Farhad Seraji
Volume 1, Issue 1 , July 2018, , Pages 9-24
Abstract
The main purpose of this research is to explore various countries experiences about developing blended learning system in distance education universities. Blended learning, as a third wave in developing learning environment, has become commonplace after the resident and e-learning environments in universities. ...
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The main purpose of this research is to explore various countries experiences about developing blended learning system in distance education universities. Blended learning, as a third wave in developing learning environment, has become commonplace after the resident and e-learning environments in universities. The goal of this movement is improving learning qualities, extending the boundaries of education and decreasing educational costs. In this study, a qualitative approach and a comparative method were used. The qualitative method was used to understand the social contexts of distance education universities and comparative approach was applied to compare universities in terms of observable categories. Among 17 distance mega universities in the world, four universities, including Indirah Gandhi National Open University in India, Anadulu Open University in Turkey, Open University of China (OUC), and Alberta Open University in Canada were selected using purposeful sampling. The data collecting tool consisted of a checklist that was prepared with emphasis on 10 categories of social and cultural features of the countries including general situation of public and higher education, distance education, policies related to blended learning, learning management system, content development and presenting method, learning activities and resources, support system, interaction systems, teaching and assessment method, and evaluation system of learning quality. The required data were also collected through note taking procedure from sites of universities and related articles and books. For data collection and analysis, George Brody's four-step method (Description, Interpretation, Proximity, and Comparison) was used. At first, required data was gathered from articles, university web sites, and interaction with informed people through note taking. Next, data were interpreted after continuous review with regard to university social and cultural contexts. In the third stage, data was organized and categorized based on similarity and differences and then were compared. Results showed that each four universities uses British open university framework in organizational structure. Each university included blending learning in their system based on their polices. Along with self-learning textual content, the universities started providing electronic content and designing learning activates with using ICT possibilities, while the Athabasca University emphasizes on individual and group learning activities. In each four universities, using educational TV as a learning aid is common place. Support services system in each university is Commensurate with social and cultural conditions. Online synchronous and asynchronous teaching is part of teaching activities in each university, but its quality is different. Learning assessment in different in four universities, but formative and summative evaluations are emphasized in all universities. Quality assurance system in Athabasca and OUC is based on PLAR, in Anadolu University based on the Bologna scheme, and in Indirah Gandhi, based on Council of Higher Education. In this research, for developing blended learning in Payame Noor University, a framework is provided at the end.
Samaneh Ebrahimi; Mehdi Moeinikia; Adel Zahed Babelan
Volume 1, Issue 2 , October 2018, , Pages 45-50
Abstract
Nowadays, fast technological development has increased society's dependence on information technology. One of the technology variants is the online learning, which is one of the challenges of a higher education’s institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine simple and multiple relationships ...
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Nowadays, fast technological development has increased society's dependence on information technology. One of the technology variants is the online learning, which is one of the challenges of a higher education’s institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine simple and multiple relationships among perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with E-learning acceptance. The methodology of this study was descriptive-correlation method and conducted at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili during the fall semester of 2014-2015. The data were collected via a questionnaire with high level of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=.86) from 146 university instructors. The sampling method was proportional and randomized. The authors used correlation and regression to analyze the simple and multiple relationships between variables. The results revealed that the perceived usefulness (Beta =.210) for predicting E-learning acceptance was statistically significant, but for the Perceived ease of use (Beta = .013), it was not statistically significant. The study found that perceived usefulness had a positive effect on e-learning acceptance. Hence, perceived usefulness is an influential factor on instructors’ intention and their actual use of the systems adoption. Furthermore, Perceived ease of use didn’t show a significant relation on E-learning acceptance. Thus, further research could be directed to [study] this issue.
Yousef Mahdavinasab; Esmaeil Sadipour; Mahsa Moradi
Abstract
The Instructional design plays a key role in the effectiveness of various educational courses. Studies have shown that the Instructional design is one of the key factors that affect the quality of e-learning courses; however, not enough attention has been paid to the instructional design for designing ...
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The Instructional design plays a key role in the effectiveness of various educational courses. Studies have shown that the Instructional design is one of the key factors that affect the quality of e-learning courses; however, not enough attention has been paid to the instructional design for designing and implementation of e-learning courses. As a result, we face courses and programs which lack quality. Therefore, exploring the effective components of e-learning designing in the literature and offering an e-learning instructional design for higher education was the purpose of this study. To this end, the study used a systematic review and some keywords related to the instructional design were searched for in scientific databases. After reviewing the articles, 33 studies, conducted between 2015 and 2019, were reviewed. The findings showed that needs analysis, content analysis, learner analysis, instructional principles and strategies, learning environment design, electronic content development, messages design, guidance and support, and assessment and evaluation were the primary components affecting the effectiveness of e-learning. Finally, having reviewed and analyzed the results, examined their relevance to the instructional design, and taken into account the experience of authors in the field of e-learning, a framework was proposed for e-learning instructional design, hoped to be utilized by researchers and e-learning practitioners.
Hasan Soleimani; Maryam Rohani Ravari; Manoochehr Jafarigohar
Volume 1, Issue 1 , July 2018, , Pages 43-54
Abstract
Distance education pedagogy to be successful requires teachers with different levels of computer, information, and multimedia literacy. Teachers' computer literacy has caught considerable attention due to the great opportunities provided by modern technology for promoting language education. The present ...
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Distance education pedagogy to be successful requires teachers with different levels of computer, information, and multimedia literacy. Teachers' computer literacy has caught considerable attention due to the great opportunities provided by modern technology for promoting language education. The present study explored computer, information, and multimedia literacy of 255 Iranian EFL teachers. To collect data, we developed and validated Computer, Information, and Multimedia Literacy Questionnaire for EFL Teachers (CIM-LQ for EFL Teachers), a five-point Likert scale questionnaire containing three sections to examine the participants' responses. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. The findings revealed that the level of EFL teachers' multimedia and information literacy ranged from low to moderate which necessitates improving teachers' training courses and preparing them for implementing technologies in real language teaching contexts. The findings have implications for both teacher education programs including both pre-service and in-service teacher training courses and EFL teachers' practice.
Hossein Najafi; Mozhgan Heidari
Volume 1, Issue 3 , January 2019, , Pages 39-48
Abstract
The purpose of the present research was to conduct a meta-analysis of Iranian studies on blended learning and academic achievement. As the third generation of distance education, blended learning integrates the strengths of face-to-face and online approaches. The methodology involved estimating the effect ...
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The purpose of the present research was to conduct a meta-analysis of Iranian studies on blended learning and academic achievement. As the third generation of distance education, blended learning integrates the strengths of face-to-face and online approaches. The methodology involved estimating the effect size for the relationship between blended learning and academic achievement. Out of 231 studies conducted between 2010 and 2017, 20experimental and quasi-experimental studies were selected as the sample using purposive sampling based on 9eligibility criteria. Data were analyzed using structured meta-analysis and were interpreted using Cohen’s for gauging small, medium, and large effect sizes. The results showed that the relationship between blended learning and academic achievement is significant, as the effect size for this relationship was 0.591, which is above medium in Cohen’s approach. Overall, the findings suggest the real positive effects of blended learning on learning outcome.
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