Volume 18 Issue 6 / Dec 2020
pp462‑574
Editor: Heinrich Söbke, Marija Cubric
Keywords: Community of Inquiry, continuing education, distance education, deep learning design, constructivist learning; academic dishonesty, cheating, online education, distance education, plagiarism; ODeL, online learning tools, mobile learning tools, Moya Messenger App WhatsApp, myUnisa’s ODF; Emotions and learning, flipped learning, university, science education; creativity, personality traits, students, virtual courses, gender differences; EFL learner, mobile learning, smartphone and language learning, attitudes and perceptions, process of learning English; Out-of-classroom communication (OCC), flipped classroom, motivation, intervention; ; ICT integration, ICT infrastructure, high school science teaching
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Krystyna Krzyszkowska, Maria Mavrommati
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Abstract
: Education authorities in Norway endorse online courses for in‑service teachers to raise education standards and to promote digital competence. Naturally, these offerings present teachers with opportunities to integrate new theoretical perspectives and their professional experience in an online learning community. The inquiry into one's professional practice, enhanced by critical reflection in a group of fellow professionals, is considered essential for a lifelong learning practitioner, however, the emerging examples of instructional design tend to prioritise content delivery rather than professional discourse. In this paper, we demonstrate how the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework could be adopted to transform learning design, which prioritises the delivery of individual assignments, into a more collaborative learning experience. Using the CoI instructional design principles and the associated questionnaire, we have investigated student perceptions of learning via an online course and formulated recommendations about how the course design can be refined to promote learning in the community. Despite the modest evidence, this investigation can serve as an example of how a concrete learning design can be improved based on this validated e‑learning model.
Keywords: Community of Inquiry, continuing education, distance education, deep learning design, constructivist learning
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Examining Online Cheating in Higher Education Using Traditional Classroom Cheating as a Guide
pp476‑493
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Abstract
Academic dishonesty in higher education is a perverse problem affecting institutions of learning in many countries across the globe. More alarmingly, numerous studies have pointed to increasing rates of cheating and plagiarism over the past few decades offering a wide array of explanations and theories for this trend. A relatively new feature of both higher education and the discussion of academic dishonesty involves the growing market for online education. Within the last decade, online education has become a permanent fixture increasing its reach in education markets throughout the world. The trend of online education is seen as bringing with it a new set of opportunities and challenges related to academic dishonesty. With high rates of cheating already a well‑documented problem in the traditional (face‑to‑face) learning environment, it is important to analyze how online education factors into this scenario. The goal of this paper is to provide the reader with a critical analysis of the current literature on academic dishonesty in online education and to propose areas for future research where gaps in the literature exist.
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Chaka Chaka, Tlatso Nkhobo, Mirriam Lephalala
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Abstract
This paper reports on a study that integrated two instant messaging applications (Moya Messenger App and WhatsApp) and a myUnisa’s online discussion forum (ODF), and utilised them as tools to support student learning at an open and distance e‑learning university in South Africa. The participants in this study were 41 undergraduate education students enrolled for an undergraduate English Studies module. Employing a case study research design, the study utilised voluntary sampling to select its participants, and set out to answer three research questions. Data were collected through the three afore‑mentioned tools. To this effect, the study made the following observations. First, both the instructor and students were able to engage in asynchronous and synchronous scaffolding using Moya Messenger App. This included engaging in features of scaffolding such as orientation, coaching, conceptual scaffolding and meta‑cognitive scaffolding, largely by the instructor. Second, the instructor used Moya Messener App to engage in presence teaching, while students utilised it to engage in presence learning. Third, students utilised WhatsApp to produce short synchronous formal essays based on a compare and contrast essay writing activity. Fourth and last, students used myUnisa’s ODF to produce meta‑content reflective writing about the module.
Keywords: ODeL, online learning tools, mobile learning tools, Moya Messenger App WhatsApp, myUnisa’s ODF
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Abstract
: Flipped learning has become a popular approach for supporting higher education, but less is known about its link with the learners’ emotions, which are known to play an important role in science education. The main purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of the flipped learning approach on students’ learning emotions. This research utilised a quasi‑experimental design with two data collection time points (pre‑ and post‑study). The sample involved 65 students from the science track in one Saudi university. The participants were distributed into two groups, taught by the traditional and the flipped learning methods respectively. Data collection took place over a period of 4 study weeks. The results show that the flipped mode group had obtained higher learning emotions mean score compared to its traditional counterpart, and they showed improvement in learning emotions mean score over the period of the study. The findings indicate that further study is needed both to validate the current study in a different context , and also to determine how the flipped learning environment can better support students’ interactions and their emotions.
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The present study aims to compare the creativity of students in virtual and classroom courses at University of Isfahan and study its prediction based on the personality traits of these students. The statistical population of the study consisted of all faculty members and students at University of Isfahan in academic year 2017‑2018. Among them, 150 subjects were selected using Morgan Table and random sampling method. The data collection was done through Abedi’s Creativity Questionnaire (1993) and Costa and McCrae Personality Questionnaire (1992). Data were analyzed by T‑test for independent groups, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results show that there is a significant difference in creativity scores of students attending virtual courses and those attending classroom courses, as well as between female and male students. However, the relationship between personality traits and creativity was significantly stronger among classroom students than the virtual students, and these traits were better predictors of creativity in classroom students than in virtual students. Based on findings, it can be concluded that more usage of the information and communication technologies such as internet, wireless networks, cell phone, etc.(ICTs) by virtual students not only increases their creativity, but also, as an important environmental and intrapersonal factor, affects the relationship between personality traits and creativity among these students and weakens it. This finding shows the great role of acquisitive‑digital factors in students’ creativity.
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EFL Learners’ Perspectives on the use of Smartphones in Higher Education Settings in Slovakia
pp537‑549
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Abstract
MALL (Mobile assisted language learning) affords new opportunities for EFL (English as a foreign language) learners and teachers. Research on MALL is still in its infancy in Slovakia, and this paper attempts to fill in this gap by examining students’ perception and attitudes towards the use of smartphones for the purposes of learning and practicing English. The target population of this study constituted of the Slovak university EFL learners whose major was Teacher Training of English Language and Literature (n = 77) at a Slovak university. The research method employed to achieve the objectives of this study was a 5‑point Likert scale questionnaire, comprising of two sets of statements: general and out‑of‑the‑classroom statements with a total of 29 items. The research results for both sets of statements imply that the participants display moderately positive attitudes towards smartphones in the context of EFL learning. However, the findings also reveal some issues surrounding the perception and potential use of smartphones such as the inability to plan students’ language learning appropriately and effectively, general underuse of smartphone apps, or problems related to practicing speaking skills. The results further suggest the immediate need to develop and enhance the awareness of smartphones and their potential in the process of teaching and learning English so that the EFL learners can utilize considerable opportunities these smart devices offer. Finally, the limitations of this study are recognized, and it is emphasized that conducting further research in this area is urgently needed.
Keywords: EFL learner, mobile learning, smartphone and language learning, attitudes and perceptions, process of learning English
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In a flipped classroom, students engage in active learning during class time and have individual information‑transmission outside class time. University students need to complete the pre/post‑class activities to fully benefit from flipped classroom. It is important that teachers adopt practical methods including teacher‑student out‑of‑classroom communication (OCC) to help students manage their time effectively and stay on task. This research examines the practice of OOC in a flipped first‑year postgraduate Business Law course at an Australian university that comprises a large overseas student cohort. By means of a questionnaire, the researcher collected data about student perceptions of OCC, their motives for engaging in OCC, and the change of the motives in a flipped classroom. Student demographics, online participation, and academic performance data were exported from the university database. The student answers, participation, and performance were measured and compared with t‑tests. The preliminary results show that in a flipped classroom, students were more motivated to engage in OCC. Moreover, the short‑term online participation improved for the students who were communicated by the teacher outside classroom. However, an analysis of the data indicated no statistically significant difference in students’ academic performance. In the concluding sections of this paper, the limitations of this study are acknowledged, followed by several recommendations for future research.
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The Level of ICT Infrastructure as a Factor of ICT Integration in Greek High School Science Teaching
pp562‑574
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This paper examines the extent to which the level of technological equipment affects the integration of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Greek high school science teaching. The limited ICT infrastructure environment, with only one computer‑projector system available and access to the internet (“PC‑VP” environment), is compared to the high level ICT environment (“1:1” environment) where, in addition to the computer‑projector system, each student has access to a computer and the internet. It is a study relying on a relatively small dataset derived from student answers to a questionnaire aiming to determine the degree to which some of the “expected” ICT benefits reach the students. The level of ICT integration is judged by the degree to which the ICT benefits reach the students. That is, the more the ICT benefits reach the students, the better – or the greater ‑ the ICT integration is. The participants were eighty‑nine, 14‑year‑old students who belonged in four different classes and the teacher who taught Physics in those classes. The SPSS non‑parametric "Man‑Whitney U Test" test was used to compare the statistical distributions of student answers. The results show that, when the applied teaching approach is used, the ICT integration is equally successful in both environments. This questions the idea of investing in “1:1" environments in the Greek public schools where less student centered and inquiry oriented teaching approaches are the norm. It also highlights the importance of the specific teaching approach as an ICT integration tool in “PC‑VP” environments that still exist in most Greek schools.
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