Cultural Views on Online Learning in Higher Education


Book Description

This book opens up a fruitful conversation by and between invited academics from Europe and Latin America on the features of online learning in higher education. The authors analyse online education from interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical reflections to reveal the existing tensions and turning this book into a valuable artifact on how learning is shaped when technology comes in-between diverse geographical and social contexts. Like any other human activity, e-learning can be seen as a context-dependent educational system with many objects in mutual interaction. Applying a cultural psychology perspective to this provides new answers to questions such as: How can cultural psychology shed new light on online learning? Why do students and academics still opt for classic classes? What inner boundaries are pushed when studying online? How can online learning be influenced by affect? How do teachers and students mold their identities when they move in and out of online environments? This book reveals the existing tensions, resistances and appropriation strategies that students and academics from diverse backgrounds and places go through when attending online learning courses in higher education and furthermore shows how these theoretical frameworks can be successfully applied to practice.




Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education


Book Description

Online learning has been touted as one way of reducing the cost of higher education while simultaneously addressing the increasing demand for educational opportunity and providing access to hitherto “left out” populations. Many universities are defying tradition by offering completely online degrees for global participants. As such, research is needed to improve the design of online and virtual learning environments to ensure that they are inclusive and culturally adaptive for the global education marketplace. The Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education shares paradigms, perspectives, insights, challenges, and best practices for the instructional design and delivery of cross-cultural adult web-based learning experiences and examines adult learner characteristics and competencies critical for the design of these applications. The content within this publication covers trending topics including virtual learning, culturally adaptive environments, and online education and is intended for instructional designers, faculty, administrators, students, and researchers.




Student Culture and Identity in Higher Education


Book Description

The pursuit of higher education has become increasingly popular among students of many different backgrounds and cultures. As these students embark on higher learning, it is imperative for educators and universities to be culturally sensitive to their differing individualities. Student Culture and Identity in Higher Education is an essential reference publication including the latest scholarly research on the impact that gender, nationality, and language have on educational systems. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics and perspectives such as internationalization, intercultural competency, and gender equity, this book is ideally designed for students, researchers, and educators seeking current research on the cultural issues students encounter while seeking higher education.




Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education and Corporate Training


Book Description

"This book brings together researchers who study and professionals who design and deliver online training across cultures in both higher education and corporate training settings to share paradigms, perspectives, insights, best practices, challenges and best practices"--Provided by publisher.




Learning Cultures in Online Education


Book Description

This volume explores new ideas about globalised virtual learning environments and in particular the implications for learners, teachers and institutions.




Handbook of Online Learning


Book Description

The demand for academic coursework and corporate training programs using the Internet and computer-mediated communication networks increases daily. The development and implementation of these new programs requires that traditional teaching techniques and course work be significantly reworked. This handbook consists of 20 chapters authored by experts in the field of teaching in the online environment to adult students enrolled in graduate university degree programs, corporate training programs, and continuing education courses. The book is organized to first lay a conceptual and theoretical foundation for implementing any online learning program. Topics such as psychological and group dynamics, ethical issues, and curriculum design are covered in this section. Following the establishment of this essential framework are separate sections devoted to the practical issues specific to developing a program in either an academic or corporate environment. Whether building an online learning program from the ground up or making adjustments to improve the effectiveness of an existing program, this book is an invaluable resource.--From Amazon.




Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education


Book Description

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.




Globalized E-Learning Cultural Challenges


Book Description

"This book's purpose is to inform educators and instructional designers of issues and cultural misunderstandings that could hinder the effective transfer of knowledge when e-learning is exported to other cultures. Addressing these cultural challenges will enhance the effectiveness of e-learning, thereby supporting the societal benefits of increased access to education at a global level"--Provided by publisher.




Online Learning and its Users


Book Description

Online Learning and Its Users: Lessons for Higher Education re-examines the impact of learning technologies in higher education. The book focuses particularly on the introduction and mainstreaming of one of the most widely used, the virtual learning environment (VLE) or learning management system (LMS). The book presents an activity theoretic analysis of the VLE's adoption, drawing on research into this process at a range of higher education institutions. Through analysis and discussion of the activities of managers, lecturers, and learners using the VLE, lessons are identified to inform future initiatives including the implementation of massive open online courses (MOOCs). A replicable research design is included and explained to support evaluation and analysis of the use of online learning in other settings. The book questions accepted views of the place of technologies in higher education, arguing that there has been a repeated cycle of hype and disappointment accompanying the development of online learning. While much research has documented this cycle, finding new strategies to break it has proved to be a more difficult challenge. Why has technology not made more impact? Are lecturers going to be left behind by their own students in the use of digital technologies? Why have we seen costly and time-consuming failures? This book argues that we can answer these questions by heeding the lessons from previous experiences with the VLE and early iterations of the MOOC. More importantly, we can begin to ask new and different questions for the future to ensure better outcomes for our institutions and ultimately our learners.




The Culture of Education


Book Description

In a masterly commentary on the possibilities of education, Bruner reveals how education can usher children into their culture, though it often fails to do so. Bruner looks past the issue of achieving individual competence to the question of how education equips individuals to participate in the culture on which life and livelihood depend.