TEACHING with TECHNOLOGY: OPEN DISTANCE and ELECTRONIC LEARNING (Odel)

TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: OPEN DISTANCE AND ELECTRONIC LEARNING (OdeL)

Mmafani Serote¹, Mokateko Mathimbi¹ and Munienge Mbodila²

1. University of South Africa, Mukleuneuck Ridge, South Africa

2. university of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa

Abstract:

In the past decade, learning has moved from classrooms and print-based to involve more technology use such as online platforms, mobile devices and Social media. There has been recent widespread use of mobile devices to support learning activities in a bid to keep up with the said future of learning as electronic learning. This research draws from the question of whether media influence learning, and tried to establish if teaching information technology in open distance using electronic media influences learning. Education is viewed as a social practice and therefore online learning environments are expected to support the learning process during social interactions following the social learning theory. Mobile and electronic learning (e-Learning) are fast becoming the new panache in learning. Learners utilize their mobile phones to connect with other learners and to network. In computer mediated communication, learners can work with media like e-mails, short message service (SMS), Facebook, twitter, etc. Generally learners have been noted to use their mobile phones as learning devices to access teaching material located on the module website and also to communicate with the fellow learners on the module, creating focus groups on social networks for live message exchange and content sharing. This study will be a qualitative research and will concentrate on learning using e-learning content such as discussion forums and podcasts as teaching tools to facilitate the learning process.

Keywords: Computer Mediated Communication, Learning, Social Media, e-Learning, OdeL, Social Learning, ODL

1.  INTRODUCTION

Teaching and learning have gradually moved from classroom and paper mode of delivery to online platforms and mobile devices, particularly towards Social media (Carter 1996). Carter continues to ask the question, “Do media influence learning?” This is the question on which this research is based. The

research tries to address this question. The use of social media for learning has moved learning to mobile devices and smart phones as most of these have internet browsing capabilities and social networking applications. Lan & Si 2010 comment on the advantage of using these mobile devices for learning purposes by suggesting that because of the mobile devices’ portability and availability, they are therefore able to speed up communication and message delivery and subsequently contribute by positively influencing learning.

Chen et al. 2008 support this view by reporting that learners with smart phones and mobile devices were

recorded to have logged into the academic reminder system double the number of times as the ones with desktops and laptops. With the widespread use of mobile devices for learning comes a new era, the electronic-learning (e-learning) or learning on the go era. McLoughlin & Lee ( in Dabbagh & Kitsantas 2012:3) reflected this phenomenon in yet another way when they noted that learning on demand is becoming a modern society lifestyle type; which suggests that flexibility and mobility in learning are becoming a need for the day to day functioning of society. This growing need for online learning requires for higher education institutions to use technology and media in the delivery of distance learning content. Learners in distance learning institutions no longer want to wait for the post office mail to receive their study content, they now require it on the go; as and when it becomes available. They also require this content to be accessible wherever they are and give rise to the need for e-learning. This is aligned with the views of (Harasim 2002; Swan & Shea 2005) that learning is a social process, which brings about the need for on demand and online delivery of study content.

2.  ONLINE (ELECTRONIC) TEACHING AND LEARNING

E-learning has been noted to refer to the use of information technology tools for learning. This includes formal and informal learning. Cross as well as Selwyn (in Dabbagh & Kitsantas 2012:3) define the concept of formal and informal learning. They assert that formal learning is well structured and driven by institutions such as schools, whereas informal learning is dependent on the learner and obtained in their interactions and experiences and is driven by their areas of interest. E-learning was used for informal learning during the Web 1.0 period however; it has gained popularity into the formal learning space with the introduction of Web 2.0 technologies. Cormode & Krishnamurthy (in Greenhow et al. 2009:1) explain that there was an introduction of the “first-generation web” or “Web 1.0”, ten years ago and it was welcomed as the latest and greatest education and communication resource as compared to the older information and teaching resources such as books, overhead transparency and classroom lectures. Greenhow et al. went on to point out the introduction of the “web 2.0” technology in the twenty first century. The web 2 was then adapted as the new and better tool as the successor of web 1. This was due to the technical nature of web 1 and the relative usability of “web 2.0” tools. Dabbagh & Kitsantas 2012, report on social media as a network of diverse communication tools with a focus on social aspects of the internet for sharing ideas and working together to reach common goals. It is this aspect of social media that allows for mobile devices to be used for teaching and learning because social media is accessible on most mobile devices.

According to the findings of prior research as documented by (Lan & Sie 2010), the use of mobile devices to support learning activities has been reported to be beneficial because it encourages learner-to-learner interaction, the same interaction which was reported by (Moore & Kearsley 2005) to be motivating and stimulating for learners. A view supported by (Richardson & Swan 2003) as they have asserted that this interaction is critical in learning. Due to the idea that education is viewed as a social practice, and learners often use mobile devices for social networking per the social learning theory, it follows that mobile devices should be capable of being used as learning tools to support online learning. The social learning theory further perceives learning to take place during social interactions in a community with similar interests (Wenger, 2000). Therefore by virtue of social networks and discussion forums being social environments, learning should take place in this platform as well.

Barron (in Greenhow et al. 2009:121) and Dabbagh & Kitsantas 2012 present similar concepts referred to as a learning ecology and the personal learning environments respectively. A learning ecology is based on the view that individuals are presented with and are active in many online settings, they create their own learning contexts in and across these settings; these individuals also engage in interest driven activities which serve as permeable contextual boundaries. The learning ecology can become self-sustainable given sufficient time, flexibility and the necessary resources. According to McGloughlin (in n Dabbagh & Kitsantas 2012:4), personal learning environments can help integrate formal (classroom) and informal (social) learning in the context of higher education, by creating personal and social learning contexts to support learner-centered education systems that use rich online media. Daft & Lengel (in Connell et al. 2001:118) define media richness as:

“The ability of information to change understanding within a time interval. Communication transactions that can overcome different frames of reference or clarify ambiguous issues to change understanding in a timely manner are considered rich. Communications that require a long time to enable understanding or that cannot overcome different perspectives are lower in richness. In a sense, richness pertains to the learning capacity of a communication”.

Media richness depends on four factors, response time, how fast can the responses be; multiple cues, whether the media can convey voice, tone and presence; language variety, meanings that can be used from language symbols; and personal focus, customisation by users to their own preferences (Connell et al. 2001). Media are classified in descending richness as follows:

·  facet-face (FTF);

·  video, telephone;

·  computer-mediated communication (CMC);

·  addressed written communication;

·  unaddressed written communication and

·  formal numeric text

Therefore after FTF, video and telephone, CMC is the next richest media to use for communication. This implies that using CMC for teaching should be an improvement on FTF, video and telephone. For the rich media to be effective in teaching and learning it has to convey the physical presence of the communicating participants; and this is the medium’s social presence (Connell et al. 2001). This is the fundamental principle of the social presence theory.

3.  OVERVIEW OF OPEN DISTANCE ELECTRONIC LEARNING (ODeL)

In a bid to stay ahead of the game, distance educators find themselves trying out many technologies to enhance or improve the learner learning experience and facilitate their course work. They often find themselves utilizing a variety of media which can get overwhelming as the different technologies might require a variety of different skills (Carter 1996). Lee et al. 2004 have advised that there should be careful selection of user friendly tools as part of institutional strategies for e-learning. They also recommend that educators are trained on how to use the selected tools and they also have reflection sessions to discuss areas of concern. There are high- end course management platforms or systems such as Blackboard, Moodle, and Sakai, which might come with a golden price tag and could require some technical configurations and installation processes; which could be disadvantageous for non-technical educators and learners, if they do not have the required skill. This further implies that those without the required skill will not make optimum use of the tools’ functionality. Greenhow et al. 2009, came to the conclusion that it is no longer feasible for anyone to be literate in every available online technology. They further pointed out that digital literacy includes knowing which technologies are fit for the user’s intended purpose, knowing when to use these technologies, when to use them, how and which functions to use. Cao And Hong 2011 reiterate this view and summarise the basics for social media utilization in teaching by proposing factors affecting social media utilization as individual readiness and literacy, external pressure, expected benefits, perceived risks of using social media.

There are also low-end content management tools such as discussion forums or pages, chat rooms, blogs and social networking sites. These are said to be low end as they are often free, easy to use and easily accessible to the educators and learners. Snow & Sampson 2010, provide a list of such content management platforms and tools. For this research the chosen media are:

·  Discussion forums;

·  SMS (Short Message Services);

·  E-mail; and

·  Telephone

The e-learning content has been made available in an information technology module taught in an open distance mode of delivery. The participation and progress of the learners will be recorded and compared to the previous year where e-learning was not used. The results will be reported on and used to determine the impact of the e-learning initiative. To determine if social media had an influence on learning, the Media richness theory and the Social Presence theory will be used in the data gathering process. In the module’s ddiscussion forum, the learners discuss the module content and help each other by addressing each other’s questions and comments regarding the module. The SMSes are used to remind learners of important dates and events. For example a reminder to book for their practical exam, or to alert them of an important announcement that has been posted on the online notice board, which must be read. The telephone is used by learners who phone in wit queries. E-mails are used to communicate announcements, details regarding the module content and administrative details. They are also used by learners to send their queries.

4.  IMPACT OF MEDIA ON LEARNING

Based on the work of Cf. Redecker et al. (2010) Study conducted by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) indicates that social media can improve teaching and learning opportunities in Europe as noted the figure below.

Figure1: Use of Advanced Communication Services

5.  IMPACT ON THE LEARNERS

The impact on learner education is the main emphasis in the literature of this study. Some benefits were noted by Kamel Boulos and Wheeler (in Carter 2006:32) when they reported that “Social media encourages more user interaction, collaboration, and participation”. Vie (in Carter 2006:33) emphasises that learning informally through Social Media increases opportunities for learner engagement and in formal learning settings.

6.  CONCLUSION

Learner satisfaction and learning outcomes are related. Other researchers in this area support that informal learning that takes place at home to enrich formal learning. Social media supports and promote learning, fast and easy through dynamic and flexible teamwork with other learners. This study aims to confirm that rich media results in better performance of learners.

7.  REFERENCES

Cao,Y. and Hong,P. (2011) Antecedents and consequences of social media utilization in college teaching: a proposed model with mixed-methods investigation, On the Horizon, Vol. 19 No: 4, pp 297 – 306

Carter, V. (1996) Do media influence learning? Revisiting the debate in the context of distance education, Open Learning, The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, Vol. 11, No.1, pp 31-40

Connell, J.B., Mendelsohn, G.A., Robins, R.W. and Canny, J. (2008) Effects of Communication Medium on Interpersonal Perceptions: Don’t Hang Up on the Telephone Yet! , Paper presented at the 2001 International ACM SIGGROUP Conference on Supporting Group Work, Boulder, Colorado, USA, pp 117-124

Dabbagh, N. and Kitsantas, A. (2012) Personal Learning Environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning, Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 15, pp 3–8

Dalsgaard, C.( 2006) Social software: E-learning beyond learning management systems , Institute of Information and Media Studies, University of Aarhus, Denmark, online [http://www.imv.au.dk]

Greenhow, C., Robelia, B. and Hughes,J.E. Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J.E. (2009) Research on Learning and Teaching with Web 2.0: Bridging Conversations, Educational Researcher, Vol38, No.4, 280-283