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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Qingyuan Wu, Changchen Zhan, Fu Lee Wang, Siyang Wang and Zeping Tang

The quick growth of web-based and mobile e-learning applications such as massive open online courses have created a large volume of online learning resources. Confronting such a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The quick growth of web-based and mobile e-learning applications such as massive open online courses have created a large volume of online learning resources. Confronting such a large amount of learning data, it is important to develop effective clustering approaches for user group modeling and intelligent tutoring. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a minimum spanning tree based approach is proposed for clustering of online learning resources. The novel clustering approach has two main stages, namely, elimination stage and construction stage. During the elimination stage, the Euclidean distance is adopted as a metrics formula to measure density of learning resources. Resources with quite low densities are identified as outliers and therefore removed. During the construction stage, a minimum spanning tree is built by initializing the centroids according to the degree of freedom of the resources. Online learning resources are subsequently partitioned into clusters by exploiting the structure of minimum spanning tree.

Findings

Conventional clustering algorithms have a number of shortcomings such that they cannot handle online learning resources effectively. On the one hand, extant partitional clustering methods use a randomly assigned centroid for each cluster, which usually cause the problem of ineffective clustering results. On the other hand, classical density-based clustering methods are very computationally expensive and time-consuming. Experimental results indicate that the algorithm proposed outperforms the traditional clustering algorithms for online learning resources.

Originality/value

The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms has been validated by using several data sets. Moreover, the proposed clustering algorithm has great potential in e-learning applications. It has been demonstrated how the novel technique can be integrated in various e-learning systems. For example, the clustering technique can classify learners into groups so that homogeneous grouping can improve the effectiveness of learning. Moreover, clustering of online learning resources is valuable to decision making in terms of tutorial strategies and instructional design for intelligent tutoring. Lastly, a number of directions for future research have been identified in the study.

Details

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1858-3431

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2014

Robert Detmering, Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles, Samantha McClellan and Rosalinda Hernandez Linares

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013.

Findings

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 42 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 January 2022

Jason Jabbari, Stephen Roll, Sam Bufe and Yung Chun

In this paper, the authors explore the relationship that slack resources and technology-mediated human capital investments can have on individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions…

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper, the authors explore the relationship that slack resources and technology-mediated human capital investments can have on individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on human capital investments that individuals make through education and work, the authors analyze the relationship among formal online learning opportunities, informal skill development in the gig economy and entrepreneurial intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Leveraging a novel dataset that merges administrative tax data with a survey of over 8,528 low- and moderate income (LMI) households, this study uses machine learning and propensity score weighting to examine the likelihood that individuals who make these technology-mediated human capital investments will have increased odds of entrepreneurial intentions when compared to similar individuals who do not make these investments.

Findings

The authors find that both partaking in online learning and working in the gig economy are significantly associated with increased odds of entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, through a variety of robustness and mechanism checks, the authors find that technology-mediation is an important factor in these relationships and that informal skill development and career preparation is one way in which gig employment influences entrepreneurial intentions.

Research limitations/implications

As the study’s data come from a cross-sectional survey, the authors cannot make causal inferences about the relationship between online learning, gig employment and entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, future research should explore sources of longitudinal data.

Practical implications

This study has practical implication for individuals and policymakers that seek to increase entrepreneurship among LMI households.

Originality/value

Despite a wealth of research on the relationships among slack resources, technology and innovation at the firm level, there is little of this research at the individual level – especially among LMI individuals. The authors begin to fill this important gap.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

8953

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

Findings

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2020

Quan Zhou, Chei Sian Lee, Sei-Ching Joanna Sin, Sijie Lin, Huijie Hu and Muhammad Fahmi Firdaus Bin Ismail

Drawing from social cognitive theory, the purpose of this study is to examine how personal, environmental and behavioral factors can interplay to influence people's use of YouTube…

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Abstract

Purpose

Drawing from social cognitive theory, the purpose of this study is to examine how personal, environmental and behavioral factors can interplay to influence people's use of YouTube as a learning resource.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposed a conceptual model, which was then tested with data collected from a survey with 150 participants who had the experience of using YouTube for learning. The bootstrap method was employed to test the direct and mediation hypotheses in the model.

Findings

The results revealed that personal factors, i.e. learning outcome expectations and attitude, had direct effects on using YouTube as a learning resource (person → behavior). The environmental factor, i.e. the sociability of YouTube, influenced the attitude (environment → person), while the behavioral factor, i.e. prior experience of learning on YouTube, affected learning outcome expectations (behavior → person). Moreover, the two personal factors fully mediated the influences of sociability and prior experience on YouTube usage for learning.

Practical implications

The factors and their relationships identified in this study provide important implications for individual learners, platform designers, educators and other stakeholders who encourage the use of YouTube as a learning resource.

Originality/value

This study draws on a comprehensive theoretical perspective (i.e. social cognitive theory) to investigate the interplay of critical components (i.e. individual, environment and behavior) in YouTube's learning ecosystem. Personal factors not only directly influenced the extent to which people use YouTube as a learning resource but also mediated the effects of environmental and behavioral factors on the usage behavior.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 72 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2022

Chokri Barhoumi, Areej Alsaysi and Souheil Essid

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of the e-learning solutions adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic based on teachers' and students' opinions in Saudi higher education.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of the e-learning solutions adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic based on teachers' and students' opinions in Saudi higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was performed during the 2021 academic year and involved a survey approach to analyze the effectiveness of Saudi e-learning solutions adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjective opinions were collected from a sample of 106 teachers and 1,196 students.

Findings

The teachers disagreed that online courses provide students with multiple opportunities to track their learning progress with timely feedback, with an arithmetic mean of 2.566 and a standard deviation of 1.627. Moreover, the students disagreed that the use of multimedia facilitates the ease of learning and knowledge extraction from online resources, with an arithmetic mean of 2.443 and a standard deviation of 1.633. Generally, the study implies that today during the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to exploit the power of multimedia tools to bring out knowledge from online learning resources such as images, animations, simulations, video and hypermedia. Based on the results, we need to concentrate on exploiting the power of hypertext systems used in flexible online instruction to enable flexible thinking for online students. Therefore, the e-learning process must favor cognitive flexibility and foster knowledge acquisition for students in the context of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

The findings may be useful in discovering the degree of effectiveness of Saudi e-learning solutions during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 46 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 July 2022

Zhiyong Zhang, Jun Teng and Wenxin Qi

Faced with the outbreak of the pandemic, Chinese government quickly postponed the opening of schools and advocated “classes suspended but learning continues” project through online

Abstract

Faced with the outbreak of the pandemic, Chinese government quickly postponed the opening of schools and advocated “classes suspended but learning continues” project through online learning. In order to understand the teaching effect of online learning and explore a possible transformation of the application of educational information technology in the future, questionnaires have been used in this study to collect data of students, principals, and teachers across China. Most students and principals are satisfied with online learning, while teachers suggest that it is considerably difficult to teach online. Meanwhile, students, schools, and teachers are facing problems, including insufficient adaptation to online learning methods, poor learning quality, imperfect information infrastructure, insufficient learning resources, and so on. Based on the results, the authors propose to explore systematic solutions to guarantee a fair and high-quality development of online teaching. For one thing, the whole education system must ensure the fairness of learning conditions, encourage all-round development, and promote school–home cooperation. For another thing, it is necessary to clarify the connotation of online learning, guarantee the construction of information infrastructure, provide training in information technology and classroom management capabilities, and improve the evaluation system of online learning activities.

Details

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2021
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-522-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 June 2020

Stephen J. Aguilar

This paper provides a research-based approach for evaluating resources for transitioning to teaching online.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper provides a research-based approach for evaluating resources for transitioning to teaching online.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses Davies’ (2011) discussion of technological literacy; Koehler and Mishra’s (2009) Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK); Leacock and Nesbit’s (2011) Learning Object Review Instrument; and Reynolds and Leeder’s (2018) expanded notion of “technology stewardship” to underpin an approach that educators can use to evaluate educational resources for transitioning to teaching online.

Findings

This paper introduces and applies an approach focused on evaluating the source of a given educational resource, as well as how it can be implemented.

Research limitations/implications

This paper synthesizes frameworks relating to qualities of educational technologies and frameworks relating to qualities of educators, and introduces two criteria for evaluating resources for transitioning to distance learning.

Practical implications

This paper provides readily applicable criteria for evaluating resources in a time of emergency distance learning.

Social implications

This approach enables educators to evaluate resources in a time of emergency distance learning.

Originality/value

The synthesis of four approaches to evaluating educational technologies, and applying the approach to four resources that have emerged to address COVID-19-related instructional needs.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. 121 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Amanda Kathryn Nichols Hess

This article examines a structured redesign of one academic library's offering of its online learning objects. This process considered both improving the online learning objects…

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Abstract

Purpose

This article examines a structured redesign of one academic library's offering of its online learning objects. This process considered both improving the online learning objects and developing a feasible workflow process for librarians. The findings for both processes are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The scholarship on online library learning objects and web tutorials, beginning with Dewald's seminal study, was examined for trends, patterns, and best practices. From this research, informal interviews were conducted with library faculty members. Once this information had been collected, other public university libraries in the state of Michigan – 14 in all – were considered in terms of if, and how, they offered online learning objects and web tutorials. These three areas of inquiry provide a foundation for the best practices and workflows developed.

Findings

Based on the scholarship, librarian feedback, and informal assessment of other public university libraries' practices, best practices were developed for web tutorial evaluation and creation. These best practices are to make online learning content: maintainable, available, geared at users, informative, and customizable. Workflows for librarians around these best practices were developed. Also, using these best practices, the library redesigned its tutorials web page and employed a different content management tool, which benefitted both librarians and users with increased interactivity and ease of use.

Originality/value

This article shares best practices and library workflows for online learning objects in ways that are not commonly addressed in the literature. It also considers the library's online instructional presence from the perspectives of both user and librarian, and works to develop structures in which both can function effectively. This article is also of value because of the practical implications it offers to library professionals.

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2021

Anna Rissanen and Jane M. Costello

Online resources can be helpful for students and can augment the content presented in learning environments. A team consisting of four biologists, a graduate student…

Abstract

Purpose

Online resources can be helpful for students and can augment the content presented in learning environments. A team consisting of four biologists, a graduate student, instructional designer and media developers collaborated on the design, development and evaluation of first-year biology online tutorials in a Canadian University. The tutorials were designed to address knowledge gaps resulting in low success rates and attrition of first-year students in biology. The decrease in the number of students in STEM has alarmed educators, prompting a call for efforts to increase STEM majors in universities. Large class sizes, such as first year biology with ∼900 registrants annually, with detail-oriented, content-heavy loads, can result in low success rates and attrition.

Design/methodology/approach

Active learning methods, including online formative assessments, which encourage student engagement in course material, can be effective in large introductory science classes, and thus, the authors provided engagement with tutorial online resources. The authors identified the tutorial topics by analyzing previous years' tests, student feedback and pedagogical research in undergraduate biology. The top five topics identified as common misconceptions or troublesome concepts within the course were selected. Standard instructional design processes were used to produce high-quality online tutorials. Tutorials included learning materials, videos, animations, self-assessments, reflective questions and badges to facilitate deep learning of the topics. Effectiveness of the tutorials was evaluated using quantitative methods and quasi-experimental design to compare the student learning results between the control year (without tutorials) and the year when tutorials were offered. Pre- and posttests measuring conceptual understanding were administered to assess gains in student learning. Additionally, student engagement was measured using the Classroom Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE), and data from learning management system was collected.

Findings

Results of the study show that the tutorials were an effective means of providing supplementary assistance to students as well as fostering a gain in students' levels of engagement with the course. Data analysis indicates that there was a significant increased gain in learning of core concepts in biology. Specifically, using formative online assessments resulted in measurable learning gains in students who participated voluntarily, in comparison to students who chose not to engage in self-paced quiz testing.

Originality/value

As seen from the description earlier, the tutorials, and this project, provide suitable university-level complexity to address specific learning gaps in the first year course. They provide a valuable service to students in terms of representing content in an alternate format and motivating students as they engaged with videos and self-assessment most frequently. The project adds to the teaching and learning environment with respect to program design, mode of delivery and scheduling by providing self-paced tutorials that focus on specific concepts in biology. Students may review these resources whenever and as often as they feel necessary to better master the concepts. This makes the content applicable for the various preferences for approaches to learning and accommodation requirements found in students. Importantly, using formative online assessments resulted in measurable learning gains in students who participated voluntarily, in comparison to students who chose not to engage in self-paced quiz testing.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 70000