Search results

Learner control is a widely touted and popular element of e-learning, both in the educational and organizational training domains. In this chapter, we explore the concept of learner control, highlighting its multidimensional and psychological nature. We examine the theoretical basis for the effects of learner control on learning and engagement. Next, we provide the reader with empirically based recommendations for designing learner-controlled training. We conclude by discussing how learner control research may be adapted to accommodate a variety of instructional methods, such as textbooks, mobile learning, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

This chapter aims to advance in the analysis of the learner engagement and performance in the use of computer-based games, also known as Serious Games (SG). The chapter describes the learner engagement in relation to the use of SG in individual and collaborative learning activities. The SG learning experience considers the learner engagement in the individual activities observed through their real use of the game and their perceptions of the usefulness of the game and the time-on-task spent. The collaborative use of SG considers additional mechanisms of engagement related to the intragroup relationships – relationships within the same members of the group – and intergroup relationships – relationships between the different groups – such is the degree of interdependence and the degree of competition in the game. The state of the art in the learner engagement in the use of individual and collaborative SG is based in a literature review, and completed by the study case of the individual and the collaborative use of the eFinance Game or eFG (MetaVals) in ESADE Business & Law School. We analyse the current challenges and transfer the knowledge created through the eFG case for the practitioners aiming to promote learners’ engagement through the use of individual and collaborative SG.

This chapter employed a systemic meta-synthesis literature review to reflect on the transactional variables of the theory of transactional distance (TTD) in addressing barriers to student engagement in the open and distance learning (ODL). Literature sources were obtained from unlimited databases around the globe; however, articles published before 2015 were not included in this review. Through the literature review, the authors identified barriers to student engagement in the ODL through the lens of TTD. The identified barriers to student engagement are presented according to three transactional variables of the TTD and later classified concerning student engagement dimensions. Findings suggest that key instructional dialogue barriers emanate from the teacher and student personality. For program structure, the authors found the poorly designed courses while for learner autonomy there are situational, institutional, and dispositional barriers. The identified barriers to student engagement in ODL revealed the interrelatedness of the transactional variables and the strong link with the student engagement dimensions. By integrating the transactional variables of TTD and student engagement dimensions, this chapter identified possible strategies to address barriers to student engagement in the ODL.

This chapter will explore how the places of learning might look in next generation learning spaces where learners traverse physical and virtual spaces using personalised learning strategies. It will examine how learning spaces may represent ubiquitous spaces in which the learner undertakes some form of study or learning. Although there has been extensive examination of the design of spaces for knowledge generation (Keppell & Riddle, 2012, 2013; Souter, Riddle, Sellers, & Keppell, 2011) there has been little attention given to how learners customise and personalise their own physical and virtual learning spaces as they traverse their learning journey. Seven principles of learning space design will be adapted for use by the personalised learner. Personalised learning strategies encompass a range of knowledge, skills and attitudes that empower the learner to take charge of their learning within next generation learning spaces. Personalised learning consists of six broad concepts: digital citizenship, seamless learning, learner engagement, learning-oriented assessment, lifelong and life-wide learning and desire paths. Teachers will need to assist learners to design their own personalised learning spaces throughout formal education to encourage learners to be autonomous learners throughout their lifetime. In order to assist learners in developing personalised learning strategies we need to teach them about learning space literacies. We can’t assume learners have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be able to identify and effectively utilise appropriate learning spaces that optimises engagement.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional format which emphasizes collaborative and contextual learning and hence has favored face-to-face course design. However, with the plentitude of online tools which technology offers nowadays, PBL courses can also be effectively offered to students who cannot physically be present at the campus. The change process from offline to hybrid, blended, or online PBL courses need to be carefully managed and the right combination of technology and learning activities selected from the ever increasing available set. Hybrid, blended, or online courses differ in the amount of integration between offline and online activities. A mixed-method design was used to elaborate on how the different (hybrid, blended, or online) PBL courses can be effectively build and taught to create learner engagement. Twelve people (change agent, instructor, and participants) were interviewed and 82 students filled out a course evaluation form. The data was used to describe how a hybrid, blended, or online course was created and how the instructor and students perceived it. Instructional and change management implications for implementation are presented. Instructional implications deal with the needs of the learner, the role of the instructor, and the importance of sound technology integration in the course. Change management implication highlights the need to foster intra-institutional collaboration.

Leading edge practice in university teaching uses the affordances of technology to engage students in development of essential literacies for 21st-century learning. Learning designs are aligned with core principles of learning psychology, both general and specific to the discipline. Technology offers unique opportunities for every learner to acquire key literacies along with discipline knowledge and without increasing faculty workloads. This chapter presents a literature review tracking development of learning theories and design principles, and then describes their application in three blended learning cases from the author's institution.

Gamification, the integration of game mechanics to influence behavior and engagement, is a much-touted method of improving participant action. Characteristics of online video games (e.g., World of Warcraft, Farmville, The Sims) have been shown to improve motivation, sustain learner engagement, and increase satisfaction. Gamification is used in websites, businesses, medicine, law enforcement, and increasingly in education. However, gamification is only beneficial to an activity if the relationship between the activity and the final goal are understood. This chapter looks at the gamification in education, in particular second language acquisition, and examines seven basic game mechanics: achievement, appointment, rewards, leaderboards, privacy, social engagement loops (or viral mechanics), and modifiers. The discussion describes implementation of game mechanics and potential pitfalls of gamification.

A social movement is sweeping the globe in the form of Internet delivered and open access sharing spaces. People are connecting in new ways while personalizing their daily experiences with shared websites called Web 2.0 technologies. This chapter looks into the implications of taking these technologies beyond social interactions into the learning experiences of students. With a literature review and case study analysis, the goal of this chapter is to gain a better understanding of what is needed to appropriate quality instructional strategies to the online university course room including social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Second Life®, and wikis. Following a brief history and descriptions of the Web 2.0 sites and functions, the reader is introduced to the design expectations typical of instructional designers (IDs) with definitions and standards from the field's literature. Support is offered from the business and educational literature for incorporating leadership into design practice through vision, strategy, and theory-based decisions. Definitions, benchmarks, and examples of instructional strategies and activities for learner engagement complete the theoretical framework for the chapter. Given the added complexities of advanced technologies, this chapter suggests evaluating social learning through an ID leadership perspective for a more informed recommendation of Web 2.0 online affordances. Following a case analysis of Second Life®, a 3-D virtual world used for learning activities, implications for ID practice are discussed, along with the various benefits and barriers of adopting Web 2.0 technologies. In the conclusion, suggestions are given for future research on the potential for integration of Web 2.0 affordances into online learning designs for rich, engaging learning experiences.

The aim of this chapter is to introduce a pedagogical framework, the dialogic shamrock, for collaborative learning through technology, which is not a replacement for other learning theories rather it is a synthesis of the literature which draws upon learner centric, constructivist, and sociocultural perspectives and is related to the concepts of online learning and collaborative technology including Web 2.0 in higher education. The examples of use focus on the learner as participator in curriculum design. The dialogic shamrock and examples of use presented test the framework and are intended to help educators across the educational sector to understand the key concepts to encourage learners to work collaboratively supported by technology within a socially blended learning framework in a social learning context.The framework is not intended to be prescriptive rather to act as a guide for educators who seek to use a blend of technology and class-based activities to engage learners in collaborative social learning contexts.

This chapter provides researchers and practitioners with guidelines for employing wikis to foster collaboration and active learning within and between student teams in higher educational settings. The core function of a wiki is to facilitate learner interaction with content. Such engagement is critical whether the course's instructional delivery environment is primarily face-to-face or web-based. Instructors encourage shared understanding through a spirit of investigation that embraces greater collaboration in the process. Collaboratively building knowledge about one content area by dialoguing with peers and negotiating importance in order to present the information in a meaningful way to the public is the strongest aspect of a wiki. To illustrate this, five case studies are detailed ranging from individual wikis to group consensus wikis in undergraduate and graduate-level courses, delivered in blended (i.e., hybrid combinations of face-to-face and online) and online asynchronous environments. As a whole, these studies support that wikis are not the single answer to all problems associated with collaboration and shared-knowledge in any learning situation, but they are a powerful lens for greater clarity in issues of student engagement and may lead to improved performance for diverse learners. Various experts add their views to those of the authors of this chapter; that to be effective, instructors must design purposeful engagement that embraces communication, cooperation and collaboration, active learning, feedback, and respect for differences. Likewise, students must be informed of the value of such engagement and have positive wiki models presented early in their online experiences.