Emerging Learning Technologies Research Articles

The reality of e-Learning: Success and failure of learning management system

A learning management system (LMS) is a digital learning platform for developing, delivering, and managing courses, learning resources, activities, and assessments (to name but a few). Traditional classroom-based, online, blended, and distance learning are all possible learning methods that could be executed in LMSs. Learning management systems and associated tools have brought significant benefits to higher education institutions worldwide, including improved content deliverability, accessibility, and retrievability. This is also valid in the case of Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED), Nepal. In 2011, KUSOED launched LMS and continued online and blended learning practices. The LMS follows a social constructivist approach to education, allowing educational stakeholders (parents, students, leaders, facilitators) to engage in learning activities to scaffold the learning experiences. However, the perception of LMS as only a management system for storing data limits the implications of fostering learning through a technology-integrated education model. This article aims to discuss the success and failure aspects of LMS in the context of the KUSOED. The discussion will cover various perspectives on LMS as an emerging learning technology and draw conclusions based on our experiences at KUSOED. For the success aspects of LMS, we discovered four factors: sign-in, resources and learning management, content management, and integration. Nevertheless, for the failure aspects, we found content creation and sharing, communicative features, course structures, learning engagement, and assessment. Overall, this research has implications for educational institutions, instructors, developers, and system providers. These stakeholders can make more informed decisions about implementing and using these systems to their fullest potential in learning.

Special Issue on Emerging Learning Technologies and Systems Thinking: Here’s to New Beginnings

Special Issue on Emerging Learning Technologies and Systems Thinking: Here’s to New Beginnings

Digital inclusion for social inclusion. Case study on digital literacy

The aim of this research is to identify the differences in access to technologies and digital skills of the population according to their socioeconomic characteristics and to analyse the opportunities offered by new emerging learning environments to promote the social inclusion of vulnerable groups. The digital divide is defined as inequality in the access, use, or impact of information and communication technologies (ICT), and, to address it, it is necessary to build on the conceptual frameworks developed in research to date. This study seeks to 1) identify the main difficulties in digital access and skills and 2) explore what the adoption, design, development, and adaptation of emerging learning technologies mean for the most disadvantaged groups. A quantitative, research design was used. The results obtained show that there are differences in digital skills and access according to education and income level. Different statistical analyses were used, such as non-parametric tests and tests of association between variables. The survey was carried out on a proportional sample of 400 people in La Rioja (Spain). Data was collected through online and face-to-face surveys. A quantitative approach was implemented in the first phase. In the second phase, students of the Social Work degree programme, social work professionals, and users of the Senior Citizens' Center (older adults) were included. The qualitative research is based on the development of digital literacy, which seeks to test and provide new insights into the use of innovative learning-teaching methodologies, with digital materials (micro videos), to promote the use and knowledge of ICT as a means of bridging social (as well as digital) divides.

The Cloud-powered Hybrid Learning Process to Enhance Digital Natives’ Analytical Reading Skills

Analytical reading is a necessary cognitive skill for advancing to other skills required in the digital age. Thailand is focused on the instructional development and use of digital media to enhance the digital natives' analytical reading skills, which will assist learners of all ages in effectively and quickly adapting to changes in the digital environment. After the COVID-19 pandemic situation, educational institutions in Thailand have begun to embrace a hybrid learning approach like never before. The limitations of the existing learning process for boosting digital natives’ analytical reading skills are the lack of integration between reading techniques, hybrid pedagogies, and emerging learning technologies to enhance learners' seamless learning experiences. Thus, this study aims to propose the Cloud-powered Hybrid Learning process (Cp-HL process) to enhance digital natives’ analytical reading skills. This study consisted of two main stages in the research methodology: 1) learning p ocess development; and 2) learning process evaluation. The developed Cp-HL process had four main learning phases: (1) preparation for hybrid learning; (2) presentation for interactive learning; (3) practice with analytical reading; and (4) progress reports on analytical reading skills. All the experts agreed that the newly developed Cp-HL process performed extremely well in terms of overall suitability.

Informing the design of a multisensory learning environment for elementary mathematics learning

It is well known that primary school children may face difficulties in acquiring mathematical competence, possibly because teaching is generally based on formal lessons with little opportunity to exploit more multisensory-based activities within the classroom. To overcome such difficulties, we report here the exemplary design of a novel multisensory learning environment for teaching mathematical concepts based on meaningful inputs from elementary school teachers. First, we developed and administered a questionnaire to 101 teachers asking them to rate based on their experience the learning difficulty for specific arithmetical and geometrical concepts encountered by elementary school children. Additionally, the questionnaire investigated the feasibility to use multisensory information to teach mathematical concepts. Results show that challenging concepts differ depending on children school level, thus providing a guidance to improve teaching strategies and the design of new and emerging learning technologies accordingly. Second, we obtained specific and practical design inputs with workshops involving elementary school teachers and children. Altogether, these findings are used to inform the design of emerging multimodal technological applications, that take advantage not only of vision but also of other sensory modalities. In the present work, we describe in detail one exemplary multisensory environment design based on the questionnaire results and design ideas from the workshops: the Space Shapes game, which exploits visual and haptic/proprioceptive sensory information to support mental rotation, 2D–3D transformation and percentages. Corroborating research evidence in neuroscience and pedagogy, our work presents a functional approach to develop novel multimodal user interfaces to improve education in the classroom.

Testing Testing (Grade) 1, 2, 3: Assessing the Crisis of Quality Education in Kenya Amid COVID-19

The Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the education sector, and posed insurmountable challenges to achieving quality education. Learning has been impeded, causing regression in knowledge and skills, and learners remain excluded from the attendant social, safety and security benefits associated with school attendance. Equally, social and physical distancing regulations have inspired new education innovations, and stakeholders have come up with adaptive and innovation solutions to ensure that learning continues. This paper aims to assess the status of education in Kenya, and the implications of the pandemic on access, equity and quality of education. It draws on desktop and online research including legal research and analysis of case law, statutes and journal articles, to investigate quality standards in education in Kenya. The legal and policy analysis undertaken by this paper is instructive, and can provide valuable pointers to stakeholders seeking to implement quality assurance in education.This paper finds that in response to the pandemic, the government is seeking to leverage and expand on the its Digital Literacy Programme for basic education, and that higher education institutions are expanding open, distance and electronic learning in order to remain relevant, accessible and globally competitive amid the global public health crisis and the internationalization and globalization university education. As learning shifts to incorporate emerging learning technologies such as online or digital learning and low-technology solutions such as broadcast learning, members of vulnerable groups including persons differently-abled continue to face exclusion from access to education. The 2019 Census finds that only an estimated 47.3 per cent of Kenyans have access to mobile phones, and 10 percent have access to computer technology. Additionally, internet penetration rates are at a record low of 22 per cent. Kenya has adequate legal frameworks and human rights standards of protection of the right to education, and to equitable access of relevant, quality education. However, poor governance structures including weak implementation of policies, laws and accountability frameworks are threatening access, equity and quality education in Kenya. This paper suggests that adequate funding of education and with particular emphasis and priority to the needs of members of vulnerable groups, backed with political good, can help to advance national goals and aspirations of equity, inclusion and non-discrimination in all spheres of life, and especially in education.

Preface: Reflections on the waves of emerging learning technologies

There have been many waves of emerging learning technologies over the past few decades. Some of these waves are extended, some waves are connected, and other waves are repeated. The authors discuss the special journal issue from the standpoint of their personal involvement in many such waves during their careers. They also detail the evolution of this special issue and the potential audiences and stakeholders for it. In the end, they pose several questions and points to ponder in looking toward the future.

The research we have is not the research we need.

The special issue “A Synthesis of Systematic Review Research on Emerging Learning Environments and Technologies” edited by Drs. Florence Martin, Vanessa Dennen, and Curtis Bonk has assembled a noteworthy collection of systematic review articles, each focusing on a different aspect of emerging learning technologies. In this conclusion, we focus on these evidence-based reviews and their practical implications for practitioners as well as future researchers. While recognizing the merits of these reviews, we conclude our analysis by encouraging readers to consider conducting educational design research to address serious problems related to teaching, learning, and performance, collaborating more closely with teachers, administrators, and other practitioners in tackling these problems, and always striving to make a difference in the lives of learners around the world.

Mobile and emerging learning technologies: are we ready?

ABSTRACT Several learning technologies have been explored in higher education around the world. Learning has become more mobile, massive, open, flexible, blended, informal, audio-visual based, highly collaborative, and activity driven. While the traditional classroom still exists, it is being challenged. Increasingly checking emails in front of a PC or making phone calls are being replaced by students using their mobile phones to post on blogs, conduct Facebook chats, manage Instagram photos, submit assignments and directly access to learning resources. Teachers require more advanced skills or competencies to use mobile and digital forms of representation in order to make the content and activity more engaging, accessible, convenient and customised. Teachers need skills in developing technological and pedagogical content knowledge and activities. This paper explores how mobile and emerging learning technologies have been used in the face-to-face classroom through examining the three distinct trends, namely, engaged learning, convenient learning, and customised and personalised learning. It explores the different trends in well-designed and equipped classrooms in a private tertiary college. The specific examples and cases were drawn from a study focussed on “Representational Fluency”, specifically designed to make conceptual connections between representations and how learners change their communication behaviour while using various mobile apps and emerging tools.

EDITORIAL: Human Computer Interaction and Emerging Learning Technologies

When we design learning environments that incorporate new technologies, we need to consider many issues. One of these is human computer interaction (HCI). HCI has evolving into an interdisciplinary field that includes computer science, learning science, psychology, graphic design and media design, as well as several others. Devising effective HCI in highly immersive and participatory environments is the future work of learning technologists and instructional designers.

COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY AND LEARNING IN IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS

This paper describes an exploratory, observational study using a purposive sample selection to determine if the presence indicators of the well regarded Community of Inquiry model can be a useful tool to observe and assess learning events which use a Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE) as the mode of delivery [1]. Specific research questions addressed include whether the Community of Inquiry is recognizable in a MUVE learning environment, if new presence indicators are required if observing a MUVE learning event and finally, does the community of inquiry offer a base rubric to determine the educational effectiveness of learning events which take place in a MUVE? The results are promising; while new presence indicators add breadth to understanding the nature of learning in an immersiveenvironment the core construct of the community of inquiry does indeed transfer to this emerging learning technology.

Designing a suitable learning technology for an authentic science classroom: reflection from WISE and smart classrooms

Different emerging learning technologies provide new insights into the utility of educational applications. However, their proper integration for collaborative problem solving in authentic science classrooms remains a complex challenge for researchers and stakeholders. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of two systematic works on design learning technologies for authentic science classrooms. The first study concerns the web-based inquiry science environment (WISE) research team from the University of California Berkeley, and the second involves the smart classroom research team from the University of Toronto. Such in-depth analyses will further enhance our understanding of the role of technology in the classroom context and offer a systematic reflection on designing suitable learning technologies for authentic science classrooms.

The Meaningful Integration of Emerging Learning Technologies

The Meaningful Integration of Emerging Learning Technologies

Model for the enhancement of learning in higher education through the deployment of emerging technologies

PurposeChange is the operative word in higher education; as roles shift, classrooms are reinvented, and content becomes increasingly more accessible. At the core of these changes is the pervasiveness of learning technology. This papers aims to propose a model for the selection and adoption of emerging learning technologies to enhance learning within the context of higher education.Design/methodology/approachHigher education institutions are resorting to the deployment of learning technologies to address the demands of the twenty-first century learners and to ascertain their competitiveness. This paper draws from the literature to provide a model, composed of five key characteristics of learning, to support the selection and adoption of emerging learning technologies.FindingsThe model posits that the attainment of each of these five characteristics, personalised, ubiquitous, collaborative, lifelong and authentic needs to be supported by corresponding technologies: adaptive learning technologies, artificial intelligence, mobile technology, social technology, massive open online courses, virtual and augmented reality, gamification and the Internet of Things.Originality/valueHigher education is progressively being displaced from the traditional classroom, and as it progresses towards online settings, it requires the support of technology to facilitate that transference. In examining the potential of future learning technologies, this paper contributes to a growing body of research that focuses on the benefits of technology within higher education and assists educators in the selection and adoption of the most relevant technologies.

Supporting and Enabling Scholarship: Developing and Sharing Expertise in Online Learning and Teaching

In a highly competitive, rapidly changing higher education market, universities need to be able to generate pedagogical expertise quickly and ensure that it is applied to practice. Since teaching approaches are constantly evolving, partly responding to emerging learning technologies, there is a need to foster ways to keep abreast on an ongoing basis. This paper explores how a small-scale project, the Teaching Online Panel (TOP), used scholarship investigations and a bottom-up approach to enhance one particular aspect of academic practice – online learning and teaching. The experiences of TOP are useful for identifying: 
 
 how a scholarship approach can help develop academic expertise
 its contribution to enhancing understanding of staff’s different roles in the University
 ways of developing the necessary supportive network for those undertaking such scholarship
 the effectiveness of staff development which is peer-led rather than imposed from above
 how practical examples can stimulate practice development
 the relevance of literature on communities of practice and landscapes of practice for scholarship
 the important role of ‘brokers’ to facilitate the dissemination of scholarship findings
 the benefits to the brokers’ own professional roles
 the challenges of sustaining such an approach and lessons learnt.
 
 This study has relevance for those involved in supporting scholarship or delivering staff development in Higher Education.

Using Google Tools for Online Coursework: Student Perceptions

Traditional, institutionally supported learning management systems (LMSs) provide many features and benefits; however, most LMSs do not provide tools and features that are comparable with emerging learning technologies. In addition, since many LMS products require expensive licensing agreements or support teams, these tools are not necessarily the best models for users who may wish to implement their own online learning initiatives. In this paper, an evaluation of the use of Google Sites and Google+ in place of several LMS components for an online graduate-level course will be reported. Data were gathered from students over multiple offerings of a course that utilized Google tools for information presentation and discussion. Participants provided personal perceptions and reactions to using the Google platform, in general, as well as feedback and comparative opinions between the Google platform and previous experiences using the institutionally supported LMS.

Facilitating Online Continuing Professional Development Opportunities in Technology-Enhanced Learning: the TELTA approach

Information and communication technologies are fundamentally changing the way we live our lives. However, despite these huge societal changes, it is widely recognised that the potential of ICTs for enhancing teaching and learning has not yet been capitalised on in higher education, with traditional pedagogical methods still predominating. However it is crucial that educators are receptive to the potential of ICTs and that they have a sound understanding of this potential and how to capitalise on it. TELTA (Technology-Enhanced Learning, Teaching and Assessment) is a fully online eight-week course offered by the Dublin Institute of Technology which aims to address these issues by giving participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in existing and emerging learning technologies. This paper provides a case study of the TELTA approach, exploring key areas including target audience, module goals, underpinning pedagogical framework, assessment methodologies, technologies utilised and future plans for further developing the initiative.

Constellations of Support and Impediment: Understanding Early Implementation Dynamics in the Research and Development of an Online Multimodal Writing and Peer Review Environment

In this article, the authors trace teachers' experiences while participating in an educational technology development and research project focused on the creation and use of an online writing and peer review environment. They follow teachers from their initial expectations of the program, to their response to professional development training sessions, planning sessions, student account setup, and to their initial attempts at utilizing the digital learning environment in the classroom. In so doing, the authors suggest that the path toward and away from successful classroom implementation of emerging learning technologies is a multiple, shifting, and interrelational one, influenced by constellations of factors including affect, administrator support, student buy-in, research and development team knowledge and availability, district priorities, and the amount of upheaval in the personal lives of teachers.

A simple guide to enhancing learning through web 2.0 technologies

This article describes the potential of new and emerging learning technologies to promote excellence in learning and teaching and further seeks to respond positively to the key trends in learning technologies for the higher education community. Through this article, we hope to positively enrich the student experience with technology-enhanced learning opportunities that will best suit their individual needs. It is hoped this document can act as a point of reference in order that those responsible for the development of education are aware of and make use of technology that can support learning, teaching and assessment.

The upside-down-world of e-learning

New technologies rather than educational principles and philosophieshave tended to dictate the shape of development in the world of elearning.Giving educators an active and determining rather than apassive role in the development of learning systems is vital if e-learningis to realise its transformative potential in education in the 21st century.Many of the currently available learning technologies and systems,generally devised by technicians rather than educators, have offeredlimited room for creative or effective teaching. The limitations of thesesystems – their time consuming nature and their failure to adapt thetechnology to take account of educational contexts – need to beunderstood, acknowledged and overcome. The next generation oflearning technologies and systems will only take us forward if educatorshave a much greater stake in controlling how they are developed. Thearticle identifies some key theoretical and practical issues which shouldbe given priority in newly emerging learning technologies and systems.