Lynette Nagel

Methical Jane: Perspectives on an Undisclosed Virtual Student

We examined the ethical implications of a mythical online student with a carefully concealed real identity who took part in an online post-graduate course. The mythical online student took part in all student activities and provided co-students with cognitive and technical support as a covert second facilitator; consequently, students found scaffolding unobtrusive and integrated the unknown virtual student into the learning community. We explored the ethical implication of undisclosed identity and analyzed Students’ reaction to the disclosure of the mythical student after the course. The study confirmed our success in creating a convincing virtual student, but this success precipitated some shock, disbelief, and dismay. Most students accepted the presence of a virtual student, but some felt betrayed because her real identity was hidden. Recommendations for implementing such a virtual tool ethically are advanced, along with suggestions for teaching situations that may benefit from its use.

Innovators to laggards – how South African students adopted and perceived technologically enhanced learning

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to determine whether the information and communication technology (ICT) adoption profiles of accounting students at a South African university influenced their perceptions of the usefulness of a technologically enhanced learning (TEL) opportunity. The findings suggest that the South African accounting students’ ICT adoption profiles differ from global profiles as their distribution curve is skewed to the left favouring ICT adoption. Statistically significant differences were noted between gender groups, but no culturally based digital divide emerged. Despite the differences noted, the majority of students, irrespective of ICT adoption profiles, their gender or population groups agreed that the learning value of an online simulation was more beneficial than traditional teaching methods. It can therefore be concluded that TEL opportunities, which add value to students’ learning experience, will be well received by students irrespective of their ICT adoption profiles.

Bridging formal and informal lifelong learning using a soccer game metaphor

People need to engage in lifelong learning to be part of the knowledge society, while educational institutions cannot formally provide continuous ongoing, personally defined learning that addresses immediate workplace-based needs. Designing a formal online post-graduate course around a soccer game metaphor, we incorporated the characteristics of informal lifelong learning, namely peer facilitated and collaborative processes, formative and reflective assessment, learning community and open-ended curriculum driven by learner-determined goals. Students used the metaphor in their social discussions to denote collaborative learning, community, personal purposes and transformative reflective learning. The metaphor familiarised and prepared students for lifelong informal learning by bridging the gap from formal learning.

Seeking the best blend for deep learning in a flipped classroom – viewing student perceptions through the Community of Inquiry lens

We describe a case study of a third-year undergraduate class in Enterprise Education. A blended learning design in the form of a flipped classroom with a duration of one semester, was explored in two cohorts. The question was to explore how students experienced the flipped class for learning and how this approach presented the different presences in the Community of Inquiry (CoI), and its revisions. The online learning components represented the individual learning space, where the main resource was bespoke videos that replaced lectures and complemented the textbook and other learning material. The classroom hosted a business school-style seminar where students in small groups engaged in solving a new business case study, going through phases of developing a concept to presenting the group solutions to the class. It aimed at fostering active learning both inside and outside the class. Students participated in the activities to apply the theory in new cases. The teacher facilitated the sessions, provided direction and correction as needed. The research used mixed methods consisting of trace data, quantitative and qualitative student feedback to explore how suitable the flipped classroom in undergraduate education was towards developing deep learning. The online individual learning space yielded highly salient Teaching Presences, accompanied by evidence of Agency Presence, characterised by independent activity and personal learning preferences. Online videos and ICT resources helped with understanding the theory ahead of class meetings. Seminars in the collaborative space fostered deep learning of the theory, and enabled students to apply the prepared theory in case studies and solve problems. Integration and particularly Resolution in Cognitive Presence of CoI featured in the seminars, while Social Presence was the weakest. Suggestions are made to implement the flipped class principles in an online class.