ABSTRACT
Prompted by the sudden shift to remote instruction in March 2020 brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers explored online resources to support their students learning from home. We report on how twelve teachers identified and creatively leveraged open educational resources (OERs) and practices to facilitate self-directed science learning. Based on interviews and logged data, we illustrate how teachers' use of OER starkly differed from the typical uses of technology for transmitting information or increasing productivity. These experiences provide insights into ways teachers and professional developers can take advantage of OER to promote self-directed learning when in-person instruction resumes.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Informal learning is an effective and motivating strategy to support the learning process. Informal learning has received increased attention recently due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, finding effective ways to facilitate innovative teaching and learning through open educational resources (OER) is a vital issue. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the informal learning characteristics (ILC) (i.e. observation, imitation, exploration, innovation and articulation) of teachers in using OER and whether these characteristics have any relationship with teachers' innovative work behavior (IWB, i.e. opportunity exploration, idea generation, idea promotion and idea realization) in schools. Design/methodology/approach: The current study utilized a descriptive quantitative survey approach. A survey with three parts was developed: the Open Educational Resources Scale (OERS), the Teachers' Informal Learning Characteristics Scale (TILCS) and the Teachers' Innovative Work Behavior Scale (TIWBS). The information was gathered from a sample of 2,024 teachers working in Kuwait's public schools through an online survey. Findings: The results revealed that social media, YouTube, PowerPoint and games were the most common open resources used by teachers. Teachers' responses on the TILCS showed that observation was the most common among teachers and exploration was the second. Responses on the TIWBS showed that idea generation was the highest. When using OER, the results showed that all five subscales of the TILCS and all four subscales of the TIWBS were linked in a good way. Research limitations/implications: This study had several limitations that should be considered in future research. First, the data collection method was self-report. Future research necessitates adopting qualitative methods such as participant observations where IWB can be monitored and documented. Another limitation is almost all teachers have smartphone with Internet access, which may have affected the results. This situation might not be found in other countries since a large percentage of young people in Kuwait use information and communication technology as is the case in other Gulf region countries. Practical implications: This study expects that this kind of support will be reflected on teachers' IWB which accelerates teachers' movement toward upper IWB tasks such as idea promotion and idea realization. This support will motivate teachers to transform teachers' innovative ideas into useful applications and try to assist teachers' colleagues through conducting workshops or inviting well-known educators to present their experiences to school personnel. Social implications: This study can be a guide to help teachers be independent, self-directed, problem-solving-oriented and internally motivated by incorporating the assumptions of andragogy theory. Furthermore, this study points out the high tendency of teachers to use OER and helps to plan teachers' professional development programs that take Andragogical tendencies into account in addition to developing teachers' lifelong learning skills. Originality/value: The results implied that teachers have obvious ILC toward OER, specifically through observation and exploration to create their own innovations in their work environments. With the appropriate internal and external incentives and support from school administrators, this study expects that teachers will move forward toward upper informal learning stages such as innovation and articulation and toward upper tasks in IWB such as idea promotion and idea realization. As a result, schools as places of work can go through a lot of changes if new OER-related applications and workshops are added. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to evaluate various online resources available for radiology education. An online search was conducted using PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) and Google Scholar for publications discussing the applications of online learning in radiology. The search strategy employed a combination of the following terms: radiology, web-based conferencing, radiology education seminars, radiology education online, radiology education programs, online lectures, radiology residency, radiology degree, Radiology-Integrated Training Initiative (R-ITI) e-learning platform, UTAUT, Moodle, active image-based learning, Video conference platforms (VCPs), education, undergraduate, medical students, teaching, virtual learning, blended learning, e-learning, COVID-19, pandemic, OER, open education resources, online learning, course assets, accessibility, 5G Internet, game-based learning, radiology competition, and virtual world. The literature published was reviewed and consolidated. Data from the literature shows that radiology education online and radiology education seminars are undergoing a revolution due to advancements in computers, online software, and 5G Internet speed. The pace of this development has accelerated even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus forced distance online education. Various technologies are available and are being implemented by residency programs across the world to improve radiology education, making it more interactive and safer in this pandemic. Online learning has become an integral part of education in radiology, with new facets being added to it.
ABSTRACT
In last two years, universities around the world have been using hyflex teaching due to COVID-19. This allows students to attend physical/online lectures in a flexible manner. A hyflex class comprises classroom students as well as online students. In this paper, we present a model for hyflex classrooms that highlights 4Cs: Content, Collaboration, Community and Communication. Based on the 4C model, a hyflex classroom has been designed and implemented through various teaching/learning tools or elements. These include the effective use of presentation slides, annotations, chatbox, open education resources, multiple choice exercises, group exercises etc. The effectiveness of these tools/elements were evaluated by means of an initial student survey. These results provide valuable insights into hyflex teaching/learning. © 2022 IEEE.