- University of the South Pacific, Centre fro Flexible Learning, Department Memberadd
- Learning designer with over 18 years of experience in flexible learning in higher education, skilled in designing various learning materials and program plans, while working closely with managers, executives, professionals, departments, ... moreLearning designer with over 18 years of experience in flexible learning in higher education, skilled in designing various learning materials and program plans, while working closely with managers, executives, professionals, departments, and training team members to design top-notch instructional materials for print, blended and online delivery. My interests are in using educational technology to enhance flexible learning and help learners to better understand and apply their skills in the real world. I am now more involved in project management and implementation of systems and giving pedagogical advice to academics to enhance the design and delivery of their courses/units focusing on Quality Assurance through conducting Unit Reviews.edit
In higher education, demand for online courses has risen over the years, and higher education institutes (HEIs) are investing heavily in the development and delivery of online courses. As a regional university, the University of the South... more
In higher education, demand for online courses has risen over the years, and higher education institutes (HEIs) are investing heavily in the development and delivery of online courses. As a regional university, the University of the South Pacific (USP) is no exception and has made an incremental shift from face‐to‐face and print methods to blended and fully online methods in course delivery. At USP, significant attention has been given to developing an online learning environment using the Moodle platform, upskilling academics and supporting employees to offer good experience to the learners regardless of their location. An area that needs research, however, is the study experiences of online learners. Are they getting what they expected from online learning? Are online courses intended to satisfy the styles and preferences of their learning? This study tries to answer these two questions by collecting online learners ' opinions and experiences at USP. Data were collected from 75 learners registered in 3 online courses using a questionnaire. Positive student experiences of online learning included greater flexibility, timely feedback and greater opportunities for interaction with academic and peers. Challenges identified included poor internet connectivity and lack of familiarity with the online learning management system and tools for first time online learners. Students highly rated the use of multimedia, online learning materials and online assessments as positive contributors to their learning in online courses. Most of the learners were satisfied with online course design and delivery and reported positive learning experience for the three online courses at USP. However, 20 percent of the learners were not satisfied with their online learning experience. Some aspects such as course navigation and feedback system could be improved and training of first time online learners could further improve student learning experience.
The advent of OER has been hailed by educators globally as a means through which many more people will have access to education. However, accessibility of OER have also been the subject of debate for many OER advocates and the like... more
The advent of OER has been hailed by educators globally as a means through which
many more people will have access to education. However, accessibility of OER have
also been the subject of debate for many OER advocates and the like whereby it has
been argued that it in fact limits accessibility to education for many. OER accessibility
may cover various facets such as language, design and technical. Technical accessibility
of OER in particular is quite critical given that many of the available OER reside in a
digital format and mostly available on the web although they may also be available in
other mediums (Kanwar & Stamenka, 2011).
This paper will focus on findings of a project carried out in the last quarter of 2013 by
the University of the South Pacific (USP), a regional university owned by twelve
countries in the Oceania region which aimed to address technical accessibility of OER.
The project focussed on the specific goal of finding out if OER could be "instantly"
accessed for just-in-time learning opportunities for students who are based outside the
main Fiji campus in Laucala, Suva. Twenty seven OER in the English Language Skills
discipline were selected to be part of this project and were tested in seven of the twelve
countries of the USP based upon a set of technical guidelines. Technical accessibility of
OER is perhaps contextual, however, it is hoped that the discussions of the findings and
associated recommendations from the USP will be of value to many education providers
globally who plan to utilise OER for the enhancement of their learning and teaching
landscape.
many more people will have access to education. However, accessibility of OER have
also been the subject of debate for many OER advocates and the like whereby it has
been argued that it in fact limits accessibility to education for many. OER accessibility
may cover various facets such as language, design and technical. Technical accessibility
of OER in particular is quite critical given that many of the available OER reside in a
digital format and mostly available on the web although they may also be available in
other mediums (Kanwar & Stamenka, 2011).
This paper will focus on findings of a project carried out in the last quarter of 2013 by
the University of the South Pacific (USP), a regional university owned by twelve
countries in the Oceania region which aimed to address technical accessibility of OER.
The project focussed on the specific goal of finding out if OER could be "instantly"
accessed for just-in-time learning opportunities for students who are based outside the
main Fiji campus in Laucala, Suva. Twenty seven OER in the English Language Skills
discipline were selected to be part of this project and were tested in seven of the twelve
countries of the USP based upon a set of technical guidelines. Technical accessibility of
OER is perhaps contextual, however, it is hoped that the discussions of the findings and
associated recommendations from the USP will be of value to many education providers
globally who plan to utilise OER for the enhancement of their learning and teaching
landscape.
Time is a vital consideration in the educational management of any higher education institution. This is even more critical when higher education providers are faced with the dilemma of having to keep their programmes marketable and... more
Time is a vital consideration in the educational management of any higher education institution. This is
even more critical when higher education providers are faced with the dilemma of having to keep their
programmes marketable and accessible thus ensuring more people have access to higher education
qualifications. The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a regional university that is owned by
twelve countries in the Oceania region and in its effort to address this dilemma within a reasonable
time period, it has articulated a five year Strategic Plan from 2013-2018. Specifically, Priority Area 1 of
this plan focusses on Learning and Teaching and one of its key initiatives is to undertake a large-scale
conversion of USP courses for flexible delivery [1]. This paper provides a report on a new approach
carried out by the University of the South Pacific in addressing this initiative through the flexible
delivery conversion of two undergraduate programmes in the discipline of Teacher Education and
Social Work. It will begin with a background on the design and development process at the USP
followed by a discussion of the outcomes, challenges of this new approach including suggestions for
improvement.
even more critical when higher education providers are faced with the dilemma of having to keep their
programmes marketable and accessible thus ensuring more people have access to higher education
qualifications. The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a regional university that is owned by
twelve countries in the Oceania region and in its effort to address this dilemma within a reasonable
time period, it has articulated a five year Strategic Plan from 2013-2018. Specifically, Priority Area 1 of
this plan focusses on Learning and Teaching and one of its key initiatives is to undertake a large-scale
conversion of USP courses for flexible delivery [1]. This paper provides a report on a new approach
carried out by the University of the South Pacific in addressing this initiative through the flexible
delivery conversion of two undergraduate programmes in the discipline of Teacher Education and
Social Work. It will begin with a background on the design and development process at the USP
followed by a discussion of the outcomes, challenges of this new approach including suggestions for
improvement.
The introduction of the learning management system (LMS) has been a challenge for many educational institutions in terms of providing proper training and up-skilling the teaching staff in the use of LMS and effectively incorporating it in... more
The introduction of the learning management system (LMS) has been a challenge for many educational institutions in terms of providing proper training and up-skilling the teaching staff in the use of LMS and effectively incorporating it in their teaching. The University of the South Pacific (USP) which is owned by 12 island nations and which serves almost half of the 20 thousand students through flexible learning is no exception to this. In this paper, the authors describe the initiatives taken by USP to design and conduct professional development workshops for teaching staff embarking to use Moodle in their teaching. Since 2007, the training workshops have been conducted in several ways to meet the immediate needs and demands of the teaching staff. The training workshops comprised of a series of face-to-face 3-4 hour workshops, online introductory workshops and one-to-one workshops in response to urgent requests.
These workshops focus specifically on enabling teaching staff:
• to use Moodle as an adjunct to face-to-face teaching rather than to teach in a fully online or distance learning context;
• to get a feel for how their courses could be enhanced using Moodle;
• to understand the process of planning, designing and implementing online courses, and collaborate with others to do those tasks;
• to create better and active communication and collaboration with their students; and
• to design and manage learning assessment using Moodle.
Besides discussing the issues relating to the design and offer of training workshops, the authors critically reflect on the evaluation findings and concerns raised by the teaching staff in regards to teaching large classes with students distributed over the 12 countries of the USP region. Also, this paper suggests alternative ways of training that can be implemented to develop the skills of the teaching staff required for effective use of the LMS.
These workshops focus specifically on enabling teaching staff:
• to use Moodle as an adjunct to face-to-face teaching rather than to teach in a fully online or distance learning context;
• to get a feel for how their courses could be enhanced using Moodle;
• to understand the process of planning, designing and implementing online courses, and collaborate with others to do those tasks;
• to create better and active communication and collaboration with their students; and
• to design and manage learning assessment using Moodle.
Besides discussing the issues relating to the design and offer of training workshops, the authors critically reflect on the evaluation findings and concerns raised by the teaching staff in regards to teaching large classes with students distributed over the 12 countries of the USP region. Also, this paper suggests alternative ways of training that can be implemented to develop the skills of the teaching staff required for effective use of the LMS.
Open Educational Resources (OER) is increasingly being considered as a means through which the learning and teaching experience is enhanced thus ensuring successful outcomes for both learners and teachers alike. According to A Basic Guide... more
Open Educational Resources (OER) is increasingly being considered as a means through which the learning and teaching experience is enhanced thus ensuring successful outcomes for both learners and teachers alike. According to A Basic Guide to OER (Butcher, 2011), OER is continuously being added on a weekly basis thus presents an overwhelming challenge for potential OER users in selecting suitable OER within a reasonable time-frame. The University of the South Pacific (USP) is owned by twelve member countries in the Oceania region which serves more than 20,000 students. English is the official language of instruction at the USP however, students who attend the institution are mostly second or third language speakers of the English language (Mugler, 1996: 273) and thus the grave challenge of providing appropriate and just-in-time support presents itself. The Centre for Flexible Learning (CFL) of the USP saw an immediate need for this and resorted to OER as a possible solution.
This paper focuses on the criteria utilised to select appropriate OER based on feedback solicited from English Language Skills support personnel and CFL staff of the USP. In addition, it will also highlight other factors that were also considered such as licensing types and design viability that was further substantiated through tests conducted in six of the twelve member countries of the USP where students were expected to use these OER. In addition, it will also discuss issues that arose relative to the criteria being used. In conclusion, the paper will outline recommendations to improve OER selection endeavours which could serve to be of value to education providers globally in as far as OER selection in general or specifically for English language skills proficiency is concerned.
This paper focuses on the criteria utilised to select appropriate OER based on feedback solicited from English Language Skills support personnel and CFL staff of the USP. In addition, it will also highlight other factors that were also considered such as licensing types and design viability that was further substantiated through tests conducted in six of the twelve member countries of the USP where students were expected to use these OER. In addition, it will also discuss issues that arose relative to the criteria being used. In conclusion, the paper will outline recommendations to improve OER selection endeavours which could serve to be of value to education providers globally in as far as OER selection in general or specifically for English language skills proficiency is concerned.