From 1990 to 1993 I was engaged as the Information Technology (IT) Workshop manager at Mid-Cornwall College, St. Austell. My mission during this period was to develop a new kind of IT learning environment. The main purpose was - and continues to be - to provide for mixed 'open-access’ student targets wishing to pursue generic IT activities and gain commensurate vocational qualifications. This Open-Learning (OL) environment provides on-the-job curriculum development of IT learning support systems, through a Flexible Learning (FL) management policy. An action research approach based on S-O-L provides both the methodology and technology for implementing a learning organisation. A key objective was institutional change towards the learning management policy of IT, through appropriate deployment of staffing and courseware resources to enable the practice of student centred learning. Another aim was to integrate and mix all target groups of learners together in the same domain, i. e. school leavers with adult returners for the achievement of a cost-effective, well-co-ordinated and productive learning environment. My action research applied the Centre for the Study of Human Learning's (CSHL's) ideas and tools towards the development of the IT Workshop's learning policy. I have sought to make the connection between FL delivery of the generic IT curriculum and the SOL approach towards individual and organisational learning. This came about from the link between the FL philosophy of learner-centred activity and the SOL philosophy of empowering individuals via Learning Conversations. S-O-L'Systems-7' was adopted as a conversational tool for developing the educational roles and practices of the IT Workshop. This influenced my college to make essential environmental changes to the workshop in order to develop these activities. The project also used the Personal Learning Contract (PLC) to manage and enable the 'learning-to-learn' activities of individual IT learners. With the PLC as the central tool for implementing Learning Conversations, there evolved the idea of 'Group Learning Contracts' (GLCs). This led to the practical development of 'Learning Plans' (LPs), such that IT flexible modules could be transferred to the autonomy of the learner. Evaluations from this project included sample case-study evidences of Learning Conversations obtained from individual IT case-load students. Repertory grid feedback conversations of learning experienced by individual staff members taking part in the project were also obtained. Questionnaire results from IT learners was used as another method of feedback, and conversationally evaluated using factor analysis and 'talkback' records. All the action research qualitative evidences were finally analysed using conversational techniques, leading to the overall project 'findings'.

This study investigates the integration of lecture recordings to support flexible learning and responsive pedagogical approaches in an undergraduate LLB degree presented in a dual mode (face-to-face and online) by the University of the Free State’s Faculty of Law. In this faculty, lecture recording is observed by compulsory integration in all classes; the only options pertain to three basic software tools. According to literature, integrating lecture recording can bring about flexibility in student learning, and flexibility can have both positive and negative implications for student learning. This study uses Puentedura’s (2006) SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model as a theoretical lens to analyse different levels or types of integration of lecture recording by students and lecturers. The SAMR categories assisted the study to identify whether Substitution, Augmentation, Modification or Redefinition were present when students and lecturers integrated lecture recording in teaching and learning. The study implements a mixed-method research approach that included student and lecturer surveys, lecturer interviews, and telephonic interviews and focus group discussions with students. Findings indicate that students’ overall experience of lecture recording was that it enhanced their learning and gave them flexibility regarding how, where, when they could learn. Some lecturers claimed that lecture recording enhances their teaching methodology, and that it can have an impact on their students’ learning. Lecturers agreed that lecture recording can be applied and integrated to transform the way they teach. Lecturers also indicated that lecture recording, in the form of audio recordings of lectures, in some instances caused students to hold lecturers accountable, not always fairly, for their utterances in class. Both staff and students indicated that they had concerns about class attendance when lecture recording was used, regardless of whether lectures were recorded when presented online or face-to-face. The study found that campus-based and online students integrated lecture recordings as part of their learning experiences in a variety of ways. The majority of campus-based students reported using lecture recordings to augment their learning experiences, especially in relation to how and whether they attended faceto-face lectures. Modification strategies for online students included making use of lecture recordings as a substitute for their presence at face-to-face lectures. Some online students reported that engaging with lecture recordings made them feel part of the course and its community of students. Lecturers’ specific approaches to teaching play a considerable role in the way they experience lecture recording and the way they integrate it in their courses. In addition to survey findings, the study also presents lecturer views, to illustrate some of these variations and interplays. While some lecturers reported that using lecture recordings has completely transformed the way they teach, others admitted that if they had a choice, they would not use lecture recordings in their teaching. The study offers a contextual account of lecture recording integration and contributes to global debates around lecture recording. Student and lecturer experiences with lecture recording, as observed through various SAMR levels of integration, depend on the type of lecture recording tool and software used, beliefs relating to the purpose of a lecture, regardless of its mode of delivery, and the reason for recording it in the first place. The study contributes to a local understanding of lecture recording integration and stimulates new dialogue that could guide future integration of lecture recording technologies, locally and internationally.

This is a thesis presented on the position of the distance education student at a distance education university in the present era. Traditionally, the distance education student has been a sort of Cinderella: marginalised, being constructed as some form of lesser version of the on campus one. A largely invisible part of the higher education system in Australia since 1911, the distance education student has really only come to be foregrounded in university education discourses from 1983 onwards. It was not until then that the distance education student emerged from ‘hidden pools’ identified by Karmel (1975), and since then the construction of this student has undergone a number of modifications, mapped in this thesis. At the same time university education itself has undergone a series of modifications, not least of which has been its taking on mercantilist overtones as investments made by students in their own careers and professional development. The modifications, also mapped in this thesis, have progressed to the stage where the construction of the old distance education student is now one of a flexible learner in a mercantilist system of university education. The notion of distance education and the distance education student has undergone significant shifts, redefinitions and constructions, which are tracked in this thesis. My research has focussed on a number of pertinent questions, based on a study of Deakin University and its practice since its establishment. The thesis draws on a number of works which have been informed by those of Foucault, and I have framed my research questions accordingly. I have asked why and how Deakin University came into being as a distance education provider at tertiary level. What were the conditions of its establishment and progression in relation to the political events, economic practices and communication technology in use over time? To consider such questions, I needed to analyse the changes that I had seen occurring in the context of wider restructurings in university education. These had occurred in the context of government forging a closer interconnectedness between education and national economic aims and objectives at the same time as it demanded greater productivity in the face of commercial and industrial sector pushes for applied knowledge. Poststructuralist philosophical developments offer tools to explore not only questions of power, but the practical outcomes of questions of power, and how the complicity of individuals is established. This thesis explores ways in which such considerations helped to shape the changing constructions of the distance education student from a marginalised, disadvantaged and under-represented participant in higher education to a privileged, well catered for and advantaged learner. These same considerations are used to explore ways in which they have helped to shape university distance education courses from a perceived second-rate form of higher education to a prototype that better captures the essential elements of learning for what has been styled in a postmodern world as the Information Age. Overlaid on these considerations is a changing view of the economics of such provision of higher education. It is anticipated that this thesis will contribute to developing new understandings of the construction of subjectivities in relation to the distance education university student specifically, and to the university student generally, in the postmodern world. The implications of this examination are not inconsiderable for students and academics in a self-styled Information Society.

The purpose of the study is to explore students’ experiences of WebCT at the University of Pretoria. In order to find out about these experiences, the Department of Telematic Learning and Education Innovation administered a web-based survey to students at the University of Pretoria. At the end of each semester students are requested to complete WebCT Experience Survey voluntarily. The WebCT Experience Survey includes both qualitative and quantitative data for research (TLEI Annual Report, 2003). The focus of this research is more on qualitative data which includes the open-ended questions. The researcher used conceptual analysis to evaluate the open-ended questions in the survey (Busch et al., 2005). The challenges and benefits were coded for their frequency and relevance. The researcher then identified codes to identify the benefits and challenges of students using WebCT. The findings of the research were grouped in terms of technical, facilitation and content issues. The study indicates that students benefited from using WebCT. / Dissertation (Magister Educationis (Computer-Integrated Education))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

New types of emerging classrooms called flexible learning environments change the traditionalclassroom structure by removing barriers previously set by the room. Within these environments learningmanagement systems (LMS) are used by teachers to support them in their daily operations. The digitaltransformation of education presents new challenges of designing LMS for flexible learning environments.The research question for this study is as follows: “How do teachers experience learning managementsystems within flexible learning environments?” The aim of this study is to gain insights into teachers'experience with the use of LMS in flexible learning environments; and how the teachers experience theirdevelopment of digital competence to use the systems in their teaching. The study resulted in four themesof experiences (1) Lack of adoption, (2) Control within the system, (3) Collaboration and competencedevelopment, (4) Direct feedback and interactions. The insights of the themes of experience are presentedin the form of design propositions.

In South Africa today a constant stream of demands characterise higher education. The global employment market expects graduating students to be flexible, adoptable and prepared to take responsibility for their own learning and their own continuous professional development. The pace of technological change in health sciences and the volume of available information highlight the need to develop students’ critical reflective thinking. A paradigm shift is required in health science education from one of providing instruction to one of promoting effective and lifelong learning. Educators in health sciences need to revisit, rethink and evaluate criteria for health practice. The challenge of this research is to investigate the integration of critical reflection as a learning strategy in the outcomes of learning programmes within a transformative education approach; the integration of theory and practice through a reflective learning approach; the development and implementation of different learning tools to facilitate effective learning; the importance of establishing an understanding of the link between the learning styles of students and critical reflection as a learning strategy; and the value of the integration of critical reflection to promote lifelong learning. A mixed methods research approach was primarily utilised to monitor facilitation of learning initiatives and appropriate activities for strengthening the learning-centred approach, through reflective journals and reflective learning groups. A quantitative and qualitative study was used in which a pilot study questionnaire, observations, structured interviews and questionnaires were conducted and completed. The findings of this investigation indicate that critical reflection adds value to the effectiveness of learning. The investigation also revealed the value of sharing learning experiences in a small learning group and proved that the learning environment for radiography education allows enough opportunities to integrate an alternative learning strategy such as critical reflection. All role players in health science education need to build their own skills to function effectively as whole brain thinkers with a view to maximizing learning effectiveness. Reflective practice enhances lifelong learning and can also be utilised as a tool for quality control of the learning programme. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

This study aims to address a gap in knowledge about Further Education college flexible learning centres and their contribution to lifelong learning. Flexible learning centres were established as a response to the lifelong learning agenda of the 1990s and are now in the front line in responding to government initiatives to improve employability and foster social inclusion. Their tutors work in a contested area where the boundaries between teaching and supporting learning are blurred and the learning achieved may be undervalued by the Inspectorate and college authorities. This study adopts a qualitative approach of narrative inquiry to analyse the learning culture of the Flexible Learning Centre (FLC) of Hollypark College, focusing on 15 learners’ and 2 tutors’ narratives elicited by episodic interviews. The narratives of learning biographies and work biographies of learners and tutors are explored, supplemented by quantitative data from College databases. The study evaluates the ways in which the pedagogical approach of selfdirected study with tutor support appears to be successful for predominantly mature learners wishing to acquire mainly Information Technology (IT) skills which may enhance their chances of employment or benefit them in other ways. Building on recent work on learning cultures, social capital, well-being and identity theories, the study gives a voice to these learners who are so far unheard and despite the demographic population shift to increasing numbers of older people, are not the focus of current government policy initiatives. Focus on employability which is equated with acquiring skills is seen as too narrow to encompass the wider needs met and benefits accrued by attending the FLC. The findings are that this FLC’s approach is particularly effective for older learners in general in acquiring IT skills. Those made redundant, the retired, those in work and carers who may have been out of the workforce for some time may flourish in this learning environment where mainstream courses cannot offer equivalent flexibility and opportunities to structure their own learning. The learning culture of the Flexible Learning Centre provides a space where such learners may not only acquire IT skills but may also increase their social and cultural capital while opening up new horizons for their future. Tutor/learner relationships are of key importance and the learning taking place should be re-evaluated by the Inspectorate and government alike.

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School librarians create an atmosphere where learners feel empowered. Moreover, school library programming should support diversity, equity, and inclusive learning opportunities to facilitate student success. Thus, school librarians are expected to model and advocate for equitable learning spaces while considering the universal design for learning approach to improving accessibility, utilization, and relevance for all library patrons. Although it has been established that school library standards support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), more is needed to know about the impact of a crisis on school library programming and services. In addition, extensive research has not been conducted to determine school librarians' responsiveness and strategies to provide services for their school communities during disruptive times. This study examines school librarians' perceptions of the opportunities and challenges encountered while endeavoring to engage in DEI practices during crises.

This thesis seeks to address emerging future questions by envisioning the future of educational architecture, considering the evolving dynamics between people, machines, and collaborative learning environments. While machines will play a significant role, human interaction, collaboration, and experimentation will remain indispensable for the exchange of ideas. As we look ahead, it is evident that students will require learning spaces that balance passive educational modes—such as lectures, seminars, research, and introspection—with hands-on exploration. These spaces will transcend traditional structures, embracing liminal zones that facilitate seamless transitions into professional or higher education spheres. In the dynamic landscape of 21st-century education, the convergence of technology, globalization, and evolving pedagogical paradigms presents both challenges and opportunities for educational institutions. This thesis endeavors to explore the transformative potential of high school architecture, centered around the concept of the liminal zone—a space that transcends conventional schooling. Our aim is to reconceptualize schools as vibrant hubs of innovation and intellectual exploration, equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and adaptability essential for success in a complex and interconnected world. At the core of our design philosophy lies a commitment to flexibility and adaptability, evident in features such as the Pod concept and informal collaboration spaces, ensuring that educational environments remain responsive to the evolving needs of learners and the demands of the future. / Master of Architecture / This research aims to shape the future of educational architecture by envisioning how learning spaces can evolve in response to changing dynamics between people, technology, and collaborative environments. While technology will play a significant role in education, human interaction, collaboration, and hands-on experimentation will remain crucial for the exchange of ideas and knowledge. As we move forward, it is clear that students will need learning environments that balance traditional educational methods—like lectures, seminars, and research—with practical, hands-on exploration. These new spaces will go beyond conventional classrooms, creating zones that seamlessly transition students into professional or higher education settings. The rapidly changing landscape of 21st-century education, influenced by technology, globalization, and new teaching methods, offers both challenges and opportunities for schools. This thesis explores how high school architecture can be transformed to meet these needs. It introduces the concept of the "liminal zone," a space that bridges traditional schooling and the future, encouraging innovation and intellectual exploration. Our goal is to redesign schools as vibrant centers of learning, where students can develop the skills and adaptability needed for success in a complex, interconnected world. Key to our design are flexible and adaptable features, such as the "Pod" concept and informal collaboration areas, ensuring that educational spaces can evolve with the changing needs of students and the demands of the future.