Instructional Systems Technology

Because creativity is so crucial to both individuals and societies, helping people become more creative is a task that educators, policy makers, and other stakeholders cannot ignore. Yet factors within the educational system challenge our ability to foster learner creativity. What can instructional designers and educational technologists do in helping to design educational environments that nurture learner creativity? That is the issue we address in this chapter. First, we briefly review the literature of creativity, both to describe some attributes that are important to nurture when fostering learner creativity and to identify common conditions for promoting creativity in learners. Next, we examine some examples of learning environments that foster learner creativity, particularly as related to helping people develop an integrated creative identity and not just the acquisition of intellectual or skill-based components of creative action. Third, we discuss implications from the rese...

OpenCases is a study which is part of the OpenEdu Project. It is a qualitative study consisting of a review of literature on open education and nine in-depth case studies of higher education institutions, a consortium of universities, a private organisation and a national initiative. It analysed the rationale and enabling conditions for involvement in open education, open education activities, strategies, impact, challenges and prospects. The main outcome of this study is evidence that a large number of OER have reached a large group of learners. However, completion rates of MOOCs are low. Accreditation is not formalised and in general its impact on employability is not measured.

This paper proposes the increases throughput and reduces latency by using hybrid QR decomposition with pipelined and parallel design. The 4G wireless standards require MIMO systems with large antenna configurations, high mobility and, high data rates. In MIMO systems, the main challenge is to implement a QR decomposition process that efficiently utilizes hardware resources. By using MIMO technology in LTEAdvanced to achieves the highest detection throughput of 1Gbps data rates in downlink side. The proposed QR decomposition method is synthesized on Xilinx XC6VLX550T-2FF1759. Test results for the FPGA implementation, shows that the proposed design achieves the lowest latency of 100ns at 300MHz and reduces area. Keywords–FPGA, Hybrid QR decomposition, K-best detector, LTE-A, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output).

The study investigated the perceptions of learners and facilitators on the best practices for effective teaching and learning of science courses in open and distance learning. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. Eight research questions were posed to guide the study. A total of 180 students and 30 tutorial facilitators selected by purposive sampling from study centres in the Southeast and South-south geopolitical zones in Nigeria constituted the sample. Two different questionnaires were used for data collection. Data was analyzed using means and percentage frequencies. Findings reveal that using practical demonstration, engagement with hands on activities and use of examples constitute the best practices for teaching science courses in open and distance learning mode as perceived by the facilitators. Availability of functional internet facilities, using practical demonstrations and availability of personal computers/laptops for tutorials are among the instructional modes that students perceive as best practices for learning science courses in open and distance learning. Facilitators and students perceive lack of well-equipped laboratory as a constraint to the attainment of best practices in the teaching and learning of science courses in open and distance. Recommendations were made based on the findings.

This phenomenological study was carried out in order to explore the lived experiences of Post Graduate Diploma in Education students on the strengths and weaknesses of the program during the Covid 19 Pandemic. It also aimed at mapping up the way forward based on what works in the light of the new normal. The inception of the Covid 19 Pandemic resulted in sudden disruptions in most national systems including the educational systems in Zimbabwe. The Government responded to the pandemic with lockdowns, travel restrictions and social distancing. Within the tertiary education realm, the teacher training system was among those that were hard-hit because the teacher education program includes both theoretical and practical components. The practical component is the teaching practice, the hands-on experience that is significant to the student teachers. This meant that the nationally enforced COVID 19 restrictions would need adjustments in and restructuring of the pedagogical activities and ...

Because creativity is so crucial to both individuals and societies, helping people become more creative is a task that educators, policy makers, and other stakeholders cannot ignore. Yet factors within the educational system challenge our ability to foster learner creativity. What can instructional designers and educational technologists do in helping to design educational environments that nurture learner creativity? That is the issue we address in this chapter. First, we briefly review the literature of creativity, both to describe some attributes that are important to nurture when fostering learner creativity and to identify common conditions for promoting creativity in learners. Next, we examine some examples of learning environments that foster learner creativity, particularly as related to helping people develop an integrated creative identity and not just the acquisition of intellectual or skill-based components of creative action. Third, we discuss implications from the rese...

The current exploratory study investigates the acquaintance of teachers’ information in communication technology (henceforth, ICT) and its integration in teaching-learning process at private higher secondary level in Pakistan. The study adopts a quantitative technique and a variety of variables pertaining to the familiarity with computers in teaching-learning were examined. Subsequently, using a purposive sampling, 200 questionnaires were disseminated to the teachers. Total 169 instruments were returned and 133 were keyed into SPSS after filtering and cleaning the data. Descriptive means, percentages, crosstabs, and rank order were computed to report findings. The study revealed that 75% teachers had been formally trained for ICT, 67% teachers had access to computers and 53% had access to internet at their institution as well as home. Results show that ‘use of Email’, ‘internet browsing’, and ‘word-processing’ were most familiar tools. On the other hand, ‘collection of teaching/refe...

Distance Education, although revolutionary in its own right, remains an incomplete experience. With the inclusion of Virtual Reality, Distance Learning becomes much more wholesome and lucrative. Higher Education especially has been embracing the opportunities that Virtual Learning has presented to its learners. Virtual Schools to the Management itself. The learning style agrees with the current generation, even though on the whole Virtual Learning methods have failed to realize their complete potential.

This study explores the activities, tools, and resources that instructors of massive open online courses (MOOCs) use to improve the personalization of their MOOCs. Following email interviews with 25 MOOC and open education leaders regarding MOOC personalization, a questionnaire was developed. This questionnaire was then completed by 152 MOOC instructors from around the world. While more than 8 in 10 respondents claimed heavy involvement in designing their MOOCs, only one-third placed extensive effort on meeting unique learner needs during course design, and even fewer respondents were concerned with personalization during course delivery. An array of instructional practices, technology tools, and content resources were leveraged by instructors to personalize MOOC-based learning environments. Aligning with previous research, the chief resources and tools employed in their MOOCs were discussion forums, video lectures, supplemental readings, and practice quizzes. In addition, self-moni...

This proof-of-concept investigation describes a computer-based approach for deriving the knowledge structure of individuals and of groups from their written essays, and considers the convergent criterion-related validity of the computer-based scores relative to human rater essay scores and multiple-choice test scores. After completing a classroom-based course, undergraduate participants in a sophomore-level management course completed a 100-item multiple-choice final examination and then answered an extended-response essay question comparing four management theories. The essays were quantified with ALA-Reader software applying both sentence-wise and linear lexical aggregate approaches, and then analyzed with Pathfinder KNOT software. The linear aggregate approach was a better measure of essay content structure relative to the sentence-wise approach, with significant Spearman correlations of 0.60 and 0.45 with the human rater essay scores. The group network representations of low and...

Due to the advancement in web technologies, learning management systems are becoming involved in various fields of distance education. The computer-facilitated teaching and learning have been enticed audiences for various advantages offered by the management systems. This paper reviews the need for computer-aided language learning that could be accommodated by the feature-rich learning management systems. A systematic review over the pool of 450 papers from two established journals in education was conducted. The insight from the reviewed papers, subsequently, was analyzed to construct a proposal on the use of learning management systems to improve foreign language learning. The framework of the systems could potentially enhance the learning experience for the more comfortable learning and better learner management.

OpenCases is a study which is part of the OpenEdu Project. It is a qualitative study consisting of a review of literature on open education and nine in-depth case studies of higher education institutions, a consortium of universities, a private organisation and a national initiative. It analysed the rationale and enabling conditions for involvement in open education, open education activities, strategies, impact, challenges and prospects. The main outcome of this study is evidence that a large number of OER have reached a large group of learners. However, completion rates of MOOCs are low. Accreditation is not formalised and in general its impact on employability is not measured.

GradsCOOL is a Learning Management System (LMS) developed specifically for the Bulacan State University Graduate School (BSUGS) to support online learning for students pursuing graduate studies. The LMS is designed to provide a user-friendly interface for students to access course materials, communicate with professors, and track their progress in real-time. The LMS also allows professors to manage their courses, deliver lectures, provide feedback, and grade assignments. GradCOOL leverages technology to create an efficient and effective learning environment for BSUGS graduates. The implementation of GradCOOL has had a positive impact on the learning experience of BSUGS students, as it has enabled greater flexibility and accessibility to course materials. The use of GradCOOL has also contributed to an increase in course completion rates and a more engaged and responsive learning community at BSUGS. In conclusion, GradCOOL is a cutting-edge learning management system that can have a significant impact on the graduate learning experience at BSUGS.

This study aims to reveal the perceptions of the students about asynchronous distance learning (ADL) and blended learning (BL). Two groups of freshmen were included in the current study; the first group was taught English through ADL and the second group was taught English through BL which refers to the combination of face-to-face instruction and ADL process in the current study. In order to collect data, seven students were chosen from the ADL group and six students were chosen from the BL group. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 students one by one. The results showed that the students in the ADL group were not pleased with being taught at a distance. On the other hand, the BL process was favoured by all of the BL students included in the interviews. Keywords: Perceptions, distance learning, blended learning.

Personalized learning (PL) has been internationally promoted as a future direction of educational reform efforts. While there is growing evidence of PL enhancing learning outcomes, teachers reported having difficulty envisioning PL in practice. This national survey study investigated how PL is practiced in K-12 learner-centered schools in the U.S. to inform educators of learner-centered teachers' PL practice and identify gaps between their practice and research. Five essential components were identified: PL plans, competency-based student progress, criterion-referenced assessment, projector problem-based learning, and multi-year mentoring. Based on the five components, we identified 308 learner-centered schools and received 272 teacher responses from 41 schools. The five components were implemented with different levels of implementation fidelity. We uncovered several areas in need of improvement. Career goals were not often considered when creating PL plans. A misalignment between student progress and assessment practice was found. There was a lack of community involvement during the PBL process. Teachers were not able to build a close relationship with all students. These findings from learner-centered schools revealed that paradigm change demands continuous effort to transform all aspects of the educational system. Suggestions are made for practice and future research.

The concepts of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP), regarded as two pillars of the broader open education movement, have been evolving since the concept of OER was first coined in the 2012 Paris Declaration. Several research studies have been conducted to investigate the impacts of OER and OEP adoption and implementation in universities. However, most of those studies have focused on western and developed countries, and little information is known about developing countries, especially Asian ones. Particularly, China was one of the first Asian countries to adopt open education and its related strategies following the MIT OpenCourseWare conference in Beijing in 2003. This study conducts a systematic literature review to investigate the current state of the art of OER and OEP in China. The findings show that several governmental, organizational, and institutional initiatives have been launched to facilitate OER adoption in China. They also show that ...

The future of the Internet of Things (IoT) is interlinked with digital communication in smart cities. The digital signal power spectrum of smart IoT devices is greatly needed to provide communication support. The line codes play a significant role in data bit transmission in digital communication. The existing line-coding techniques are designed for traditional computing network technology and power spectrum density to translate data bits into a signal using various line code waveforms. The existing line-code techniques have multiple kinds of issues, such as the utilization of bandwidth, connection synchronization (CS), the direct current (DC) component, and power spectrum density (PSD). These highlighted issues are not adequate in IoT devices in smart cities due to their small size. However, there is a need to design an effective line-code method to deal with these issues in digital IoT-based communication for smart technologies, which enables smart services for smart cities. In th...

This study aims at examining social studies teacher candidates’ self-efficacy beliefs for technological pedagogical content knowledge through multiple variables and presenting new perspectives for researchers and practitioners. A causal-comparative research design was adopted for this study. Among non-random sampling methods, convenience sampling was used to select participants. The sample of the study consists of 349 3rd and 4th year college students (teacher candidates) studying at three state universities in Turkey’s Central Anatolia Region in the 2018–2019 academic year. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) scale was used for collecting data in this study. T-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to analyze data. According to the obtained results, the social studies teacher candidates’ self-efficacy beliefs for technological pedagogical content knowledge can be considered above average. No significant differences were found between particip...

The growth of online education has become a global phenomenon driven by emergence of new technologies, widespread adoption of the Internet, and intensifying demand for a skilled workforce for a digital economy. Online education is no longer a trend; it is slowly but surely becoming mainstream by 2025. This paper explores all efforts, accomplishments, issues, challenges, conclusions, and recommendations on this theme through meta-analysis of over 100 published papers since 2000. Through thorough content analysis, we provide useful recommendations for researchers and practitioners working in academia, industry, or government. We also propose a holistic model of interactions between diverse entities and stakeholders in the online tertiary business discipline education industry. This model will certainly be applicable with minor changes to other disciplines and other levels of education—primary and secondary. This model can be tested in piecemeal fashion by researchers using appropriate...

The goal set in the following article is to provide an insight into the design and modelling of language learning and propose a virtual model of foreign language instruction.  To date, we have witnessed an abundance of instructional models used in foreign language learning. A recent addition is the virtual environment which has become an important extension of the traditional classroom; however, models which would assist a smooth implementation of a virtual model are scarce and complex. The article proposes a virtual instruction model which may close the digital divide and help teachers extend learning beyond the traditional classroom boundaries. The model also offers the key Information Technologies (IT) considerations which may be crucial while carrying the model into effect.

Most studies on traditional asynchronous online discussion suggest that facilitating dialogue, that is, commenting forum activities, result in better learning and performance. However, due to open entry and diverse learner backgrounds, learner behaviour in massive open online courses (MOOCs) may be different. Viewing forum messages, which involves fewer mental and physical actions as well as less cognitive processing, rather than posting forum massages, might better match the learner’s study purpose. In this study, we investigated the effects of three common types of online MOOC discussion forum activities (viewing, voting and commenting) on student peer learning (peer reviews) and performance (quiz scores). We used stepwise regression models to analyse two data samples of a humanity and art MOOC provided by a private university in the United States for exploring factors influencing peer learning and performance. The results indicate that peer learning and performance were primarily...

Maieutic is a Socrates midwifery method that helps deliver babies from their mother’s wombs. This education method provides a position to students as subjects who explore their potential by interacting with the outside environment to gain knowledge. Constructivism is a learning theory about knowledge that outcomes from human construction. These methods and theories are essential in education to produce quality human resources. In line with the government’s freedom of learning policy, this study aims to determine the constructivism theory and Maeiutica method applied in the learning process. Students realize their potential and are oriented to determine their future. The method used in this qualitative research is the library research method through the study of references related to the theme of the problem to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the research with the quality output of human resources. Based on the analysis of this research that the constructivism theory and the ...

The concepts of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP), regarded as two pillars of the broader open education movement, have been evolving since the concept of OER was first coined in the 2012 Paris Declaration. Several research studies have been conducted to investigate the impacts of OER and OEP adoption and implementation in universities. However, most of those studies have focused on western and developed countries, and little information is known about developing countries, especially Asian ones. Particularly, China was one of the first Asian countries to adopt open education and its related strategies following the MIT OpenCourseWare conference in Beijing in 2003. This study conducts a systematic literature review to investigate the current state of the art of OER and OEP in China. The findings show that several governmental, organizational, and institutional initiatives have been launched to facilitate OER adoption in China. They also show that ...

This book provides an updated look at issues that comprise the online learning experience creation process. As online learning evolves, the lines and distinctions between various classifications of courses has blurred and often vanished. Classic elements of instructional design remain relevant at the same time that newer concepts of learning experience are growing in importance. However, problematic issues new and old still have to be addressed. This handbook explores many of these topics for new and experienced designers alike, whether creating traditional online courses, open learning experiences, or anything in between.

Aim/Purpose: This study designed and evaluated the impact of using a blended course and Web 2.0 tools into the “Design Fundamentals and Elements” course of a fine arts bachelor’s program at a Saudi Arabian university. The study also examined how students used Web 2.0 tools to improve their learning in the design of a blended (hybrid) course following the Quality Matters TM Higher Education Rubric (QMHER). Background: Web 2.0 tools such as Voki, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram feature educational technology that offers resources, helps instructors submit their lesson plans, create presentations, and conduct online student meetings. Methodology: The research adopted a mixed-method approach: a qualitative and quantitative pilot study. Data were collected through a pre-survey, pre-test, and post-test for one focus group, and in-depth individual interviews. Contribution: Blended courses should be integrated with the QMHER and Web 2.0 tools into art and design curricula. Art and design ...