40 research outputs found
The evolving landscape of learning technology
No full textThis paper provides an overview of the current and emerging issues in learning technology research, concentrating on structural issues such as infrastructure, policy and organizational context. It updates the vision of technology outlined by Squires’ (1999) concept of peripatetic electronic teachers (PETs) where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) provide an enabling medium to allow teachers to act as freelance agents in a virtual world and reflects to what extent this vision has been realized The paper begins with a survey of some of the key areas of ICT development and provides a contextualizing framework for the area in terms of external agendas and policy drivers. It then focuses upon learning technology developments which have occurred in the last five years in the UK and offers a number of alternative taxonomies to describe this. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues which arise from this work
An Exploration of Models for Collaborative Leadership of Virtual Learning Network e-Learning Clusters in New Zealand
No full textFaced with the massive challenge of personalising learning for a digital generation, educators need to change. Collaboration and collaborative leadership, having been widely researched and implemented, are now considered to be strategic components of systemic transformation. Many jurisdictions have trialled or instituted collaborative or cluster-based projects to address the collaborative learning and leadership challenges associated with transformation through e-learning. New Zealand’s emergent Virtual Learning Network and e-learning clusters have developed new system leadership from grass-roots rural schools with the Ministry of Education’s strategic support. Can these innovative collaborative projects continue to improve and sustainably contribute to educational transformation in NZ?
This small-scale qualitative investigation focussed on semi-structured interviews to gather data from five experienced rural cluster Lead Principals who have successfully lead some of the stronger rural Virtual Learning Network e-learning clusters across rural New Zealand. The key research question which guided the interview questions and analysis was:
What are the most appropriate and effective models for managing and leading collaborative relationships and shared long-term projects for clusters of secondary schools?
The aim was to discover the conceptions and use of collaborative processes, structures and leadership which theoretical and empirical research suggest are critical components of system-wide reform.
Research findings reveal a high degree of congruence between theory and the practice of these five Lead Principals. Their understanding and practice of shared, distributive and collaborative leadership, with a clear commitment to building leadership capacity, was based more upon their personal style supported by some knowledge of the international literature, rather than formal policies. However, while these maturing clusters have outlasted many others, they continue to face challenges of viability, effectiveness, and sustainability, in spite of the Ministry of Education’s support for critical background infrastructure. The data shows that while there are strong collaborative support strategies in and for these clusters, two key areas could be addressed more effectively.
This study suggests that collaborative transparency and accountability needs strengthening in a drive for consistent quality and effectiveness. Also, while new structural cluster models may be emerging in the search for sustainability, the well-established cost of managing collaborations has not yet been accepted by the MoE, leaving 100% of the burden of management costs on the mostly small rural schools. It is therefore recommended that the MoE find a way around the current school-based funding model to at least partially fund regional management of these transformative collaborations, perhaps within the government’s current drive to build performance management and accountability. New Zealand’s systemic transformation and its current leadership within the e-learning revolution may depend on it
The Role of Organisational Culture on Cognitive Learning Styles in Libyan Universities
No full textThe main aim of the study is to explore the potential role of organisational culture on learning styles in Libyan Universities. In so doing the research has embarked on a search for a suitable literature relating to both the learning styles and organisational culture. The study has learnt that cognitive learning styles should be treated as the process of mental activities, learning and problem solving and being independent of subject content; and are perceptual, intellectual, personality and social domains; and tend to remain unchanged over a long period of time. Nevertheless, as reported, recently, in the area of neuropsychology the assumption of fixed personality has been relaxed, so that individual’s personality would be changed over time and under different environments or situations. This has led the research to focus, inter alia, more profoundly on two main constructs: personal learning environment (PLE) and personal learning styles pedagogy (PLSP). The relevant methodology has been found to be a mixed approach based on a survey, consisting of a structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. In order to satisfy the statistical properties, the sample size for each and every university was set at 300 students, for which the response rates varied between 66% and 70%. On the whole, as argued earlier, the final sample for each university turned out to be sufficient for consistency and reliability of the inferred statistics. Interviews of teaching staff in each and every university were conducted in support of the findings from the student questionnaire. On the whole, the results appeared to be conclusive in terms of satisfying our initial aims and questions of the study. Following a series of statistical testing and analysis, primarily using Structural Equations Models, the findings suggest that the verbaliser-imager tends to be a more common style of learning amongst students in these universities. The findings from teaching staff interviews revealed universities lack of support through provision of resources and funds for any new and innovative teaching developments. It has appeared that the universities, on the whole, have miserably failed to promote any innovative teaching and have denied their students of quality teaching and learning styles. In short, the findings from the interviews suggest that the entire Higher Education system in Libya has under-performed for many years in the two most important aspects of education quality: innovative teaching and promotion of cognitive learning styles
Webinar: Open Pedagogy, Social Justice, and the Practical Path to Commons-Oriented Learning
No full textIn this presentation, Dr. Robin DeRosa will explore how Open Educational Resources (OER) can be a part of an approach to teaching that focuses on student agency, connected learning, and structural equity. By highlighting how commons-oriented approaches to knowledge-sharing can transform pedagogy, Robin will offer a vision for higher education that maximizes academic freedom while it engenders collaboration, opens access to higher education, and engages learners in exciting and vibrant ways.
About the Presenter
Dr. Robin DeRosa is the director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative at Plymouth State University, where she was originally an English professor, and later chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies program. Robin is a national advocate for public higher education, and works with colleges and universities on designing institutional initiatives and structures centered on learners and their needs.
An ASL interpreter is on-screen at all times
Open Pedagogy Presentation with Dr. Robin DeRosa
No full textCome learn about Open Pedagogy in this engaging presentation by Dr. Robin DeRosa. This presentation is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about making engaging assignments that students can use and talk about in the future.
Dr. Robin DeRosa is a national leader in open pedagogy, and an advocate for public infrastructures for higher education. She was a professor in the English Department at Plymouth State for fifteen years before becoming the director of the university\u27s unique Interdisciplinary Studies customized-major program, a position that she held for four years. As the founder and director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative, Robin now works with faculty and staff to increase interdisciplinary collaboration, develop project-based approaches to teaching, and connect university curriculum and research to the public good. She consults with community colleges and universities across the United States to create strategy and initiatives that link the daily work of the academy to the wider communities that support and are supported by academia
DeRosa, Robin
No full textRobin DeRosa is a professor and director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire.
Along with Rajiv Jhangiani, Robin visits with faculty, staff, and students at many colleges and universities to talk about Open Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources (OER), critical and empowering uses of technology in teaching and learning, and future possibilities for higher education. Robin and Rajiv love to share the good work that is being piloted and developed across courses and colleges, and have often wished for a collaborative space where educators could share assignments, approaches, syllabi, and other examples of their Open practices
Episode 077 - Robin DeRosa and Martha Burtis
No full textDuring this season of Leading Lines, we’re exploring the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on higher education. A big part of that impact lands on our students. Robin DeRosa is the director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative, or Open CoLab, at Plymouth State University, a public liberal arts institution that’s part of the University. She brought along her colleague Martha Burtis, now a learning and teaching developer at the Open CoLab, and formerly at the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Mary Washington.
Robin and Martha talk about the challenges our students are facing during this crisis and the ways they and their colleagues are helping to respond to those challenges. They also offered some useful advice for faculty and institutions planning ahead for an uncertain summer and fall
Arts-based methods for facilitating meta-level learning in management education: Making and expressing refined perceptual distinctions
No full textArts-based methods are increasingly used to facilitate meta-level learning in management education. Such increased use suggests that these methods are relevant and offer a unique contribution meeting a need in today’s management education. Yet, the literature is not clear on what this unique contribution may be even though it abounds with suggestions of varying quality. To explore this matter, I conduct a systematic literature review focused on arts-based methods, management education, and meta-level learning. I find that the unique contribution of arts-based methods is to foreground the process of making and expressing more refined perceptual distinctions, not to get accurate data, but as integral to our thinking/learning. This finding is important, because it imply that certain (commonly applied) ways of using arts-based methods may limit their potential. Finally, I suggest that future research regarding arts-based methods should focus on exploring the impact the process of learning to make and express more refined perceptual distinctions may have on managerial practice to further understand the relevance of these methods to managers
