Over the last two decades, higher education in the Asia-Pacific region has witnessed a greater rate of expansion in terms of new institutions and numbers of students than any other region globally. In tandem with this expansion, the use of information communication technology as a central component in the higher education sector in the Asia-Pacific region has also grown exponentially. This book documents a range of policy, pedagogy and practice initiatives from countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Australia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada and Korea. It showcases innovation and investigation, success, and, in some cases, outcomes from trials that suggest the need to rethink and even revise a number of central assumptions in the field of implementing information communication technologies in higher education.
This is the conference proceedings for the 2015 Global Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (CTLT 2015), hosted by Aventis School of Management, Singapore. It includes papers by a group of international academics and researchers. It covers the most interesting ideas and applications related to the innovative use of technology within different learning environments.
This book, drawing on the voices of part-time teachers and the expertise of those who support them, considers whole-institution strategies to promote individual and collective professional development. Amanda Gilbert from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
The forms and genres of academic communication have changed considerably over the past decades – from standardised ways of producing texts on/for paper to a (less?) standardised way of communication in Web 2.0. Published papers are now available to a greater number of readers, interaction among colleagues can take place in real time via written, audio or visual formats, and it has become much more comfortable for students as well as for those outside the scientific community to access academic information and to contact its authors. It seems, however, that many aspects of academic communication have not yet changed, and its participants – either in the „old“ or in the „new“ generation – are ill-equipped to work within the multimedia context. This volume, therefore, takes a look at academic communication in the multimedia environment, in order to throw light on how these processes are linked to new multimedia affordances, while at the same time encapsulating old genre conventions and participant interaction with the medium.
If mobile technologies are to be effectively used in education, how do we best implement sustainable mobile solutions for teaching and learning? The aim of this handbook is to support educators and policy makers who are investing in innovations in digital education to develop effective and sustainable mobile learning solutions for higher education environments. Authors from sixteen countries across the Asia-Pacific region have collaborated to share their experiences with developing and implementing mobile learning initiatives. These projects focus on a variety of aspects of mobile learning innovation, from the trial adoption of existing social media platforms on mobile devices and the development of specialised applications or mobile learning systems, to the large-scale, interuniversity implementation of technologies and pedagogies to support mobile learning. Each chapter addresses challenges and solutions at one or more levels of mobile learning innovation within the education system, encompassing the student perspective, the educator perspective, technical processes, policies and organisational strategy, and leadership. The book also offers a unique perspective on the integration of mobile learning innovations within the educational, political and cultural environments of Asia-Pacific countries.
The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Language Teaching defines Chinese language teaching in a pedagogical, historical, and contemporary context. Throughout the volume, teaching methods are discussed, including the traditional China-based approach, and Western methods such as communicative teaching and the immersion program. The Handbook also presents a pedagogical model covering pronunciation, tones, characters, vocabulary, grammar, and the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The remaining chapters explore topics of language assessment, technology enhanced instruction, teaching materials and resources, Chinese for specific purposes, classroom implementation, social contexts of language teaching and language teaching policies, and pragmatics and culture. Ideal for scholars and researchers of Chinese language teaching, the Handbook will benefit educators and teacher training programs. This is the first comprehensive volume exploring the growing area of Chinese language pedagogy.
"This timely and innovative book encourages us to ‘flip the classroom’ and empower our students to become content creators. Through creating digital media, they will not only improve their communication skills, but also gain a deeper understanding of core scientific concepts. This book will inspire science academics and science teacher educators to design learning experiences that allow students to take control of their own learning, to generate media that will stimulate them to engage with, learn about, and become effective communicators of science." Professors Susan Jones and Brian F. Yates, Australian Learning and Teaching Council Discipline Scholars for Science "Represents a giant leap forward in our understanding of how digital media can enrich not only the learning of science but also the professional learning of science teachers." Professor Tom Russell, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada "This excellent edited collection brings together authors at the forefront of promoting media creation in science by children and young people. New media of all kinds are the most culturally significant forms in the lives of learners and the work in this book shows how they can move between home and school and provide new contexts for learning as well as an understanding of key concepts." Dr John Potter, London Knowledge Lab, Dept. of Culture, Communication and Media, University College London, UK Student-generated Digital Media in Science Education supports secondary school teachers, lecturers in universities and teacher educators in improving engagement and understanding in science by helping students unleash their enthusiasm for creating media within the science classroom. Written by pioneers who have been developing their ideas in students’ media making over the last 10 years, it provides a theoretical background, case studies, and a wide range of assignments and assessment tasks designed to address the vital issue of disengagement amongst science learners. It showcases opportunities for learners to use the tools that they already own to design, make and explain science content with five digital media forms that build upon each other— podcasts, digital stories, slowmation, video and blended media. Each chapter provides advice for implementation and evidence of engagement as learners use digital tools to learn science content, develop communication skills, and create science explanations. A student team’s music video animation of the Krebs cycle, a podcast on chemical reactions presented as commentary on a boxing match, a wiki page on an entry in the periodic table of elements, and an animation on vitamin D deficiency among hijab-wearing Muslim women are just some of the imaginative assignments demonstrated. Student-generated Digital Media in Science Education illuminates innovative ways to engage science learners with science content using contemporary digital technologies. It is a must-read text for all educators keen to effectively convey the excitement and wonder of science in the 21st century.
The book presents the possibilities and realities of virtual worlds in education through the application of 3D virtual worlds to support authentic learning, creativity, learner engagement and cultural diversity in higher education. It includes a unique variety of cross disciplinary approaches to research, teaching and learning in a virtual world, including analysis of data from the experiences of students in education, law, Chinese language, sustainability, computer architecture, business, health and the Arts. The book provides unique learning experiences that have celebrated the rich media of virtual world environments through the utilisation of affordances such as simulation, bots, synchronous interaction, machinima and games. The perspectives come from Australia and New Zealand higher education academics but transferable to any higher educational institution in the sector, worldwide, and is significant to various disciplines in the higher education field.
This book presents research and developments in the virtual, augmented technology and mixed-reality used in language learning and teaching. It provides the readers with a comprehensive overview of contextual language learning with the support of immersive technology. From theoretical foundations, methodological issues, the features of virtual and augmented reality, and educational practices of language learning, to the future of immersive technology for and research on language learning. During the past two decades, abundant research on different realities has recognized the potential of language learning in virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality environments (Wang et al., 2020; Lin & Lan, 2015). Given insufficient studies of Chinese learning in immersive contexts reported in existing literature, this book includes several excellent studies about using immersive technologies for Chinese learning in addition to other foreign langue learning, such as English as a foreign language (EFL). Since learning Chinese has grown significantly as a global trend, the authors vitally consolidate and synthesize various theoretical foundations, visions, and recent research and practices in the context of Chinese teaching from broader and more diverse perspectives. On the other hand, the chapters about EFL learning also shed light on the research on contextual language learning. Thus, the chapters included in this book will likely provide readers with a deep and extensive understanding of the potential of the smart combination of immersive technologies and language learning. More issues for future research will undoubtedly be inspired by reading the chapters in this book.
With the ability to reach many farmers with timely and accessible content, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for agriculture (ICT4Ag) has the potential to transform farming and food production, worldwide. ICT4Ag supports new methods in the monitoring and management of soils, plants and livestock (precision agriculture), access to online markets, and improved communication between value chain stakeholders, among others. The services provided are vital in connecting farmers with the information they need to improve their agricultural productivity and reduce poverty. Through case studies and examples of ICT4Ag initiatives from across Asia, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, the first chapter looks at how ICT4Ag actually works to drive economic development across developing economies.
