This is an outdated version published on 14-11-2017. Read the most recent version.

New Generation Distributed Learning: Models of connecting students across distance and cultural boundaries

Authors

  • Romana Martin QUT
  • Tania Broadley QUT Curtin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v28i1.149

Keywords:

Distributed learning, new generation learning spaces, regional and remote education, teacher professional development.

Abstract

In an age of globalised learning and teaching, university education continues to extend beyond the classroom with students participating in rich learning opportunities designed to provide authentic learning experiences and foster an international perspective. Bridging the geographical divide between on campus, off campus, rural and remote learners has been an ongoing challenge for many universities often resulting in a different learning experience based on the mode of study.  The discourse of rurality in this paper, is situated in Reid et al’s (2010) rural social space where learners face specific economic, geographic and demographic issues relative to a particular context.  However, this paper will present a model of innovative communication technologies and new generation learning spaces, coined within as “new generation distributed learning classesâ€, emerging to support learning through video and web conferencing which situates local, rural, distance and overseas learners to participate collaboratively in real-time student-centred learning experiences with diverse student perspectives.   

 

This paper provides an introduction to the new generation of distributed learning and presents three models of distributed learning developed for a multi campus international university.  The models are informed by outcomes of a longitudinal research project monitoring the implementation of distributed learning across multiple campuses.  The dimensions used to describe new generation distributed learning experiences are also outlined. 

References

Bower, M., Dalgarno, B., Kennedy, G., Lee, M. J. W., & Kenney, J. (2014). Blended synchronous learning: A handbook for educators. Sydney, Australia: D. o. E. Office for Learning and Teaching. Retrieved from http://blendsync.org/handbook
Boylan, C., & McSwan, D. (1998). Long-staying rural teachers: Who are they? Australian Journal of Education, 42(1), 49-65.
Bridgstock, R. (2016). Educating for digital futures: what the learning strategies of digital media professionals can teach higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 53(3), 306-315. doi:10.1080/14703297.2014.956779
Broadley, T., & Broadley, A. (2014). Connecting University Learning Spaces through Distributed Learning. In J. Viteli & M. Leikomaa (Eds.), EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2014, held in Tampere, Finland, (pp. 1038-1042). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/147619
Burke, P. J., Bennett, A., Bunn, M., Stevenson, J., & Clegg, S. (2017). t’s About Time: Working towards more equitable understandings of the impact of time for students in higher education. Perth, Western Australia: Retrieved from https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Penny-Jane-Burke_Newcastle_About-Time-Report.pdf
Burns, A., & Knox, J. (2011). Classrooms as complex adaptive systems:a relational model. TESL-EJ,(1), 1-25. Retrieved from Classrooms as complex adaptive systems:a relational model
Chiu, P. H. P., & Cheng, S. H. (2017). Effects of active learning classrooms on student learning: a two-year empirical investigation on student perceptions and academic performance. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(2), 269-279. doi:10.1080/07294360.2016.1196475
Dede, C. (1996). The evolution of distance education: Emerging technologies and distributed learning. American Journal of Distance Education, 10(2), 4-36. doi:10.1080/08923649609526919
Ferry, D. L., Kydd, C. T., & Boyles, C. (2012). Creating the Global Graduate: A Cross-Cultural Videoconferencing Case Study. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 10(2), 139-164. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4609.2011.00336.x
Fleming, M. J., & Grace, D. M. (2017). Beyond aspirations: addressing the unique barriers faced by rural Australian students contemplating university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 41(3), 351-363. doi:10.1080/0309877x.2015.1100718
Freeman, M. (1996). Video conferencing: A solution to the multi-campus large classes problem? In A. Christie, P. James & B. Vaughan (Eds.), In ASCILITE '96: Making new connections, Proceedings of the 13th Annual Conference of the Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. (Adelaide, South Australia: (ASCILITE).
Hajhashemi, K., Caltabiano, N., & Anderson, N. (2016). Integrating digital technologies in the classroom: Lecturers’ views on the flipped classroom approach. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 26(3), 18-29.
Hegney, D., McCarthy, A., Rogers-Clark, C., & Gorman, D. (2002 ). Retaining rural and remote area nurses: The Queensland, Australia experience. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(3), 128-135.
Keppell, M., & Riddle, M. (2012). Distributed Learning Spaces: Physical, Blended and Virtual Learning Spaces in Higher Education. In M. Keppell, K. Souter & M. Riddle (Eds.), Physical and Virtual Learning Spaces in Higher Education: Concepts for the Modern Learning Environment. (pp. 1-20). Hershey, PA: ISR. doi:doi:10.4018/978-1-60960-114-0.ch001
Lea, M. R., & Nicoll, K. (Eds.). (2002). Distributed Learning: Social and cultural approaches to practice. London: Routledge.
Mader, C., & Ming, K. (2015). Videoconferencing: A New Opportunity to Facilitate Learning. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 88(4), 109-116. doi:10.1080/00098655.2015.1043974
O'Flaherty, J., & Phillips, C. (2015). The use of flipped classrooms in higher education: A scoping review. The Internet and Higher Education, 25, 85-95. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.02.002
Radcliffe, D., Wilson, H., Powell, D., & Tibbetts, B. (2009). Designing Next Generation Places of Learning: Collaboration at the Pedagogy-Space-Technology Nexus ALTC Priority Project #627. Retrieved from http://www.olt.gov.au/system/files/resources/grants_pp_projectreport_nextgeneration_uq_jan09.pdf
Rehn, N., Maor, D., & McConney, A. (2016). Navigating the challenges of delivering secondary school courses by videoconference. British Journal of Educational Technology, n/a-n/a. doi:10.1111/bjet.12460
Reid, J.-A., Green, B., Cooper, M., Hastings, W., Lock, G., & White, S. (2010). Regenerating Rural Social Space? Teacher Education for Rural—Regional Sustainability. Australian Journal of Education, 54(3), 262-276. doi:10.1177/000494411005400304
Sandhu, A., Fliker, A., Leitao, D., Jones, J., & Gooi, A. (2017). Adding Live-Streaming to Recorded Lectures in a Non-Distributed Pre-Clerkship Medical Education Model. Vol. 234. F. Lau, J. Bartle-Clar, G. Bliss, E. Borycki, K. Courtney & A. Kuo (Eds.), Studies in Health Technology and Informatics: Building Capacity for Health Informatics in the Future (pp. 292-297.). doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-742-9-292
Smyth, R. (2011). Enhancing learner–learner interaction using video communications in higher education: Implications from theorising about a new model. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(1), 113-127. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00990.x
Steel, C., & Andrews, T. (2012). Re-imagining teaching for technology-enriched learning spaces: An Academic Development Model. In M. Keppell, K. Souter & M. Riddle (Eds.), Physical and virtual learning spaces in higher education: Concepts for the modern learning environment. (pp. 242-265). Hershey, PA: ISR. doi:10.4018/978-1-60960-114-0.ch015
Symonds, S., Hartnett, M., Butler, P., & Brown, M. (2012). Video-linked teaching: Designing and evaluating technology-rich classrooms for real-time collaboration. In M. Brown, M. Hartnett & T. Stewart (Eds.), In ASCILITE 2012 Future challenges, sustainable futures. (pp. 898-906 Wellington, NZ: (ASCILITE).
Todd, N., & Ballantyne, J. (2007). This is our campus! - Student perspectives of their 1st year experience at a new university campus. Paper presented at the 10th Pacific Rim First Year Higher Education Conference, Brisbane, Australia,Retrieved from http://fyhe.com.au/past_papers/papers07/final_papers/pdfs/3e.pdf
Tummons, J., Fournier, C., Kits, O., & MacLeod, A. (2017). Using technology to accomplish comparability of provision in distributed medical education in Canada: an actor–network theory ethnography. Studies in Higher Education, 1-11. doi:10.1080/03075079.2017.1290063
Walker, J. H., DeWitt, D. E., Pallant, J. F., & Cunningham, C. E. (2012). Rural origin plus a rural clinical school placement is a significant predictor of medical students’ intentions to practice rurally: A multi-university study. Rural and Remote Health (Internet), 12(1908)
Warden, C. A., Stanworth, J. O., Ren, J. B., & Warden, A. R. (2013). Synchronous learning best practices: An action research study. Computers & Education, 63, 197-207. doi:http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.11.010
Watt, H., & Gardiner, R. (2016). Satellite programmes: barriers and enablers for student success. Wellington, New Zealand: Ako Aotearoa (National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence), 2016 Retrieved from https://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/report-satellite-programmes-barriers-and-enablers-for-student-success
Wirihana, L., Welch, A., Williamson, M., Christensen, M., Bakon, S., & Craft, J. (2017). The provision of higher education in regional areas: an integrative review of the literature. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 39(3), 307-319. doi:10.1080/1360080x.2017.1298196

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

14-11-2017

Versions

How to Cite

Martin, R., & Broadley, T. (2017). New Generation Distributed Learning: Models of connecting students across distance and cultural boundaries. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 28(1), 55–72. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v28i1.149

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 1 (2018): Aligning AIJRE Research with the Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education

Section

JOURNAL PAPERS

License

Authors contributing to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education.

Manuscripts submitted for publication should not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. It is the responsibility of authors to secure release of any copyright materials included in their manuscripts, and to provide written evidence of this to the editors. 

Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are subject to editorial revision. The Editorial Committee cannot guarantee that all contributions will be published nor give definite dates of publication. However, contributors will be advised if their papers are not accepted or if there will be a long publication delay.