E-Mentors

The eMentors scheme encapsulates the concept that the person in the home most likely to be able to programme the audio-visual equipment is the teenager. The scheme harnesses the digital generation’s propensity for technology by using the students to teach their teachers how to make appropriate use of electronic resources in the classroom. We present a case study that focuses on both staff and student experiences of the eMentoring system at a further education college in Hertfordshire, UK and outlines the strategy for ongoing staff development and support. The scheme has given lecturers the confidence to develop new technology-enhanced pedagogical practices and has given students the opportunity to play an active part in the development of their own learning environments and to influence policy on the use of technology. We believe that this model has been an effective element in a concerted approach to changing the prevailing attitudes to designing pedagogy for 21st century learners.

Learning to LOLIPOP

The focus of this chapter is twofold: firstly, on the development of an electronic version of a European Language Portfolio, known as the LOLIPOP ELP,1 and, secondly, on its integration into a study and research skills module for first-year students on the BA in Applied Language and Intercultural Studies at Dublin City University. The chapter begins with an introduction to the concept of a European Language Portfolio (ELP) in the context of current trends in foreign language learning and teaching. It then describes the development and key features of the LOLIPOP ELP. It explains how it was integrated into a first-year, undergraduate research and study skills module focusing on elements of course design and assessment. Finally, the chapter concludes by analysing the output from the participants in this study which indicates that they appreciated the opportunity to engage with the LOLIPOP ELP and found it beneficial to their language learning although issues remain around its design and integration into an academic programme.

ePortfolios for Learning, Assessment, and Professional Development

ePortfolios are becoming increasingly popular as a means to address a variety of challenges in higher education, such as academic assessment requirements, specific teaching and learning goals, and emerging student professional development needs. This chapter explores these three applications of ePortfolios to provide administrators and faculty the information they need to make informed decisions regarding ePortfolios in academic settings. The relevant history of portfolios, assessment, and associated pedagogies sets a context for this discussion. Current trends in ePortfolio usage are outlined, including a survey of available technologies. This chapter concludes with a primer regarding the management of ePortfolio campus implementations as well as a brief examination of the key questions regarding the future of ePortfolios.

Games for Learning and Learning Transfer

Research findings are at best mixed with regard to the effectiveness of computer and video games in promoting learning transfer or learning, but much of this research makes use of the same unsuccessful methods of classic transfer experiments which offered research subjects limited initial practice in the learning to be transferred. Learning transfer however, like expertise, may need to be based on extended practice, an idea supported by studies of habitual or expert game players and recent non-game related developments in transfer research. Practice however must be joined to a certain kind of game complexity and cognitive or experiential game fidelity before deep learning and instances of significant transfer can be facilitated. Implications of these transfer conditions for the design of games for transfer are discussed as well as the need for research with regard to the various learning processes underlying the game-play behaviour of expert and habitual gamers.

Online Identities in Virtual Worlds

Online identities need not reflect the true identity of the user. Relatively little is known about the use of online identities during e-learning and blended learning programmes, and if these reflect the students’ true self. Online identities may impact on student achievement and satisfaction and as such are an important consideration for educators. Following an overview of the relevant literature regarding online identities, this paper describes findings from a survey of students currently engaged in a programme delivered using these techniques and where an awareness of online identities is to the fore. Several strengths and weaknesses of online identities in education are identified, and while students generally felt that they were portraying their own true identity online, many felt that others in the group were not. Implications for practice are described.

Applying E-learning Technologies to Library Information Literacy Instruction

Academic libraries have adopted and adapted the e-learning technologies for delivery of their Information Literacy programmes. This chapter describes some of the ways in which academic librarians have been very inventive in using emerging technologies to enhance their instructional content. By using a case study of DkIT the chapter details how information literacy and the e-learning technologies emerged together. E-learning platforms like the virtual learning environments (VLE) are the natural place for libraries to use as portals for their IL instruction. This chapter argues that using the VLE (with the inherent instructional interaction made possible by this technology), and adopting some amalgam of the newer teaching styles like problem-based learning and blended learning techniques completes the IL circle for librarians. Librarians now have the tools at their disposal to finally fulfil the promises we undertook when we embarked on our information literacy programmes.

Online Support for Students' Writing Skills Development in a Technical Communication Introductory Module

This chapter explores the development of online support for writing skills in one technical communication module taught at the University of Limerick. It demonstrates the need for writing support by exploring the many complexities of teaching and learning writing skills. Central to the discussion is the principle of process, rather than product, orientation. Students on the module have been surveyed over the past two years to determine their attitudes to, and perceptions of, their writing strengths and weaknesses. The chapter outlines and exemplifies the types of writing-problems students and instructors identify. Online support is posited as an intervention which facilitates autonomous learning. The chapter concludes by discussing how online resources, and especially the university virtual learning environment, Sakai (called Sulis at University of Limerick), can support students. It also suggests related research opportunities, especially in the area of using Web 2.0 technologies to foster autonomy.

Constructing Disciplinary Inquiry Communities Using Web 2.0 Technologies

This chapter explores the utility of Web 2.0 technologies for supporting independent inquiry-based learning, with a particular focus upon the use of blogs and social bookmarking tools. It begins by outlining the key issues confronting practitioners wishing to engage with such technologies before moving on to describe the approaches that were adopted in a range of first-year History seminar classes in two research-led universities in the UK. The chapter closes with an evaluation of the positive impact of the use of Web 2.0 on student learning and any drawbacks that were encountered. Web 2.0 is judged to have had a positive impact upon student engagement with course materials, encouraging student to conduct independent research outside of class and generating significant interactions between students and their peers as well as with tutors. Future avenues for research include investigations into how the use of such technologies can be scaled up for larger student groups and what impact summative assessment might have upon student engagement.

iClassroom

Hand-held technologies such as Apple’s iPod/iTouch/iPhone devices are now capable of being used for educational purposes as well as for entertainment. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the issues, content authoring, usage, workload, and pedagogical consequences of creating an iClassroom for mobile learning based on these devices. Use of podcasts and vodcasts by students, and their rate of success are varied as shown by studies reviewed from the literature and carried out by the author for this chapter. Several strategies for reducing workload at an individual and institutional level are proposed for adoption by educators. Key recommendations from this chapter are an increased emphasis on evaluation, usage of models for developing content, and an inclusion of iPod/iTouch/iPhone devices as part of an overall architecture for m-learning.

Anti-plagiarism Software in an Irish University

A variety of anti-plagiarism software applications have appeared in recent years, but the pedagogical and institutional practices underpinning their use remains largely unexplored. It is essential to increase the amount of evidence-based literature that investigates the use of anti-plagiarism software in higher education. In the light of this, this chapter explores the integration of anti-plagiarism software in an Irish university since early 2006 and the progress made to date. We use data gathered from our own context to show how instructors are using this software to date, what trends emerge and what can be deduced about the adoption of the system to guide future research questions. Best practices are suggested for educators in order to help them to use anti-plagiarism software in proactive, positive, and pedagogically sound ways.