Developing eLearning in Higher Education: A Critical Review
Villikka, Denise (2018)
Villikka, Denise
Yrkeshögskolan Arcada
2018
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-5260-94-6
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-5260-94-6
Tiivistelmä
Educators are facing challenges as they strive to keep up with the technological developments related to their profession while cutting costs and attempting to meet the needs of diverse student groups. At Arcada, we believe the continued development of products and services made possible through our collaboration with network partners across sectors helps to ensure the eLearning materials we employ are suited to meet the unique needs of learners and faculty at our institution. Embedding research and development activities into our courses is one way educators are able to stay in the loop as digitalization and technology continues to transform teaching and learning. This report highlights insights uncovered during three development initiatives during the academic year 2017-2018. The insights gathered through these pilots highlight the ad-hoc approach used by educators as they attempt to meet the national and organizational goals relating to digitalization. The feedback from students and teachers who participated, emphasize the need for support with digital scaffolding and the need for a structured approach to digitalization and eLearning at Arcada University of Applied Sciences that reaches the grassroots level, where teaching and learning happens. These in-sights lend credence to the idea that the current practice of engaging multiple eLearning providers without a developmental aspect may lead to unintended consequences such as, the purchase of services and digital tools that do not meet the needs of our diverse student cohorts and faculty. Additionally, engaging in short-term contracts where users have restricted and limited access may not support reflection, which serves as a fundamental pillar in the learning process along with critical thinking and decision-making. This review conducted at Arcada University of Applied Sciences is an extension of the national RD&I initiative eAMK sponsored by the government of Finland. During the academic year 2018-2019, eLearning at Arcada will be developed, using the insights gathered through this initiative