital teacher of the future.