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    Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
    Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
    Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
    Ebook462 pages4 hours

    Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

    By Pedro Isaias, Demetrios G. Sampson and Dirk Ifenthaler

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    About this ebook

    This book is to explores a variety of facets of online learning environments to understand how learning occurs and succeeds in digital contexts and what teaching strategies and technologies are most suited to this format. Business, health, government and education are some of the core sectors of society which have been experiencing deep transformations due to a generalized digitalization. While these changes are not novel, the swift progress of technology and the rising complexity of digital environments place a focus on the need for further research and novel strategies. In the context of education, the promise of increased flexibility and broader access to educational resources is impelling much of higher education’s course offerings to online environments. The 21st century learner requires an education that can be pursued anytime and anywhere and that is more aligned with the demands of a digital society. Online education not only assists students to success-fully integrate a workforce that is increasingly digital, but it helps them to become more comfortable with the use of technology in general and, hence, more prepared to be prolific digital citizens.

    The variety of settings portrayed in this volume attest to the unlimited opportunities afforded by online learning and serve as valuable evidence of its benefit for students’ educational experience. Moreover, these research efforts assist a more comprehensive reflection about the delivery of higher education in the context of online settings.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSpringer
    Release dateSep 29, 2020
    ISBN9783030481902
    Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

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      Book preview

      Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education - Pedro Isaias

      Part IOnline Higher Education

      © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

      P. Isaias et al. (eds.)Online Teaching and Learning in Higher EducationCognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Agehttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48190-2_1

      1. Digital Competences for Online Students

      Ketia Kellen Araújo Da Silva¹  and Patricia Alejandra Behar¹

      (1)

      Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

      Keywords

      Digital CompetencesOnline StudentsDistance LearningDigital Competences model

      1.1 Introduction

      There has been a considerable increase in distance learning in Brazil in recent years due to new instruments and criteria for using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). However, using ICT in distance learning requires students to continuously learn about new and varied resources. The concept of digital competences has been used as an alternative in order to provide students a more integrative education using technology. However, there are few studies specifically focused on digital competences for this profile. Thus, this chapter aims to present the construction of a digital competence model for online students. A model is understood as a simplified way of establishing an analogous relationship, a figurative system according to Behar (2009), Anderson et al. (1991), Eppen et al. (1987), Harding and Long (1998), de Lima and Lezana (2005). This proposal focuses on the construction of a model of digital competences for online students called MCompDigEAD .

      Existing models of digital competences were analyzed through a bibliographical survey to inform this model, understand the profile of the distance learning student, and to map the competences that appear in the theoretical references. There have been many efforts to define and create standards for digital competences. Yet, research in Brazil has been quite limited and there are no definitions or models focused on the online student. Therefore, international studies are the main theoretical basis for the present study, though they are based on a distinct subject profile and educational level. Thus, the digital competences of the distance learning students had to be mapped in order to build a model focused on this specific subject profile.

      This chapter presents the work that was carried out from 2014 to 2018. It begins by mapping these competences based on the theoretical references and then with the online students. Subsequently, it examines the construction of the MCompDigEAD model and its validation, which was done with the support and participation of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). This work is therefore divided into sections that address digital competences, the profile of the distance learning student, the construction of the digital competence model, and, lastly, final considerations.

      1.2 Digital Competences

      According to UNESCO reports (2006), digital competence is one of the eight core competences for lifelong development. However, there are few national or international studies available to understand or develop it through education. Moreover, there is little research focused on Distance Learning (DL). Most studies have come from international institutions, such as the EUROPEAN UNION (2006), UNESCO (2006), and OECD (2005), and they generally define a list of digital competences that do not fit the needs of online students.

      Digital competences have been defined differently in official and academic documents, which has produced multiple meanings and a range of nomenclatures. Therefore, a vast bibliography can be created conceptualizing the term, generating distinct as well as redundant definitions. Yet, all descriptions refer to how people should deal with ICT in different areas of their lives. Hence, the concept of digital competences has continued to transform as technologies have provoked societal transformations.

      This study understands digital competences as presented by Ferrari (2012, p.84), as a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, strategies and awareness that is needed when using ICT and digital media. Therefore, it is the mobilization of knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA) in a given context with the support of digital resources and technological tools. However, online students must also know about technology and its possibilities. Palloff and Pratt (2015) argue that there is not one online learner profile, but a range of subjects from youth to adults. Thus, it is necessary to go beyond the characteristics of the new generations and focus on what it means to be an online student. Rather than drawing generalizations based on generational differences, this entails taking into account that there are young people with less ICT skills than others, as well as different cultural, social, and economic contexts.

      1.3 The Online Student

      Distance learning using ICT resources is continually being redefined through virtual learning environments and new tools, impacting the student profile of this new generation. In Brazil, Law 9.394/96 – Law of National Educational Guidelines and Foundations was introduced in 1996. It proposed DL as a new national educational modality. Years later, guidelines for DL were created, which encouraged public institutions of higher education to create and develop courses. Moreover, the Open University System (UAB) and the Quality References for Distance Higher Education were also instituted in 2007, making the student the center of the educational process. The concept of DL proposes that all the subjects involved are responsible for their own development, considering their capacity for independent and autonomous learning, through interaction, organized and guided mediation, and clearly defined evaluation criteria (BRASIL 2007). Thus, the use of technologies in education must be supported by a learning philosophy that provides students with opportunities for interaction and the construction of knowledge (BRASIL 2007).

      According to the latest 2018 Brazilian DL Census (EAD.Br 2017/2018), there were a total of 7,738,827 online students enrolled in distance learning classes. The student profile was defined as subjects who primarily worked and studied and were between 31 and 40 years of age. In other words, DL students tend to be older than those in traditional classrooms. Hence, it is possible to note the development of DL in Brazil and its potential to democratize and elevate the standard quality of education. Yet, student dropout rates have been one of the main obstacles faced by institutions. In 2018 there was an average dropout rate of 26% to 50% (EAD.Br 2017/2018). According to the survey, the main factors students pointed to were lack of time to study and complete course activities, financial concerns, and the methodology applied by the institutions. Palloff and Pratt 2004, p. 112–113) argue that it is the very elements that lead students to online education - the reality of restrictive working hours, the possibility of continuing to meet familial demands - that interfere when it comes to staying in the course. Here the discussion of digital competences and their contribution to DL becomes quite apparent. Yet, according to Palloff and Pratt (2015), online learners range from younger students who have grown up with technology to older adults who are returning to college and looking for the convenience of online learning. Behar and Silva (2013) argue that students who seek distance learning need to develop a virtual student identity, which occurs through daily interactions with technology, enabling the students to progressively adopt the tools. Yet, there are three fundamental points that must be taken into consideration: 1. students’ strategic performance, such as time management, forms of communication, disposition, motivation related to the subject, etc.; 2. understanding the characteristics of the group, tasks, course objectives, and the overall context; and finally, 3. technological abilities, including the student’s Internet connection, use of tools, and familiarity with technology. Students’ understanding of these points allows them to better develop their unique way of behaving in the DL context.

      According to Gómez and Perez (2015), the daily life of the new generations is mediated by virtual social networks, which have created new lifestyles, processing of information, exchanges, expressions, and actions. Therefore, the characteristics of current students are very different from those of previous decades. According to Esteve et al. (2014), the main terms used to define subjects and their relationship with technology are Digital Natives (Prensky 2001), Generation Net (Tapscott 1998), and Millennials (Howe and Strauss 2000). However, according to Kennedy et al. (2007), although these profiles possess certain ICT skills, these technological skills are often linked to social or leisure activities and cannot necessarily be transferred to the learning context. Therefore, their technological confidence and experience must be developed in terms of learning specific digital competences.

      The methodological process carried out to construct the digital competence model used in this research is presented in the next section.

      1.4 Methodology

      In order to construct the MCompDigEAD model, competences were mapped both using theoretical references and with online students. This chapter presents the six steps that have been implemented thus far.

      Step 1. Mapping of digital competencies from the bibliographic study – MAP 1

      Step 2. Mapping with online students – MAP 2

      Step 3. Cross-referencing the results of MAP 1 with MAP 2, resulting in MAP 3

      Step 4. Validation of MAP 3

      Step 5. Construction of the MCompDigEAD model based on 4 steps: (1) conception, (2) planning, (3) modeling, and (4) validation

      Step 6. Validation of MCompDigEAD

      1.4.1 Step 1

      The first stage was a bibliographic review related to the relevant areas of knowledge. Competences in education, digital competences, distance learning, and the profile of the online students were developed. A review of the existing models of digital competences at both the national and international level was also carried out. Fourteen models were selected and studied, as shown in Table 1.1.

      Table 1.1

      Summary of models studied

      Source: Created by the authors 2020

      Califórnia Emerging Technoogy Fund (2008), Catalunya, Generalitat (2020), Catalunya, Generalitat (n.d.), Chile (2020), Eshet-Alkalai (2004), ETS. Digital Transformation (2002), European Computer Driving Licence – ECDL – Foundation (2020),European E-Competence Framework (e-CF) (2020), European Union (2006), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2007), La Larraz (2012), Martin and Grudziecki (2006), OECD (2002)

      Each of these steps is explained in detail below.

      The diversity and lack of uniformity among the standards made the organization and initial mapping quite difficult. The majority focused solely on knowledge related to digital literacy, limiting the results by excluding skills and attitudes. In addition, the models grouped the competences, but they did so in a myriad ways with different names, such as domains, dimensions, categories, and areas. Proficiency was also analyzed, but was referred to as degrees or stages of development of digital competences. Therefore, the first step was to arrange all of the selected elements in a map and then in a single table, including their domains/categories, resulting in 85 components. Then, similar components were combined and identified as: digital literacy, digital fluency, communication, and teamwork. The following domains were found: digital security, informational literacy, content creation and development. MAP 1 shows this first mapping. The importance of mapping digital competences focused on the DL student profile was made even more clear after the bibliographic study and organization of MAP

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