Betty Collis

Designing for differences: Cultural issues in the design of WWW-based course-support sites

Culture is a critical influence on the acceptance, use of, and impact of learning resources. WWW-based course-support sites are becoming an increasingly familiar type of learning resource in higher education. How might different aspects of culture be predicted to affect the institutions, instructors, and students reactions to WWW-based course-support sites? How can such sites be designed to adapt to different expectations and learner preferences, especially those related to culture? This article analyses various of these cultural aspects, and argues that WWW-based course-support sites should be designed to be adaptable to different types of cultural differences through the application of a set of ten design guidelines. An example illustrating the design guidelines, the TeleTOP Method from the University of Twente, is described and evaluated relative to the design guidelines. Important considerations related to feasibility as well as to conceptual and strategic choices are included in the scope of the guidelines; the instructors cultural ecology requires particular attention. But WWW sites and guidelines in themselves are not enough for cultural flexibility; sensitivity and appropriate responsiveness remain human activities.

Web 2.0 tools and processes in higher education: quality perspectives

A major change has occurred in the way Web technology is being used in society. The change is grounded in user empowerment using Web 2.0 tools and processes. Students are already sophisticated users of these tools and processes, but outside of the mainstream instructional practices in higher education. In this reflection, the educational potential of Web 2.0 tools and processes is discussed, followed by three sets of perspectives relating to the potential quality of such practices in higher education course settings. For each perspective an analysis of key factors affecting the perceived value of Web 2.0 tools and processes is given, followed by suggestions for overcoming predictable barriers to uptake in mainstream instructional practice. Les outils et les processus d’Internet 2.0 dans l’enseignement supérieur : une perspective de qualité Un changement très important s’est produit dans la façon d’utiliser les technologies du Web dans la société. Ce changement repose sur la capacité qu’ont les utilisateurs d’employer les outils et les processus de Web 2.0. Les étudiants sont déjà des utilisateurs avertis de ces outils et processus, mais cela, en dehors des pratiques éducatives habituelles dans l’enseignement supérieur. La réflexion menée ici examine le potentiel éducatif des outils et processus d’Internet 2, le tout accompagné de trois ensembles de perspectives liées à la qualité potentielle de ces pratiques dans le cadre de cours universitaires. Dans chacune de ces perspectives on offre une analyse des facteurs principaux qui affectent la perception de la valeur des outils et processus du Web 2.0, le tout suivi de suggestions pour surmonter les obstacles prévisibles à l’adoption dans la pratique éducative courante. Web 2.0 Hilfsprogramme und Prozesse in der Hochschulbildung: Qualitäts‐Aspekte Ein bedeutender Wandel ist in der Art erfolgt, wie die Webtechnologie in der Gesellschaft benutzt wird. Dieser Wandel beruht darauf, dass die Nutzer höhere Handlungskompetenz für Web 2.0 Hilfsprogramme und Prozesse besitzen. Studenten sind schon fortgeschrittene Anwender dieser Werkzeuge und Prozesse, allerdings außerhalb der gängigen Lehrpraktiken im Hochschulbereich. In dieser Betrachtung werden die pädagogischen Möglichkeiten von Web 2.0 Programmen und Prozessen diskutiert, gefolgt von drei Anlagen mit Perspektiven der potentiellen Qualitäten dieser Techniken in Hochschulkursen. Für jede Perspektive wird eine Analyse von Schlüsselfaktoren bezüglich der erwarteten Werte von Web 2.0 Werkzeugen und Prozessen angeboten, gekoppelt mit Vorschlägen zur Überwindung von Denkhindernissen bei der Umsetzung in die durchschnittliche Lehrpraxis. Las herramientas y los procesos de Internet 2.0 en la enseñanza superior: una perspectiva de calidad Un cambio muy importante ha ocurrido en la manera de aprovechar la tecnología de la Web en la sociedad. Este cambio está basado en la toma de control por parte de los usuarios para el uso de las herramientas y procesos del Web 2.0. Los estudiantes ya son usuarios expertos de esas herramientas y procesos pero esto ocurre fuera de las prácticas educativas habituales en la enseñanza superior. La presente reflexión examina el potencial educativo de las herramientas y procesos del Web 2.0 seguido por tres conjuntos de perspectivas relacionadas con la calidad potencial de esas prácticas dentro del marco de cursos universitarios. En cada una de esas perspectivas se ofrece un análisis de los factores claves que afectan la percepción del valor de las herramientas y procesos del Web 2.0, esto siendo seguido por sugerencias para superar los obstáculos a una adopción dentro de la práctica educativa habitual.

New didactics for university instruction: why and how?

Why should instructors in traditional higher education institutions consider the re-design of their courses? The paper begins with a defense of four compelling reasons for changes in didactics: a review of some key principles of good teaching and learning, the increasing diversity of student characteristics and associated needs, the strategic and educational rationales for five types of flexibility increase in our current courses, and the particular need for instructors in faculties of education to provide leadership and models. Given the why, the next question is how? The remainder of the paper discusses the how in terms of a conceptually grounded approach to the pedagogical re-engineering of existing courses so that they become more flexible, with more student engagement, more-targetted communication, and more-attuned instructor scaffolding of increased student responsibility for his or her own learning. These concepts are made concrete through the extension of six standard sets of course-related tasks into redesigned sets involving the new didactics and WWW-based course-support functionalities. Examples from current practice at the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology at the University of Twente are used to illustrate the new didactical categories and their use of WWW-based course environments. The paper concludes with a consideration of key challenges that will confront the implementation of such new didactics in practice.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Gender Differences in Adolescents' Attitudes toward Computers and Selected School Subjects

AbstractThe attitudes of two samples of adolescents (total N = 2,105) from Victoria, British Columbia, and Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, toward computer studies and selected school subjects were surveyed and compared. The Chinese students were significantly more positive in their attitudes toward computers, science, and writing than were the British Columbia students. In addition, the students from Shanghai displayed fewer sex or age differences among themselves, except when asked to give opinions about the competence of females with regard to computer use and science. Both samples of females agreed that women have as much ability as men in these areas, whereas males in both countries were significantly more skeptical. The study also supports the validity and reliability of attitude research in a cross-cultural context.

Feedback for Web-based Assignments

Abstract In the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology at the University of Twente an educational concept based on the ideas of increased flexibility in learning options and the active student, has been in place since 1998. In this approach, many courses have moved from a model of lectures and a final examination or single large project, to a model of six or seven assignments or subparts of a larger overall project, each submitted via a web-based course-management system and each worth a certain portion of the overall course grade. Feedback has become a key aspect of teaching as well as assessment. This paper gives an overview of feedback as part of the assessment process in learning settings making use of web-based environments. This is followed by some examples of feedback strategies supported by the web-based system in use in the faculty and a description of a web-based decision-support tool, currently under development, for instructors relating to feedback.

Flexible learning and design of instruction

The paper deals with the problem of designing flexible learning and instruction. Flexibility is considered both from the learners and the designers perspective. The potential of telematics in the design, development and implementation of flexible and distance learning is discussed. A Method for flexible instructional modules development is presented which aims at assisting the educational designers in the development of flexible instructional modules, ie, modules, which are easily adaptable to different learners needs, allow learners choices and different delivery platforms, including distance delivery. Examples of Method applications and current development of a software system to facilitate the Methods implementation are reported.

Two Scenarios for Productive Learning Environments in the Workplace.

Productive learning is defined as learning that can be reused, in application to new problem situations in an organisation or for assimilation and reflection in structured learning situations such as courses. An important but underexploited form of productive learning relates to the capture and reuse of the tacit knowledge of members of an organisation. Two approaches for this reuse of tacit knowledge are discussed, along with instructional strategies and technologies to support the knowledge capture and reuse process within each of the approaches. In one of the illustrated approaches the emphasis is on how those in mentor or supervisor positions can more systematically support the diffusion of their own tacit knowledge to those of their mentees and in the process create new knowledge for reuse in other situations. In the second illustration, a change in orientation from knowledge transfer to knowledge creation and sharing in the formal training programmes of the organisation is the focus. An underlying database as well as easy-to-use tools for resource entry and indexing are key elements in facilitating the reuse of experience-based resources within and across both informal and formal learning.

Applying Activity Theory to Computer- Supported Collaborative Learning and Work-Based Activities in Corporate Settings

Business needs in many corporations call for learning outcomes that involve problem solutions, and creating and sharing new knowledge within worksplace situation that may involve collaboration among members of a team. We argue that work-based activities (WBA) and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) are appropriate components for courses in such learning situations. Via this approach, collaborative work situations become the core of a course. We further describe how activity theory can provide a framework for the design of courses that involve WBA and CSCL as part of a workplace-oriented activity system for learning. The use of this design approach for courses offered by the Learning and Leadership Development organization of Shell International Exploration and Production is described and an example is elaborated. Finally, we identify four main issues and challenges that arose during the use of the design approach.

WWW-Based Environments for Collaborative Group Work

Since 1994, we have been involved in the design and use of a series of WWW-based environments to support collaborative group work for students in a technical university in The Netherlands. These environments, and the course re-design that accompanies each new environment, began in April 1994 and continue to the present (March 1998). What are the major issues emerging from this stream of experiences? What are the major lessons we have learned about the design and deployment of WWW-based environments to support collaborative learning in project groups in higher education? How has HCI (human-computer interaction) research informed our work? These questions will be addressed in this paper. One conclusion is that HCI research needs to become more focused on supporting HHD (human-human dialogue) than on human- computer interaction in order to better support collaborative learning in higher education.

A Model For Predicting the Educational Use of Information and Communication Technologies

This study of 550 persons, predominately education professionals, was designed to test an integrated theoretical model (the 4-E Model) for predicting the likelihood of the use of telecommunications-related technological innovations (in particular, e-mail, the WWW, and videoconferencing) in learning-related settings. The four Es in the model, derived from a series of previous studies (Collis & Pals, 1999), are environmental factors, effectiveness, ease of use, and (personal) engagement. The model was first tested using factor-analytic procedures on the results of a 54-item questionnaire adminstered via the WWW to a sample of 550 persons from 39 countries. Twelve factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.00 were extracted and latent variables were generated to correspond with the factors. The factors as interpreted by items with loadings <0.500 supported the 4-E Model, but indicated that the four theoretical e dimensions could be further expressed in terms of subaspects. In addition, a series of variables related to likelihood of use of e-mail, the WWW, and videoconferencing in educational settings was also subjected to a factor analysis, resulting in three latent variables representing the dependent variables for a causal model. The causal model linking the latent variables was tested using a series of LISREL analyses, one for each of the derived dependent variables. The results, which again supported the 4-E Model, showed a strong contribution of the environment subfactor relating to the organization, as well as the engagement subfactor relating to the individuals self-confidence with respect to technology use to the prediction of implementation success. Based on the results of the factor analysis and the model validation, six of the latent variables related to the 4-E Model were identified as key to implementation prediction. These variables were used in a series of analyses of key subgroups in the sample, relating to educational sector, educational role, to gender, and to age, in order to examine key discriminating variables. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications, including the development of a WWW-based instrument.