PiE 2020 Volume 38 Issue 1

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http://hdl.handle.net/11660/11290

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Browsing PiE 2020 Volume 38 Issue 1 by Subject "Blended learning"

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    Designing for vibrant and robust communities of practice in blended learning environments
    (University of the Free State, 2020) Batchelor, Jacqueline
    This paper provides insight into the thinking that informed the design of a programme delivered in blended learning mode with the explicit intent to establish a learning environment conducive to the development of vibrant and robust communities of practices (CoPs). Within the higher education context, the explicit articulation of learning design principles as derived from theory is not often offered for dissemination and are regarded as implicit to programme development. This paper begins by exploring the association between CoPs and learning design; considers various approaches to blended learning; offers a blended learning programme as an exemplar for interrogation and then presents learning design principles that informed the development of vibrant and robust CoPs within the blended learning programme. Placing CoPs central to the design of the blended learning programme afforded students an authentic learning experience with an opportunity to make design decisions explicit, thereby contributing to the overall impact of the programme in the education sector. Four emerging learning design principles that underpin the design decisions in this programme are offered for interrogation: provide opportunities to model professional behaviour; develop social foundations from which to build the CoP; sustain guided and self-regulated learning; and realign and reinforce the course objectives. Drawing from the knowledge gained in their vibrant and robust CoPs, institutional leaders – as students in this programme – embraced new models of professional development to bring sustainable change at schools in all districts across South Africa.
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    Educating the always-on generation in an instant(gram) #blendedlearning
    (University of the Free State, 2020) Swanepoel, G. P.; Bruwer, A.
    The anticipated Fourth Industrial Revolution and the non-linear sharing of information have afforded tertiary education institutions with opportunities to apply new technology to their pedagogy model. The prominence of social networking sites (SNSs), specifically Instagram, calls for educational institutions to innovate and acknowledge, as well as apply, these SNSs within an innovative blended learning approach. This study aimed to analyse students’ perspectives on the use of Instagram as a blended learning educational and administrative tool in tertiary education. While the use of Facebook as an educational tool is widely researched, limited studies exist on the use of Instagram in tertiary education. The expectation is therefore set on tertiary education to apply Instagram for effective communication and an enhanced teaching experience. The Instagram account created by the research team as a blended learning tool had more than 270 student followers. Their perceptions of the use of Instagram in tertiary education were evaluated using a questionnaire approach and analysed as continuous data on a five-point Likert scale. By using a one-way t-test, the preferred blended learning approach to be implemented on Instagram was determined. Open-ended questions were asked to obtain a better understanding of what students expect and prefer from the use of SNSs, specifically Instagram, in tertiary education. While previous research only focused on the possibility of the implementation of Instagram and the use of videos on Instagram, this study indicates how tertiary education can apply the various functions of Instagram within an innovative blended learning approach. The study found that Instagram creates an always-on learner, who thinks about the module outside of lectures. Students perceive it as an effective educational tool in aiding them to understand difficult topics better, as well as an administrative tool that complements the current administrative systems. The overall perception was concluded to be that Instagram is welcome in tertiary education, with both the lecturer and the student as the driving force.