Search results
1 – 10 of over 28000The incorporation of digital technologies into higher education in recent years has transformed the teaching and learning landscape, notably in the field of English language…
Abstract
The incorporation of digital technologies into higher education in recent years has transformed the teaching and learning landscape, notably in the field of English language instruction. This study investigates the best practices and challenges linked with the digital transition in higher education English teaching and learning. The digital revolution has enabled new educational approaches, increasing the accessibility and effectiveness of English language instruction. The use of interactive multimedia tools, online platforms, and adaptive learning systems has personalized education, responding to a wide range of student demands and encouraging active engagement. Furthermore, virtual classrooms, video conferencing, and collaborative online spaces have crossed geographical boundaries, encouraging global collaboration and cultural interaction among students. However, this shift has not been without its difficulties. Disparities in access among students based on socioeconomic status or geographic location have expanded the digital divide. Furthermore, due to the rapid growth of technology, educators must get ongoing training in order to effectively apply and adapt to new technologies, providing a difficulty in faculty development and support. This chapter investigates successful and best practices in digital transformation, highlighting the significance of pedagogical alignment, learner-centered approaches, and inclusive practices. It also emphasizes measures for overcoming problems, such as infrastructure investment, equitable access, digital literacy promotion, and continual professional development for educators. Finally, this chapter emphasizes the importance of matching technical innovation with pedagogical objectives in order to optimize the digital transition in English language education. Taking a proactive and inclusive approach to this shift can open up new pathways for effective teaching and learning experiences, preparing higher education students for a rapidly expanding digital world while tackling the associated issues.
Details
Keywords
Aleksandra Webb, Ronald William McQuaid and C. William R. Webster
This article investigates some ongoing issues faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) having to rapidly move their teaching online during the early stages of the coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
This article investigates some ongoing issues faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) having to rapidly move their teaching online during the early stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The article incorporates a review of academic and policy literature concerning digitalisation and online learning in universities and qualitative interviews with staff involved in online teaching and learning at a university in Scotland.
Findings
For most HEIs and organisations across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the speed at which digitalisation and digital ways of working have been embedded in organisational life and service delivery including new ways of learning and working. This has led to a recognition of the need for practically focused, effective inclusive digital interventions. A range of initiatives that have been developed or accelerated in response to the pandemic are discussed. These should be explicitly designed and implemented to also reach individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those with low-skill levels or qualifications and older age groups. Effort is also needed by policymakers and HEIs to better understand the challenges and unintended consequences that digital learning and working poses.
Research limitations/implications
More research is needed into the methods and implications of increased online teaching. The range of interviewees is limited to one main organisation. A wider range of staff, students, HEIs and other types of organisation would add additional insights.
Practical implications
Insights from interviews highlight a number of institutional responses to digitalisation, which were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These identify learning and reflection points for HEIs moving to enhanced online teaching provision.
Originality/value
This article provides an analysis of the processes, issues and impacts associated with the rapid shift to digitisation in HEIs at a point in time shortly following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It raises issues around inclusivity of online learning, pedagogy, unintended consequences of digitalisation and privacy, when moving to online teaching that are relevant both during the pandemic and in the longer term.
Details
Keywords
M. Mahruf C. Shohel, Md. Ashrafuzzaman, Atm Shafiul Alam, Arif Mahmud, Muhammad Shajjad Ahsan and Md Tariqul Islam
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on higher education (HE) across the globe, including in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi HE system is going through an abrupt…
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on higher education (HE) across the globe, including in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi HE system is going through an abrupt transition and transformation to cope with the crisis. This chapter is based on data collected from teachers and students of Bangladeshi public and private HE institutions regarding teaching and learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. In Bangladesh, some universities switched to online distance teaching and learning quickly during this period, and others lagged behind in this regard. Teachers and students from both groups of public and private universities participated in the study, including those who attended online teaching and learning activities and those who did not participate. This chapter highlights both teachers’ and students’ perspectives regarding students’ future preparedness for participating fully in the changing landscape of HE, especially technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Understanding these perspectives of teachers and students is important to address the digital divide and social justice issues in the policy and practice. Within the HE sector in Bangladesh, it is especially vital while transforming its education system and adapting emerging technologies to address the challenges of education in future emergencies.
Details
Keywords
Scholarship on language teacher knowledge and critical digital literacy. Using a grounded theory approach, semi-structured online presentations of students, classroom observations…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholarship on language teacher knowledge and critical digital literacy. Using a grounded theory approach, semi-structured online presentations of students, classroom observations and their responses to multimedia tools such as movies and literature were analysed. As part of the study, 150 students pursuing undergraduate degree in engineering were assigned two assignments involving science fiction movies and hyperreal literature as part of an experiential strategy. A survey was conducted before and after the study to evaluate the change in students’ perception towards the use of technology and multimedia in language classrooms as well as their awareness of technological dependency in the postmodern world. The findings show that student cognition of AI and technological dependency is a complex and emergent system, and that, despite current literacy education scholarship stressing digital literacy as a social and critical praxis, technology is treated in a mostly functional, rather than a critical manner in a standard university language classroom. The results of this study suggest that the disadvantages of a realistic approach to teaching digital composition can be avoided by creating other forms of educational materials that adhere to critical digital literacies sense, such as posthuman literary works and science fiction film.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is primarily qualitative and empirical, focussing on the analysis of student responses to classroom assignments and semi-structured online presentations and responses to multimedia tools such as movies and online literature. A pilot study was performed among the engineering students of Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India, to better understand engineering students’ perceptions and attitudes towards teaching English as a second language using emerging technology, with the aim of improving language abilities, writing skills, imagination and overall personality. One hundred and fifty (150) students were assigned two assignments as part of an experiential strategy. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft Teams was used as the platform for assessment and observation. As part of their learning challenge, students were required to watch the movies “Her”, “Interstellar” and “Bandersnatch” and write a technical report outlining some of the major observations on technology and AI. Secondly, as part of their learning challenge, students were required to read Oliver Sacks’ “The Machine Stops” and comment on his perspectives on technological dependency. This was supplemented by assessment tests and assignments focussing on the digital nature of the global education system. Another survey was conducted at the end of the study to evaluate the change in students’ perception towards the use of technology and multimedia in language classrooms as well as their awareness of technological dependency in the postmodern world. Owing to the posthuman and hyperreal nature of the movies and texts, students were introduced to the theories of Marshall McLuhan and Jean Baudrillard to better understand the chosen works.
Findings
In the posthuman era, where digital technologies are at their peak, English language teachers select appropriate teaching resource materials based on the needs of the students and do their utmost to combine them with technology to make their teaching more engaging and efficient. Thanks to the current craze for Digital Humanities, not just English language teaching but also literature classroom teaching has experienced several paradigm shifts. This has raised the need for English teachers and professionals on the job market. Given this context, and in particular, to raise knowledge among engineering students of their critical position in the literary job sector, two tasks were assigned to students in the Language Classroom. These tasks included integrating technology into language studies and literature, instilling imagination, honing literary skills and facilitating the development of a comprehensive approach to life and potential endeavours.
Originality/value
As evident from the study and literature review, the introduction of emerging technology in Language Classrooms has grown in popularity, but it has yet to be incorporated into Language Classrooms that focus on the comprehensive development of students, especially in India. Furthermore, proof of interactions between digital learning and teaching practices and anticipated results, effects and impacts was gathered to make the Language Classroom more social, inspiring and engaging, but little more. As a result, we see a lot of potential for research in this field, particularly concerning the most recent language studies advancements about Digital Humanities.
Details
Keywords
Reis da Silva Tiago and Aby Mitchell
Digital transformation in nursing education is crucial for enhancing pedagogical practices and preparing future healthcare professionals for the rapidly evolving healthcare…
Abstract
Digital transformation in nursing education is crucial for enhancing pedagogical practices and preparing future healthcare professionals for the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. This chapter explores how the integration of digital technologies in higher education has revolutionising teaching methodologies and offered new opportunities to enhance learning experiences. It identifies gaps in digital learning modalities for undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students and discusses strategies to strengthen online literacy preparation and transition into the healthcare sector's digital transformation landscape and the 4th industrial era economy. The chapter examines best practices and challenges in digital transformation in nursing education such as blended learning environments, simulation and virtual reality, mobile learning applications and gamification strategies. Additionally, it addresses challenges in curriculum development including insufficient technological infrastructure, faculty training and development, assessment strategies and resistance to change among faculty and students. This chapter aims to provide insights and recommendations for educators, curriculum developers and policymakers in implementing successful digital transformation in nursing education.
Details
Keywords
Paula Shaw and Sarah Rawlinson
The chapter discusses pedagogical models of digital learning in the United Kingdom with a focus on online and blended learning, rolled out as a case study in one university. The…
Abstract
The chapter discusses pedagogical models of digital learning in the United Kingdom with a focus on online and blended learning, rolled out as a case study in one university. The chapter appraises the effectiveness of the model that implemented and foregrounded the evidence in the wider literature on models of digital learning in higher education. The chapter provides thematic analysis and methodological opportunities for the improvement of practice and presents a set of implementation implications and pitfalls to avoid for higher education institutions in Africa. Furthermore, a number of trends regarding the blending of learning and communication synchrony in digital learning have also been identified.
Details
Keywords
The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled higher education institutions (HEIs) to rethink, redesign, and respond in real time. The dramatic closure of education institutions in South…
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled higher education institutions (HEIs) to rethink, redesign, and respond in real time. The dramatic closure of education institutions in South Africa, and in other countries worldwide, raised several questions in terms of the adaptability and readiness of the HEI sector to adapt and respond to the changes. The changes called into question issues such as in-person teaching and learning practices, digital resources, academic staff and student readiness for learning in digital environments, and connectivity and access to internet services and facilities. As a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis, the roles of academics and students have changed drastically. This has prompted worldwide scrutiny of teaching and learning in a way never experienced. The implementation of sustainable pedagogical approaches requires broad consultation particularly with key stakeholders such as academics and students. Lack of academic and student engagement can gravely affect the sustainability of any new pedagogical models that are rolled out. The aim of this chapter is to appraise the voices of students and academics working in teacher education during the rapid, unplanned, move to digital teaching and learning. Using an interpretative paradigm and case study design that involved online class observations and personal interviews with professors, lecturers and students, the chapter reports on the distress, discomfort, and frustration that students and staff in emergency remote teaching and learning suffered. The experience resulted from, inter alia, uneven access to digital literacy, mental health support, power generation supply, and digital learning and information communication technologies. Framed within notions of humanising pedagogy, the chapter provides critical reflections on lessons learnt from these voices.
Details
Keywords
In 2018, a group of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Switzerland started discussing the future of education. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their initial ideas and…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2018, a group of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Switzerland started discussing the future of education. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their initial ideas and solutions were tested in the unpredictable, emergency online setting. This study aims to use student and faculty member perceptions to outline the future of higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on eight surveys from students and faculty members at one Swiss HEI in business studies. While many previous studies focus on one group or one moment in time, this study examines the future of business education from both perspectives and traces the responses throughout the pandemic.
Findings
Teaching and learning strategies and perceptions evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, despite the potential, many HEIs simply reverted to normal instead of adapting to the “new normal”. Conversely, some HEIs have continued using the same exercises and tools that were used in the emergency remote pandemic-mode, without adapting or reflecting on the current learning environment. Based on the findings, both students and faculty members have increased their interest and proficiency in using digital tools although the students remained more open toward the opportunities of digital teaching and learning.
Originality/value
Based on the results, this study offers a model for the future of education that HEIs could implement when moving forward, whether on campus or online.
Details
Keywords
Institutional, national and international educational communities are all, without any exception, facing challenging situations to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the…
Abstract
Institutional, national and international educational communities are all, without any exception, facing challenging situations to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the education systems. Mauritius has taken several initiatives towards remote and digital learning to maintain the continuity of teaching and learning during the temporary COVID-19 related closures of educational institutions. For instance, in line with the recommendations of the Digital Education for All (DEFA), Reaching Out All (RAO) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 1957 Education Act was amended to make provision for staffs of educational institutions to conduct online teaching and learning, and produce video lessons to be broadcasted on the national TV for those who do not have internet connectivity. Though considered laudable by many, a second school of thought believe that such digital initiatives can become the vector of digital divide furthering inequality and social injustice in the country.
To understand the impacts of the COVID-19–related initiatives on digital divide in Mauritius, this chapter will guide through the sections namely (1) Impacts of COVID-19 on the Mauritian economy, (2) Impacts of COVID-19 on the Mauritian education system, (3) The Government initiatives towards remote and digital education, (4) Impacts of the digital initiatives on the digital education and digital divide in Mauritius and (5) The way forward to reduce digital divide and inequalities while shifting towards remote teaching and learning.
Details
Keywords
Philipp Pohlenz, Annika Felix, Sarah Berndt and Markus Seyfried
This paper aims to investigate student subgroups’ responses to the coercive digitalisation of teaching and learning processes during the pandemic. Respective variance is discussed…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate student subgroups’ responses to the coercive digitalisation of teaching and learning processes during the pandemic. Respective variance is discussed in terms of digital inequality and is interpreted as a need to individualise teaching and learning and quality assurance practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data from surveys (N = 955) on student perceptions of the introduction of emergency digitalisation – an important aspect of higher education. The authors perform latent class analyses to identify student subgroups. The students were asked to rate digital learning processes and their overall learning experiences.
Findings
The identified student subgroups are proponents, pragmatics and sceptics of digitalised teaching and learning processes. These subgroups have different preferences with regard to teaching and learning modes of delivery, which implies the relevance of individualised educational services and respective quality assurance practices to reflections on improvement needs.
Research limitations/implications
The data are from a single, typical German university; therefore, the scope of the results may be limited. However, this study enriches future research on the traits of student subgroups and students’ coping strategies in an ever-changing learning environment.
Practical implications
The findings may help individualise universities’ counselling services to enhance overall teaching performance and quality assurance practices in a digitalised environment.
Originality/value
The findings provide insights into students’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on teaching and learning. This paper enriches the research on student heterogeneity and relates this to development needs of quality assurance practice.
Details