Motivation and engagement is hard to maintain in e-learning. Metaphor entertains and motivates pa... more Motivation and engagement is hard to maintain in e-learning. Metaphor entertains and motivates participants in virtual environments. After teaching and researching several courses designed around metaphors, we examined its effect on intrinsic motivation in a course based on a virtual soccer tournament. Using a qualitative methodology to investigate students' use of metaphor in communications, the Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 2001) served as framework to analyse the relationship between the metaphor and intrinsic motivation. We found that there was more copious use of metaphor in the online social discussions, and that it was used for targets of immediate importance and emotional value. Scarce metaphors in reflective journals mapped onto the learning experience. Social constructivist course design required engagement from students that supposed motivation. Unmotivated students were passive, and disrupted the activities of others. Disengaged students can er...
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) provid... more The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) provides a theoretical model of online learning processes that has been used by many scholars and practitioners in the field of online education. The CoI framework is a constructivist process model which assumes that effective online learning requires the development of community, and so views learning in online environments as a function of the interactions of three elements: social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Although it was originally developed as the conceptual foundation for content analyses of online discussion, researchers with an interest in the model have developed survey instruments based on CoI content indicators, and most recently several researchers have joined together to create and validate a common CoI survey that measures student perceptions of the three presences across classes and institutions (Arbaugh, Cleveland-Innes, Diaz, Garrison, D. R., Ice, Ri...
Architecture students’ main subject at the University of Pretoria is design, which is learned in ... more Architecture students’ main subject at the University of Pretoria is design, which is learned in a studio environment. Other theoretical subjects are taught in traditional lectures and support design. To ease communication regarding the theoretical subjects, a second year class started a FaceBook (FB) group near the end of their second year (2010). Its aim was to share resources, have discussions and coordinate class activities and group work. The research question of this paper is: How did the Facebook group influence the social and teaching presence in this class. After completion of their 3-year degree, a large sample of the class completed the quantitative CoI survey instrument. One researcher was a student in this class who participated in the FB forum, and, heeding participant consent and ethical clearance captured data directly from FB and analysed the FB posts according to the CoI framework. Analysis of the FB transcripts showed that during the active period of the group, st...
Due to pressure to deliver more Chartered Accountants, the pass-rate of first-year accounting stu... more Due to pressure to deliver more Chartered Accountants, the pass-rate of first-year accounting students had to increase. Students who did not take accounting at school particularly needed extra tuition and support to reach the required standard. Poor success rates could be attributed to insufficient theoretical learning and poor time management characterized by cramming before tests. The intervention that aimed to redress those problems was weekly online quizzes that students could complete in their own time that contained feedback and easily understood explanations. In order to create and sustain an adequate database of suitable questions, the tutors who facilitated additional work sessions and understood the pitfalls in the theory, helped the lecturers to compile the questions and participated in quality control. Quizzes and feedback helped students to pace themselves, understand the terms and prepare for tests. The pass-rate increased from 57 to 75%.
Students live a virtual life in social media, presumably spending most of their attention and ene... more Students live a virtual life in social media, presumably spending most of their attention and energy staying in social contact. Academics often hold the opinion that students’ presence in social media forums is to the detriment of the presence in real classes. Some academics initiate Facebook (FB) groups for their classes and participate with their students in discussions related to their studies. In other classes, the students start their own Facebook group for peers in the course, and converse on topics of their own choice, without lecturers or other academic staff participating. Any significant learning activity occurring in a FB forum might contribute to the blended learning profile of such a class, similar to incorporating discussion forums in a learning management system. In order to extend knowledge regarding the use of the social forum, it is worthwhile to explore which purposes students had to converse in that forum. The Community of Inquiry framework (CoI) is a valid metho...
Change in South Africa comes slowly, particularly regarding delivery modes in higher education. T... more Change in South Africa comes slowly, particularly regarding delivery modes in higher education. The transition from contact teaching to blended learning is hampered by inadequate Internet connectivity, costs and reluctance to part with tradition. However, enormous growth in student numbers that strains University infrastructure and lecturing capacity dictates a change towards a blended learning model. The Diamond metaphor was developed to showcase good examples of blended learning in a variety of disciplines at the University of Pretoria, intending to enable lecturers to visualise and design blended learning in their own courses. This visual metaphor also encompasses the setting that holds the gem, representing the context. This includes a particular lecturer’s teaching philosophy, and challenges and affordances in the course. The multifaceted diamond itself represents the unique blend of delivery modes for each course in terms of activities, assessment and the overall value added.
The success rate in online courses is often disappointing. Despite unique advantages, loneliness ... more The success rate in online courses is often disappointing. Despite unique advantages, loneliness can threaten success. Allegedly, online students learn equally well as their classroom peers, possibly achieving better cognitive outcomes and retention of learning material. Some dispute the necessity for interaction and propose that students can learn enough without active participation merely by observing their peers. We therefore investigated the following question: What is the relationship between online participation and successful course outcomes? The sub-questions are: How does peer review contribute to success? and: How does collaborative learning contribute to success? In this study, we investigated a constructivist online course for Education Masters students on web-delivered learning. It included weekly theoretical assignments posted to the discussion board and students conducted designated peer-reviews. They also helped each other online. Students used the discussions to org...
The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisati... more The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisation, and new entrants into the Higher Education sector, has created an environment of constant change for those working within it. This paper discusses how seven people, in five institutions across three countries joined forces to develop their knowledge, skill and ability in conducting and reporting on educational technology research for institutional impact. Reviewed in this paper are a range of approaches adopted across the different institutions, considerations of which of these have been effective and examination of whether targeted communication strategies have helped overcome inherent barriers.
One of the most salient findings was that students had unrealistic perceptions of Accounting, thi... more One of the most salient findings was that students had unrealistic perceptions of Accounting, thinking it entailed mostly calculating numbers using established formulas. What they learnt at school did not prepare them to think wider and to solve problems. Students eschewed the ...
The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisati... more The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisation, and new entrants into the Higher Education sector, has created an environment of constant change for those working within it. This paper discusses how seven people, in five institutions across three countries joined forces to develop their knowledge, skill and ability in conducting and reporting on educational technology research for institutional impact. Reviewed in this paper are a range of approaches adopted across the different ...
Blended learning should incorporate the best of contact and online learning, allowing flexibility... more Blended learning should incorporate the best of contact and online learning, allowing flexibility while retaining connectedness. Therefore, designing effective instruction requires research-informed choices. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey is a well-validated instrument measuring social-, teaching- and cognitive presences in e-learning that reflect the quality of e-learning courses (Garrison, Anderson and Archer 2000). We compared the CoI results of two blended postgraduate courses: one predominantly online and the other mostly in contact mode, taught by the same lecturer. The end-of-course deliverable for both courses in research methodology was a research proposal. Both courses utilised the learning management system (LMS), while students with insufficient Internet access communicated via email or telephone. Both courses included the two-tiered double-blind electronic peer review of assignments. One group had weekly contact sessions, and the other only an initial welcoming session. We discuss using peer review for formative feedback as a particularly beneficial strategy to facilitate teaching effectively in such large classes, and the limitations thereof. The CoI survey showed the strengths of the online environment, with very strong teaching presences due to good organisation, comprehensive online supportive documentation, and automated feedback. High cognitive presence was due to peer review; strong constructive alignment between objectives, activities and assessment; and in the online class due to the constructivist teaching practice of fostering student ownership of outcomes. In both classes social presence was the weakest, although the contact class scored significantly higher on this presence. Low social presence did not compromise course completion in any group
The establishment of an online community is widely held as the most important prerequisite for su... more The establishment of an online community is widely held as the most important prerequisite for successful course completion and depends on an interaction between a peer group and a facilitator. Beaudoin reasoned that online students sometimes engage and learn even when not taking part in online discussions. The context of this study was an online course on web-based education for a Masters degree in computer-integrated education at the University of Pretoria. We used a mixed methodology approach to investigate how online activity and discussion postings relate to learning and course completion. We also investigated how student collaborative behaviour and integration into the community related to success. Although the quantitative indices measured showed highly significant differences between the stratifications of student performance, there were notable exceptions unexplained by the trends. The class harboured a well-functioning online learning
community. We also uncovered the discontent students in the learning community felt for invisible students who were absent without reason from group assignments or who made shallow and insufficient contributions. Student online visibility and participation can take many forms, like read-only participants who skim over or
deliberately harvest others’ discussions. Other students can be highly visible without contributing. Students who anticipate limited access due to poor connectivity, high costs or other reasons can manage their log-in time effectively and gain maximum benefit. Absent and seldom contributing students risk forsaking the benefits of the virtual learning community. High quality contributions rather than quantity builds trust among mature students. We suggest how to avoid read-only-participation:
communicate the required number of online classroom postings; encourage submission of high quality, thoughtful postings; grade discussions and give formative feedback; award individual grades for group projects and rotate members of groups; augment facilitator communication with Internet-independent media to
convey important information. Read-only-participants disrupt the formation of a virtual community of learners and compromise learning.
Motivation and engagement is hard to maintain in e-learning. Metaphor entertains and motivates pa... more Motivation and engagement is hard to maintain in e-learning. Metaphor entertains and motivates participants in virtual environments. After teaching and researching several courses designed around metaphors, we examined its effect on intrinsic motivation in a course based on a virtual soccer tournament. Using a qualitative methodology to investigate students' use of metaphor in communications, the Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 2001) served as framework to analyse the relationship between the metaphor and intrinsic motivation. We found that there was more copious use of metaphor in the online social discussions, and that it was used for targets of immediate importance and emotional value. Scarce metaphors in reflective journals mapped onto the learning experience. Social constructivist course design required engagement from students that supposed motivation. Unmotivated students were passive, and disrupted the activities of others. Disengaged students can er...
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) provid... more The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) provides a theoretical model of online learning processes that has been used by many scholars and practitioners in the field of online education. The CoI framework is a constructivist process model which assumes that effective online learning requires the development of community, and so views learning in online environments as a function of the interactions of three elements: social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Although it was originally developed as the conceptual foundation for content analyses of online discussion, researchers with an interest in the model have developed survey instruments based on CoI content indicators, and most recently several researchers have joined together to create and validate a common CoI survey that measures student perceptions of the three presences across classes and institutions (Arbaugh, Cleveland-Innes, Diaz, Garrison, D. R., Ice, Ri...
Architecture students’ main subject at the University of Pretoria is design, which is learned in ... more Architecture students’ main subject at the University of Pretoria is design, which is learned in a studio environment. Other theoretical subjects are taught in traditional lectures and support design. To ease communication regarding the theoretical subjects, a second year class started a FaceBook (FB) group near the end of their second year (2010). Its aim was to share resources, have discussions and coordinate class activities and group work. The research question of this paper is: How did the Facebook group influence the social and teaching presence in this class. After completion of their 3-year degree, a large sample of the class completed the quantitative CoI survey instrument. One researcher was a student in this class who participated in the FB forum, and, heeding participant consent and ethical clearance captured data directly from FB and analysed the FB posts according to the CoI framework. Analysis of the FB transcripts showed that during the active period of the group, st...
Due to pressure to deliver more Chartered Accountants, the pass-rate of first-year accounting stu... more Due to pressure to deliver more Chartered Accountants, the pass-rate of first-year accounting students had to increase. Students who did not take accounting at school particularly needed extra tuition and support to reach the required standard. Poor success rates could be attributed to insufficient theoretical learning and poor time management characterized by cramming before tests. The intervention that aimed to redress those problems was weekly online quizzes that students could complete in their own time that contained feedback and easily understood explanations. In order to create and sustain an adequate database of suitable questions, the tutors who facilitated additional work sessions and understood the pitfalls in the theory, helped the lecturers to compile the questions and participated in quality control. Quizzes and feedback helped students to pace themselves, understand the terms and prepare for tests. The pass-rate increased from 57 to 75%.
Students live a virtual life in social media, presumably spending most of their attention and ene... more Students live a virtual life in social media, presumably spending most of their attention and energy staying in social contact. Academics often hold the opinion that students’ presence in social media forums is to the detriment of the presence in real classes. Some academics initiate Facebook (FB) groups for their classes and participate with their students in discussions related to their studies. In other classes, the students start their own Facebook group for peers in the course, and converse on topics of their own choice, without lecturers or other academic staff participating. Any significant learning activity occurring in a FB forum might contribute to the blended learning profile of such a class, similar to incorporating discussion forums in a learning management system. In order to extend knowledge regarding the use of the social forum, it is worthwhile to explore which purposes students had to converse in that forum. The Community of Inquiry framework (CoI) is a valid metho...
Change in South Africa comes slowly, particularly regarding delivery modes in higher education. T... more Change in South Africa comes slowly, particularly regarding delivery modes in higher education. The transition from contact teaching to blended learning is hampered by inadequate Internet connectivity, costs and reluctance to part with tradition. However, enormous growth in student numbers that strains University infrastructure and lecturing capacity dictates a change towards a blended learning model. The Diamond metaphor was developed to showcase good examples of blended learning in a variety of disciplines at the University of Pretoria, intending to enable lecturers to visualise and design blended learning in their own courses. This visual metaphor also encompasses the setting that holds the gem, representing the context. This includes a particular lecturer’s teaching philosophy, and challenges and affordances in the course. The multifaceted diamond itself represents the unique blend of delivery modes for each course in terms of activities, assessment and the overall value added.
The success rate in online courses is often disappointing. Despite unique advantages, loneliness ... more The success rate in online courses is often disappointing. Despite unique advantages, loneliness can threaten success. Allegedly, online students learn equally well as their classroom peers, possibly achieving better cognitive outcomes and retention of learning material. Some dispute the necessity for interaction and propose that students can learn enough without active participation merely by observing their peers. We therefore investigated the following question: What is the relationship between online participation and successful course outcomes? The sub-questions are: How does peer review contribute to success? and: How does collaborative learning contribute to success? In this study, we investigated a constructivist online course for Education Masters students on web-delivered learning. It included weekly theoretical assignments posted to the discussion board and students conducted designated peer-reviews. They also helped each other online. Students used the discussions to org...
The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisati... more The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisation, and new entrants into the Higher Education sector, has created an environment of constant change for those working within it. This paper discusses how seven people, in five institutions across three countries joined forces to develop their knowledge, skill and ability in conducting and reporting on educational technology research for institutional impact. Reviewed in this paper are a range of approaches adopted across the different institutions, considerations of which of these have been effective and examination of whether targeted communication strategies have helped overcome inherent barriers.
One of the most salient findings was that students had unrealistic perceptions of Accounting, thi... more One of the most salient findings was that students had unrealistic perceptions of Accounting, thinking it entailed mostly calculating numbers using established formulas. What they learnt at school did not prepare them to think wider and to solve problems. Students eschewed the ...
The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisati... more The advance of educational technology coupled with competitive forces, ever-increasing digitisation, and new entrants into the Higher Education sector, has created an environment of constant change for those working within it. This paper discusses how seven people, in five institutions across three countries joined forces to develop their knowledge, skill and ability in conducting and reporting on educational technology research for institutional impact. Reviewed in this paper are a range of approaches adopted across the different ...
Blended learning should incorporate the best of contact and online learning, allowing flexibility... more Blended learning should incorporate the best of contact and online learning, allowing flexibility while retaining connectedness. Therefore, designing effective instruction requires research-informed choices. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey is a well-validated instrument measuring social-, teaching- and cognitive presences in e-learning that reflect the quality of e-learning courses (Garrison, Anderson and Archer 2000). We compared the CoI results of two blended postgraduate courses: one predominantly online and the other mostly in contact mode, taught by the same lecturer. The end-of-course deliverable for both courses in research methodology was a research proposal. Both courses utilised the learning management system (LMS), while students with insufficient Internet access communicated via email or telephone. Both courses included the two-tiered double-blind electronic peer review of assignments. One group had weekly contact sessions, and the other only an initial welcoming session. We discuss using peer review for formative feedback as a particularly beneficial strategy to facilitate teaching effectively in such large classes, and the limitations thereof. The CoI survey showed the strengths of the online environment, with very strong teaching presences due to good organisation, comprehensive online supportive documentation, and automated feedback. High cognitive presence was due to peer review; strong constructive alignment between objectives, activities and assessment; and in the online class due to the constructivist teaching practice of fostering student ownership of outcomes. In both classes social presence was the weakest, although the contact class scored significantly higher on this presence. Low social presence did not compromise course completion in any group
The establishment of an online community is widely held as the most important prerequisite for su... more The establishment of an online community is widely held as the most important prerequisite for successful course completion and depends on an interaction between a peer group and a facilitator. Beaudoin reasoned that online students sometimes engage and learn even when not taking part in online discussions. The context of this study was an online course on web-based education for a Masters degree in computer-integrated education at the University of Pretoria. We used a mixed methodology approach to investigate how online activity and discussion postings relate to learning and course completion. We also investigated how student collaborative behaviour and integration into the community related to success. Although the quantitative indices measured showed highly significant differences between the stratifications of student performance, there were notable exceptions unexplained by the trends. The class harboured a well-functioning online learning
community. We also uncovered the discontent students in the learning community felt for invisible students who were absent without reason from group assignments or who made shallow and insufficient contributions. Student online visibility and participation can take many forms, like read-only participants who skim over or
deliberately harvest others’ discussions. Other students can be highly visible without contributing. Students who anticipate limited access due to poor connectivity, high costs or other reasons can manage their log-in time effectively and gain maximum benefit. Absent and seldom contributing students risk forsaking the benefits of the virtual learning community. High quality contributions rather than quantity builds trust among mature students. We suggest how to avoid read-only-participation:
communicate the required number of online classroom postings; encourage submission of high quality, thoughtful postings; grade discussions and give formative feedback; award individual grades for group projects and rotate members of groups; augment facilitator communication with Internet-independent media to
convey important information. Read-only-participants disrupt the formation of a virtual community of learners and compromise learning.
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community. We also uncovered the discontent students in the learning community felt for invisible students who were absent without reason from group assignments or who made shallow and insufficient contributions. Student online visibility and participation can take many forms, like read-only participants who skim over or
deliberately harvest others’ discussions. Other students can be highly visible without contributing. Students who anticipate limited access due to poor connectivity, high costs or other reasons can manage their log-in time effectively and gain maximum benefit. Absent and seldom contributing students risk forsaking the benefits of the virtual learning community. High quality contributions rather than quantity builds trust among mature students. We suggest how to avoid read-only-participation:
communicate the required number of online classroom postings; encourage submission of high quality, thoughtful postings; grade discussions and give formative feedback; award individual grades for group projects and rotate members of groups; augment facilitator communication with Internet-independent media to
convey important information. Read-only-participants disrupt the formation of a virtual community of learners and compromise learning.
community. We also uncovered the discontent students in the learning community felt for invisible students who were absent without reason from group assignments or who made shallow and insufficient contributions. Student online visibility and participation can take many forms, like read-only participants who skim over or
deliberately harvest others’ discussions. Other students can be highly visible without contributing. Students who anticipate limited access due to poor connectivity, high costs or other reasons can manage their log-in time effectively and gain maximum benefit. Absent and seldom contributing students risk forsaking the benefits of the virtual learning community. High quality contributions rather than quantity builds trust among mature students. We suggest how to avoid read-only-participation:
communicate the required number of online classroom postings; encourage submission of high quality, thoughtful postings; grade discussions and give formative feedback; award individual grades for group projects and rotate members of groups; augment facilitator communication with Internet-independent media to
convey important information. Read-only-participants disrupt the formation of a virtual community of learners and compromise learning.