The thesis draws on a mixed-methods study which empirically and theoretically investigates the ways in which postgraduate students engage in collaborative learning activities facilitated by technology. The research is both significant and distinct in its approach towards understanding how learners engage in real-life computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) settings; what enables or hinders learner engagement; and how engagement shapes the learning outcomes. The ensuing findings indicate that learner engagement is embodied in human behaviour, emotions, and reflection and therefore it is described as a multi-dimensional concept. Learner engagement also appears to be a socially distributed phenomenon – rather than a stable student characteristic – influenced by various personal, group-level, and other situational factors, the most prominent of which are captured by the Hierarchical Model of Enablers and Barriers. The study also reveals that learner engagement presupposes purposeful interaction which is presented as an integrative theme capturing the impact of pedagogical design on engagement. Another observation is that particular combinations of student actions, perspectives, and characteristics tend to resurface and therefore may be considered as strong predictors of potential engagement (or disengagement). This finding led to the development of the WISE Taxonomy of Learner Engagement Archetypes which portrays the most universal engagement approaches that emerged within the studied context. Finally, findings seem to suggest that the way students envisage their learning outcomes is driven by the engagement approach each student adopts, and vice-versa. When combined, the proposed model, taxonomy, and conceptualisation of learner engagement collectively define a holistic analytical framework labelled Distributed Engagement Theory. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to explore, understand, and subsequently explain learner engagement aiming at making an original contribution to existing CSCL literature as well as informing the design of pedagogical models for enhancing learner engagement in CSCL environments within postgraduate education.

The study proposed an evidence-based framework for designing and evaluating organisational learning and knowledge management processes to support continuously improving intentions of organisations such as hospitals. It demarcates the extant approaches to organisational learning including supporting technology into ‘rationalist’ and ‘emergent’ schools which utilise the dichotomy between the traditional healthcare managers’ roles and clinicians’ roles, and maintains that they are exclusively inadequate to accomplish transformative growth intentions, such as continuously improving patient care. The possibility of balancing the two schools for effective organisational learning design is not straightforward, and fails; because the balanced-view school is theoretically orientated and lack practical design to resolve power tensions entrenched in organisational structures. Prior attempts to address the organisational learning and knowledge management design and evaluation problematics in actuality have situated in the interpretivist traditions, only focusing on explanations of meanings. Critically, this is uncritical of power relations and orthodox practices. The theory of deferred action is applied in the context of critical research methods and methodology to expose the motivations behind the established organisational learning and knowledge management practices of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) which assumed rationality design conceptions. Ethnographic data was obtained and interpreted with combined critical hermeneutics and narrative analyses to question the extent of healthcare learning and knowledge management systems failures and unveil the unheard voices as force for change. The study makes many contributions to knowledge but the key ones are: (i) Practically, the participants accepted the study as a catalyst for (re)-designing healthcare learning and knowledge management systems to typify the acceptance of the theory of deferred action in practice; (ii) theoretically, the cohered emergent transformation (CET) model was developed from the theory of deferred action and validated with empirical data to explain how to plan strategically to achieve transformative growth objectives; and (iii) methodologically, the sense-making of the ethnographic data was explored with the combined critical hermeneutics and critical narrative analyses, the data interpretation lens from the critical theory and qualitative pluralism positions, to elucidate how the unheard emergent voices could bring change to the existing KATH learning and knowledge management processes for improved patient care.

Much has been written about the way in which e-learning has changed learning in higher education without transforming it to meet the changing needs and expectations of stakeholders in the sector. The beliefs and practices of teachers in the sector have remained largely unchanged despite the widespread adoption of e-learning tools. This study used a phenomenographic approach to identify the conceptual frameworks of practitioners. Among the indicators used to define these frameworks were practitioners’ levels of engagement with e-learning tools and the broader concept of technology-enhanced learning. The study identified limited evidence of the transformation of beliefs and practices in the sector to a more student-centred paradigm, despite the adoption of the language associated with such a change by the majority of practitioners interviewed. It showed how many e-learning initiatives had led to the internalization of such change with the adoption of exemplars and best practice. Examples of externalization (where exemplars were adapted to context and the modifications passed to others) were much more limited. Cases were identified where practitioners had used e-learning as a means of reinforcing the existing, teacher-centred paradigm. The majority of practitioners, however, were identified as being in a ‘transitionary’ state, adopting the language and some of the practices of a ‘transformed’ state. This study, therefore, considered factors influencing the adoption of a more student-centred paradigm through the use of e-learning. Using Activity Theory, the barriers to such change were explained and lessons for future approaches to professional development derived. Through an exploration of collaborative technology-enhanced learning initiatives, the nature of learning communities that should be at the heart of such transformation were identified. This study should, therefore, be of value to practitioners wishing to innovate, those who design and deliver the professional development programmes to support them and those managing such change in HE.

Being exposed to serious games showed that some simulations widely vary in quality and learning outcome. In order to get to the bottom of best practices a detailed review of business management simulation literature was conducted. Additionally, an industry analysis was performed, by interviewing 17 simulation companies, testing a range of full and demo games, and conducting secondary research. The findings from both research efforts were then collated and cross-referenced against each other in order to determine three things: firstly, the practices and features used by simulation companies that have not yet been the subject of academic research; secondly, the most effective features, elements and inclusions within simulations that best assist in the achievement of learning outcomes and enhancement the user experience; and finally, 'best practices' in teaching a business management course in a university or company with the assistance of a simulation. Identified gaps in the current research were found to include the effectiveness of avatars, transparent pricing and the benefits of competing the simulation against other teams as opposed to the computer. In relation to the second and third objectives of the research, the findings were used to compile a business plan, with detailed recommendations for companies looking to develop a new simulation, and for instructors implementing and coordinating the use of a simulation in a business management context. (author's abstract)

<p>U radu je prikazan model podataka koji omogućava<br />predviđanje uspje&scaron;nosti studiranja na visoko&scaron;kolskim<br />ustanovama, kao i analizu vi&scaron;e tehnika predikcije.<br />Pored toga, prikazuje i prototipsku implementaciju<br />informacionog sistema za upravljanje obrazovnim<br />procesom koji omogućava kori&scaron;ćenje predikcije u<br />realnim informacionim sistemima.</p> / <p>The paper presents a data model that facilitates<br />prediction of students success in studying, as well as<br />a review of prediction techniques. It also presents a<br />prototype implementation of a learning management<br />information system that enables the use of prediction<br />of success in studying and represents a real-world<br />use case.</p>

The development of a nurse identity is known to be a gradual process which takes place by students through social interaction in both academic and clinical settings. It is a crucial element in retaining students within the nursing profession and enabling them to perform the nurse role competently and effectively. Constructing a nurse identity is a complex and individual process, but, it is recognised that it will contain universal traits such as caring and compassion. Failure to absorb a nurse identity by students is not well documented, but, it is thought to contribute towards the number of recruits who leave the profession prior to or on qualifying. This phenomenological study examines the ways in which student nurses construct and adopt a nurse identity whilst studying for the theoretical component of their nursing course. The lived experience of both traditional, classroom based student nurses and those studying by electronic learning (e-learning) is explored through in-depth interviews and participant observations. Elearning is being introduced into nurse education in place of traditional methods of teaching and the research examines the impact of this mode of learning on professional socialisation to the identity of a nurse. The study gathered data from in-depth interviews with six student nurses studying by traditional methods and, also, from six student nurses studying by e-learning; all students were in the third year of a Diploma in Nursing (Adult Branch) course (comparisons were made between the findings from the two groups of students, in order to discover if nurse identities and the ways in which these are formulated differ between traditional students and those studying by e-learning). Findings from the data disclosed similarities and differences between the two groups of students, however, definitive conclusions as to the effects of e-learning on the construction and adoption of nurse identities could not be made. The findings did disclose strengths and weaknesses in both types of education, and the overall conclusion was that e-learning could be a success in student nurse education only if it is introduced with sufficient funding and on a solid foundation of research and development, by nurse educators who are knowledgeable in this style of pedagogy.

Engineering Education experiences turbulent changes, both from government pressures and from industry demands on readdressing the requirements of graduate capability. Despite vast amounts of engineering literature discussing ‘change’ within the field, engineering curricula still maintains its predominant pedagogic model of dissemination to students as it did in previous decades. Technology Enhanced Learning in education has created new and flexible options in the delivery and assessment of teaching and learning, but uptake is limited and approached with caution within Engineering Education. This mixed methods research introduces an inclusive and innovative approach to Engineering Education assessment techniques utilising an integrated blended learning strategy to the implementation of Technology Enhanced Learning within engineering curriculums. The research explores and assesses the effectiveness of Technology Enhanced Learning and educational pedagogies within Engineering Education frameworks to enhance and develop student learning, digital literacy and employability. Preliminary research positioned the research, utilising observation and interview techniques to baseline current pedagogic practices in undergraduate Engineering Education against current literature. An alternative method of video assessment was implemented and embedded following a two year cycle of action research within a cohort of two undergraduate engineering modules. A prototype ‘toolkit’ was created using Xerte Online Toolkits (XOT) to facilitate student learning and support for the assessment. Additional techniques inside the cycles gained further qualitative and quantitative data via a survey and focus groups. Student learning and assessment results showed significant improvement following the introduction of this approach and validated the transferability of this technique into other educational disciplines. An industry based survey validated chosen research methods and provided a comparison of viewpoints on key issues surrounding Engineering Education against existing stakeholders. The research introduces a new innovative approach to Engineering Education utilising Technology Enhanced Learning, validated through positive industry feedback and student academic achievement and satisfaction. Significant improvements on student employability and engineering ‘soft skills’ are evidenced.

This Master thesis deals with mobile technologies used for teaching and for management of schools. The theoretical part attempts to define the phenomenon of m- technologies and specifies both the determinate forms and the effects of the innovation when applied to education. The research portion carried out at primary schools by way of a qualitative survey and an interview examines the degree of readiness and the extent of the use of m-technologies with regard to the constructed school infrastructure and to the professional skill of teachers associated with it. Management of a school will get valuable information about the risks related to the introduction of the new technology and, in form of a guide, it will learn how to prepare a project and what to follow while creating the appropriate infrastructure at a school.

This Master thesis deals with mobile technologies used for teaching and for management of schools. The theoretical part attempts to define the phenomenon of m-technologies and specifies both its determinate forms and its effects when applied to education. The research portion carried out at primary schools by way of a qualitative survey examines the state of m-technologies used at elementary schools and the degree of engagement of the school headmasters and ICT specialists (respondents). It presents an example of a positive experience in the use of m-technologies at schools in the video study. The Master thesis includes a guide of the m-technologies used at schools.

This research focuses on how educators are using openly accessible sources of knowledge and open-source tools in ways that impact their pedagogical designs. Using a phenomenological approach with self-identifying open education practitioners, I explore how open educational practices (OEP) are being actualized in formal higher education and impacting learning design. Specifically, I examine how educators are bringing elements of openness into their everyday teaching and learning practice using educational technologies. I draw upon Giddens (1986) structuration theory, further developed for use in technology adoption research most notably by DeSanctis and Poole (1994) and Orlikowski (2000). This approach positions technologies as being continually socially constructed, interpreted, and put into practice. In an organizational context, the use of technology is intrinsically linked with institutional properties, rules and norms, as well as individual perceptions and knowledge. The findings suggest that OEP represents an emerging form of learning design, which draws from existing models of constructivist and networked pedagogy. Open technologies are being used to support and enable active learning experiences, presenting and sharing learners work in real-time, allowing for formative feedback, peer review, and ultimately, promoting community-engaged coursework. By designing learning in this way, faculty offer learners an opportunity to consider and practice developing themselves as public citizens and develop the knowledge and literacies for working with copyright and controlling access to their online contributions, while presenting options for extending some of those rights to others. Inviting learners to share their work widely, demonstrates to them that their work has inherent value beyond the course and can be an opportunity to engage with their community. Dataset available: https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/CA77BB / Graduate