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1 – 10 of 712Julia Kasch, Margien Bootsma, Veronique Schutjens, Frans van Dam, Arjan Kirkels, Frans Prins and Karin Rebel
In this opinion article, the authors share their experiences with and perspectives on course design requirements and barriers when applying challenge-based learning (CBL) in an…
Abstract
In this opinion article, the authors share their experiences with and perspectives on course design requirements and barriers when applying challenge-based learning (CBL) in an online sustainability education setting. CBL is an established learning approach for (higher) sustainability education. It enables teachers to engage students with open, real-life grand challenges through inter-/transdisciplinary student team collaboration. However, empirical research is scarce and mainly based on face-to-face CBL case studies. Thus far, the opportunities to apply CBL in online educational settings are also underinvestigated.
Using the TPACK framework, the authors address technological, pedagogical and content knowledge related to CBL and online sustainability education. The integration of the different components is discussed, providing teachers and course designers insight into design requirements and barriers.
This paper supports the promising future of online CBL for sustainability education, especially in the context of inter-/national inter-university collaboration, yet emphasizes the need for deliberate use of online collaboration and teaching tools.
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Shivangi Viral Thakker, Jayesh Parab and Shubhankar Kaisare
As educational institutes began to address the challenges posed by COVID-19, e-learning came to the foreground as the best bet left. This study is in quest of revealing…
Abstract
Purpose
As educational institutes began to address the challenges posed by COVID-19, e-learning came to the foreground as the best bet left. This study is in quest of revealing engineering student's perceptions of the available e-learning platforms, thus surfacing the underlying bottlenecks. Further, it aims at providing solutions that would help enhance the e-learning experience not only in pandemic times but also in the long run.
Design/methodology/approach
This holistic research begins with a comprehensive comparative study about the available e-learning platforms, followed by a primary data analysis through an online survey of 364 engineering students from various colleges and branches. The collected data was analyzed to detect bottlenecks in online learning and suggestions are given for solving some challenges.
Findings
On a five-point Likert scale, the available e-learning platforms garnered ratings ranging from 2.81 to 3.46. Google meet was the most preferred platform. However, with a net promoter score (NPS) of 30.36, Microsoft Teams emerged as the most satisfying platform. Technical shortcomings clubbed with psychological and biological factors were found to be taking a toll on e-learning.
Research limitations/implications
This innovative research is based on the perceptions of engineering students hailing majorly from Indian cities, and hence, it may be having educational stream bias and geographical bias. The research could be further extended to cover rural areas and global trends in e-learning.
Originality/value
The research offers a thorough analysis of e-learning platforms, as seen through the lens of engineering students. Furthermore, the analysis does not constrain itself to the technicalities and thus proves to be an all-encompassing one, potent enough to surface critical issues marring the e-learning experience.
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Chulapol Thanomsing and Priya Sharma
Social media are increasingly being used in teaching and learning in higher education. This paper aims to explore multiple case studies to better understand how instructors decide…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media are increasingly being used in teaching and learning in higher education. This paper aims to explore multiple case studies to better understand how instructors decide to incorporate social media into learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative case study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore five instructors' use of social media for teaching and learning, particularly the pedagogical reasons and goals driving their use of social media. Participant interviews, course documentation and social media observation data were collected to answer the research questions.
Findings
Findings suggest that an instructor's social media knowledge and awareness of instructional goals are important for the use of social media in learning. Three pedagogical objectives of the use of social media were found across five participants: collaborative learning, dialog and discussion, and authentic learning.
Originality/value
Previous studies have explored potential pedagogical uses of social media tools, however studies that attempt to understand how and why instructors decide to use particular social media tools are underreported.
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Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Gaya R. Ranawaka, Chamali Wijesekera and Malinda C.B. Kumarasinha
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the development and testing of an innovative mobile application using design-based research.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the development and testing of an innovative mobile application using design-based research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on the process of transformation of existing printed course material into digitized content through design-based research where design, research and practice were concurrently applied through several iterations of the mobile application. For this transformation, one session each from BSc in Nursing, Bachelor of Pharmacy and Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences was selected. In the first phase of the design-based research, the main research question was formulated. In the second phase, a mobile learning application (OUSL MLearn) was designed and developed to address the research question. In the third phase, this application was evaluated by five groups of stakeholders: content experts to validate the content; educational technologists to check the alignment of technical and pedagogical features; novice users to check the overall effectiveness of the application; developer to develop the application, to check the ease of usage; and researchers to identify the impact of this innovation. These stakeholders were closely involved throughout the whole process which lasted over a period of four months. At the end of this development phase, the results were reflected upon and used for further enrichment.
Findings
It was observed that the developed mobile application was accessible, appealing and pedagogically constructive for users. However, optimization, development time, technical and organizational issues, workload of academics and production costs were identified as major challenges.
Research limitations/implications
This study was based on the findings of a small sample of potential users.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for designing culturally adaptive interactive mobile applications.
Originality/value
This study will benefit practitioners to design culturally sensitive mobile learning courses and researchers to conduct design-based research.
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Mohammed Aboramadan and Khalid Abed Dahleez
This study aims to investigate the effects of transformational and transactional leaders’ behaviors on employees’ affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of transformational and transactional leaders’ behaviors on employees’ affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in the context of nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Additionally, this study attempts to examine the role of work engagement, as an intervening mechanism as work engagement in NPOs has been empirically neglected (Park et al., 2018).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were conducted from 400 employees working in Italian NPOs in the North of Italy. For verifying the hypotheses of this study, structural equation modeling techniques were implemented.
Findings
It was found that both transformational and transactional leaderships influenced positively affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior, and work engagement was revealed to have significant positive mediating effects on the relationship between the variables examined in this study.
Practical implications
The results of this study may be beneficial to leaders and supervisors of NPOs, specifically regarding the influence of the leaders’ behaviors on the employees’ outcomes.
Originality/value
Due to the limited number of studies conducted on leadership in nonprofit organizations, this study theoretically and empirically contributes to the leadership literature as it is the first study to investigate the two styles of leadership on work-related outcomes via work engagement in the nonprofit sector.
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