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Editorial: Changing Perceptions of ‘Learning for Development’ in the New Normal
No full textIn the ‘Editorial’ to the first foundation issue of this journal, then Chief Editor Professor Alan Tait had underlined: “While in most cases education is seen as an essential contributor to the human capital that countries need to grow economically and socially, there is a counter view that education, especially at the tertiary level, provides legitimacy for a filter for the labour market and legitimation of elites, and for under and unemployment, as much as it provides real skill and knowledge essential for employment for the majority. Development is in other words a contested concept, and this journal will welcome contributions to the necessary debates about how development is conceived by those who contribute to it through the organisation of learning opportunities in all their range, informal as well as formal”
Gender Profile 2023: Trinidad and Tobago
No full textThe Gender Country Profile outlines a country’s available data and rankings regarding gender equality. The profile is first a summary of the country’s demographic overview and rankings within established global indices for sustainable development and gender equity. The profile then follows the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index framework to provide statistics on each country in detail
Flexible Digital Learning, Micro-Credentialing and Assessment Practices in the Commonwealth
No full textOnline keynote presentation delivered by Dr Sanjaya Mishra, COL Director: Education at the 48th International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) Conference in Kingston, Jamaica, on 25 September 2023
Supporting Learners Studying through ODFL: A Guide for Parents in the Pacific
No full textThis guide is designed for parents and guardians of children living in Pacific Island countries who wish to support their children in Open, Distance and Flexible Learning (ODFL). It addresses the adaptive and supplemental support parents should offer their children who are engaging in forms of ODFL, either as part of their in-class learning or in a fully online medium of instruction, whether by choice or in response to school closures or emergency circumstances. This guide was developed as part of the Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning in the Pacific Project, supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand
Book Review : Education and Blockchain
No full textEducation and Blockchain is an excellent primer for educational leaders, administrators, teachers, and students. The book is divided into an executive summary, followed by four sections. These are: 1. The foundational principles and concepts of blockchain; 2. Blockchain applications in education. 3. How blockchain is being used in education; and 4. The humanistic principles to be considered when implementing blockchain. The book is well laid out and includes a glossary of terms which are clearly explained for the uninitiated. The authors also propose different applications of blockchain in a variety of educational contexts. Both the benefits and constraints related to blockchain as a de-centralised transparent ledger are explained in a manner understandable to the non-technical reader
Commentary: What, exactly, is 'online' education?
No full textAs responsible educators, it is time we admitted that we do not know what 'online' education is. We also need to confront the discomforting realisation that no one else does, either.
The term 'online' has reached the stage where it is now so inclusive as to be meaningless. In embracing too much, it describes nothing. What was once a useful term to describe using the internet as part of asynchronous distance education is now used universally, to describe almost anything. Lectured, synchronous classes are now 'online' (Johnson et al., 2022). Emergency remote teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic was 'online'. Including additional resources on an LMS for students to refer to after class is considered ‘online’. Across much of the educational spectrum, to be 'online' now is far from unusual.
In this commentary I make the case that the term 'online' needs a forced retirement, or, at the least, additional context when it is applied
Democratising Technological Innovation through Makerspaces
Get PDFPCF10 Sub-theme: Promoting Equity and Inclusion // The Maker’s Space is an attempt to democratize technological innovation by providing space and tools to rural youth to experiment and learn. Lack of infrastructure and access to educational tools inhibits the youth in rural India from realizing their full potential and creating innovative context-appropriate solutions for their communities. // The Maker's Space initiative is based on the idea of ‘innovate, invent, peer-learn, co-create,’. In these spaces, the students and adolescents are exposed to a hands-on, STEM-based approach and creative ways of learning to encourage them to design, build, experiment and innovate while they engage in science, technology, art, engineering and mathematics. Therefore, it facilitates a shift from “learning to know” to “learning to do” and “learning to work together”. It also provides an unstructured learning space supported by the machine and digital tools of learning that allows children and youth to take ownership of their learning. The Maker’s Space initiative also designs the physical spaces in a manner that fosters self-reflection and immersive learning. To teach digital literacy, DEF will be employing a variety of formats such as online learning and bot-based learning. // This program has a special focus on girls and persons with disabilities. This special focus is aimed at addressing their disproportionately low representation in STEM education. It is envisaged that this STEM learning program will support them in accessing livelihood, education and quality day to day life. The program is also designed to help them to think critically and will enable them to make tools that are beneficial to persons with disabilities. // Maker’s Spaces consist of a digital centre equipped with STEM learning and digital skilling tools. Understanding the importance of confidence-building, these spaces also conduct mental health sessions and motivational sessions. // Paper ID 275
Supporting Student Active Engagement in Chemistry Learning with Computer Simulations: Five Actions
Get PDFPCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are widely recognised as paving the way towards national sustainable development and innovative socioeconomic transformation. However, some students consider STEM as a difficult field to study. Consequently, teachers need to shift from traditional teaching approaches towards participatory and interactive methods to promote the development of students’ higher-order thinking, critical reasoning, and problem-solving skills. This study is an attempt to investigate how computer simulations can contribute to engaging students’ active participation in new knowledge creation in chemical bonding problem solving with computer simulations. Empirical data were collected through interviews, a survey and a test on secondary school student performance in Rwanda. The findings reveal four main forms of participating in knowledge construction with computer simulations: self-reliance, peer collaboration-reliance, teacher-guided-reliance and strategic variation-reliance. The study found no statistically difference between male and female students’ preferences to engage in these forms and in their performance in terms of higher-order thinking skills in chemical bonding problem solving with computer simulations. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that computer simulations can help students to create multisensory connections with the object of learning enabling them to become actively engaged in chemistry learning through various settings. Consequently, the lines between abstract concepts and related chemical reactions and processes become closely related in a virtual reality. Finally, this study suggests five actions that teachers can undertake to support student active engagement in chemistry learning with computer simulations. // Paper ID 305
Learning Analytics in Open Universities in the Commonwealth: An Unrealised Dream?
Get PDFPCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // Since the emergence of learning analytics, much of the research has emerged from traditional campus-based institutions in the Global North (Prinsloo, 2018, 2020). While learning analytics is not a panacea for all of the challenges faced within distance education with regard to, for example, student retention and throughput, there is evidence that it may impact positively on course design, pedagogical strategy, student support and a deepening of the student learning experience (Blumenstein, 2020; Ifenthaler & Yau, 2020). // This paper reports on the findings of a bibliometric analysis of the state of learning analytics research in 27 Open Universities in the Commonwealth. It confirms that the majority of research is from Open Universities in the Global North. The seeming absence of published research from the Global South raises a number of questions. The paper concludes with observations and pointers for future work. // Paper ID 119
Availability and Implementation of Mobile Learning Technologies among Ghanaian University Students: Case Study of the College of Distance Education, UCC
Get PDFPCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // In recent years, mobile learning technologies have become increasingly prevalent but there are questions as to whether these technologies have been fully utilized in universities. Integrating mobile learning technologies into the teaching and learning environment has been a challenge for Ghanaian Universities. The purpose of this research is to identify the availability and implementation of mobile-learning technologies among university students and to educate institutions on how mobile technology can be helpful in the delivery of instructions. This paper further examines if mobile devices have positive impact on students’ academics by assessing wider opinions and experiences of students with the use of such devices taken into consideration anytime and anywhere learning opportunities these devices offer. It also provides some pointers to possible solutions and consider the role mobile learning technologies can play in instruction delivery based on the theory that Mobile learning is a combination of the interactions between learners, their devices and other people. // Paper ID 740