Jayde Cahir, Margot McNeill, Agnes Bosanquet and Christa Jacenyik-Trawöger
Many universities are in the process of changing their learning management systems to Moodle yet there is limited empirical research available on the impact of this change. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Many universities are in the process of changing their learning management systems to Moodle yet there is limited empirical research available on the impact of this change. The purpose of this paper is to explore the results of an initial pilot, which was conducted as the first stage of implementing Moodle at an Australian university.
Design/methodology/approach
The pilot study involved an online survey and a focus group with unit convenors teaching Open University Australia (OUA) units in Moodle.
Findings
The aim was to essentially test Moodle and eliminate any technological issues prior to the university-wide roll-out the following year. It was envisaged that this pilot would contribute to building capability and knowledge amongst staff members; however, it was unanticipated that this would be jeopardised by a wider and ongoing issue in higher education; namely, the casualisation of the academic workforce. The paper maps the accumulated knowledge of these unit convenors and how this knowledge is “walking out the door”.
Originality/value
The paper argues that an environment of insecure employment is a barrier to change management.
Details
Keywords
Margot McNeill, Ming Ming Diao and Maree Gosper
In their 2007 article, “Miranda in the brave new world: learning in a Web 2.0 millennium”, Barnes and Tynan tell the story of an imaginary British student who uses technology…
Abstract
Purpose
In their 2007 article, “Miranda in the brave new world: learning in a Web 2.0 millennium”, Barnes and Tynan tell the story of an imaginary British student who uses technology seamlessly to stay connected almost 24×7 with friends, peers and teachers in a global learning environment. Whether she is representative of the majority of university students is a topic of debate in the literature. This paper aims to explore how students use technologies in their everyday lives, whether on‐ or off‐campus, to support their learning.
Design/methodology/approach
There were two phases of the study; a photo ethnography to enable a detailed exploration of ten students' technology uses and then a university‐wide survey in which 1,104 student responses were gathered.
Findings
The findings of both phases of the study suggest that students' use of technologies for their learning and in other facets of their lives is largely conservative, with a predominance of familiar and easy‐to‐use tools such as e‐mail, text and mobile phone. For their learning, their preference is for tools to provide access, efficiency and connectedness.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the development of a better understanding of student issues in the context of their overall IT experience at the university, suggesting a more holistic approach to designing technology infrastructure. There are also insights into the power of mixed methodologies in research, with significant parallels between the qualitative and quantitative results.
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Yvette Blount and Margot McNeill
As educational technologies are more widely adopted in higher education teaching and learning, publishers often include online resources to accompany their textbook offerings. The…
Abstract
Purpose
As educational technologies are more widely adopted in higher education teaching and learning, publishers often include online resources to accompany their textbook offerings. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study forming part of a larger ongoing evaluation of the third party software product WileyPLUS.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the integration of the publisher's tools into a specific curriculum context and takes a critical look at the pedagogical effectiveness of the software in this context. A mixed‐methods approach is taken in the study, using a small postgraduate accounting unit as a case study.
Findings
While many students reported positive experiences with the third party resources, technical issues were a barrier to their effectiveness and many students did not engage with the optional resources. The unit convenor's experience was largely positive.
Practical implications
Although it may be tempting for unit convenors to adopt these tools and resources as readily available and easy to use, it is important that they are integrated into the curriculum and that students are supported in their use.
Originality/value
Outcomes include a list of critical success factors and an evaluation framework that could be of use to other academics seeking to embed third party resources into their teaching.
Details
Keywords
The paper aims to introduce this special issue on LEAD, the research management system under which the papers collected in this issue were produced. The paper explains the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to introduce this special issue on LEAD, the research management system under which the papers collected in this issue were produced. The paper explains the background that led to the establishment of the system, presents a short history of LEAD, describes how it is managed, and details the various stages of a typical LEAD “cycle”. It concludes with a brief description of the papers to follow.
Design/methodology/approach
Reflective description.
Findings
LEAD is a successful collaborative system for organising “action research” in learning and teaching within a business faculty. The papers in this issue serve to demonstrate the system's outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is essentially descriptive. The described system illustrates one way of organising collaborative research in a university faculty, in this instance focused on research into learning and teaching in a business faculty.
Practical implications
LEAD provides a model for managing collaborative university research, one that could be applied in any university faculty and across different research areas. Apart from illustrating the potential of the system, each of the papers collected in this issue is of interest in its own right, as a study of learning and teaching in a particular disciplinary context.
Originality/value
The LEAD system is a novel way of organising learning and teaching research in a university context.
Details
Keywords
Megan Humburg, Verily Tan, Adam V. Maltese, Amber Simpson and Joshua A. Danish
This study aims to understand how graduate students in a maker education course discuss beliefs about making and implement these beliefs as pedagogy in their curricular designs.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how graduate students in a maker education course discuss beliefs about making and implement these beliefs as pedagogy in their curricular designs.
Design/methodology/approach
Interview transcripts from seven students were analyzed thematically for conceptions of making and learning. Lesson plans were also coded for elements of making, and the authors compared students’ articulated ideas about making with the practical implementation of making in their designs.
Findings
Students reflected on the nature of making and the possible benefits and tensions surrounding the use of making for learning. Multiple students discussed benefits for their future learning and careers. Comparisons between interview and lesson plans highlight both successful alignments and key gaps in the application of making principles, including struggles that students encountered when translating their beliefs about making into real-world pedagogy.
Research limitations/implications
Given the limited sample size, future research should explore the extent to which educators in other contexts encounter similar or different obstacles in their development of maker-focused pedagogies.
Practical implications
Findings can be used to inform future maker education courses to better support students in successfully translating core principles of making from general beliefs into effective and practical pedagogical strategies.
Originality/value
Despite widespread interest in combining making with educational spaces, much remains to be understood about the strategies that educators use to integrate elements of making into their pedagogy. This study contributes discussions of the benefits and tensions that maker educators may encounter when blending tenets of making with the needs of formal education.