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The pandemic has urged European universities and other institutions of higher education to switch in a very limited time from on-campus to remote teaching or to teaching modes that combine online and face-to-face activities. Instructors, as well as other course designers and support service staff are in search of evidence-based frameworks that show how to incorporate proven blended scenarios, adapted to their context. Between 2017 and 2020 seven European project partners collaborated in order to establish a conceptual and operational framework for blended education and teaching, labeled as the ‘European Maturity Model for Blended Education’. Its aim is to map blended learning practices, conditions, strategies and policies in a systematic manner and to empower higher education institutions to achieve up-scaled blended courses. In this contribution, we focus on what has been developed with regard to the course level. First, we describe the dimensions and indicators of the model, next we indicate blended courses might be altered in terms of their level of maturity using a series of guidelines and open-source tools and materials. We conclude by proposing how to employ the guidelines in a workshop setting. ispartof: pages:80-96 ispartof: Proceedings and Book of Abstracts pages:80-96 ispartof: EDEN 2021 Annual Conference location:Lessons from a pandemic for the future of education date:21 Jun - 24 Jun 2021 status: published

Covid19 outbreak has seen eLearning becoming a viable alternative to the traditional face-to-face teaching globally. Software engineering education has not been an exception to these changes. The use of multimedia enhanced eLearning communities is also on the increase in the teaching of software engineering. However, there is limited research on the acceptance of such tecnologies by African learners. Some of the multimedia being used to enhance these learning communities includes animated pedagogical agents (Pas) combining text, animation, audio, and video. Considering learner differences and aiming to achieve personalized learning, there is a need for institutions to understand how such tecnologies are being accepted by learners and the factors that influence the acceptance. This study focuses on the acceptance of pedagogical agent enhanced eLearning communities by Southern African learners in the teaching os Software Engineering. The aim of the study is to identify the factors that influence the acceptance of such communities. This will help eLearning designers to try and address the needs of learners in diferent contexts to achieve personalized learning. This study involved 137 software engineering students from South Africa and Zimbabwe who were being introduced to eLearning cimmunity enhanced with Pas. The unified theoryof acceptance and use of technology2 (UTAUT2) was used in this study. The study revealed that only performance expectancy, and hedonic motivation constructs ha dan effect on behavioral intention to use these eLearning communities enhanced with Pas.

While open-cohort blended education programmes allow for accessible and flexible study trajectories, they may present social challenges to learners. Social presence is a possible a way of enhancing...

Despite the existence of numerous studies that focus on the benefits of online delivery systems and tools for learners, there is still limited understanding of the determinants of learners’ performances. Moreover, experiments are only rarely the method of inquiry. This study reports on findings of a repetitive factoral experiment in an ecological setting with 151 secondary school pupils in order to scrutinize antecedents of perceived and observed benefits of two delivery modes: face-to-face versus online instruction. The study integrates an extended version of the DeLone and McLean’s information systems success model, including perceptions of enjoyment. The findings show that pupils’ performance in the e-learning condition is significantly poorer compared to the face-to-face condition. The experiment further indicates the dominant position of perceived enjoyment as a determinant of satisfaction and e-learning preference. By examining system and individual antecedents of learning performance in an experimental design, we contribute to the knowledge of e-learning effectiveness. The study’s limitations and opportunities for further study are also discussed.

Educational changes often face resistance as lecturers tend to stand by familiar methods of instruction. This reluctance presents a challenge for programme coordinators who wish to introduce other ...

PurposeThough different claims are made in the literature with regard to learning approach differences between mature and non-mature university students, the issue seems to bare detailed study. The purpose of this paper is to report about an investigation of mature and non-mature university students’ learning strategies. The authors examine the relationship between age and learning strategy, and assess to what extent this relationship is mediated by individual and contextual factors.Design/methodology/approachUsing original survey data on 448 university students enroled in Social Sciences programmes in Belgium, this paper examines the relationship between age and learning strategy and assesses to what extent this relationship is mediated by individual and contextual factors.FindingsThe results of the multinomial logistic regression show significant differences in learning strategies between both groups of learners. The analyses suggest that mature students are 15.3 percentage points more likely than regular students to adopt a navigator learning strategy. The navigator strategy develops in a non-linear way between the ages 30 and 37. Moreover, only a small part of the learning strategies of mature learners can be explained by mediating factors, with the job involvement playing a particular role.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the body of knowledge concerning the assessment and classification of learning strategies, including a focus on mediators affecting such strategies. The results are confined to only two higher education (HE) institutions. Furthermore, there may be a non-response bias; it is plausible that we miss among the respondents a particular type of mature students such as those that do not like to participate or those that have dropped out of their master’s programme. By means of larger, random samples in future research we should verify this study’s conclusions. This study did not include motivation as a variable. However, it might also explain why mature and non-mature students’ learning approaches differ. Further research could entangle motivational components in relation to learners’ studying approaches.Practical implicationsThe research results contribute to our understanding to what extent mature and non-mature students’ learning strategies differ and which mediators are prevalent in explaining these differences. It helps to understand how universities can create a supportive academic environment for mature learners.Social implicationsThe authors found significant differences with regard to learning strategies between mature and non-mature university students. Furthermore, having a professional occupation plays a mediating role in explaining learning strategy differences. The study raises the issue of learner-centred HE, with considerations about differentiated designs of learning environments, programmes and support services targeting students of different ages. By integrating the Assessing the Learning Strategies of Adults instrument, instructional designers can identify learning strategies and take appropriate action to accommodate learners. Additionally, awareness of one’s own learning strategy strengthens mature students’ decision making in self-directed learning environments. In that respect, the authors note also that higher pedagogical flexibility, i.e. more varied educational formats, tracks and study arrangements, ensures adult learners’ access, persistence and retention in HE.Originality/valuePrevious studies suggest that student learning approaches are distinguishable, but did not yet focus on differences between non-mature and mature students. As the authors include graduate students in this study, the focus is on a group which has not been studied previously.

Learning communities have been proposed as an interesting approach in adult education. Especially in blended learning environments, it is important that learners feel embedded in a group. It is suggested that embedment may have a positive impact on persistence. In this study the expectations of adult learners and program coordinators regarding the creation of learning communities at the program level are scrutinized. Starting from the Community of Inquiry model and evidence from literature concerning social presence and immediacy behavior three intervention scenarios were elaborated. By means of six semi-structured interviews with dyads of adult learners and program coordinators of Adult Education Centers in Flanders, these scenarios were systematically assessed using Kano matrices. The thematic analyses reveal five major themes affecting learners’ and program coordinators’ attitude towards learning communities. Some of the emerging themes were previously not addressed in literature. Academic utility is identified as decisive factor for acceptance. The findings contribute to our understanding of the acceptance of learning communities and suggest a set of practical recommendations. ispartof: pages:927-933 ispartof: ICERI2018 Proceedings pages:927-933 ispartof: International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation location:Sevilla date:12 Nov - 14 Nov 2018 status: published

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract This article examines the effect of blended learning on adult learners' academic success. Using a large administrative data set we test the impact of introducing a blended learning format within the first year of a business education curriculum on course persistence and performance. Our difference-in-difference research design minimizes the potential bias resulting from the selectivity of learners enrolled in blended programmes. We find out that blended learning improves exam results. Although we observe a negative effect on the course persistence of adult learners (increased drop-out due to blended learning), the overall effect on course pass rates remains positive. Implications for practice and follow-up studies are discussed. publisher: Elsevier articletitle: The effect of blended learning on course persistence and performance of adult learners: A difference-in-differences analysis journaltitle: Computers & Education articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.03.020 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ispartof: Computers and Education vol:87 pages:83-89 status: published

To manage successful virtual distance learning programs, education institutes should implement multimedia enriched learning materials which can be used in multiple environments/situations. This not only opens up new markets but also gives teachers and learners flexible access to rich online learning resources, leading to new pedagogic practice and giving students better preparation for the challenges in the workplace. However, several studies have reported frustrations with learners and educators due to technical problems, particularly the lack of broadband capacities. An innovative IP multicasting approach to take advantage of video and multimedia elements is described, which are commonly difficult to deliver over the Internet. The Content Conductor, an open modular framework, provides a platform for fully integrated provisioning and service management of multicast communications and allows the seamless integration of different types of hardware equipment and application software. As a result of the unique characteristics of this system, broad e-learning modalities become available and manageable.

Parallel with ICT-investments, governments set-up monitoring programs to evaluate the return on investment and effects of ICT on educational practice. MICTIVO aims to monitor the ICT-integration in the Flemish education system. ICT-integration in MICTIVO is a combination of ICT-infrastructure, ICT-policy and ICT-use at the micro-level, in which three actors are involved: headmasters, teachers and students with their characteristics, ICT-competences and perceptions towards ICT. MICTIVO is devised as a recurrent instrument with room for additional indicators to assess the latest trends (e.g. social media use). During the first edition (2007-2008), scales were validated and empirically tested, and the second edition (2012-2013) is a follow-up study. Design principles were ensuring comparability (over time, between actors, between indicators) and avoiding redundancy. To get a representative view on the Flemish education system, 20% of the schools are selected through stratified random sampling. The selected schools are allocated to one of three sub studies. In the first, only headmasters are questioned (80% of the sample), in the second also all the teachers per school (10 and in the third also several classes of students per school (10. This will allow to run multilevel analyses. The strengths of MICTIVO are that we will get a representative view on the status of ICT-integration in Flanders, based on scales that were validated in the population and with strong psychometric properties.

Professionalization in specialist disciplines like internal communication may lead scholars and practitioners working in a certain niche to question whether theoretical principles in the more established field of Public Relations are applicable to their specialization. In this paper we analyzed whether different forms of knowledge transfer, as identified in the literature on professionalization, contribute to the creation of a professional identity. To this end we distributed an online survey amongst the members of a professional interest group. We found that internal communicators do not all share the same educational background. Few have built their career on internal communication. Professionalization in this discipline mostly consists of peer contacts. A solid link between research and practice has not yet been established. Finally, we found that internal communicators are open to innovations in their field. This can speed up the process of professionalization and therefore the development of a uniquesocial identity. We made a contribution to the literature of both PR and internal communication by questioning the range to which PR theory can be applied to internal communication topics. We additionally inquired whether specialization in internal communication can be justified on theoretical grounds. Further research will determine whether professionalization of specialisms fragments the field of PR.

Naar aanleiding van een evaluatie van ICT-integratie in Vlaanderen waaruit blijkt dat er meer dan dringend nood is aan professionalisering van leraren, worden drie benaderingen geschetst. Elke benadering reflecteert een eigen visie op de (toekomstige) rol van ICT in het onderwijs.