Edilson Arenas - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Edilson Arenas
Blended Learning in Engineering Education
2017 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC)
Free Learning for Humanity (FLH) is a new initiative to bring free online learning, experience, a... more Free Learning for Humanity (FLH) is a new initiative to bring free online learning, experience, and new forms of credentials to those without access to higher education from an accredited institution. FLH is resourced as part of a seed grant from IEEE New Initiatives Committee plus from a growing base of worldwide volunteers and organizations. FLH is not a program or a system, but rather a set of contributions to an ecosystem, which self-directed learners can draw from to meet their unique needs. The vision of free learning for all of humanity is widely embraced, and is now becoming more feasible with falling computer prices and the availability of the Internet and electricity in developing countries. OpenCourseWare (OCW) has been available from many sources for a decade, which FLH will leverage. However, learners still need an on-ramp to real world experience, the forthcoming IEEE Task Registry funded by same seed grant will provide. Online badges and certificates are becoming widely available and industry accepted, and FLH will leverage, but a composite credential is needed for those who learn as much as college graduates. Towards this end, FLH is setting up individuals with a Quality Management System (QMS) for their self-directed lifelong learning, for both the achievement of their learning and experience goals, and also for continually gaining new expertise needed by market changes, which builds on a recent pilot where a self-paced learner's QMS gained registration to ISO-9001, Quality Assurance. This, plus completing a college-equivalent online set of courses, work or volunteer experience, participation in a professional society, and commitment to a code of ethics could comprise a new professional certification that could serve those without affordable access to an accredited degree. FLH is working in close liaison with the IEEE Actionable Data Book (ADB), an activity conducted under the aegis of the IEEE Standards Association Industry Connections Program and the IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee. The ADB goal is to define an open and transformative blend of mobile technology, experiential analytics for evidence-based management, and rich media, delivered through interactive e-book technology. FLH has kicked off a pilot with three participants from developing countries, who are being guided to set up a QMS for setting goals and objectives, selecting the best free online courses, applying for freelance or volunteer tasks to support their learning goals, and other elements of becoming a self-directed lifelong learner. An online course is being developed to guide others who follow. FLH welcomes new ideas, initiatives, capabilities, pilots, liaisons, and active participants in this new initiative.
This paper focuses on effective learning spaces in contemporary higher education. Drawing on empi... more This paper focuses on effective learning spaces in contemporary higher education. Drawing on empirical data from a qualitative study of international students’ experience of blended learning programs conducted in three computing courses in two Australian universities, a range of issues and challenges are reported. Three pedagogical principles are then presented that respond to these challenges: 1. Enabling learners – learning how to learn in virtual learning spaces; 2. Programming for flexible learning – learning how to manage virtual learning environments; and, 3. Transforming learning – learning how to capitalise on the affordances of new technologies. The pedagogical principles are presented together with examples of types of practices that they support.
For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of ... more For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of online technology with the aim of transforming the way we teach and learn to improve students’ learning experiences and outcomes. However, despite significant investment in infrastructure and training and a wide-scale uptake of such technologies, the promised transformative effect on student learning is yet to be actualised outside of small pockets of innovation. In this paper, we argue that one of the factors contributing to lack of qualitative large-scale transformation is students’ lack of preparedness and experience in using online tools for learning purposes. Drawing on an ethnographic study of culturally diverse computing students and teachers within learning environments that blend online and face-to-face pedagogies, we argue that, although contemporary university students are largely operationally literate when using online learning tools, they often lack the cultural and critica...
Evolving web-based technologies make possible the creation of personal learning environments (PLE... more Evolving web-based technologies make possible the creation of personal learning environments (PLEs) that provide learners with increasing control of their individual learning processes. This paper reviews the concept of PLEs in the literature and suggests some possible implications for academic practice and institutional policy in higher education.
This paper deals with the evolution of the book in the context of higher education. Digital books... more This paper deals with the evolution of the book in the context of higher education. Digital books, or ebooks, need not be restricted to duplication of the printed page on a tablet device. As higher education embraces online learning, the tablet-based offerings from educational publishers will increasingly incorporate a variety of cloud-based learning activities and resources. These nextgeneration ebooks and etextbooks will look more like mobile apps than books. They will need to exchange data with a growing list of educational systems for student management, lesson planning, record keeping, learning analytics, assignment scheduling, massive open online course (MOOC) platforms, and so on. The Actionable Data Book project is a research and development effort undertaken this year to determine how to implement the added functionality required of educational ebooks in a way that will allow them to plug-and-play with other systems.
For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of ... more For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of online technologies with the aim of transforming the ways we teach and learn to improve students’ learning experiences and outcomes. However, despite significant investment in infrastructure and training and a wide-scale uptake of such technologies, the promised transformative effect on student learning is yet to be actualised outside of small pockets of innovation. In this paper, we argue that one of the factors contributing to lack of qualitative large-scale transformation is students’ lack of preparedness and experience in using online tools for academic purposes. Focusing on students’ experience of a learning activity that used blogging to promote critical thinking and reflection, we draw on data from a doctoral study to demonstrate how a techno-literacy framework can be used to analyse the nuances of students’ preparedness to put such technologies to work within a formal higher educ...
This thesis has two outcomes. First, it provides a detailed analysis of how international computi... more This thesis has two outcomes. First, it provides a detailed analysis of how international computing students experience a blended learning environment, identifying their perceptions of the new environment, perceptions of the use of ICT in their studies, preparedness and experiences in using ICT tools, and effective participation in ICT-mediated activities as critical aspects of teaching and learning environments that warrant particular attention by teachers of these students. The second outcome of this thesis is a set of pedagogical principles for the design and development of blended learning, contextualised in local and broader educational challenges typical of a multicultural student body, consistent with a globalised world.
This research paper discusses the learning experiences during the implementation of a postgraduat... more This research paper discusses the learning experiences during the implementation of a postgraduate network security capstone project using cloud services as the technical infrastructure. Using mixed methods, interpretations are drawn from students’ voices in a medium-sized Australian university, about the convoluted challenges and issues associated with the learning redesign of an advanced unit consistent with technology trends and industry demands. Despite finding the IaaS platform challenging and difficult to use, students perceived the learning experience to be highly rewarding and current in the development of their technical skills and job readiness.
Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 2015
A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (acti... more A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (action possibilities) and the influence information and communication technologies (ICT) may have on students' learning experiences and outcomes. Such studies have given rise to the implementation of a wide range of educational frameworks with a great deal of empirical evidence on the benefits of using technologies to improve learning. However, these benefits do not appear to have fulfilled higher education expectations for more meaningful and transformative learning experiences. In this paper, I argue that part of the problem is either the content or teacher-centric perspective of these frameworks and the need to explore the benefits from a more student-centric perspective. Learning is contextual, with learners having different abilities to learn and varying preferences for educational technologies with greater potential to facilitate their learning activities. Drawing on an ethnographi...
EDULEARN16 Proceedings, 2016
Electronic Journal of E Learning, 2015
A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (acti... more A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (action possibilities) and the influence information and communication technologies (ICT) may have on students' learning experiences and outcomes. Such studies have given rise to the implementation of a wide range of educational frameworks with a great deal of empirical evidence on the benefits of using technologies to improve learning. However, these benefits do not appear to have fulfilled higher education expectations for more meaningful and transformative learning experiences. In this paper, I argue that part of the problem is either the content or teacher-centric perspective of these frameworks and the need to explore the benefits from a more student-centric perspective. Learning is contextual, with learners having different abilities to learn and varying preferences for educational technologies with greater potential to facilitate their learning activities. Drawing on an ethnographic study of culturally diverse computing students and teachers within learning environments that blend online and face-to-face pedagogies, I argue that our understanding of what ICT has to offer for the design and implementation of transformative learning activities is a far more complex issue than is often anticipated, particularly in the design and implementation of learning for computer science programs.
Arenas E & Lynch J 2015, "Techno-literacy and Blogging Within a Formal Higher Ed... more Arenas E & Lynch J 2015, "Techno-literacy and Blogging Within a Formal Higher Education Setting", International journal on e-learning 14(4):409-422. For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of online technologies with the aim of transforming the ways we teach and learn to im- prove students’ learning experiences and outcomes. However, despite significant investment in infrastructure and training and a wide-scale uptake of such technologies, the promised transformative effect on student learning is yet to be actualised outside of small pockets of innovation. In this paper, we argue that one of the factors contributing to lack of qualitative large-scale transformation is students’ lack of preparedness and experience in using online tools for academic purposes. Focusing on students’ experience of a learning activity that used blogging to promote critical thinking and reflection, we draw on data from a doctoral study to demonstrate how a techno-literacy framework can be used to analyse the nuances of students’ preparedness to put such technologies to work within a formal higher education setting. We argue that, although contemporary university students are largely operationally literate when using online learning tools, they often lack the cultural and critical skills required to use such technologies in a meaningful way to support powerful learning. We argue that, for online learning technologies to trans- form learning, students need to be supported to develop these higher order techno-literacies.
Arenas E & Lynch J 2013, "Pedagogical principles for the design of virtual learn... more Arenas E & Lynch J 2013, "Pedagogical principles for the design of virtual learning spaces in higher education." In, The place of learning and teaching: Proceedings of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia 2013 Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 1-4 July 2013. This paper focuses on effective learning spaces in contemporary higher education. Drawing on empirical data from a qualitative study of international students’ experience of blended learning programmes conducted in three computing courses in two Australian universities, a range of issues and challenges are reported. Three pedagogical principles are then presented that respond to these challenges: 1. Enabling learners – learning how to learn in virtual learning spaces; 2. Programming for flexible learning – learning how to manage virtual learning environments; and, 3. Transforming learning – learning how to capitalise on the affordances of new technologies. The pedagogical principles are presented together with examples of types of practices that they support.
2013 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2013
ABSTRACT The phenomenal growth in the adoption of mobile cellular devices in the developing world... more ABSTRACT The phenomenal growth in the adoption of mobile cellular devices in the developing world has open the opportunity to develop a global platform for connected learning - a software and data infrastructure that will serve as the foundation for the many systems that we build to realize the idea of equal access to educational services. In this paper, we argue that the most challenging factor for the deployment of this platform is the development and implementation of an engineering standard specification grounded in new learning theories and principles. We propose the IEEE ADBook that has the potential to become the first truly global framework for connected learning supporting inclusive education in developing countries.
Lifelong learning: Reflecting on successes and …, 2008
... learning needs are linked to the needs of the organisation, performance development provides ... more ... learning needs are linked to the needs of the organisation, performance development provides ... The paper also reviewed the latest techno-social developments in social software, social ... Given the design of most learning environments within LMS typically exemplifies a passive ...
Higher Education Research & Development, 2009
ABSTRACT There is empirical evidence that teachers’ intentions concerning what students should le... more ABSTRACT There is empirical evidence that teachers’ intentions concerning what students should learn, teachers’ beliefs about teaching and teachers’ conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching within a specific context are closely related to the resulting quality of teaching. Following this line of reasoning, I argue in this paper that despite extensive research about good practice teaching international students, it is still unclear what constitutes good practice within this specific context. This research uses empirical data to determine how teachers may improve their understanding of, and adapt their teaching to, diverse groups of international students to meet emergent demands. A sample of 20 academics teaching international students in a medium‐sized regional Australian university participated in the study by responding to the widely used Approaches to Teaching Inventory. Results show that in this sample teachers tend to adapt their teaching approaches to match the context and, to some extent, slightly tend towards a knowledge transmission, teacher‐focused approach to teaching. An understanding of this may be used to implement staff development programmes for teaching practices that promote a student‐focused approach to teaching to encourage knowledge creation and conceptual change when teaching international students.
Blended Learning in Engineering Education
2017 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC)
Free Learning for Humanity (FLH) is a new initiative to bring free online learning, experience, a... more Free Learning for Humanity (FLH) is a new initiative to bring free online learning, experience, and new forms of credentials to those without access to higher education from an accredited institution. FLH is resourced as part of a seed grant from IEEE New Initiatives Committee plus from a growing base of worldwide volunteers and organizations. FLH is not a program or a system, but rather a set of contributions to an ecosystem, which self-directed learners can draw from to meet their unique needs. The vision of free learning for all of humanity is widely embraced, and is now becoming more feasible with falling computer prices and the availability of the Internet and electricity in developing countries. OpenCourseWare (OCW) has been available from many sources for a decade, which FLH will leverage. However, learners still need an on-ramp to real world experience, the forthcoming IEEE Task Registry funded by same seed grant will provide. Online badges and certificates are becoming widely available and industry accepted, and FLH will leverage, but a composite credential is needed for those who learn as much as college graduates. Towards this end, FLH is setting up individuals with a Quality Management System (QMS) for their self-directed lifelong learning, for both the achievement of their learning and experience goals, and also for continually gaining new expertise needed by market changes, which builds on a recent pilot where a self-paced learner's QMS gained registration to ISO-9001, Quality Assurance. This, plus completing a college-equivalent online set of courses, work or volunteer experience, participation in a professional society, and commitment to a code of ethics could comprise a new professional certification that could serve those without affordable access to an accredited degree. FLH is working in close liaison with the IEEE Actionable Data Book (ADB), an activity conducted under the aegis of the IEEE Standards Association Industry Connections Program and the IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee. The ADB goal is to define an open and transformative blend of mobile technology, experiential analytics for evidence-based management, and rich media, delivered through interactive e-book technology. FLH has kicked off a pilot with three participants from developing countries, who are being guided to set up a QMS for setting goals and objectives, selecting the best free online courses, applying for freelance or volunteer tasks to support their learning goals, and other elements of becoming a self-directed lifelong learner. An online course is being developed to guide others who follow. FLH welcomes new ideas, initiatives, capabilities, pilots, liaisons, and active participants in this new initiative.
This paper focuses on effective learning spaces in contemporary higher education. Drawing on empi... more This paper focuses on effective learning spaces in contemporary higher education. Drawing on empirical data from a qualitative study of international students’ experience of blended learning programs conducted in three computing courses in two Australian universities, a range of issues and challenges are reported. Three pedagogical principles are then presented that respond to these challenges: 1. Enabling learners – learning how to learn in virtual learning spaces; 2. Programming for flexible learning – learning how to manage virtual learning environments; and, 3. Transforming learning – learning how to capitalise on the affordances of new technologies. The pedagogical principles are presented together with examples of types of practices that they support.
For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of ... more For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of online technology with the aim of transforming the way we teach and learn to improve students’ learning experiences and outcomes. However, despite significant investment in infrastructure and training and a wide-scale uptake of such technologies, the promised transformative effect on student learning is yet to be actualised outside of small pockets of innovation. In this paper, we argue that one of the factors contributing to lack of qualitative large-scale transformation is students’ lack of preparedness and experience in using online tools for learning purposes. Drawing on an ethnographic study of culturally diverse computing students and teachers within learning environments that blend online and face-to-face pedagogies, we argue that, although contemporary university students are largely operationally literate when using online learning tools, they often lack the cultural and critica...
Evolving web-based technologies make possible the creation of personal learning environments (PLE... more Evolving web-based technologies make possible the creation of personal learning environments (PLEs) that provide learners with increasing control of their individual learning processes. This paper reviews the concept of PLEs in the literature and suggests some possible implications for academic practice and institutional policy in higher education.
This paper deals with the evolution of the book in the context of higher education. Digital books... more This paper deals with the evolution of the book in the context of higher education. Digital books, or ebooks, need not be restricted to duplication of the printed page on a tablet device. As higher education embraces online learning, the tablet-based offerings from educational publishers will increasingly incorporate a variety of cloud-based learning activities and resources. These nextgeneration ebooks and etextbooks will look more like mobile apps than books. They will need to exchange data with a growing list of educational systems for student management, lesson planning, record keeping, learning analytics, assignment scheduling, massive open online course (MOOC) platforms, and so on. The Actionable Data Book project is a research and development effort undertaken this year to determine how to implement the added functionality required of educational ebooks in a way that will allow them to plug-and-play with other systems.
For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of ... more For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of online technologies with the aim of transforming the ways we teach and learn to improve students’ learning experiences and outcomes. However, despite significant investment in infrastructure and training and a wide-scale uptake of such technologies, the promised transformative effect on student learning is yet to be actualised outside of small pockets of innovation. In this paper, we argue that one of the factors contributing to lack of qualitative large-scale transformation is students’ lack of preparedness and experience in using online tools for academic purposes. Focusing on students’ experience of a learning activity that used blogging to promote critical thinking and reflection, we draw on data from a doctoral study to demonstrate how a techno-literacy framework can be used to analyse the nuances of students’ preparedness to put such technologies to work within a formal higher educ...
This thesis has two outcomes. First, it provides a detailed analysis of how international computi... more This thesis has two outcomes. First, it provides a detailed analysis of how international computing students experience a blended learning environment, identifying their perceptions of the new environment, perceptions of the use of ICT in their studies, preparedness and experiences in using ICT tools, and effective participation in ICT-mediated activities as critical aspects of teaching and learning environments that warrant particular attention by teachers of these students. The second outcome of this thesis is a set of pedagogical principles for the design and development of blended learning, contextualised in local and broader educational challenges typical of a multicultural student body, consistent with a globalised world.
This research paper discusses the learning experiences during the implementation of a postgraduat... more This research paper discusses the learning experiences during the implementation of a postgraduate network security capstone project using cloud services as the technical infrastructure. Using mixed methods, interpretations are drawn from students’ voices in a medium-sized Australian university, about the convoluted challenges and issues associated with the learning redesign of an advanced unit consistent with technology trends and industry demands. Despite finding the IaaS platform challenging and difficult to use, students perceived the learning experience to be highly rewarding and current in the development of their technical skills and job readiness.
Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 2015
A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (acti... more A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (action possibilities) and the influence information and communication technologies (ICT) may have on students' learning experiences and outcomes. Such studies have given rise to the implementation of a wide range of educational frameworks with a great deal of empirical evidence on the benefits of using technologies to improve learning. However, these benefits do not appear to have fulfilled higher education expectations for more meaningful and transformative learning experiences. In this paper, I argue that part of the problem is either the content or teacher-centric perspective of these frameworks and the need to explore the benefits from a more student-centric perspective. Learning is contextual, with learners having different abilities to learn and varying preferences for educational technologies with greater potential to facilitate their learning activities. Drawing on an ethnographi...
EDULEARN16 Proceedings, 2016
Electronic Journal of E Learning, 2015
A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (acti... more A cluster of research has been conducted in higher education to investigate the affordances (action possibilities) and the influence information and communication technologies (ICT) may have on students' learning experiences and outcomes. Such studies have given rise to the implementation of a wide range of educational frameworks with a great deal of empirical evidence on the benefits of using technologies to improve learning. However, these benefits do not appear to have fulfilled higher education expectations for more meaningful and transformative learning experiences. In this paper, I argue that part of the problem is either the content or teacher-centric perspective of these frameworks and the need to explore the benefits from a more student-centric perspective. Learning is contextual, with learners having different abilities to learn and varying preferences for educational technologies with greater potential to facilitate their learning activities. Drawing on an ethnographic study of culturally diverse computing students and teachers within learning environments that blend online and face-to-face pedagogies, I argue that our understanding of what ICT has to offer for the design and implementation of transformative learning activities is a far more complex issue than is often anticipated, particularly in the design and implementation of learning for computer science programs.
Arenas E & Lynch J 2015, "Techno-literacy and Blogging Within a Formal Higher Ed... more Arenas E & Lynch J 2015, "Techno-literacy and Blogging Within a Formal Higher Education Setting", International journal on e-learning 14(4):409-422. For the last two decades, higher education institutions have been actively engaged in the use of online technologies with the aim of transforming the ways we teach and learn to im- prove students’ learning experiences and outcomes. However, despite significant investment in infrastructure and training and a wide-scale uptake of such technologies, the promised transformative effect on student learning is yet to be actualised outside of small pockets of innovation. In this paper, we argue that one of the factors contributing to lack of qualitative large-scale transformation is students’ lack of preparedness and experience in using online tools for academic purposes. Focusing on students’ experience of a learning activity that used blogging to promote critical thinking and reflection, we draw on data from a doctoral study to demonstrate how a techno-literacy framework can be used to analyse the nuances of students’ preparedness to put such technologies to work within a formal higher education setting. We argue that, although contemporary university students are largely operationally literate when using online learning tools, they often lack the cultural and critical skills required to use such technologies in a meaningful way to support powerful learning. We argue that, for online learning technologies to trans- form learning, students need to be supported to develop these higher order techno-literacies.
Arenas E & Lynch J 2013, "Pedagogical principles for the design of virtual learn... more Arenas E & Lynch J 2013, "Pedagogical principles for the design of virtual learning spaces in higher education." In, The place of learning and teaching: Proceedings of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia 2013 Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 1-4 July 2013. This paper focuses on effective learning spaces in contemporary higher education. Drawing on empirical data from a qualitative study of international students’ experience of blended learning programmes conducted in three computing courses in two Australian universities, a range of issues and challenges are reported. Three pedagogical principles are then presented that respond to these challenges: 1. Enabling learners – learning how to learn in virtual learning spaces; 2. Programming for flexible learning – learning how to manage virtual learning environments; and, 3. Transforming learning – learning how to capitalise on the affordances of new technologies. The pedagogical principles are presented together with examples of types of practices that they support.
2013 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2013
ABSTRACT The phenomenal growth in the adoption of mobile cellular devices in the developing world... more ABSTRACT The phenomenal growth in the adoption of mobile cellular devices in the developing world has open the opportunity to develop a global platform for connected learning - a software and data infrastructure that will serve as the foundation for the many systems that we build to realize the idea of equal access to educational services. In this paper, we argue that the most challenging factor for the deployment of this platform is the development and implementation of an engineering standard specification grounded in new learning theories and principles. We propose the IEEE ADBook that has the potential to become the first truly global framework for connected learning supporting inclusive education in developing countries.
Lifelong learning: Reflecting on successes and …, 2008
... learning needs are linked to the needs of the organisation, performance development provides ... more ... learning needs are linked to the needs of the organisation, performance development provides ... The paper also reviewed the latest techno-social developments in social software, social ... Given the design of most learning environments within LMS typically exemplifies a passive ...
Higher Education Research & Development, 2009
ABSTRACT There is empirical evidence that teachers’ intentions concerning what students should le... more ABSTRACT There is empirical evidence that teachers’ intentions concerning what students should learn, teachers’ beliefs about teaching and teachers’ conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching within a specific context are closely related to the resulting quality of teaching. Following this line of reasoning, I argue in this paper that despite extensive research about good practice teaching international students, it is still unclear what constitutes good practice within this specific context. This research uses empirical data to determine how teachers may improve their understanding of, and adapt their teaching to, diverse groups of international students to meet emergent demands. A sample of 20 academics teaching international students in a medium‐sized regional Australian university participated in the study by responding to the widely used Approaches to Teaching Inventory. Results show that in this sample teachers tend to adapt their teaching approaches to match the context and, to some extent, slightly tend towards a knowledge transmission, teacher‐focused approach to teaching. An understanding of this may be used to implement staff development programmes for teaching practices that promote a student‐focused approach to teaching to encourage knowledge creation and conceptual change when teaching international students.