This thesis is situated in the context of the emergence of the ‘digital university’ in higher education. It addresses research questions which focus on organizational change, particularly on how a strategic shift to increase the provision of online distance education in a traditional, research-intensive, campus-focused university, affects the existing temporal and spatial practices of the institution. The research undertaken focuses on a UK university, during a period of strategic digital expansion in its postgraduate taught degree programmes, where funding is allocated by the institution to support a number of new courses and programmes, developed and designed to be available to students on a fully online basis. I take a narrative ethnographic research approach, which draws on interviews with university staff and students, alongside higher education policy and think-tank documents, and institutional websites. Particular attention is paid to the temporal aspects of each narrative account, in order to surface temporality over what I consider to be the spatial preoccupations of the literature and practices of online ‘distance’ education. Sustaining a critique of ‘anytime, anywhere’ accounts of online education, with a reminder that education takes place over time and in particular times and spaces, I draw on Sharma’s (2013) work on ‘critical time’, and particularly her notion of temporal ‘recalibration’ (2014), to think about complex temporal relations in the digital university. I go on to explore the idea of the digital university as transtemporal, as an alternative conceptualisation which opens up possibilities for imagining the university beyond its traditional temporal and spatial boundaries. I argue that understanding the dominant times and spaces of the university campus as central, and those accessing the campus in asynchronous or asymmetric ways as peripheral, may not just lead to spatially biased practices of distancing, but to a lack of recognition of emergent inequalities which are digitally reconfigured and potentially invisible. I conclude with some reflections on theoretical and methodological approaches to time and the digital in higher education and propose areas for future research.

The purpose of this study was to identify the status and challenges of online distance education programs in post-secondary institutions in Ghana. This study was a replication of a similar study conducted in Kenya in 2009, at the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University. This present study was conducted with an online survey using Google survey assessment. The survey requested responses from six post-secondary institutions in Ghana. Out of a total of 450 projected student responses, 309 responses were received with a 69% participation rate. A total of 14 responses were received for instructors out of a projected 30 resulting in 47% participation rate. And for administrators, 8 responses were received out of a projected 12 resulting in a 67% participation rate. Overall the study revealed that Ghana post-secondary institutions have established and incorporated online distance education into their programs, offering both online and blended courses. Some of these institutions established regional centers across the country and incorporated foreign instructors into their programs. The survey also revealed that students were satisfied with the overall online distance education program in their institutions which included the level of instruction, feedback and evaluation. However, there were still challenges revealed from the study that included the high cost of education, frequent power outages, school stoppages as a result of instructor strikes and the need to restructure courses to include projects.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of chief academic officers (CAOs) and chief distance education officers (CDOs) regarding faculty satisfaction in areas of released time for training and course development, workload, overall support of distance education, and extra compensation. One-hundred-sixteen surveys were sent out by e-mail to all 58 community colleges in North Carolina. The data for this study came from the returned surveys. The combined return rate of surveys was 78%. The SAS Institute program procedures were used for the analysis of the data. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical analyses. Results of this study showed differences between the CAOs and CDOs regarding faculty satisfaction on key issues. One reason for this could be more frequent contact of faculty with CDOs than with the CAOs. Recommendations for further research include: This study should be replicated in 2 to 3 years to ascertain what changes have occurred in North Carolina community colleges; Similar comparative studies should be made regarding community colleges in other states; Additional studies should be conducted in North Carolina to gather comments and concerns directly from faculty members; The following recommendations are made to improve distance education in North Carolina: Adequate technology funding for distance education programs in North Carolina community colleges needs to be acquired; A state formula should be developed to enable the sharing of FTE for community colleges in North Carolina that provide joint distance education programs; Long-range plans for supporting and training faculty members and funding distance education programs should be developed in North Carolina community colleges; Community colleges without written distance education policies should develop them; Community college administrators should become better informed about the needs of distance education faculty members and programs; and A state wide task-force needs to be developed to study the needs of distance education faculty members and programs in North Carolina.

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This study investigated the perceptions of quality held by undergraduate students enrolled in an online degree program, and examined the connections between these perceptions and retention in an online learning environment. Three main research questions guided this study: (1) What are the characteristics of quality that are desirable for academic success in online distance education? (2) How well does the university manage selection and retention of students and control dropout rates in online learning environment? and; (3) How well does the university foster learning based on information about (a) student engagement, (b) the time and effort students devote to educationally sound activities (within and outside the classroom), (c) policies and practices the institution uses to induce students to take part in those activities, and (d) policies and practices at their institution, even if unintended, that hinder students' full participation? What are the connections between student perception of quality and retention in an online learning environment? A group of students at a medium-sized state university in central California composed of sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in a psychology course participated in interviews. The study employed a qualitative method to collect opinions and data from students who chose to learn in an online environment, examined students' experiences, determined those efforts that promote or hinder learning and higher student retention as perceived by the students, and presented from three main domains; (a) administration, (b) faculty, and (c) students. The findings of the study indicate that some of the characteristics of quality perceived by students as desirable include individual discipline and instructors that are more understanding and encourage students to learn. Administrative and technical support was also rated high on the list. Overall, students desired programs that were convenient and provided sufficient flexibility to accommodate other of life's challenges. The study confirmed expert opinions that when a student has positive personal experiences, possesses positive individual motivation, in an environment with positive attrition factors, it is predictable that the student could attain completion of course or program. The connections between the student's perception of quality and retention then are those personal experiences, individual motivation and positive attrition factors within the distance education learning culture. The quality of these connection variables determines a student's commitment to complete online education and commitment to the university.

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T20:31:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Roberto Ferreira.pdf: 807896 bytes, checksum: 223cca163278b33a9f78114a7d011643 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-25 / Fundação Araucária de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Paraná / This paper aimed to clarify the question about what becomes evident in the Mathematical Modeling course, offered in the Distance Education online method for the continuing education of mathematics teachers. The central aim of this research was to understand how mathematical modeling developed in an online course on distance education modality can contribute to overcome teacher‟s difficulties in understanding the methodology and its use in the classroom. Also, we aimed to ascertain, among other things, which contributions to modality online distance learning provides for the teacher‟s continuing education and to in the difficulties superation of adoption and understanding of the mathematical modeling concepts. The theoretical framework considers teaching and learning of mathematics perspectives in the context of the “Leis de Diretrizes e Bases” of National Education. It also holds in most current views on mathematics education and mathematics teaching that are present in the work of Lorenzato and Fiorentini (2001), Rius (1989) and Kilpatrick (1992). For the concepts of mathematical modeling attempted to talk to different authors, however, we assume the concept proposed by Burak (2004). What refers to the teacher‟s continuous formation, we adopted a "reflective practice" based on the work of Schön (2000), Silva and Araujo (2004), Freire (2001), Perrenoud (2002), Imbernon (2001), Alarcão (2003). About the Distance Learning (DL) it drives us in the work of Borba (2007), Mugnolo (2009) and Morin (2002) and the Online Distance Education in the concept named "virtual togetherness” according to Valente (2003). Other distinguished authors and theoretical elements were added to the discussions as incursions were necessary to understand the constructed categories. The question and the objectives of the investigation leaded it to qualitative research. Twelve teachers of public schools in Paraná joined in the investigation, involving five Regional Centers of Education. The steps followed in the investigation included: 1) exploratory research with teachers and construction of theoretical frameworks, 2) Mathematical Modeling course development mediated by the online distance education, that allowed the collection of data from the Moodle Platform tools, 3) analysis and data interpretation. The data treatment follows the method of triangulation and inductive analysis, involving the researcher, empirical data and theoretical referential, by the light of the Bogdan and Biklen‟s principles (1994). The results show significant aspects regarding the development of Mathematical Modelling and its adoption in Distance Education in Basic Education, although, it highlights the need for adjustments in the dynamics of the course and aspects related to the modeling concept from a perspective of the humanities and social sciences. / Esta investigação buscou explicitar a questão sobre o que se evidencia num curso de Modelagem Matemática, oferecido na modalidade de Educação a Distância online, para a formação continuada do professor de matemática. O objetivo central da investigação consistiu em compreender como a Modelagem Matemática desenvolvida num curso na modalidade EaD online pode contribuir para a superação das dificuldades do professor no entendimento da metodologia e na sua utilização em sala de aula. Também objetivamos verificar, entre outros pontos, quais contribuições a modalidade EaD online proporciona para a formação continuada dos professores e na superação das dificuldades de adoção e entendimento das concepções da Modelagem Matemática. O referencial teórico contempla as perspectivas para o ensino e aprendizagem da Matemática no contexto da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional. Sustenta-se ainda nas visões mais atuais sobre Educação Matemática e o ensino de matemática que estão presentes nos trabalhos de Lorenzato e Fiorentini (2001), Rius (1989) e Kilpatrick (1992). Quanto às concepções de Modelagem Matemática buscou-se dialogar com diversos autores, no entanto, assumimos a concepção proposta por Burak (2004). No tocante à formação continuada de professores adotamos a "pratica reflexiva" como base nos trabalhos de Schön (2000), Silva e Araújo (2004), Freire (2001), Perrenoud (2002), Imbernón (2001), Alarção (2003). No que se refere à Educação a Distância (EaD) nos pautamos nos trabalhos de Borba (2007), Mugnol (2009) e Morin (2002) e na EaD Online no conceito denominado “estar junto virtual de acordo com Valente (2003). Outros elementos teóricos e distintos autores foram agregados às discussões conforme se mostraram necessárias incursões para a compreensão das categorias construídas. A questão e os objetivos da investigação a direcionam para uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa. Participaram da investigação doze professores da rede estadual de ensino do Paraná, envolvendo cinco Núcleos Regionais de Educação. As etapas percorridas na investigação compreenderam: 1) pesquisa exploratória junto aos professores e construção dos referenciais teóricos; 2) desenvolvimento do curso de Modelagem Matemática mediado pela EaD online, que permitiu a coleta de dados a partir das ferramentas da Plataforma Moodle; 3) análise e interpretação dos dados. O tratamento dos dados segue o método da triangulação e análise indutiva, envolvendo os dados empíricos, pesquisador e referencial teórico, a luz dos princípios de Bogdan e Biklen(1994). Os resultados apresentam aspectos significativos em relação ao desenvolvimento da Modelagem Matemática na EaD e a sua adoção na Educação Básica, no entanto, evidencia a necessidade de ajustes na dinâmica do curso e aspectos relativos à concepção de Modelagem em uma perspectiva das Ciências Humanas e Sociais.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-02T10:19:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 wallacenascimentopintojunior.pdf: 2076856 bytes, checksum: a61767f103c90bc218e055ece7d4b54c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-02T11:43:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 wallacenascimentopintojunior.pdf: 2076856 bytes, checksum: a61767f103c90bc218e055ece7d4b54c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-02T11:43:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 wallacenascimentopintojunior.pdf: 2076856 bytes, checksum: a61767f103c90bc218e055ece7d4b54c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-15 / Esta pesquisa qualitativa tem como foco o desenvolvimento da disciplina Álgebra Linear no curso de Licenciatura em Química na modalidade a distância da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, vinculada ao sistema UAB (Universidade Aberta do Brasil). Em consonância com uma epistemologia construtivista, uma perspectiva teórica interpretivista e uma metodologia orientada pela Grounded Theory, foi constituída a pergunta norteadora que orientou a investigação: ”Como tem se desenvolvido a disciplina Álgebra Linear no curso de Licenciatura a distância em Química na UFJF?” A produção dos dados na investigação em pauta se desenvolveu, principalmente, a partir do Projeto Pedagógico do Curso, dos registros do AVA (Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem), de questionários e de entrevistas com alunos – evadidos ou não – da disciplina e/ou do curso, com uma tutora presencial e com a professora da disciplina. Por meio da análise dos dados, foi construído um panorama conciso sobre a licenciatura em pauta, observando-se os contrastes entre as propostas do Projeto Pedagógico e a realidade encontrada. Especificamente sobre a Álgebra Linear, destacaram-se os índices de aprovação/reprovação, algumas das dificuldades dos alunos para lidar com os aspectos mais abstratos da disciplina e a importância dada ao tutor presencial, às aulas de exercícios, à formação de grupos de estudo e ao uso de videoaulas. Os resultados sugerem que houve um “esvaziamento”, tanto quantitativo, no que se refere à evasão do curso, quanto qualitativo no que tange à compreensão de conceitos centrais da disciplina. / This qualitative research focuses on the development of the discipline Linear Algebra in an undergraduate distance education course context in chemistry teaching offered by UFJF. The course was related to the UAB (Open University of Brazil) system. The research question was created in line with a constructivist epistemology, a theoretical perspective and an interpretative methodology guided by the Grounded Theory, and it was: "How the discipline Linear Algebra has been developed in the undergraduate distance education course in chemistry teaching offered by UFJF?". Data was produced mainly from the Pedagogical Project of the course, from the records of the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), from questionnaires and from interviews with students, with a presential tutor and teacher’s discipline. Through data analysis, a concise overview of the course was built, observing the contrasts between the proposed Pedagogical Project and the reality found. Specifically on Linear Algebra the most important points were the indexes of pass/fail, some of the difficulties the students had to deal with the more abstract aspects of the discipline and the importance that is given to the presential tutor, the exercise classes, and the formation of study groups and the use of video classes. The results suggest that there was an "empty", both quantitative, regarding the course drop out, as qualitative with regard to the understanding of the discipline central concepts.

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, their technology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.