Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

Constructivism is a theory of learning that states that past knowledge is the base on which new ideas will be built. This is in direct opposition to instructivism, which states that students have a ‘clean slate’ that must be filled with new ideas, mainly through instruction. 

The phrase ‘active learning’ is key when it comes to constructivism, rather than ‘passive learning.’ Constructivism allows students to focus on real-life scenarios, not only giving them live context, but also enabling practical application of new ideas to familiar situations. 

For constructivism to work, dialogue must be enabled and encouraged. The application of new ideas will present its own errors and experiments, and you should always give your students time to stop and assess what they are doing. 

A recent survey found that the coronavirus pandemic has been challenging for teachers, parents and students alike. Many teachers and parents are concerned about their children’s progress, wellbeing, and finding relevant resources. Students said their main worry was being easily distracted, less motivated, and less effective at studying. Furthermore, students were yearning for daily social interaction and struggling with absence of an in-person teacher. How can educational technology help bridge the gap between all of these concerns? Is it possible to create a distraction-free “learning zone”, and find a balance between play, rest, and work each day?

A growing number of colleges and universities are announcing the cancellation of face-to-face teaching for what remains of the academic year, and continuing instead through online teaching. Given the technology available, this need not be especially problematic. But in practice, it is, and in many cases means the 2020 academic year is lost.

Things didn’t have to end like this: Learning online is not impossible, but will be difficult unless we start looking at things differently. Why is it a problem for teaching to continue through the internet? 

This is a second guest post written for students by students Matty Trueman, Kai Ackroyd, Curtis Alexis-Jones, Gagan Warinch and Eimantus Lukocius. We are final year students at Sheffield Hallam University. Intro The way students learn remotely is becoming more and more important as universities transition to online teaching. With many students facing a number…

The way students learn remotely is becoming more and more important as universities transition to online teaching. With many students facing a number of challenges during this current time, it’s important that there are answers to some of the questions that might have arisen. This blog post aims to provide an informative guide on how students can improve their remote learning experience, with the following questions being answered: how to stay motivated, how are other students learning, how to support your peers and how to be more social.

Taking an online course for the first time? As a member of Coursera’s Teaching and Learning team, I’ve had the privilege to work with hundreds of educators to bring their courses to more than 48 million people around the world. Based on research and best practices from our community, here are eight, go-to study tips for learning online.

In a public-private partnership that could signal the future of higher education, the University of Memphis has teamed up with FedEx Express on a new initiative that will give more than 11,000 FedEx employees the opportunity to earn a tuition-free degree from UofM Global, the university’s online learning program..

To assist European universities to become more mature users and custodians of digital data about their students as they learn online, the SHEILA project will build a policy development framework that promotes formative assessment and personalized learning, by taking advantage of direct engagement of stakeholders in the development process.

Online students often underestimate the amount of time and discipline necessary to successfully complete assignments, discussions, quizzes, and projects.

As schools settle into more sustained use of online learning tools, attention needs to be paid to teachers’ development and resource needs as well as their students’, writes Patrick Roach

It now seems like a lifetime ago that the majority of children and young people’s learning took place at school. The speed and scale of the Coronavirus crisis meant that virtually overnight living rooms, kitchens, sheds and bedrooms have been repurposed as places of both learning and teaching.

For the majority of schools this has meant a sudden and abrupt shift to delivering the majority of learning online. For some schools this will have been easier than others.

Learning remotely and online can present new challenges, or just put a strain on your existing learning strategies. You might be finding that you’re being provided with a lot of learning materials such as powerpoint slides, video, readings or handouts. What do you do with all this material, and how can you make sure you’re learning effectively rather than just staring at your screen, with nothing really going in?

Listen to Helen, one of our tutors, suggesting a few strategies to ensure that you’re actively engaging with learning materials and getting the most out of them.

Improve your online research skills and your ability to critically analyse sources of information.

Duke University professor Denise Comer taught a massive open online course on writing -- and took it as a student! She shares five lessons she learn from her...