1
The University of Hull
Connectivity and Cloud Based Learning in 2018: Future Perspectives.
Being a Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of (MA Education with Technology) In the University of Hull
By Paul Anthony Cook BA (Hons) – PGCE
September 2018
Word Count: 22109
2
Abstract
Emerging technology has turned the learning environment into a new place. This study investigates how people and institutions face many challenges within the teaching and learning process and how the adoption of technology affects their working practices and also the students learning experiences due to advancements in technology and the introduction of cloud-based learning into general and established pedagogical approaches. This study looks at the challenges many organisations face with the introduction of cloud-based learning into the classroom and how those involved interpret the use of cloud-based learning applications. A multi site approach was used and digital research tools have been utilised for this study. By using these methods the findings have been analysed in a way that helps to develop the required narrative to then answer the research questions. The findings of the study revealed ten main themes that have been recorded. The study found that the perception of cloud-based learning was confused and that the use of technology in organisations and educational settings is somewhat ubiquitous in nature. One of the particular findings of the study was that older generations of learners actually have problems engaging with cloud-based systems for learning purposes and this causes a great deal of problems for those involved in teaching this group. The study suggested that younger generations have integrated with cloud-based technology far better and in a way that assists them with their education due to their increased awareness of technology and connectivity. There does seem to be a generational approach to using cloud-based learning and this currently affects what organisations can do with digital cloud-based learning systems. Overall there was a clear distinction between those that could engage with cloud-based systems for learning purposes and those that couldn‘t, according to their age, profession and also their previous training or schooling. The study found that it was in some cases very difficult to establish a pedagogical approach to all learning and learners in what is currently a fast paced technological environment.
3
Acknowledgements Thanks to Paul Hopkins for his concatenated guidance, and dedication to the topics covered in his fantastically unique tutorial sessions. Much love to my wife whose intelligence, guidance and unending support allowed this all to unfold. A big thank you to all the University of Hull faculty staff who‘s specialist knowledge and professionalism surpassed all my expectations. Respects to my parents who allowed me to explore the world and its insights without any boundaries and who always instilled in me the belief that I could achieve anything academically. A special consideration to all my peers on the course who‘s kind considerations and conversations helped me to realise each unit of study further. Gratitudes to Professor Robert Stebbins who helped me at the beginning of my studies and who guided me with his most eloquent reasoning. Finally to Mr Powell who never gave up on me in his maths classes‘ and who recognised my potential.
4
Dedication This work is dedicated to my grandfather, ‗Alec Hyam‘ an intelligent man who unfortunately didn‘t realise his academic potential as he had to spend most of his life working in a Kingston-Upon-Hull shipyard to support his family. Without his wisdom and consideration in the face of adversity nothing of this work and that of his family would have been realised.
5
Contents: Chapter1: Introduction 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Context of the study 1.2.1 Case Study 1.3 Limitations 1.4 Professional background
………………………..………………………………………..…………… ………………………..………………………………………..…………… ………………………..………………………………………..…………… ………………………..………………………………………..…………… ……………………..……………………………………………………….. ………………………..………………………………………..……………
7 7 7 9 10 11
Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Cloud based systems and computing 2.3 Connectivity and Learning Management Systems 2.4 Economics of Scale 2.5 Connectivity as a Learning Theory 2.6 Chomsky on Education and Technology
……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...…………………………
12 17 19 20 23 25
Chapter 3: Research Design Methodology 3.1Introduction 3.2 Aims of the Study and Research Questions 3.3 Methodologies 3.4 Research Design 3.4.1 Data Collection 3.4.2 Questionnaires and Surveys
……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...………………………… ……………………...…………………………
27 27 28 30 34 35
Chapter 4: Findings 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Sampling 4.3 Findings 4.3.1 Introduction 4.3.2 Findings Analysis 4.4 Survey Results 4.4.1 Introduction 4.4.2 Online Survey Results 4.4.3 ‗Likert‘ Survey Results 4.5 Interview Results 4.5.1 Introduction 4.5.2 Summary of Findings and Conclusions
……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………................. ……………………………………………………................. …………………………………………………….................
41 41 43 43 44 51 51 51 58 65 65 66
Chapter 5: Discussion 5.1Introduction 5.2 Summary of Study 5.3 Future Research Recommendations 5.4 Conclusion
……………………...……………………………………….. ……………………...……………………………………….. ……………………...……………………………………….. ……………………...………………………………………..
70 73 73 74
References Bibliography Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4
....…………………………………………………………………………………………… ....…………………………………………………………………………………………… ....…………………………………………………………………………………………… ....…………………………………………………………………………………………… ....…………………………………………………………………………………………… ....…………………………………………………………………………………………….
82 87 91 92 95 97
6
Abbreviations: (CB) – Cloud Based (LMS) – Learning Management System (ULE) – Ubiquitous Learning Environment (MLE) – Managed Learning Environment (JISC) – Joint Information Systems Committee (BOS) – Bristol Online Surveys (AI) - Artificial Intelligence (GMT) – Greenwich Mean Time (SoT) – Status over Time (PDA) - Personal Digital Assistants (VPN) - Virtual Private Network (RAM) - Random Access Memory (MIT) - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ASTD) - American Society of Training and Documentation
7
Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background of the study. The study of technology in learning comes at a time when the convergence of technology is at a key phase in the development of education and how we intend to educate those in the future. Khan (2017) has made great in-roads into differing pedagogical approaches that have utilised the ‗flipped‘ learning approach to teaching that is video driven and also based around the use of the Internet. These rather less didactic and behaviourist approaches to education have offered a rather more constructivist ideal to emerge and it is this current trend that is driving teaching with technology forward. Since 2004, Siemens et al have made great approaches in defining the connectivity that has occurred between people and in particular the way we learn. So much so that there has been constructed a new type of so called learning theory ‗connectivism‘ this was something Siemens (2004) created and the concept has been explored greatly since that time. Scholars like Chomsky (2012) and Prensky (2010) have championed the cause of this new constructivist era and through their work have tried to define what today‘s generations of learners want and need.
1.2 Context of the study As far back as 2004 teachers such as Bergman and Sam‘s adopted new approaches to teaching utilising technology driven applications that have alleviated some measure of constraints that learners have faced due to whatever reasons. This increasing use of technology to make education more accessible and effective in certain areas is a driver for change in most educational establishments today. The concept of education, Peters (1965) has been debated for years and the pull and push between neo liberals and neo conservatives has seen a see saw effect in educational establishments that has spawned various critiques and ways of doing things in education that are seen to be progressive by one group and to some extent ridiculous by others. The concept of delivering education via technology and into and education framework is therefore ultimately based on how you see the educational setting. Is it to be a setting that promotes the advancement of new and private enterprise that doesn‘t see any value in learning say ‗Latin‘ or do we all live with the neoconservatism viewpoint that sees us return to the concept of learning Latin by memory and forsaking technology as
8 a driver for change. Increasingly generations of learners are changing due to the advent of technology in the classroom and we do generally perceive learners to be benefiting. Liz Sproat the leader of all educational program research at ‗Google‘ stated in her lecture at the University of Hull in 2017, ―we cannot yet perceive the future of learning management systems and it is impossible for us to imagine what the future might hold‖ (Sproat, Lecture, 2017:na). If this is the case it is very difficult to predict how technology will drive change in education and in fact if it will at all. The mainstay of technological developments currently being advanced in western and developing countries is primarily being driven by wealthy entrepreneurs such as Bill and Melinda Gates, and other such luminaries from the tech world that seek to want to engage in all sorts of philanthropy, including educational projects, people such as Marc Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Zuckerberg (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Online, 2017:na,; see also Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Online, 2017:na). Other interested parties in technology empowerment of the masses include investment banks such as Learn Capital; Ball (2017) in his book, ‗Global Education Inc‘ suggests that, ―Learn Capital are at the hub of the network‖ (Ball, 2012:77). This company is a leading US based venture capital firm that has an exclusive focus on global education. Ball further expounds on the fact that, ―driving this splurge of activity towards global and international education is the fact that there is a very high proportion of software billionaires that seem to have nothing better to spend their money on than global education‖ (Ball, 2012:77). Ball suggests further that, ―this is in fact education philanthropy and that, ‗it is oriented towards new ventures and is less bounded by the roles and rules of traditional charity‖ (Ball, 2012:77).
9
1.2.1 Case Study Further to Sproat’s (2017) University of Hull lecture the researcher followed up one of Google’s school contacts mentioned in the local area. This school is integrated with Google’s learning products. The researcher contacted a teacher called Mr Lazenby (2017) himself a Strategic IT Lead in the school. Further to some questions by the researcher via email to Lazenby (2017) on the use of the Google products in the school Lazenby (2017) suggested that; “We use G Suite and Google Classroom here at Kelvin Hall. Skills for these are taught to pupils from year seven onwards”. “This proved popular with staff and pupils for various reasons”. “Last year we replaced most of our pupil PC laptops with Chromebooks”. “G Suite really comes into its own when used on a Chromebook”. “This replacement project solved the majority of issues we had with our IT here”. “MS Exchange was also replaced with GMail a couple of years back to take full advantage of G Suites sharing and collaboration”. “We still have a Windows network with file sharers but as most pupils use a Chromebook, their work is stored in Google drive” (Lazenby, Email, 2017:na).
The researchers overall impression from subsequent meetings with Google staff in this period and discussions with the Lazenby (2017) at the school was that Google was very interested in embedding their products into schools with a view to the schools connecting to their cloud-based (CB) networks. So much so that the computers supplied by Google did not have a hard drive installed for storage this had been replaced by a direct connection to the Google CB networks and company servers. Overall the school in question was ‘hooked’ up directly to the Google CB networks and the organisation has access to their data on a daily or minute by minute basis during school times. By contrast if we look at poorer developing countries then the Google suite of current products is totally redundant in Africa due to this lack of connectivity (The Conversation, Online, 2016:na). At the time of Sproat’s (2017) lecture at the University of Hull the researcher also made contact with
10 her via professional networks and he was interested in interviewing her on some of the presentation aspects she put forward at the time, one of these was future thinking initiatives from the Google development lab. One project consisted of ‗floating balloons‘ that could create Wi-Fi networks in remote regions of the world such as the Sahara and African sub continents. Unfortunately any attempt to illicit a further response from Sproat on these developments was met with a corporate response and when the researcher asked any questions relating to work to develop CB networks for education in Africa. The general corporate response was that, ―we do not have any strategy to develop our products in this country‖ (Google, Email, 2017:na). Whilst this case study does suggest that a corporate approach to technology and roll out of its products specifically relies on a CB server connection to the Internet, it was a very good starting point for the researcher in-regards to understanding the inequalities of delivery based upon CB technology and the Internet.
1.3 Limitations There is somewhat of a limitation to this kind of study as it is rather predictive and the research information will be collected from various unique sources that are rather subjective. However whilst this might be true and limitations of prediction might exist the questions can be asked of people via this study and whilst there are limits to what we can predict we can gather research data to inform the study that could be useful for future generations to work with and that will achieve some kind of empirical form. So whilst the researcher is limited in some respects with this type of interpretive approach to the study in other respects the style of the research could provide insights and data that have so far been overlooked. There could be an issue of the researchers ‗insiderness‘ this being connected to the researcher‘s current and past professional background and the researcher has to ensure that his questions are properly coded and arranged so as to not lead the participants or to add any bias to the findings. This is very important as without very careful planning of the surveys and associated questions it could lead to the results being rather manipulated than properly research led. So it is very important that the researcher gets these fundamental aspects correct to ensure that the detail in the survey is framed in a way that allows the surveys and research to occur in a natural
11 manner rather than in some didactic and predictive fashion that could limit the subsequent findings due to some form of insider bias.
1.4 Professional background Since leaving university in 2000 with a BA in Interactive Design, and attaining a PGCE in service as a lecturer, the researcher has worked on various projects involving distance learning, firstly as a designer of distance learning resources and tools to then being actively involved professionally in managing distance education since 2000, running one of the first distance learning pilots in the UK for training childminders in rural areas. Since this time the researcher has gained some interesting insights into the use of distance learning technology to deliver courses and has noticed the differing demographics of participants and their requirements of training over distance. As someone who is currently professionally active in teaching people over distance using the Internet. With this dissertation the researcher would like to further explore the future uses of technology and training over distance including the advent of new digital technologies that would possibly influence those associated learning paradigms in 2018. As a part of the first year MA studies the researcher carried out a simple qualitative research project on the interaction of his own students on their distance learning courses, this being over a five year time frame and solely based on their exit feedback forms. The results from this study had been very interesting to the researcher and promoted the researcher to expand on this research further with his dissertation. There could possibly be some ethical concerns with the researcher being an insider involved in such a research project but he is focusing on the questions through the lens of future technology and this is paramount to his research not necessarily what experiences he has had professionally.
12
Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction In the literature review the researcher wanted to look into areas of research and writing that had a link to cloud based learning environments and their use. This could be in the form of a research project and its findings or else journals and papers that have been written by academics to discuss the subjects of cloud based learning. The researcher would also like to draw upon any academic authors that have written about cloud based learning environments and paradigms that would further inform the research. Authors like ‗Prensky‘, ‗Siemens‘ and ‗Chomsky‘ have had a unique insight into technology and learning paradigms that have influenced a lot of discussions on the future of learning utilising technology and these are areas of literature that the researcher wants to look at in his literature review. This research is current and was opposed to looking at areas of literature that commenced from 2008 onwards especially if the studies had anything to do with distance learning and cloud based emerging technologies as the researcher didn‘t want this research to be a retrospective of how we got to this stage. Further to carrying out some initial research into past academic writing on the subject there was a lot of bias, and supposition from that time due to the rapid changes occurring with emerging technology and the researcher didn‘t feel that it was relevant to this particular study. Authors like Turkle, Papert and Gibson again have all been pioneers of technology and its future ambitions cannot be discounted, as a lot of what they wrote in the 1980‘s is still quite reliable today and still has some resonance in 2018. One of the first areas the researcher looked at was a worldwide study on ubiquitous learning environments within higher education. This was a very detailed and involved research project and the authors, Virtanen et al, (2017) produced a journal paper titled, ‗Ubiquitous learning environments in higher education: A scoping literature review‘. The connected abstract suggested that evidently ubiquitous learning heralded a new era in higher education. The trick it seems is to produce a seamless learning environment that is available in any location at any time and that produces personalised learning opportunities as suggested by Virtanen et al. (See Appendix 1).
13 The scope of the research project by Virtanen et al, (2017) was to find and identify criteria for ubiquitous learning environments. This was done via searching nine international databases for literature to support the research. Out of over eight hundred original studies looked at this was reduced to a final seven for review. The definitions decided on in the results stage relied upon the actual definition of a ubiquitous learning environment as; 1. context-awareness 2. interactivity 3. personalisation 4. flexibility supported by learning management systems 5. functional objects 6. wireless networks 7. mobile devices (Virtanen et al, 2017:4). The study raised in its activity a recorded need for transparent research that presented practical implications for ‗generalisability‘ of future development processes in the field. The research asked two key questions; 1. What are the criteria for ubiquitous learning environments and 2. What kinds of ubiquitous learning environments have been reported? The researcher was more focused on the results of this project rather than the nuts and bolts of the research methods used. The program had a very scientific bias and it was conducted across a higher education faulty in a way that generated the theoretical results required by the study. ―In all the studies, context-aware ubiquitous learning environments were used with a web-based learning management system and with various approaches and functionalities‖ (Virtanen et al, 2017:8). Context awareness was the key to supporting the student‘s functions with some unique signifiers involved, including; ―using embedded functional objects, such as quick response barcodes,
14 radio frequency identification tags, or specific probes with different sensing approaches, wireless networks and mobile devices. Tags were used to match the best educational resource based on the students‘ locations‖ (Virtanen et al, 2017:8). The ability of the system was to designate peers to interact with the studies within a location based scenario that allowed the interaction anyplace, anywhere with a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous delivery systems. Remote attendance to some classes had been reported and the specific use of peer-helpers defined the learning process further. The study itself was conducted mainly in Asia, Japan and Taiwan. ULE‘s (Ubiquitous Learning Environments) developed by the faculties involved relied totally on custom made web based learning environments that supported the authentic learning environments. Overall the learning environments used wireless connectivity and the use of mobile or PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) to deliver the content and interaction. Outcomes measured in the study included cost effectiveness, satisfaction and usefulness. In the seven studies ‗increased learning effectiveness was reported‘, general usefulness was reported in four studies but cost effectiveness was only measured in one study. ―All of the reviewed studies indicated positive effects when ubiquitous learning environments were used‖ (Virtanen et al, 2017:10). One interesting statement in the study stated that, ―Relevant practical implications or implementations of ubiquitous learning environments in higher education have not been transparently published and the lack of relevant research in this area is prominent‖ (Virtanen et al, 2017:13). The general consensus of the study indicated that the learning environments had been developed on a custom basis and fulfilled a specific need locally. This allowed the learning process to be specific and meet the needs of the learners irrespective of their location and physicality to the process. However one caveat attached to the results was that it was difficult to cross over the custom courses to other educational environments due to the nature of the specific subjects and this was deemed as a general limitation of the studies. Overall a need was predicted and found with faculties designing and developing custom based learning environments utilising the latest technology. However the scope of these courses and there development is quite possibly beyond the capability of most faculties but one that could be researched further in the future with a transparency that could benefit other higher
15 education courses and institutions. Compared to the surveys carried out in 2008 the leap from synchronous and passive eLearning modules to a more ubiquitous offering, based around wireless capabilities and asynchronous and synchronous processes working together is somewhat of an advancement that is and will be developed further as we discover new technologies that will further augment future ULE‘s. Carvalho et al, (2017) in their work, ‗Detailing a Spectrum of Motivational Forces Shaping Nomadic Practices‘ as demonstrated in a one day symposium at the University of Hull in the same year shed some light via an ethnographic study of academics detailing their nomadic work lifestyles and looking at the motivational and contextual practices of those involved. Motivational aspects looked at included, ‗choice opportunity and obligation‘. De Carvalho et al (2017) make some interesting assumptions that, ―nomadicity can be associated with seeking resources such as space, time, privacy, silence and other people in order to develop their work. As soon as the necessary resources are found, people setup their temporary workplaces and start engaging with their productive activities‖ (De Carvalho et al, 2017:3). This in essence is very similar to how students interact generally in University‘s nowadays and the advent of shared spaces utilising computers and other resources such as University breakout spaces tends to replicate this very notion of nomadic production. The notion of the groups finding a location and gathering all of the resources and tools they need, and then to close themselves off from the rest of the world to engage in ‗group thought and speak‘ to rationalise what they are working on is a rather polarised and nomadic concept anyway. In the interview stages of the De Carvalho et al, (2017) ‗Nomadic Practices‘ study, academic staff would suggest location was key when deciding when to work. Factors included, refreshments being available and a conducive and comfortable environment to work from. In fact nothing remotely connected to a traditional work environment or office location. Access to the Internet, something that participants also considered was an important determinant in the choice of a location and that would be essential for them to accomplish their tasks. This was usually in the background of their discourse; they often explained this by saying that ―nowadays Internet connectivity has become so ubiquitous that it would be difficult to be in a place that does not offer that resource, so they would not need to worry about it‖ (De Carvalho et al, 2017:7).
16 One interesting assumption of faculty staff was that they preferred to work off campus so in essence are not at work as such, but rather working on work in another preferred location. ―I work off campus not because I have to but because it suits me better and I find I‘m more efficient. So it‘s not because the resources are at home and they‘re not in my office, it‘s because I‘m more productive, in terms of the fact that I might work at home a good bit, is more a personal choice rather than the resources only being there‖ (De Carvalho et al, 2017:7). This does beg the question if faculty staff are here, there and everywhere and the students are also in their own nomadic holding patterns within a University campus isn‘t the intrinsic notion of a University something of a construct that could be essentially anywhere in any location and that could be equally effective? Asides for administration staff working on a regular basis on campus there is a fluidity of learning and working with students that seems to be ongoing and evolving but has only been quantified recently by researchers such as De Carvalho et al, (2017) who have documented this fact. The notion of faculty staff not attending a University and the fact that students could access lectures from their beds in a shared house somewhere in a city predicts that a form of ‗nomadic‘ and ‗ubiquitous learning‘ is occurring but one that is currently rather transparent and not quantifiable as such. Currently faculty staff are being put into a situation that has evolved due to the advent of technology and methods that have offered choices to those staff, and the students. Choice and opportunity along with obligation are the three themes referred to in the ‗Digital Nomad‘s‘ study and it is the first two aspects that are it seems key to what is effective learning over distance, with the third aspect, obligation something that is a given for the equation to work fully. Whilst we are obligated to work or study in a University we now have choices and the opportunity to fulfil our obligations to our courses and students in a way that is ubiquitous and somewhat transcendental compared to working in the same sector fifty years ago.
17
2.2 Cloud Based Systems and Computing Cloud based learning has been enabled by the development of various models of computing that have allowed network services to evolve in to a delivery platform. Qi Zhang et al (2010) in their paper ‗Cloud computing: state-of-the-art and research challenges‘ suggest the main types of clouds are; 1. Public clouds 2. Private clouds 3. Hybrid clouds 4. Virtual private cloud (Qi Zhang et al, 2010:10).
These are important to note as generally a CB environment is just perceived as a computer server on a server farm in Phoenix Arizona, USA, that just hosts the user‘s data. However the complexity of CB computing and the associated network technology is such that it is beyond the scope of this study, but the associated aspects of CB computing have to be recognised to allow the exploration of CB learning and to further understand the more complex ubiquitous learning environments currently being heralded in 2018 as the next step forward in connected learning. In the researchers experience as a CB system developer there are various components in the associated cloud servers that allow various degrees of access from the public cloud that does what it says on the tin. It allows everybody access to a CB server that again is a direct link to a server somewhere and only the designated members of an organisation are given access. Or else the hybrid cloud that allows public access but that maybe also has a separate and private login for staff to access solely, such as a University staff portal for example. Finally we have the ultra private ‗Virtual Private Cloud‘ and this is a (VPN), Virtual Private Network, that is more or less a tunnel through the internet that is more or less impregnable from the outside and its encryption is set that high that any access is impossible (Qi Zhang et al, Ibid:10).
18 CB learning is focused on collaboration and utilising the available resources to promote that collaboration. This could be through applications, personal devices such as mobile phones nowadays or computers generally. In their paper, ‗Measuring the Efficiency of Cloud Computing for E-learning Systems‘, Pocatilu, et al, (2010) state that, ―the advent of the codec Web 3.0 or as they put it ‗the intelligent web‘ is the codec that is ultimately responsible for the connectivity that will advance cloud based learning into a space that will allow further and more applications and interactions to develop‖ (Pocatilu, et al, 2010:1). The researcher agrees with this statement as being a former interactive designer, it is the allowed interaction that can promote a more complex learning experience. Interactive designers rely heavily on bandwidth and latency issues when designing environments for users in an internet based cloud system. Given that applications can be more scalable then this has an impact on the devices required to access a CB system. In turn as Pocatilu et al, (2010) point out in their paper, ―a cloud based system relies heavily on the servers processing power thus reducing the drag on a users system allowing for a lot more access for those restricted by computing power and cost of entry in purchasing the right equipment to access the cloud based resources‖ (Pocatilu, et al, Ibid:2). Google have empowered schools across the globe in the same way with this very concept of delivery by negating the hard drives of their Google machines that merely access the Google servers when required and interface with the processing power of Google‘s machines to transfer and receive student‘s stored data (Google, Online, 2017:na). Whilst again the numerous developments and complexities in cloud computing are beyond the scope of this study the researcher did want to review in part the conditions and systems that affect the use of CB learning and connectivity for learners as a lot of his research is based upon these varying and developing factors. For example Quantum Computing is an evolution in computer development that will further shape CB learning systems. Beall (2017) in her article for ‗Wired Magazine‘ suggests that, ―energy uses of computers could be cut by a factor of 1 Million in the future‖ (Beall, Online, 2017:na). ‗Quantum Computing‘ is in effect ‗Quantum Physics‘ in action so it is a computer with an ability to co-exist in more than one state at any time. Whilst as Beall (2017) points out that a, ―Quantum Computer might be one hundred million times faster than a computer of today‖, the bulk and size of current ‗Quantum Computers‘ is such that
19 we cannot use them on a regular basis as we can current computers (Beall, Online, 2017:na). Yet in 2017-18, a mobile smart phone is infinitely more powerful than any 1980‘s mainframe computer. It is all relative and Quantum Computing in 30 years will no doubt be equally as scalable, if that is the case, ‗what will be possible with CB learning when essentially the computer itself is the CB network‘ and it can operate in infinite space and time on a very large scale? To help describe the concept further, a traditional computer is reliant on (RAM), Random Access Memory based memory to assist it in its ability and the more RAM based memory you have in your computer traditionally then the faster computing power you have. With a ‗Quantum Computer‘ this RAM based scenario of a traditional computer is the actual computer and unless the machine is turned off it is always working in a RAM based environment allowing it to supersede a traditional computers function due to the none requirement of relying on a hard disk that has mechanical parts that eventually slow it down. No matter how much RAM you have in your current machine today it cannot solely work within the RAM function. This is a very important future development and one that will set apart the current CB learning systems from those in the future by the very nature of how you can design a learning environment within what is essentially a fourth dimensional space.
2.3 Connectivity and Learning Management Systems The researcher wanted to review some literature and research findings on connectivity and online learning management systems; he looked at a research study in Africa that had based its research on Moodle one of the most popular online learning management systems used in 2018 (Moodle, Online, 2018). Again the study was very current and carried out in 2017 by two academics Mwalumbwe and Mtebe (2017) from the Mbeya University of Science and Technology and the University of Dares Salaam, based in Tanzania, Africa. The main focus of the research project was to determine and understand the effectiveness of the learning management systems on the students learning performance. Core user data was extracted using analytic tools and, ―subjected into linear regression analysis with students‘ final results‖ (Mwalumbwe and Mtebe, PDF, 2017:1). One of the key findings by the study found that, ―time spent in the LMS, number of downloads, and login
20 frequency were found to have no significant impact on students‘ learning performance‖ (Mwalumbwe and Mtebe, 2017:1). Predictions for the future in this study proposed that more qualitative research be undertaken to interview students and provide case studies as to why certain aspects of interaction with the Moodle LMS didn‘t work, this would build on the existing quantitative data held via the current research. The full picture of student‘s interactions couldn‘t be captured via this study and was therefore limited in its approach to determine exactly how the students interacted with the LMS. One of the main conclusions from the study was that the use of learning analytic tools could be employed to ensure that strategies could be found to maximise the use of the LMS by the students. This being said the researches cited Ssekakubo, et al, (2011) for the fact that, ―the majority of LMS in Africa fail partially or totally‖ (Mwalumbwe and Mtebe, Ibid:10). In the conclusion for this study the researchers found that forums, peer interaction and exercises based upon the Moodle LMS had an impact on the students learning and that no matter how many downloads occurred by each student, time spent on the Moodle LMS had no impact whatsoever on the students performance. And that the students who achieved better grades had been more pro-active on the actual forums and interacted more with their peers this way to learn. Those students who augmented their learning with some of the Moodle LMS based exercises performed better in their final assessment than those who did not. It was concluded that there was a strong link between the student‘s usage of the Moodle LMS and their performance that resulted in higher grades for the participants (Mwalumbwe and Mtebe, Ibid:11).
2.4 Economics of Scale There is a famous paradox in computing history often referred to as the ‗Solow Paradox‘ after its founder Robert Solow himself a professor of economics at the (MIT), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The literature cited surrounding this paradox is vast and Solow in 1987 after reviewing a book for the New York Times launched the concept of emerging technology and economics of scale into the world gaze. At the time his employer derided the advent of emerging technology as a demonstrator of future wealth and prosperity as ludicrous. Solow‘s (1987) main argument centred on
21 the decline of manufacturing in the USA in the 1980‘s and the start of what was a prolific time for emerging technology from the late eighties onwards. The main tenet of his belief was that the authors of the book he reviewed, ‗Manufacturing Matters‘ by Cohen and Zsyman (1987) couldn‘t safely and with any confidence add any credibility to their statements on emerging technology as their statements at the time couldn‘t be validated, it was rather subjective, but more than subjective to an economics professor it was downright wrong. Cohen and Zysman (1987) suggested that, ―Those firms that understand, invent and implement the new possibilities of the emerging telecommunications technology will gain advantage. Critically, corporate strategies at home and abroad will use the possibilities of the new technology to capture competitive advantage. We cannot, of course, demonstrate how technologies that are only now emerging will alter strategies in ways yet to be imagined" (Cohen and Zysman,1987:na, within, Standupeconomist.com, Online,1987:36). In some respects Solow (1987) was right to challenge the assumptions at the time and he based this further on the fact that the authors hadn‘t delivered any real hypotheses but forms of truisms and general comment that couldn‘t be properly validated. Some of Cohen and Zysman‘s (1987) hypotheses are referred to in the article here, "Six hypotheses that will be used as premises from here on in. ... First, technological developments can provoke rapid market shifts. Second, technologies are shaped by the needs and arrangements that exist in the nations from which they emerge. Third, some critical technologies can affect the competitive position of a whole range of industries; and if one nation uses these technologies to gain a lead in a vital product, it can forge an important trade advantage for itself. These are strategic transformative industries" (Cohen and Zysman,1987:na, within, Standupeconomist.com, Online,1987:36). Over time it has been proven that the authors have been right in a lot of aspects but ‗Solow‘s Paradox‘ can still be demonstrated in 2018 with the advent of further and future emerging technology models. In all cases, and countries regarding emerging technology the facts demonstrated by all concerned are exactly conveyed in the same way, markets can shift into positive ones, technology can find a need in any nation and that emerging technology can offer a competitive advantage to the country involved. In a way Cohen and Zysmans (1987) commentary was that of a sales person selling the advantages of the latest product to
22 the consumer, and the consumer is then hood winked into believing all the facts about the product are true. Yet this form of marketing is still alive today and the main premise of large corporations selling technology into most nation states around the world. What is happening in Africa in regards to technology in 2018 reflects this as it is one of the most emerging markets for mobile and distance communications in the world; it is currently a barometer in some respects as to what can be achieved without all things being equal. In Africa there is just not the connectivity that we experience in the western world and Africans have to adapt to mobile systems to access everything we do using our machines and generous Internet bandwidths. In some cases the Internet is so redundant in countries like Africa that it is still a case of travelling two hours to an Internet café to receive and download a digital file. In 2017 a detailed study of ‗connectivity‘ in Africa was carried out by three academics from Oxford University titled, ‗The Impact of Connectivity in Africa: Grand Visions and the Mirage of Inclusive Digital Development‖. The author‘s research was very comprehensive and it based a lot of its findings on some very heavy duty reports in relation to emerging technologies see, (Appendix 3). Some of the findings worked on included a developing narrative achieved through the analysis of the reports. For example, ―The Internet‘s effect on inequality could actually be positive (i.e. inequality-enhancing)‖ and, ―In the private and philanthropic sector, such plans take their most global shape. Facebook and Google, for instance, are investing in projects that aim to connect all of the world‘s remaining four billion people that have never accessed the Internet‖ (Friederici, et al, 2017:2). And further introspection of scholarly databases in the research suggested, ―A pattern emerging from the review is that the evidence base is inconclusive: there is evidence that confirms both positive and negative effects of connectivity‖ (Friederici, et al, 2017:2). Furthermore they cite Skuse & Cousins, (2007) within their work, ―Variation even exists within poor populations: telecommunication services have been found to lessen the financial vulnerability and susceptibility to shocks of poor households in South Africa, but the poorest households might not benefit to the same extent‖ (Skuse & Cousins, 2007, as found within Friederici, et al, 2017:4). Overall in their review of all the academic literature on connectivity Friederici et al (2017) concluded that, ―The academic literature has little to offer in support of claims that the Internet causes widespread and inclusive economic impact, thereby tackling inequality‖ (Friederici, et al, 2017:5).
23
2.5 Connectivity as a Learning Theory Siemens (2004) in his work Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, suggested that being connected was in fact a ‗learning theory‘. The author did make some good points on the use of technology for learning and especially in relation to traditional learning theory models such as, behaviourism, constructivism and cognitivism, he makes the claim that whilst the traditional learning models are still relative they had also been developed in an era that negated technology in education (Siemens, Online, 2004:na). Siemens cites Gonzales (2004) who suggested that the (ASTD) American Society of Training and Documentation stated that, ―the amount of knowledge doubled every ten years‖ (De Toro, Online, 2009:na). Now it could be every 12 months or possibly sooner as this study was carried out in 2004. Such is the unpredictability of events related to technology that even the amount of knowledge that we deal with or have access to cannot be quantified. How will the worlds populations cope in the future with a knowledge base that doubles every second? So that was Siemens (2004) first argument that a knowledge based society like ours connected to vast amounts of new knowledge cannot be constrained by older learning theories? Siemens (2004) premise was that of ‗communities of practice‘, along with ‗communities of enquiry‘ these allow groups of individuals to focus on any given subject they want and to disseminate the information to each other to progress their learning goals. Obviously these communities are cloud-based and that is his reference, but they could be also non-cloud based for arguments sake. So along with this argument Siemens identified a plethora of reasons for why connectivity is becoming a learning theory, see below;
1. Communities of Practice/Enquiry 2. Knowledge based economy creating flux in employment types 3. Informal learning 4. Learning and work are now the same 5. Technological tools are changing our thinking and brains 6. Individual and organizational learning requires a new theory to develop it 7. Technology can now supersede traditional learning models
24 8. Know-how has been replaced by knowing where to find the knowledge needed (Siemens, Online, 2004:na).
All Siemens (2004) points lead us to challenge existing learning theories and models and reinvent the wheel as such and all down to the assumption of two things, the fact that we are connected to the Internet and that those connections are increasing our knowledge tenfold every day as well as the fact that we can access any knowledge at anytime and in any place to learn. Siemens (2004) when trying to define his principles of ‗connectivism‘ relies on some key points again in his work and one of these is currency and accuracy of information; ―it has to be up-to-date knowledge, and if this is not evident then no ‗connectivist‘ learning activities‘ can be applied‖ (Siemens, Online, 2004:na). He also states that, ―there is a shifting reality with data being introduced to the participant, and this can affect the decision making process‖ (Siemens, Online, 2004:na). If the data is right today and then wrong tomorrow then we have to view connectivity with some scepticism as how do we know and determine that what we are learning today is going be relevant tomorrow? In fact how do we know what is the right information to forward our learning in a connected world where possibly information received cannot be relied upon or validated. Connectivity claims to be a learning theory, how does it allow us to learn anything valid? Connectivity merely makes us interact with information that could not be relevant at all and therefore hinder us in the learning process, is that a valid and reliable learning theory? Whilst traditional constructivist approaches managed in a traditional learning environment could see the learner determine their own route through various sources of information to learn could it be said that being connected can offer the same determination to learn anything valid, reliable and sufficient enough to quantify that the learning process has in fact been successful for the individual concerned. There is an issue with connectivity related to the validity of information those connected are working with, especially if the world knowledge base is increasing exponentially every day, how do we validate that information for the purpose of learning is true?
25
2.6 Chomsky on Education and Technology Noam Chomsky has long been a critic of education and technology and in his (2012) video, ‗The Purpose of Education‘ he suggested that, ―Technology is basically neutral. It‘s kind of like a hammer. The hammer doesn‘t care whether you use it to build a house, or a torturer uses it to crush somebody‘s skull. The hammer can do either‖ (Chomsky, Online, 2012:na). He also suggests inregards to searching for information on the internet that, ―If you know what you‘re looking for - if you have a framework of understanding which directs you to particular things, and sidelines lots of others—then this can be a valuable tool. Of course, you always have to ask yourself, ‗Is my framework the right one?‘ Perhaps you need to modify it from time to time‖, ―But you can‘t pursue any kind of inquiry without a relatively clear framework that‘s directing your search and helping you choose what‘s significant and what isn‘t; what can be put aside; what is going to be pursued; what ought to be challenged; what should be further developed; and so on‖. ―You can‘t expect somebody to become a biologist or a doctor by giving the person access to the Harvard University biology library, and just say, ‗Look through it, you‘re on your own.‘ The Internet is the same, but just magnified enormously‖. ―If you don‘t understand or know what you‘re looking for — if you don‘t have some conception of what matters —then you‘re lost. And you should always be willing to question your framework and make sure you‘re not going in the wrong direction‖. ―But if you don‘t have that, exploring the Internet is just picking out random factoids that don‘t mean anything. Behind any significant use of contemporary technology is some well-constructed directive apparatus. It is very unlikely to be helpful — it is very likely, in fact, to be harmful‖. ―It turns out, for example, that a random exploration through the Internet turns out to be a cult generator. Pick up a ‗fact‘ here, another ‗fact‘ there, and someone else reinforces it, and all of a sudden you have some crazed picture that has some ‗factual‘ basis, but nothing to do with the world‖ (Chomsky, Online,2012:na). Chomsky‘s (2012) position is very clear in that he has to have a framework for interaction with the Internet and if there isn‘t one then the learner might as well be wasting their time and nothing constructive will come out of the exploration. Whilst he makes some good valid points about being organised whilst engaging with the Internet unlike Siemens (2004) he
26 doesn‘t view the Internet through rose tinted glasses more like a magnifying glass that is very much focused on its subject. Chomsky (2012) is a traditionalist when it comes to education and whilst he challenges many aspects of education systems and learning he is overly conservative in his viewpoints when it comes to connecting to the Internet and interacting in the space. Whilst the likes of Siemens (2004) and his peers advocate the use of the Internet space as something to be explored and connected to regardless of the direction and in a way that is more ubiquitous than anything. Chomsky (2012) has considered the Internet and its use for learning as a rather centralised network that doesn‘t necessarily connect to the rest of the world via a cloud-based system, it could in fact be an extensive library that has peer to peer networks that avails itself to any enquiry much akin to a traditional library or computer database driven learning system. Chomsky (2012) and his generation do not get ‗connectivity‘ and how to interact on the internet socially and for work and if we look at this through the lens of Prensky (2010) they never will due to not being able to comprehend today‘s generations of learners and those immersed in technology since birth.
27
Chapter 3: Research Design Methodology 3.1 Introduction In previous chapters the researcher has shown that there is a great deal of focus on emerging technology in education and delivery via CB systems. The role that teachers, schools and other organisations play in utilising those technologies in the classroom has also been discussed. In this chapter the methodological approaches will be explained that have been carried out in this empirical research that has looked at the use of CB systems in education across a wide range of users currently active in the education field. This chapter starts by looking at the aims of the study and the context of that study and how the research has been shaped. This chapter will expound on the research design methods, show how the data was collected, what surveys and pilot studies have been originated and the reliability and validity of the empirical research process. It will also consider any wider aspects such as data analysis, any ethical aspects and considerations and potentially the limitations of the actual study carried out. 3.2 Aims of the Study and Research Questions The rationale for the researcher‘s dissertation is subjective given that he has focused a lot on future developments of technology and learning management systems and how people will interact with them. The researcher has adopted a conceptual framework that can offer the detail to answer his research questions that are considering two things, primarily his practice and also the practices and findings from others within similar institutions. The core research questions for this study are listed below; 1. What is cloud based learning in 2018? 2. How do we determine how to learn using cloud based systems? 3. What can cloud based systems and connectivity offer us in the future in-regards to how we learn? 4. Is it possible to have a pedagogic model in a fast developing technological world?
28
3.3 Methodologies There has been a lot of debate on the need to quantify research based upon the use of ICT by teachers in schools and Mishra and Koehler (2006) have claimed that, ―while isolated studies of how and why teachers use technology may be valuable in contributing towards a better understanding of ICT in education, there still exists a need for a unifying conceptual framework that will, "identify themes and constructs that would apply across diverse cases and examples of practice‖ (Mishra & Koehler, 2006:1018). The researcher is aware that the conceptual framework has to be grounded in some form of solid theoretical framework, Abd-El-Khalick and Akerson (2007), state the importance of, ―using devices grounded in theory to guide research‖ (Abd-El-Khalick and Akerson, 2007:188). Maxwell (2005) developed a good way of mapping and displaying conceptual frameworks see (Appendix 4). Maxwell states that, ―concept maps allow you to visualise and evaluate your conceptual framework, and provide a convenient way to visually display the framework‖ (WIReDSpace, Online, 2016:29). Maxwell (2005) further suggests that, ―initial frameworks may be fairly diffuse, with large categories, which the researcher should focus over time to ―develop a real theory of what‘s going on‖ (Maxwell, 2005:54 within WIReDSpace, Online, 2016:28). Taking what Maxwell (2005) suggests about using concept mapping to evaluate the conceptual framework the researcher had to therefore design a research method that could encompass these important aspects such as what people are saying is true, how their personal opinions can be validated and to determine the reliability of conversations they are having in the world of CB learning. With some method of quantifying participant statements into findings and a conclusion as well as some form of visual representation of the data involved. The researcher has therefore adopted an approach that is an ‗interpretivist‘ one so that he can explore the worlds of people today, to determine how they interact with today‘s CB systems and how they generally feel about emerging technologies. The researcher‘s conceptual framework and associated data collected will allow him to predict some of the future use of CB learning given the participants responses. However as a lot of quantitative data doesn‘t yet exist for many of the CB based learning systems that are currently being
29 used. The researcher has to determine the validity of these things and also justify the sources. There are a series of research methods that try and do just that, including ‗genius forecasting‘, ‗trend extrapolation‘, ‗consensus methods‘, ‗simulation methods‘ and many more, but according to Walonick (1993), ―there are no clear rules for ethical forecasting‘, and that ‗even the most mathematically rigorous techniques involve judgmental inputs that can dramatically alter the forecast‖ (Walonick, Online, 1993:na). A part of the researcher‘s associated conceptual framework is the exploratory method that will allow him to evolve the answers in a way that should allow for some kind of conclusion at the end of the work. This method does align itself with the qualitative research method and the researcher would like to develop this framework along with a mixed methods approach via surveys and interviews to establish the necessary tools to explore the related questions. Bryman (2012) suggests that Webb et al (1966) have argued that, ―confidence in the findings deriving from a study using a quantitative research strategy can be enhanced by using more than one way of measuring a concept‖ (Bryman, 2012:635). And that Silvia and Wright (2008) suggest further that, ―a triangulation approach using mixed methods can have a positive effect on the research focus, the qualitative interviews were conducted to check and correct the quantitative data and make the survey data more robust‖ (Silvia and Wright, 2008:3, within Bryman, 2012:635). The researchers mixed method approach does follow a subjective research paradigm, and via action research and an interpretivist approach to the surveys of respondents that allows for a more flexible and humanistic approach to determine the results. ―The goal of interpretivist research is to understand and interpret the meanings in human behaviour rather than to generalize and predict causes and effects‖ (Neuman, 2000; Hudson and Ozanne, 1988; within Edirisingha, Online, 2012:na). Hine (2000, 2015) related virtual ethnography as a way of interpreting those engaged with technology and online spaces, ―ethnography of, in and through the virtual – we learn about the Internet by immersing ourselves in it and conducting our ethnography using it, as well as talking with people about it, watching them use it and seeing it manifest in other social settings‖ (Hine, 2000:65, within Savin-Baden, Tombs, 2017:62). The notion of the insider researcher is evident in the research paradigm and one that sees the
30 researcher having complete participation in the research, ―he or she is seen as a member of the group or culture being studied‖ (Savin-Baden, Tombs, 2017:21). Hine (2015) suggests that, ―internet research might be seen as both inward and outward looking: outwards into diverse frames of meaning making, and inwards into what we term ‗new reflexivities‖ (Hine, 2015, within Savin-Baden, Tombs, 2017:26). Hine (2015) suggests a further useful delineation and that is, ―the embedded internet this being the internet embedded into our daily lives‖. ―The embodied internet that suggests that we are somehow embodied or tethered to the internet‖. ―And the everyday internet that is a consummation of the internet into something that exits quite naturally and that we take for granted‖ (Ethongraphymatters, Online, 2013:na). In an interview Hine (2015) states more about her ‗E3‘ internet framework, ―The Internet is methodologically challenging because we need to craft a new research strategy for each situation‖. ―Hopefully this ‗E3‘ framework gives us a sense of why particular aspects of the Internet are difficult to study and how ethnography can respond creatively to those challenges‖ (Ethongraphymatters, Online, 2013:na). The researcher for instance intends to utilise as a part of his research paradigm the digital ethnographic methods that will suit the tools that he wants to us such as, Internet related surveys, Internet based chat rooms and other digital methods available during the research phase that can be deemed as useful to the research and surveys. This is rather a constructivist approach to research but one that can offer some links to data collection and management and the use of this data to provide insights into the research questions in a more accurate way. 3.4 Research Design It is through the mixing of digital research paradigms that the researcher wants to explore the research questions and with a mix of digital ethnographic methods that suit the subjects and topics involved. Digital ethnography as a research method has been documented by Postill (2012) et al who in particular ―follow the approach to multi-sited ethnographic research‖ as advocated by Marcus (1995), (JohnPostill, Online, 2015:na). Marcus (1995) redefined the traditional ethnographer due to various key factors such as, ―the local, global, life world and general system‖ (Marcus, Online, 1995:na). Relating to a general shift in offsite ethnography that has encompassed a wide range of
31 methods now available to today‘s ethnographers. This Marcus (1995) describes as putting resulting ethnographies; ―as both in and out of the world system‖ (Marcus, Online, 1995:na). So less of a polarised ethnography due to these developing factors as postulated on by Postill (2015) et al. The emergence of social media and other digital media vehicles is starting to define digital ethnographic processes are occurring with ethnographers able to take advantage of various insights across groupings that had in the past not been available to traditional ‗single site‘ ethnographers (Marcus, Online, 1995:na). The researchers approach will be to adopt an exploratory research approach as this will help to generate the theory required by using a multi disciplinary method of mixed media approaches that are based around the digital ethnographic approach. This will allow the researcher to perceive multiple sites as sources for later interpretation and extrapolation, further data analysis methods will be utilised at the time and these involve software driven analysis via such applications as NVIVO. The researcher believes that the best approach to the research is via the inductive and explorative approaches and this will serve the research study well in building the theoretical framework that is required. Savin-Baden and Tombs (2017) suggest that, ―particular forms of data collected on the internet are seen as more ethnographic than others, such as interviewing and participant observation, since they are reminiscent of more traditional ethnography adapted for online use‖ (Savin-Baden and Tombs, 2017:59). In their work Savin-Baden and Tombs (2017) explain further the related positioning of constructivist ethnographies and these are something that the researcher would like to explore with the study. In-regards to constructionism, Savin-Baden and Tombs (2017) state that ―reality and knowledge are socially constructed; knowledge may be gained by examining the ways in which individuals co-create knowledge‖ (Savin-Baden and Tombs, 2017:60). This lends itself to the digital research process in that a lot of the interactions during the research are socially constructed, in fact more so than during a face to face or longitudinal study as the distance between the researcher is diminished somewhat by digital technology that allows social interactions to occur but not hinder the social process. This helps the respondents to interact more freely with the research topics than in a more traditional ethnographic study. This also allows the
32 respondents to ―understand the socially constructed realties‖, in a way that assists more discourse to occur and subsequent data to be gathered than via traditional research methods (Savin-Baden and Tombs, 2017:60). ―Reality and Knowledge reside in the minds of individuals‖. ―Knowledge may be uncovered by unpacking individual experiences‖ (Savin-Baden and Tombs, 2017:60). This statement by Savin-Baden and Tombs (2017) does help to explain further how the researcher would like to gather data from the research subjects and how the research might unfold the respondents experiences to understand their ‗constructed realities‘ via the digital ethnographic research methods (Savin-Baden and Tombs, 2017:60). Interestingly in their work Savin-Baden and Tombs (2017) state that, the type of ‗Netnography‘ approach was first developed in 1995 and that Kozinets (2012) suggested four critical differences between online and face-to-face cultural and social interactions, these are; 1. The nature of the social and cultural interaction is altered by the nature and rules of the technological medium. 2. The interaction can be optimally anonymous or pseudonymous and real identities can be suspect. 3. Social interaction is widely accessible, thus ensuring that data collection possibilities are abundant. 4. The automatic archiving of data that we see in online social worlds transforms data collection and analysis. (Kozinets, 2012:39, within Savin-Baden and Tombs, 2017:64). The researcher will consider these aspects in the research design and will hopefully incorporate some of these aspects in one form or another along with the various interactions as defined by the digital ethnographic process. This should hopefully offer the researcher a more unique insight into the respondent‘s worlds as related to the research questions. Creswell (2013) in his work on qualitative research suggests that, ―the definitions for qualitative research vary‖ but that he sees it as an, ―approach inquiry that starts with assumptions and an interpretive theoretical lens‖, that starts by exploring the related problems and the meaning of individuals and groups (Creswell, 2013:65). He
33 further suggests that ―various tests can occur in a variety of settings that use inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning that helps to establish patterns or themes‖ (Creswell, 2013:65). He concludes that ―the final reporting then provides for the voices of participants, a reflexivity of the researchers, a complex description and interpretation of the problem, and a study that adds to the literature or provides a call for action‖ (Creswell, 2013:65). He goes onto further say that, ―a qualitative approach is appropriate to use to study a research problem when the problem needs to be explored; when a complex, detailed understanding is needed; when the researcher seeks to understand the context or settings of participants‖ (Creswell, 2013:65). The use of some broad assumptions seems to be the starting point of a qualitative inquiry that via the use of an interpretive and theoretical lens focuses in on the related issues and research problems. ―After the various questions have been asked and the interpretation of the data occurs sense of the data has to be made by grouping the information into codes, or themes or other categories‖. ―The researcher then goes about establishing the final narrative to determine any conclusions or results‖ (Creswell, 2013:65). This can range from a serious scientific study to a narrative of stories. Creswell further suggests that ―several aspects will make the study a good qualitative study by using‖, ―narrative, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, case study; as well as a single focus, a persuasive account; a reflection on the researchers own history, culture, personal experiences and politics; and ethical practices‖ (Creswell, 2013:65). In his work Creswell cites Maxwell‘s (2005), ‗Nine Arguments‘ for a qualitative proposal; the researcher would like to consider this framework in the research design, see below;
1. We need to better understand (the topic) 2. We know little about (the topic) 3. I propose to study (purpose) 4. The setting and participants are appropriate for this study (data collection) 5. The methods I plan to us will provide the data I need to answer the research questions (data collection) 6. Analysis will generate answers to these questions (analysis)
34 7. The findings will be validated by (validation) 8. The study poses no serious ethical problems (ethics) 9. Preliminary results support the practicability and value of the study (pilot project)
(Maxwell 2005, as found within Creswell, 2013;64).
3.4.1 Data Collection The researcher‘s data collection methods are of today they are not necessarily traditional methods and they have an interactive and digital data driven approach. The researcher has chosen these methods as they ideally suit the research methodology and also the respondents involved. The researcher has adopted a three strand approach to this data collection to allow for greater introspection of the topics and to gain as much insight as possible from each person interviewed. One particular research strand is to use the University of Hull‘s digital JISC/BOS survey facilities to augment his research and the respondent‘s online feedback will allow for a differing data set to be looked at. Another research strand is to use a traditional ‗Likert‘ style questionnaire but utilising email as a delivery and collection method. And the final research strand is to use a less traditional ‗chat room‘ interview method further to the respondents completing the questionnaire, and to interview respondents via this online facility. These three methods will allow the researcher to triangulate more unique insights into the response from the respondents and in a way that suits them professionally and that allows a digital ethnographic profile to emerge rather than a traditional paper based or audio approach. The researcher has to consider various methods of data collection and analysis and Glaser and Strauss (1967) within Miles and Huberman (1984) offer a very reliable and classic term on final verification of data, ―final conclusions may not appear until data collection is over, depending on the size of the corpus of field notes, the coding, storage, and retrieval methods used, the sophistication of the researcher, and the demands of the funding agency-but they have often been prefigured from the beginning, even when a researcher claims to have been proceeding ‗inductively‖ (Glaser and Strauss, 1967, within Miles and Huberman, 1984:11). Miles and Huberman (1984) refer to this verification as ―another ‗stream‘ of analysis that forms a part of the whole dependant from the data collection stage
35 to the data reduction for data display and the final analysis verification‖ (Miles and Huberman, 1984:11). (See Appendix 1). The researcher‘s data streams and methods for collection of this data do take a similar form as defined by Miles and Huberman (1984) in that one could argue that the data collection via online interviews in a chat room is rather like a stream of consciousness being recorded rather than a traditional face to face fixed reality interviews as such. And that the data reduction aspects of the digital information allow for some sophistication by the researcher allowing the researcher to gain a more unique insight into the research questions and topics as highlighted by Glaser and Strauss (1967), (Glaser and Strauss, 1967, within Miles and Huberman, 1984). In defining his qualitative methods and in particular the exploratory methods to be used the researcher is hopeful that he can do something new with this form of research given the right design of the associated research tools and methods involved.
3.4.2 Questionnaires and Surveys The researcher will have to ensure that the questions asked within any exploratory research activity are pertinent to the study and again focused in a way that attains the required results. This particular exploratory research method relies heavily on building a unique narrative from respondents via various digital activities such as online surveys and digital based questionnaires. So the narrative analysis can be in its own right a fundamental part of the qualitative research paradigm and one that lends itself well to the exploratory research method that requires the development of the story or narrative to occur in order for the method to be successful. In this same respect the researcher has to ensure that the interview section of the research adds to the body of the work and that the final results or conclusion is reliable and augments the ‗Likert‘ survey to determine the results required. According to Khan (2017) inductive reasoning is a subjective process in that, ―Inductive reasoning is looking for a pattern or looking for a trend‖ (Khan, Online, 2017:na). There is an element of generalisation involved in inductive reasoning that cannot necessarily predict anything to be true and relies on prediction rather than on hard solid facts. Creswell (2013) looks at complex reasoning involving inductive and deductive logical approaches. He suggests that, ―qualitative researchers build their patterns, categories, and themes from the ‗bottom up‘; by organising the data inductively into
36 increasingly more abstract units of information‖ (Creswell, 2013:43). Creswell further develops the concept via the overall inductive process that sees researchers moving backward and forwards with their data and themes until such time as they create a more established whole (Creswell, 2013). He also mentions that fact that deductive reasoning can be also employed and this allows the checking of the developed themes against what are hard facts or the actual hard data. He further expounds that, ―the inductive-deductive logic process means that the qualitative researcher uses complex reasoning skills throughout the process of research‖ (Creswell, 2013:45). It is this very process that Creswell (2013) describes that the researcher would like to emulate with his research methods and based upon a lot of what Creswell (2013) defines here he would like to adopt some of the methods that allow the deductions to occur in order to validate his exploratory findings and research results (Creswell, 2013). Giorgi (1985) in his work on phenomenological research methods said that, ―I can open myself to the phenomena themselves in either a critical or uncritical way‖. ―The critical observation method implies the use of the phenomenological method‖. ―This method leads, ideally, to the type of description and classification of phenomena which can be affirmed by experts in the field of psychology‖. ―Research performed in this way is pre-empirical, pre-experimental and pre-statistical: it is experiential and qualitative‖ (Giorgi, 1985, within Moustakas, 1994:12). This method of research is ideal for say an interview or observational aspect related to an exploratory research project as it allows for an experiential look at a subject and for this subject to be qualified via the research in a way that is constructivist but grounded in the method by allowing the theory to develop from the experiments via the observation. The researcher would again like to emulate some of these methods in his project especially in the interviews that he wants to conduct as the experiences of staff involved with cloud-based systems are fundamental to the results. And without this experiential technique the interviews will be rather redundant in providing any real insight into what again is occurring in relation to the cloud-based systems and subjects that the researcher wants to explore. As Girogi (1985) said, ―he can be critical or uncritical‖ so it is a perfect observation tool that can be applied in a way that doesn‘t have to rely heavily on empirical or statistical data, the process outcomes can be then grounded in the theory that would be generated from this type of research (Giorgi, 1985, within
37 Moustakas, 1994:12). In Moustakas (1994) Strauss in his work ‗Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists‘ suggests that, ―during the process the researcher puts down theoretical questions, hypotheses, summary of codes, thus, keeping track of coding results and stimulating further coding, and also a major means for integrating the theory‖ (Strauss, 1987:22). Stebbins (2001) also concludes further that ―concatenated exploration can move away from a typical model of exploratory data collection and analysis that transforms into an intermediate model that bears some resemblance to the ideal model of confirmatory data collection analysis‖ (Stebbins, 2001:15-16). And that ―concatenated exploration can refute the fact that qualitative research consists primarily of ungeneralisable case studies‖. And that ―concatenated exploration can capitalise on the cumulative experiences and expertise of all those involved‖ (Stebbins, 2001:15-16). ―Once deep satisfaction is found in research, concatenation becomes more appealing, for the researcher is now a true ‗amator‘ of his or her work‖. ―Because amateurs love what they are doing, they have little trouble becoming motivated to do it‖. ―And, happily, professionals can also be amateurs in this sense‖ (Stebbins, 1992:43-45). Stebbins (2001) makes further point in-regards to concatenation that is interesting, ―if the exploratory field is attracting research interest, concatenation typically involves people beyond the pioneering explorer‖ (Stebbins, 2001:15-16). ―Different sets of eyes and ears on the same object also enhance the validity of that person's concepts and propositions, assuming of course that the new data are compatible with earlier data‖ (Stebbins, 2001:15-16). However Stebbins (2001) does raise an interesting situation in relation to overall qualitative research methods and that is that, ―once the research becomes plural then we can develop an algorithmic dimension that multiplies the research based upon that algorithm and the resulting theory generated can have an impact on the profile and results of that research project‖ (Stebbins, 2001:15-16). Today that situation is a lot more accessible as we have tools online and websites such as ‗Research Gate‘ that allow us to interact with other researchers and to possibly align ourselves with their research in a way that early anthropologists never had. The researcher today can devise research tools and methods for disseminating the research in a way that early exploratory researchers could only have dreamed about. It could be that these
38 methods and tools proliferate infinitely in the future and algorithmic research paradigms develop that we haven‘t yet even considered. It is important for the researcher to collect data from as many primary sources as possible such as staff working in organisations that teach or train people. This is because the staff involved are currently working within learning environments that are experiencing the current changes that technology is bringing to their work and their learners. Initially the first part of the research shall start with a basic ‗Likert‘ questionnaire see (Appendix 2). This will offer the chance for the some of the participants to offer their opinions in a way that the researcher can then later quantify further within an interview scenario. Whilst it is a rather broad approach initially the aim is use interviews to develop the questions and responses from the participants so that the interview responses can further validate the opinions suggested in the survey questions (Likert, 1932). In-regards to the interviews instead of a face to face setting the researcher has chosen the online chat room scenario as a way to engage the participants of the survey, this is based around the multi faceted site approach by Marcus (1995) et al and is a method that allows the researcher to build a picture of the respondent‘s views in an informal setting that does not necessarily put them under any pressure. The researcher is acutely aware of the fact that when participants of research are put in front of a camera they can approach the subject and questions quite differently due to in some cases nerves with the sense to perform to the camera for whatever reason (Parsons, 1974). The researcher‘s digital ethnographic approach takes the heat out of the interview situation for those with a nervous disposition and it also allows him to build a narrative in the chat room facility that can then serve as text for the research project at a later stage. It also allows for a more exploratory approach to the research and includes the participant in the narrative in a way that is immediate compared with other methods and traditional interview techniques. The researchers approach is to be very inductive and this allows him to gather data that is not biased or necessarily interviewer led. By using the survey method it allows him to gauge a general response from the respondents that can then be applied further through deductive reasoning in order to explore the topics further and still remain within his exploratory framework methodology. As the researcher is using multi faceted research tools across various sites then some quantitative research methods will have to be applied to display the data using
39 various tools to demonstrate the findings of his research further. Again this fits into the researchers mixed methods approach that allows him to assert the data findings in a way that augments the theoretical and exploratory natures of the study. Using these tools and methods the researcher should be able to analyse the data within the differing data sets and cross reference the process to further establish the required narratives in the study that will lead to the required conclusions. Postill and Monterde, (2013) developed a similar method of analysis of over fifteen million mobile phone users on a project that they referred to as ‗mobile ensembles‘ to describe the uniqueness of the mixed media methods that they used to extrapolate their findings from. This is something that the researcher wants to focus upon in his research as he will be using multiple sources for his data analytics and these will be gathered via various digital avenues to augment and analyse his findings (JohnPostill, Online, 2015). The researcher has designed a ‗Likert‘ questionnaire for his research project study (Likert, 1932). The researcher wanted initially to offer a question that would gauge how the participants felt about technology in general and how they perceived the change in the future of those involved with this advancement. Whilst it didn‘t have an academic bias as such the researcher did want to use this as a benchmark in the pilot study to see how it was responded to in order to gauge the participant‘s opinions of technology. All the other questions have been pretty much standardised and are related to the use of cloud based learning in general amongst the participants. The researcher wanted to base the design of these tools around the concept of ‗speculative model building‘ (Lave and March, 1975, within Maxwell, 2012:59). ―Thought experiments challenge you to come up with plausible explanations for your and others‘ observations, and to think about how to support or disprove these‖ (Maxwell, 2012:59). As it seems that all thought experiments can allude to a more substantive conclusion based on the style of reasoning concerned and as it is a model of research that is well suited to the qualitative style of research the basic premise of the research design and associated interview questionnaires will be designed with this in mind. ―All theory building involves thought experiments to some extent. They encourage creativity and a sense of discovery, and can help you to make explicit the experiential knowledge that you already possess‖ (Maxwell, 2012:69). There is a
40 great deal of speculation surrounding such a theoretical type of work and some inductive reasoning does need to be applied. But as Lave and March suggest, ‗these models are no more esoteric than theory‘ (Lave and March, within Maxwell, 2012:3). The research project will help the researcher to test the research variables further and in a way that will build on the overall picture. What Strauss (1987) called ―in-vivo codes‖ (Strauss, 1987 within Maxwell, 2012). ―More important it provides you with an understanding of the meaning that these phenomena and events have for people who are involved in them, and the perspectives that inform their actions. These meanings and perspectives are not theoretical abstractions; they are real, as real as people‘s behaviour, though not as directly visible‖ (Maxwell, 2012:58).
41
Chapter 4: Findings
4.1 Introduction The researchers sample is somewhat random and relies on the population surveyed interacting with him via email and online requests to engage further with the process. The sampling is experimental in design and is what is called a ‗random assignment‘, (Trochim, Online, 2006:na). The sampling frame in this case relies upon a network of the researcher‘s professional contacts and those he has been introduced to in academic settings via social working and exchange platforms such as, Research Gate, and the place of his studies at the University of Hull. (ResearchGate, Online, 2018). The population within the researchers sample frame as such are working as teachers, trainers or other academics in organisations that work with various groups to teach, train and generally work with students across a variety of courses, some national qualifications, others purely academic or theoretical in nature. Most of the participants are currently working as professionals in the field of education and training and have been approached based upon this distinction.
4.2 Sampling The researchers sample will be generally small as there are restrictions placed upon him due to the nature and time frame of the particular course. The researcher feels that a small sample will allow him to generate enough theory and results in order to disseminate findings that will augment his studies rather than diminish them. In statistical terms the survey tools will possibly predict various parameters but this doesn‘t necessarily define the population via any mean average as such due to the random nature of the questions. The survey tools do however allow a basis for discussion through the parameters that possibly could be changed in some respects further to interviews and discussions on the topics involved. The initial sampling via survey tools will allow the populations demographics to be described and thus disseminated via further informal and participatory research methods. Therefore the results of the survey as such if we are to statistically analyse them are not as important as the
42 participation of the population thereafter to determine the required results. It could be quite possible that the population‘s demographics and results from the survey could change somewhat dramatically during the participatory research stage and therefore the initial survey reality cannot predict the population‘s demographics purely from the survey and associated tools. Generally this is a purposive sampling process in the true nature of market research methods in that, ―a controlled group is accessed due to their distinctions and quality‘s that allow the researcher to focus on specific responses from his chosen target group, again more target focused than a randomised sample‖ (Bryman, 2012:418). The researcher has also taken care to also limit any physical interaction or involvement with the participants of the research as to not directly intrude into the research context and these unobtrusive measures will allow for a more realistic result to the findings due to this measure. The researchers approach might be somewhat experimental in its design but it will allow him to generate the appropriate theory to disseminate his findings further. This is very much aligned to a theoretical sampling approach as mentioned by Glaser and Strauss (1967) that focuses upon the analyst collecting data across various sources, and during the analysis he/she decides ―what data to collect next and where to find them from, in order to develop his theory as it emerges, this is essentially an ongoing process rather than a single stage event as with probability sampling‖ (Bryman, 2012:419).
43
4.3 Findings 4.3.1 Introduction The researcher‘s general approach to code the data is multi faceted and various tools have been used to demonstrate the findings to the researcher including the use of NVIVO software to help him further analyse the data results and develop a picture related to the findings in order to pull out the general themes that had been occurring further to his research. Further coding ensued using data that resided in Excel software generated by the online testing results and this was demonstrated in the work by establishing various charts for each question that allowed the researcher to see the variables involved in the respondent‘s answers and to analyse these findings further. This was very much a quantitative approach by formulating the survey responses into a framework that was on a scale from zero to one hundred, zero being equal to ‗no‘ and one hundred equating to ‗yes‘. The results could then be analysed and meaning found within the results that hadn‘t been visible using the original Excel software data results. The researcher then wanted to show the results for his other research areas such as the traditional ‗Likert‘ survey approach and also that of the online chat room interview carried out as the initial findings differed from the respondents further responses at the interview stage. The researcher had to establish a method to record these aspects so that he could see the marked differences from the original survey to that of the results established with the respondents via the interviews. The researcher also took a similar approach to the online survey data and using the data generated within the Excel spreadsheet for each case he further coded the data into a form via a series of charts to further offer a demonstrable aspect to the theoretical aspects of the research project. This then allowed the researcher further insights into the research that he could then write up in his findings in more detail.
44
4.3.2 Findings Analysis The findings in relation to the data analysis of the survey and subsequent interviews with the participants on this project and in regards to CB systems heralded ten general research themes see below; Figure1.
45 One of the most interesting aspects by far was the perception aspect of those surveyed who further to the survey questions had a particular view of how they perceived CB systems to be and then further to the interview questions in some cases changed their entire perception on the CB systems they used and in some respects adopted a complete opposite opinion of how they interacted with CB systems. The view of some respondents was changed due to their inability to initially acknowledge the technology as though it was in some respects hidden from them and ubiquitous, and only through further questioning and discussion did their perception change from not realising they used CB systems for teaching and communications to finally realising how embedded CB technology was in their teaching or training routines. All those interviewed suggested that one of the added benefits of CB systems was the fact that it increased communications with their students. However this wasn‘t always perceived in a positive light as one respondent highlighted the fact that generally the system would be perfect if it wasn‘t for their current IT issues and connection problems that hindered communications. The preferred CB communication tools of the respondents that surfaced are below; 1. Email 2. Chat room, discussion boards 3. WhatsApp 4. SMS (Mobile) In one case the ‗WhatsApp‘ software was used 90% across the student cohort for communications yet the trainer perceived his use of CB tools as minimal in the initial ‗Likert‘ survey conducted. In another case the reliance on the LMS‘s internal communications was minimal as the perception of the tutors involved with the communications via the LMS was that the discussions very quickly went off topic as they are not moderated by anyone. And in this case whilst the students uploaded their work to the LMS on completion there was no effective communication via the LMS system established to further quantify the results back to them. This was another general theme across a lot of the respondents in that the focus on communications was sporadic or ad hoc, either it was adopted or it wasn‘t. The question of choice given to all concerned with the advent of LMS and CB communications seems to add some confusion to communications generally in that respect as there is
46 not one preferred system due to choice that is utilised by educational professionals. In fact it seems to be that due to the multiple choices of differing communications the choices are actually aiding to the confusion with any communications between students and tutors using CB systems. There was also a great deal of confusion between asynchronous CB communications and synchronous CB communications. Whilst some tutors spent their entire time communicating asynchronously their perception again was that it ‗just happened‘ and that no thought was given to the CB server-sided mechanism involved. Those that did spend their entire time using email systems also perceived the synchronous CB communications as pretty much redundant on LMS software such as Blackboard and Canvas mainly due to the fact that it wasn‘t designed into the curriculum or adopted to be used in any respect, even though the LMS software does have this capacity. Whilst the majority of respondents had an awareness of synchronous communications via a CB LMS system most favoured alternative CB software such as, ‗WhatsApp‘, ‗Skype‘ and ‗Zoom‘ applications rather than the CB LMS chat room type situations. One particular trainer working with student cohorts with a wide range of ages suggested that communications via CB tools had only been adopted by his younger students and that this counted for 50% of the student population. The older students relied more on telephone conversations to communicate, along with physical meetings and paper based transactions to complete their courses. In the discussion with the tutor he perceived that this would change over time as the older generations would finally leave that particular industry and younger ‗tech savvy‘ learners would finally replace them on the courses. The researcher conducted an online survey through the University of Hull, JISC/BOS system and from the respondents of this further survey 99.9% suggested that CB communications are used with their students but then only 60% of respondents stated that the augmented communications provided with CB systems benefited them professionally. So whilst there was a high percentage of usage of CB communications with students the tutors involved didn‘t have a high regard for the benefits of those particular communications. The questions relating to (AI) Artificial Intelligence and CB solutions for learning was responded to in a variety of ways. Via caution by some whilst others perceived that AI would somehow revolutionise the way we will interact with each other and technology in the future.
47 There was a cautiously optimistic note from all concerned and not one tutor refuted the benefits of using AI in a CB learning process of the future. Some tutors suggested that they felt that decision making in the future due to AI being introduced into education will make decisions more statistical and algorithmic in nature and thus human creativity will be reduced. Others generally thought that it could enhance and improve the way we do things with students but couldn‘t inform the researcher exactly how this would be achieved, again it was just their perception and a notion that these types of systems would benefit them. 90% of tutors thought that AI would not have any adverse affect on education via future CB tools, but a small percentage perceived AI and CB education to be problematic. With opinions ranging from the fact that AI will most probably destroy the world in future to those who thought that there will be a recognised change in how we educate people in future, some thought that damage would occur to the education system because of this emerging technology advancement. One particular respondent suggested that the speed of change involved with the advent of AI being introduced would have a very negative effect on us all in the future and especially within education, but again he couldn‘t articulate why he felt this was going to be the case, he just perceived this to be the case. CB systems though generally assisted all respondents and there was a 100% positive response from all concerned in the surveys and interviews to suggest that the current systems in place had benefitted them greatly in their work. One of the most positive responses was in regards to CB data storage and how this had become more efficient for them working with CB software that could store information that once resided in an office and that used to be paper based. The other value add for all concerned was the fact that data could be stored on a CB server and even if a portable memory drive was lost if the data had been backed up onto a CB server then this was seen to be an invaluable storage method for all. CB systems had also benefitted those working across continents and countries and had improved the collaborative aspects of their projects. Some of the CB applications that respondents used are below;
48
1. Google drive 2. Dropbox 3. Mendeley 4. ResearchGate 5. Academia.edu 6. MS Teams 7. Skype 8. Zoom 9. Blue Jeans 10. YouTube 11. Slack 12. Facebook 13. Instagram 14. Twitter 15. LinkedIn 16. WeChat 17. WhatsApp 18. SmartAssessor The only negative response from staff towards CB systems was again with their older students and the fact that it took them a lot longer to interact with the systems than their younger students. The online survey respondents reported on a 100% basis that CB systems had benefitted the workflow with their students across the board. Workflow was developed across various CB applications depending on the need. So for face to face meetings ‗Skype‘ and ‗Zoom‘ would be utilised, whilst ‗Dropbox‘ and ‗Google Docs‘ are used for sharing of information or working documents. YouTube was used extensively to link to CB LMS vehicles such as Blackboard and Moodle and then social media applications used to augment the communications by sending interesting and relevant links to all
49 concerned. Data stored on CB systems was surprisingly seen as being safer than if stored on paper and within traditional filing cabinets. There was no perception of online data leakage from the respondents who interacted freely with the CB applications as if there was a 100% guarantee that safety of their data or student‘s data wasn‘t an issue. No respondent had any issues with sharing multiple sets of data across a wide range of CB applications. In some respects again the perception of data residing on a server somewhere in Ohio, USA didn‘t even register with the respondents and in many cases there was no perception of how they interacted with CB systems and no understanding that the data transfer between them and the CB server farm in the USA was occurring. The connection from the respondents between the CB applications used and the CB server sided storage systems utilised by the organisations concerned was somewhat negligible. The suitability of CB delivery methods and the design of CB systems was a contentious issue amongst all respondents. The majority of respondents reported that students seem to struggle with CB systems such as ‗Turnitin‘ plagiarism testing software and the LMS Blackboard. One particular question posed by a university lecturer during the interview was, ―are these systems there to improve education for the student or just to manage the system better or more easily‖. There was also feedback from university lectures that suggested that IT staff no longer design systems but merely just link different systems together. There seems to be a ‗de facto‘ standard amongst most universities that buy into four main software types, ‗Blackboard‘, ‗SharePoint‘, ‗Turnitin‘ and ‗Triton‘. When it came to assessment using CB systems in universities most formative assessment is carried out by supervisors this occurring within tutorials. Summative assessment is generally CB using the software ‗Triton‘. Some other universities used other systems such as ‗MarkingMate‘, the university staff involved found it very localised and limiting because of the actual localisation. The design of CB systems for students was picked up by a few respondents involved in more vocational training settings. Problems that they experienced ranged from the design of CB software tools not being applicable to their industries and one engineering tutor suggesting that whilst the CB tools that they use with students are helpful for some admin and assessment tasks generally subjects like engineering cannot rely on CB systems in the classroom so are in some respects entirely
50 redundant from them. Unless you count CB video systems such as ‗YouTube‘ and other internet platforms that possible the tutor could refer to in the session. One tutor working as a trainer in the construction industry suggested that the majority of his students do not take the CB or digital route at all. This particular tutor suggested that, ―design has to include people who have an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and how the learners operate for it to be effective‖. He further added in the interview that the majority of his students do not interact with CB systems due to ‗fear‘ of the systems and their low sense of ‗belief‘ when it comes to interacting with CB systems. Overall the trainer stated that the percentage of his students that interacted with CB testing was between 20-30%, the remainder opted for traditional paper based, and holistic methods such as observation and performance related tasks, they had a choice. When it came to it even the most practically orientated training was designed with a CB element within it, one ‗Skipper‘ who ran a ‗sextant‘ class in the ‗North Sea‘ was able to establish a ‗WhatsApp‘ group for interaction and the sharing of information relating to the subsequent training. One tutor suggested that, ―Cloud based work has been efficient for any work that can be easily typed‖. ―However any work that requires scribbling and drawing it is not so easy to first record and second not easy to edit it‖. Just over 50% of respondents who participated in the online survey stated that IT staff specifically designed systems that are suitable for their students. In one case there was a suggestion that, ―our IT developers often fail to incorporate comments and suggestions for improvements from users. And changes are made frequently to our systems without proper directions and support to all users‖.
51
4.4 Survey Results 4.4.1 Introduction The researcher‘s initial ‗Likert‘ survey was emailed to various academics, and professionals working in teaching and training organisations from schools to private companies on a no boundaries to location basis. Further to the surveys being completed by the respondents the researcher requested interviews with the same cohort to establish further narrative to the research based upon the initial survey results. The researcher also established an online survey through the University and the same ‗Likert‘ style questionnaire was again emailed out to various contacts who had expressed an interest in participating in the online research as well as educational professionals available to the researcher via his working networks. From this online research the researcher managed to secure eighteen respondents who provided more depth to the data and the subsequent data analysis that greatly helped the researcher to build further narrative into the findings.
4.4.2 Online Survey Results Q1: Do you believe the (AI) teenager will destroy the world?
Q1 100 80 60 40 20
Q1
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q1
52 Q2: Have cloud based systems assisted you in your general work in your organisation?
Q2 100 80 60 40 20
Q2
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q2
Q3: Have cloud based systems improved your workflow with students at your organisation?
Q3 100 80 60
40 20
Q3
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q3
53 Q4: Are the Cloud Based delivery methods devised by IT staff suitable for your students?
Q4 100 80 60 40 20
Q4
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q4
Q5: Are the Cloud Based assessment methods suitable for your students?
Q5 100 80 60 40 20
Q5
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q5
54 Q6: Are Cloud Based systems used for communications with your students?
Q6 100 80 60 40 20
Q6
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q6
Q7: How supportive are cloud based systems to you?
Q7 100 80 60 40 20
Q7
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q7
55 Q8: Would you prefer not to use cloud based systems in your work with students?
Q8 100 80 60 40 20
Q8
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q8
Q9: What percentage of your students use the cloud based systems effectively?
Q9 100 80 60 40 20
Q9
0 1 2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q9
56
Q10: Is the augmented student communication via the Cloud Based systems beneficial to you professionally?
Q10 100 80 60 40 20
Q10
0 1 2 3 4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q10
Q11: Do you feel you have benefited from the digital tools available today?
Q11 100 80 60 40 20
Q11
0 1 2 3 4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q11
57
Q12: Do you think that students benefit from the Cloud Based online experience?
Q12 100
80 60 40 20
Q12
0 1 2 3 4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q12
Q13: Would you say that the use of Cloud Based learning is successful in your organisation?
Q13 100 80 60 40 20
Q13
0 1 2 3 4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Q13
58
4.4.3 ‗Likert‘ Survey Results Q1: Do you believe the (AI) teenager will destroy the world?
Q1 100 80 60 40 20
Q1
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
Q1
7
8
9
10
Q2: Have cloud based systems assisted you in your general work in your organisation?
Q2 100 80 60 40 20
Q2
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Q2 9
10
59
Q3: Have cloud based systems improved your workflow with students at your organisation
Q3 100
80 60 40 20
Q3
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q3
8
9
10
Q4: Are the Cloud Based delivery methods devised by IT staff suitable for your students
Q4 100 80 60 40 20
Q4
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q4 8
9
10
60 Q5: Are the Cloud Based assessment methods suitable for your students?
Q5 100 80 60 40 20
Q5
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q5 8
9
10
Q6: Are Cloud Based systems used for communications with your students?
Q6 100
80 60 40 20
Q6
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q6 8
9
10
61 Q7: How supportive are cloud based systems to you?
Q7 100 80 60 40 20
Q7
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q7 8
9
10
Q8: Would you prefer not to use cloud based systems in your work with students?
Q8 100 80 60 40 20
Q8
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q8 8
9
10
62 Q9: What percentage of your students use the cloud based systems effectively?
Q9 100 80 60 40 20
Q9
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
Q9
7
8
9
10
Q10: Is the augmented student communication via the Cloud Based systems beneficial to you professionally?
Q10 100 80 60 40 20
Q10
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q10 8
9
10
63 Q11: Do you feel you have benefited from the digital tools available today?
Q11 100 80 60 40 20
Q11
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q11 8
9
10
Q12: Do you think that students benefit from the Cloud Based online experience?
Q12 100 80 60 40 20
Q12
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q12 8
9
10
64 Q13: Would you say that the use of Cloud Based learning is successful in your organisation
Q13 100 80 60 40 20
Q13
0 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q13 8
9
10
65
4.5 Interview Results 4.5.1 Introduction The researcher‘s interviews had been based around the initial ‗Likert‘ survey and questionnaire. The researcher had an initial sample target of ten educational professionals for the survey and wanted to ask them all further questions in an interview situation further to their responses in the ‗Likert‘ survey. The researcher then analysed their responses and based upon further questions devised around the respondent‘s answers to the survey carried out the individual interviews within an internet chat room environment. Most of the interviews occurred via a specially adapted chat room engineered by the researcher within a Moodle LMS environment. This allowed an informal process to occur with the respondents freely explaining their question answers and deliberating on the researcher‘s annotations to their questions. This research tool was primarily established to capture further data in text form from the Moodle LMS chat facility that could then be further analysed for the researcher‘s findings section of the dissertation. Once the text had been collated from the interviews the researcher performed a very basic function in NVIVO software that pulled out certain variables from the interviews that created via algorithmic nodes a representation that helped the researcher to view the occurring narratives involved. This again allowed the researcher to further expand on his findings. For some respondents residing in different parts of the world such as Australia who had ‗problematic‘ time zones in engaging with the researcher. And with it being very difficult to interview these people within normal (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time hours. The researcher devised an email form for them to respond to and this formed the basis for a further strand of research that allowed the researcher to collate their interview data further.
66
4.5.2 Summary of Findings and Conclusions Overall there was a reported big disconnect between IT, IT Staff and the CB resources being used. Whilst professionals in education are interacting with CB systems there design is not necessarily thought out and the CB systems joined up in a way that is effective for these professional staff working in an education setting in 2018. Further to this a general theme taken from the ‗ten‘ research theme indicators was that ‗perception‘ was largely to blame for a lot of interaction issues with CB systems and this was mainly down to a lack of education for the staff engaged with the CB systems. Overall there was a general naivety from all staff concerned about the use of CB systems unless their particular route or subject was IT or technology based. But then even specialists under interview and throughout the research still had perception issues of what constitutes a CB system and when it is being applied. The main disconnect from all concerned in the research was that of the CB system residing on a server that was based in a building somewhere and not as originally thought as an ethereal domain on the Internet actually residing as a cloud based entity in the ether somewhere. The perception of the actual CB service residing in a cloud, or on the Internet is a big part of this misconception and one that seems to proliferate the ubiquity of the CB systems and processes. If you was to explain to some of the respondents surveyed that a CB system does reside in a room in a building next door to them and stores the applications data at that point they wouldn‘t believe you as the ‗Cloud‘ or Internet has that other worldly appeal and thus is perceived as a ubiquitous entity that is interacted with far off in the ‗distance‘. This would explain why the majority of respondents perceived the applications they used as ‗hidden‘ from them as there was a general misunderstanding as to what they are interacting with when it came to them using an application, especially via mobile devices. The same perception issues came to the fore when discussing AI and the potential uses these systems have in an education setting, mainly again through a complete lack of understanding or knowledge of the actual AI software, processes and procedures. The majority views on these systems being introduced in a workplace environment raised not only fear from some respondents but also concerns that the world could indeed end due to the proliferation in the future. Out of all the questions
67 related to CB systems AI was the biggest problematic area for all concerned and one that caused the most concern. Another technical issue and perception based concern from respondents was the storage of digital data and its perceived reliability. It was perceived as a safer way of storing information on a CB service or indeed on a computer or memory device than on actual paper. Yet as we know a paper based storage system resides in an office and can be placed under lock, key and if you want to guard it physically making it incredibly hard for someone at the other side of the world to access. Yet a CB storage system was perceived by the respondents as more safe than a paper based storage system residing in an office? Access to the data required via CB systems was the biggest fact that respondents found the most useful but again there was a big disconnect between the sharing of data on CB systems and the availability of this data to others who could possibly access the data remotely via the Internet and from any location in the world. So perceptions of access, storage and data usage via the Internet had been for some respondents ‗not real‘ in that their perception of what was happening to the actual data and their interactions was false. Two of the other ‗ten‘ themes within the research indicator outputs had been ‗embeddedness‘ and ‗boundaries‘ and the sense of the CB systems and applications being embedded into the respondent‘s workflow were the further issues relating to their perceptions issues. For some it just happened and they didn‘t think about it and whilst working within the confines and boundaries of their technological applications they could design their pedagogical approaches accordingly without giving it any thought. Yet all the time they hadn‘t taken into account the actual perception of what was happening with their interactions via applications and CB systems and also didn‘t in some cases factor it into the reality of their teaching situations. One particular respondent didn‘t realise he used technology in his training work until finally he realised at the interview stage that 90% of his course was delivered via a ‗WhatsApp‘ application he had setup to communicate with his students. Further to this response you can start to see how the ‗embeddedness‘ of applications and CB systems are working and how little people are thinking about the application and the processes involved, for them it is jus happening and it is infinitely useful to them or not. ‗Communication‘, ‗Workflow‘ and ‗Reliability‘ had been a part of the ‗ten‘ themes within the research indicator outputs discovered and
68 each one had varying degrees of related feedback from communications on internal organisations CB LMS systems being totally ineffective to an augmented and advanced communication via synchronous CB systems such as ‗Skype‘ et al. Overall it was for the respondents to decide on what worked for them and what worked for them professionally that allowed them to incorporate CB systems into their workflow and pedagogical approaches. But what was paramount amongst most was the lack of reliability in most work based CB LMS systems and how ineffective the staffing and design of these systems are in most organisations. This led to many reliability issues being reported during the research with other issues that hindered the pedagogical process rather than augment it. Other aspects of the ‗ten‘ themes within the research indicator outputs discovered had been ‗Participation‘, (SoT) Status over Time, and, ‗Ageing Populations‘. The latter being the biggest issue in the survey that suggested a very wide ranging disconnect with CB systems and older generations of people. With one respondent suggesting that once the older generations cease to engage with the industry concerned then the proliferation and use of CB systems in the industry could be improved 100%. So as time moves forward there is a clear indicator that the current generations new to technology and CB systems will have the feeling of ‗embeddedness‘ and participation will be 100% yet for older generations ‗SoT‘ will be very problematic with their interactions decreasing year upon year due to the advancement and proliferation of emerging CB technology . In 2018 the most remarkable finding was that training and education of people via CB systems and especially CB LMS is currently not effective due to ‗perception‘ amongst people of how the CB systems work and how they actually interact with the CB systems concerned. Change in ‗SoT‘ will no doubt see proceeding generations adopt near ubiquitous systems of connectivity that will advance their training, learning and other aspects of their workflow through CB systems that will be totally ‗embedded‘ into their lifestyle and lives generally. This will allow for a greater amount of educational pedagogical approaches through digital CB systems that as Sproat (2017) pointed out in her University of Hull lecture, ―cannot yet perceive‖ but we can get an idea from this research what they possibly would look like especially given the perception of those involved in this particular
69 research project. What was fundamentally clear from the findings and the research was the actual sense of reliability now on these particular CB systems concerned and the fact that the respondents couldn‘t perceive a world of work and life without them, the overarching statement was always, ‗how did they ever manage in the past without them‘. The ‗ten‘ themes within the research indicator outputs discovered are very important in understanding these changes and how people interact with technology in work and in their education and they also help to give us an indicator for the future, they are generally the key to understanding the various different nuances occurring across groups of people interacting with CB systems in 2018.
70
Chapter 5: Discussion 5.1 Introduction Is it possible to have a pedagogic model in a fast developing technological world? Based on the research the answer to that question is no currently but potentially in the future, ‗ceteris paribus‘, all things being equal. The research carried out also backs up the Moodle research carried out in an African University by Mwalumbwe and Mtebe (2017) who also predicted that current systems whilst in place hadn‘t been effective for those students involved yet there had been areas that flourished such as the interaction on the forums and peer grouping areas that flourished on a Moodle CB LMS. Again this was found to be the case in this research project but on a much wider scale, that saw ‗pockets‘ of ingenuity within CB systems that hadn‘t necessarily been planned or designed into the pedagogical approach. In some cases they had just happened quite organically in that the tutors or students had started using the CB tools instinctively to get the resulted they required. I think in the same respect Siemens (2004) predication that connectivity is an actual learning theory is again somewhat farfetched in that the interaction with CB systems and tools isn‘t something that can be defined as a theory of learning that can be used for all concerned. There are too many variables including those that are hidden and involved over time for this to be the case and for any learning theory to be established via CB connectivity processes. Once you have learned one connectivity aspect within a given pedagogical model it would be very much out of date the next month, so really it isn‘t a discipline that can be associated as a theory as it is rather an inductive algorithmic process and the learner is just negotiating the algorithm. How can the tutor guide the learner when the connectivity processes and procedures of CB systems and applications are so random? A technological and pedagogical algorithm works across network paths quite naturally if it is designed properly and can be a lot more targeted and useful than I think Siemens (2004) predicts in his analysis of connectivity. An AI learner algorithm for example could predict from the learner inputs for example that there is no use of or knowledge of technology by the learner and this would
71 suggest that either the student takes more technical training or else that a more face to face approach is required for that particular student. The AI learner algorithm could for example review the learner‘s purchase of say a mobile device and depending on that particular device suggest applications or other methods of learning related to that learner‘s equipment. It can‘t be just a question of being connected as predicted by Siemens (2004) this is somewhat proven not only by Mwalumbwe and Mtebe (2017) with their research into the students connections using a CB Moodle LMS but also via this research that suggests that just being connected doesn‘t necessarily predict that connectivity works or that it is a valid medium of learning for the learner to interact with. Further to my analysis of the use of CB systems amongst educational professionals in 2018 the learner is the ‗message not the medium‘. The ‗learner as the algorithm‘ is a far better way of looking at interaction amongst learners rather than suggesting that just being connected is the key to their interaction as though it is something that is just going to occur naturally. The same can be said of ubiquitous or no fixed point learning concepts the learner still has to be considered for these types of environments to be effective for them, we cannot just expect learners to interact with a no fixed point learning scenario just because we can design one. If the learner requires something other than a CB system or digital tools to interact with then we have to consider that and the use of technological pedagogical approaches isn‘t always right for some learners, so we cannot generalise with technology or technological pedagogical models just based upon what technology can offer. The research also confirms the ‗Solow Paradox‘, as Solow (1987) couldn‘t agree with the credibility of Cohen and Zsyman (1987) at the time in relation to emerging technology claims, the same I think can be applied to various tenets involved with futurists such as Siemens (2004) who make claims with regards to technology that cannot necessarily be verified or justified further to any research or that can be naturally predicted in any concrete form. Friederici, et al, (2017) and Skuse & Cousins, (2007) can also be considered here as there is no predictability based upon this research and others Mwalumbwe and Mtebe (2017) to claim that CB systems or Internet and technology based LMS learning paradigms actually benefit all learners across all sectors. Whilst many organisations such as Google and Facebook have very predictive future
72 portfolios, Sproat (2017), from Google education herself suggested the very same with her companies vision for connectivity and the aim to join up and connect the further four billion of the words population. The overall result based around this research project and others isn‘t going to be necessarily a positive one for all concerned within education and CB learning systems in the future, quite the contrary. What we cannot do is stand still and expect that the technology today can be of any use to us tomorrow that is simply not the case, what we perceive today might very well be gone tomorrow and we will all have moved on yet again to interact in various different ways, again finding solutions to problems of interacting and working with technology. I don‘t think it can be designed and I don‘t think it can be predicted but we can possibly plan for the advent of a fast moving technological world by ensuring that we at least consider what the future might bring instead of expecting the solutions of today to be the solutions of tomorrow. As with Lave and March, (1975), and as cited with Maxwell, (2012), ‗These meanings and perspectives are not theoretical abstractions; they are real, as real as people‘s behaviour, though not as directly visible‘ (Maxwell, Ibid:58). I think this research has shown that theoretical abstraction more visible by revealing some of the actual interactions from learning professionals and their learners who interact with CB systems daily and how unpredictive and in some cases unproductive the use of CB systems for learning actually are. As Maxwell (2012) quite rightly pointed out these meanings and perspectives by people are not theoretical or cannot be placed within any theoretical framework as they are real and real factors when analysed are less predictive than a mental framework and construct perceived by an academic. Prensky (2010) has I think a more valid argument as he considers the ‗real‘ and that being the partnership of technology with people in a way that is less fanciful than some academics in the past such as Siemens (2004) perceived. Virtanen, et al, (2017) produced a journal paper titled, ‗Ubiquitous learning environments in higher education: A scoping literature review‘. The connected abstract suggested that evidently ubiquitous learning heralded a new era in higher education. The trick it seems is to produce a seamless learning environment that is available in any location at any time and that produces personalised learning opportunities as suggested by Virtanen et al. (IFIP, Online, 2017). (See Appendix 1).
73
5.2 Summary of Study Overall the study was well received by the respondents and people had been genuinely interested in getting involved in the research due to the research topic. Again people perceived the CB topic as having worth and also something interesting to be involved with. In fact most respondents wanted to have their say and enjoyed discussing the topics involved. This aided the general proliferation of a chosen core users to be worked with that then became a much larger demographic than had originally been perceived by the researcher. It was good to work with a wide range of educational professionals across a broad section of education that allowed some unique insights and opinions to be formed due to this fact. The researcher was rather surprised at the generation of some of the data and results as perceived outcomes and some of the factors that the research generated had been new for the researcher to also interact with. The researcher managed to answer the associated research questions and also produce some valid tools for exploration and research that can be utilised in the future. 5.3 Future Research Recommendations The research recommendations further to this study would be in the area of perception of CB systems primarily. And how this can be changed and augmented to allow those involved with technology advancement in education to experience the interactions with systems in a way that assists learners and the learning process. It is not as simple as designing a ubiquitous digital interface or an application that can be used, without it being perceived as something that can be used effectively. It is more it seems a need to educate people to the possibilities of what CB systems are and can do first rather than run ahead with technology that might offer a simultaneous and natural interaction for the learner. Clearly the ‗embeddedness‘ of the reality for most CB users is paramount but it also has to be understood by all people concerned with CB systems in education not just a few. Whilst in 2018 we have a great deal of forward movement in what technology can achieve for people in education and their place of work there is little insight into the affect it has on people in these environments other than it is what they evidently need as it is the future, technology is the future? Actually further to this
74 research I don‘t think this is the case and I think that a possible future research recommendation would be around the perception of CB systems and how that perception can be used to demonstrate a greater efficiency in the use and interaction with CB systems. Up to 2018 we have mostly perceived the change of CB systems as random, as technology driven events that promote the next ‗big‘ thing. Organisations and in turn people buy into these events as the way forward; you only have to visit a local IT trade show concerned with education to see how schools and educational organisations perceive the use of technology and how it is believed to be able to help their students become educated, yet nobody asks the question how? Nothing is really considered of the value of these systems moving forward and for the proceeding generations, in fact there is a general perception that in fact what CB systems we buy today will be redundant tomorrow anyway. From this research in 2018 there is indeed a very confused picture of CB systems, there use and fundamentally their reality not only within the workplace but by the people that interact with them. Any future research on CB systems should be in this area as to how we can look at CB systems and the reality of their use rather than as something separate from what we are trying to achieve or as a bolt on to what we do. 5.4 Conclusion In this section the researcher will look at the four main researcher questions and explore each one in turn with a view to answering each question or not as the case may be. The research project addressed four main research questions; 1. What is cloud based learning in 2018? 2. How do we determine how to learn using cloud based systems? 3. What can cloud based systems and connectivity offer us in the future in-regards to how we learn? 4. Is it possible to have a pedagogic model in a fast developing technological world?
To respond to these questions the researcher created various research tools to analyse the associated topics involved and the questions are addressed in the following section.
75 Research Question 1: In-regards to the use of cloud based learning in 2018 the researcher determined further that there needs to be some kind of constant in learning and education for it to be successful and one thing that technology doesn‘t do is apply a constant for learning as far too much it is of a kinetic and ad hoc design approach. Cloud based technology aimed at educators and students proliferates its uniqueness and abilities on a daily basis, but this doesn‘t mean that we can quantify it or say conclusively that it promotes a solid pedagogical model that we can rely on. Any pedagogical approach in education has to suit the learner and possibly there are some aspects of technology and cloud based systems that can assist them, but we cannot design a technological pedagogical approach that isn‘t out of date in a week‘s time so this is a constraint for all concerned with delivering any pedagogical model that involves technology and cloud based systems. From this research the researcher cannot say categorically that the research confirmed that cloud based technology has actually improved learning as such; what was apparent from this study is that there is on a regular basis new cloud based technology to interact with from a teacher and students perspective. And that this technology aimed at educators and students proliferates its uniqueness and abilities on a daily basis, however the researcher couldn‘t quantify it or say conclusively that it promotes a solid pedagogical model that we can rely on in education. Any pedagogical approach in education has to suit the learner and possibly there are some aspects of cloud based technology that can assist them. However the researcher would conclude that we cannot design a technological pedagogical approach using technology that isn‘t out of date sometime in the future and this is a fundamental problem with technological advancements that hinders any valid and reliable pedagogical approach. So to surmise cloud based learning in 2018 is a fast paced environment that is currently led by technology and the drivers for change in the tech world. These advancements are in some respects the difficulties that education and learning has to overcome as they can shape the pedagogical approach. The difficultly lies for educators and students alike is how they traverse these cloud based systems and advancements in technology to assist them in learning. Currently this is very difficult and this study has raised various issues relating to those difficulties‘ faced by educators their establishments and the students concerned. As there is a future perspective attached to this research
76 study the researcher could build on this research to create a further picture of events in a few years time to see how cloud based systems have shaped education or not as the case might be. But one that is constantly evolving day by day and a study that will contiue3 as long as cloud based systems are relied upon for all concerned. Research Question 2: The researcher as an insider and a current designer of educational systems has shown in this study that it is very apparent from the research carried out that it would be wiser to adapt a technological pedagogical method that works and continues to work for a group of learner‘s across the board, rather than disrupt the learning process down the line due to something being introduced to the learning algorithm such as a technology input. So how do we learn from cloud based technologies if this is the case? This disruption has occurred since the early adoption of technology and it seems to have had a disruptive affect ever since within the world of education that has adopted various technology based learning frameworks. What this research has show is that In reality one set of learners perceive their learning one way and another group experiences a completely different set of pedagogical values another way using any cloud based learning or digital technology. This researcher has shown further that currently the use of cloud based systems in education is very confusing, and that without a constant in-regards to this technology then in some respects technology could impede the education process for some people. This research found that certain pedagogical approaches that constantly shifted boundaries due to technological advances and the use of cloud based systems are in a lot of cases self defeating. Not only for the education establishment but also for the learners involved in the pedagogical approaches based upon that technology driven curriculum. Therefore to determine how to use cloud based technologies is very difficult not only for those working and designing the systems but also those who are interacting with them. This research project has shown that we have to be very careful when adopting pedagogical approaches using cloud based technology and for the use by learners, if all things are not equal then the use of technology could possibly be applied in some cases and could help. But in the majority of cases it was found by the researcher that a blanket approach to delivering teaching with cloud based systems doesn‘t really help all the learners all of the time in fact quite the
77 opposite it becomes a boundary and a burden to some due to their inability to interact with the technology concerned. The researcher would therefore conclude from this study that that if technology can be used in a way that it is one hundred percent reliable for all concerned then we could say that we have developed and designed the most effective pedagogical approach ever, but currently and further to this research project in 2018 this is not the case. Research Question 3: As Prensky, (2010) says, ―there is a huge paradox for educators: the place where the biggest educational changes have come is not our schools; it is everywhere else but our schools‖ (Prensky, Online, 2005:2). What this research study shows is the intransient nature of the changes within and outside of the education system when it comes to people engaging with cloud based systems and utilising them for education purposes. As working patterns shift and more people are engaged in working outside of normal working hours and work places then the shift to cloud based learning will increase and the ubiquitous approach to engagement with emerging technology will continue. This research project shows that definition and the start of the perception of those involved in education and learning using these current systems. As the researcher cannot predict the future the research carried out can only determine from this study that if emerging technology continues to proliferate in education then all concerned will be embedded with this and it will be a part of their everyday life, studies and awareness. The research indicates that we are currently connected using these systems but not to the extent that most tech manufactures and companies would like you to believe. The researcher believes this connectivity is the key to whether cloud based systems will offer us any benefits in the global cloud based learning space in the future. If we continue to be connected and systems proliferate that will enable us to all be connected then future perspectives would predict that suggest that potentially we can learn within that cloud based and developing environment. However the researcher would conclude from the research that this is only going to happen when all things again are equal and that future generations due to the change of status over time have learned to adopt these very systems that benefit everyone not just a few.
78
Research Question 4: What this research has shown is that some learners in the future might adapt to a fast paced technology driven approach to learning but generally that isn‘t how learning necessarily occurs and that it isn‘t that effective for everyone concerned including teachers and students alike. Given that for whatever reason technology doesn‘t apply to the education space and the associated educational institutions in the future then a lot of what this research project has discovered will not apply and we will be looking at a completely different learning environment. This research has shown further that technology and cloud based systems are currently the driver in the education space and that there is no moderation on the use of technology and cloud based learning in any respect, if the use of technology doesn‘t ‗catch on‘ future perspectives would predict that this would change the technological pedagogical approach yet again. As for the a pedagogical model being able to be supported by a fast changing technology environment this research has shown that in some cases it can be supported really well and in other cases it is completely redundant. The research has shown a complete polarisation of learning using loud based systems that is somewhat under reported generally. The research data in some cases offered a complete rejection by some of cloud based system and technology driven activities so that they became completely redundant for the organisation and the learners concerned. If this is the case then we cannot currently design a pedagogical approach for these learners in a fast paced technology driven environment. Again the researcher determined that future perspectives concerning the change of status over time would allow for a pedagogical model to develop in a fast changing technology environment if all things became equal with the populations concerned. Currently in 2018 this is not the case and the researcher would conclude that until such time as cloud based systems and technology can offer a ubiquitous affect to the learning and the systems concerned then it is currently impossible to design any pedagogical model within a fast paced technology driven cloud based environment as it is not effective for all concerned.
79
Further Studies, Research and the Limitations of the Study Reflecting on the study there are a number of areas where the research could be continued and developed. The use of survey and research tools to highlight further how people actually interact with cloud based systems is one of them. Followed by the use of new digital based conceptual frameworks to allow researchers further insights into the data that is being developed by these interactions is possibly another area that could be built upon from this research project. The research did focus on the barriers using technology related to the internet, the associated tools to interact with the internet and the perception of those involved with using the technology. All these areas in the current field are a further useful area of research and something that could be looked at in the future. Other research could be centred around the interaction of all concerned with cloud based technology from the ten themes generated within the findings analysis; This is a good design template for further research and one that could be utilised again to build upon with further research in the chosen field.
Overall all the study did offer areas for development within organisations that would allow a focus upon the use of cloud based technologies by all concerned and something that could be developed further from a quality monitoring perspective. This study could be expanded greatly to include many others involved in learning using cloud based technologies as there is such a vast proliferation of usage worldwide. Further research into other areas globally would be interesting especially following a similar research framework approach and it would be useful to generate further data on the findings to aid future perspectives related to cloud based learning. There is no doubt that a similar research approach could play a very important role in determining future uses of cloud based learning and the adoption of systems and pedagogical technological approaches. The research does contribute greatly to the knowledge surrounding the use of cloud-based systems and their eligibility, especially in education. It is however important to note the limitations of the current research due to the researchers time available, its audience, its capabilities, logistics and other associated boundaries
80 faced by the researcher as this was not a funded research project in any respects. The scope of the research could have been greater with more resources applied and this would have increased the findings somewhat to explore the research questions in more detail. This was a rather small scale study that did manage to expand its boundaries due to the Internet tools being available. Time allotted to the researcher in this type of study was greater due to these technologies and working methods so that did augment the study in a positive way. Nevertheless it does prove the basis for further study by the researcher to explore future perspectives of cloud based learning within a doctoral study. Further findings and analysis in these areas could inform policy in a lot of given areas and possibly influence the development of future pedagogical technological approaches and models using cloud based technology. The particular areas of focus have been highlighted in the concluding statements on each question analysis above. This research study could inform wider policy due to its questioning and validation of further studies in the field such as those that relate to connectivity and the wider use of cloud-based systems in education.
The study could even possibly allow us to review our existing knowledge of connectivity and pedagogical frameworks and move forward the discussion on what is going to be an effective learning paradigm for learners beyond 2018. It is a study that can help to inform discussion and allow dialogue to occur that will help to shape not only how we perceive cloud-based learning systems but also how we design them with a view to ensuing that ‗all things are equal‘ This is one of the most conclusive findings in the study in that if we are going to use and adopt cloud-based systems for learning it has to include all and currently this is not the case as further confirmed by this study and others that have looked at the effectiveness of cloud-based learning systems around the world. With this study as a guide and with the ‗ten‘ themes as a key to further research and dialogue it could be possible for decision makers in education to adopt wider approaches for the use of cloud-based learning technology that could be more effective in future. This would allow all concerned to focus on the digital tools and systems available and to integrate technology into education that could reach and assist all participants as well as those leading the technological pedagogical approaches to learning
81 using cloud-based systems. What the study most importantly shows is that we cannot continue to sleep-walk into developing or using cloud-based technology approaches in education without considering the associated variables and the ‗ten‘ research themes generated by this study. If we do not consider the research themes in this study and the other findings in this work then technology will not ‗catch on‘ in education, it will be very quickly something we looked at but decided that, really it didn‘t have any worth for all concerned. Technology has to be effective for everybody not just the few and this is something the tech giants are currently focusing on, how do we ‗join the dots‘, the four billion other people on the planet that cannot interact with cloud-based systems for learning and everything else in their lives. If we fail to do this in the near future then the future perspective will be a lot different from the dream of today. What we have learned from this study is that connectivity is not actually a learning theory yet, if we are all unable to sit around the same table and learn together then it doesn‘t constitute a learning theory. What we currently have in the world of cloud-based activity is ‗connectivity apartheid‘, due to technological separation from others this being solely directed by companies such as Google et al. For this to change requires others to make all things equal especially for the four billion of us on the planet who are not connected. Whilst companies like Google suggest that they would like to end ‗connectivity apartheid‘ they are primarily profit driven and currently see little point in pursuing change with connectivity in these countries as this study has identified. Connectivity could be a learning theory in the future but currently in 2018 it is not as we are all not connected yet.
82
References: Allen, E., Seaman, J., (2008). [PDF]. Staying the Course, Online Education in the USA, 2008. The Sloan Consortium. Date accessed: 07.11.17. Atkinson, R., et al, (2010). [Internet]. Theories of Discourse and Narrative: what do they mean for governance and policy? http://www.uwe.ac.uk/ Date accessed: 07.11.17 - 20.12.17. Ball, S.J. (2012). Global Education Inc, New Policy Networks and The Neo-Liberal Imaginary, London and New York: Routledge. P.77, Figure 2.1, Figure 4.3. Betts, K . (2009) Journal of Online Learning and Teaching ; Long Beach Vol. 5, Iss. 1, :29. Beall, A. (2017). [Online] Inside the weird world of quantum computers. http://www.wired.co.uk/article/quantum-computing-explained. Date accessed: 16.01.18. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1999-2017). http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ [Internet] Date accessed: 01.05.18 BOS, (2018). [Internet] https://www.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ Date accessed 11.05.18 Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods 4th Edition. UK: Oxford University Press. (p.582,584,635). Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, (2017). https://chanzuckerberg.com/ [Internet] Date accessed: 01.05.18 Chomsky, N., (2012). [Internet] The Purpose of Education https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdNAUJWJN08 Date accessed: 22.03.18 Cohen, S.S., Zysman, J., (1987). [PDF]Why Manufacturing Matters: The Myth of the Post-Industrial Economy. University of California Press ConceptToClassroom, (2004). [Internet] What is constructivism? https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/ Date accessed: 02.05.18 Creswell, J.W. (2013) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design – Choosing Among Five Approaches, 3rd Edition. CA:Sage. P:43,45,64,65 Cumming, Ed, (2014). [Internet] William Gibson: the man who saw tomorrow. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/28/william-gibson-neuromancer-cyberpunk-books Date accessed: 21.03.18 De Carvalho, A,F,P. et al. (2017). [PDF] Detailing a Spectrum of Motivational Forces Shaping Nomadic Practices. In:CSCW '17 : Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. ACM, 962-977. Date accessed: 11.01.18. De Toro, I., (2009). [Internet] Educational Philosophy, https://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioprojecteduc542eir/educational-philosophy Date Accessed 18.02.18 Diaz, D.P., (2002). [Internet]. Online Drop Rates Revisited http://www.technologysource.org/article/online_drop_rates_revisited/?utm_campaign=elearningindus try.com&utm_source=/5-ways-humanize-the-elearning-experience&utm_medium=link. Date accessed: 07.11.17
83 Digital scholars in a mobile world: One-day symposium exploring work-life balance in increasingly mobile and digitised academic environments Organised by Anastasia Gouseti & Josef Ploner 14th December 2016 | FACE, University of Hull. Date accessed: 11.01.18. Dreyfuss, E, et al. (No Date), [Internet] The IT Productivity Paradox, https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/productivity-paradox/background.html Stanford University. Date accessed: 17.01.18 Edirisingha, P. (2012). [Internet] Interpretivism and Positivism (Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives) https://prabash78.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/interpretivism-and-postivism-ontological-and-epistemological-perspectives/ Date accessed: 01.08.18 Eighty Six, (2014). [Internet] The origins of Flipped Learning. http://www.brighthubeducation.com/education-industry/128706-origins-of-flipped-learning/ Date accessed: 07.03.18 Ellis, R., Goodyear,P. (2010) Students' Experiences of e-Learning in Higher Education: The Ecology of Sustainable Innovation. NYC: Routledge. Google for Education, (2017). [Internet] https://www.google.co.uk/edu/?gclid=CjwKEAjwkq7GBRDun9iu2JjyhmsSJADHCD_HLuansHCKG o2ir8lmstEOcX4X2vhF3QyZjmRiGptwzBoCmqXw_wcB [Internet] Date accessed: 01.05.18 Frankola, K. (2001). [Internet]. Why Online Learners Drop Out. http://www.workforce.com/2001/06/03/why-online-learners-drop-out/ Date accessed: 07.11.17 Friederic, N., et al. (2017). [PDF] The Impact of Connectivity in Africa: Grand Visions and the Mirage of Inclusive Digital Development. Date accessed: 18.01.18. (p2,4,5). Giorgi A. (1985). Phenomenology and psychological research. Pittsburgh PA: Duquesne University Press. (p.60-61). Google Open Online Learning, (2017). [Internet] https://edu.google.com/openonline/ Date accessed: 28.09.17. JISC, (2018). [Internet] https://www.jisc.ac.uk/about/who-we-are-and-what-we-do Date accessed: 28.07.18. Jørgensen, M.W., Phillips, L.J. (2002). Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method, London:Sage. Khan, S. (2017). Inductive & deductive reasoning, [Internet] https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra-home/alg-series-and-induction/alg-deductive-andinductive-reasoning/v/deductive-reasoning-1 Date Accessed: 19.10.17. Lazenby, B, (2017). Kelvin Hall School, Hull, UK. [email] Date: 14.03.17. Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. NewYork: The Science Press. Liz Sproat Lecture, University of Hull, (2017). [Internet] https://culturenet.co.uk/events/iwd-inspiredin-hull-with-liz-sproat-head-of-education-at-google Date attended: 08.03.17 Marcus, G.E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology 1995 24:1, 95-117 [Internet]
84 https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.an.24.100195.000523 Date accessed: 26.0618. Maxwell, J. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed). CA:Sage. (p.3,58,59,69). Date accessed: 12.10.17. Moodle LMS, (2017). [Internet] https://moodle.org/ Date accessed: 12.10.17. Miles, M.B, (1979). Qualitative Data as an attractive nuisance: The problem of analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, (p.590-601). Miles, M.B., Huberman, M.A., (1984). Qualitative Data Analysis, (a source book of new methods). USA: Sage. (p.16,21,22). Moustakas,C. (1994). Phenomenological Research Methods. CA:Sage. (p.4,12). Muylaert et al, (2014). [Internet] Narrative interviews: an important resource in qualitative research http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0080-62342014000800184 Date Accessed: 12th October, 2017. Mwalumbwe, I., Mtebe, J.S, (2017). [PDF] Using Learning Analytics to Predict Students Performance in Moodle Learning Management Systems: A Case of Mbeya University of Science and Technology. Published by The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. Date Accessed: 16.01.18. (p.1, OU Story, (2017).[Internet] http://www.open.ac.uk/about/main/strategy/ou-story# Date accessed: 28.09.17 Parsons, H.M. (1974). What Happened at Hawthorne? Science 08 Mar 1974:Vol. 183, Issue 4128, pp. 922-932. DOI: 10.1126/science.183.4128.922. Riverside Research Institute, Park Avenue, New York 10028. Peters,R.S. (1965) The Concept of Education [Internet] http://www.imd.inder.cu/adjuntos/article/595/The%20Concept%20of%20Education.pdf [Internet] Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. Date Accessed: 12.12.17 Petty, G. (2004) Teaching Today 3rd Edition, UK:Nelson Thornes Ltd. (p.14.). Research Gate, (2017). [Internet] https://www.researchgate.net Date Accessed: October, November 2017 Prensky, M., (2010). Teaching Digital Natives. Sage:CA Prensky, M., (2005). TEACHING DIGITAL NATIVES: PARTNERING FOR REAL LEARNING, http://marcprensky.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Prensky-TEACHING_DIGITAL_NATIVESIntroduction1.pdf Date Accessed: 17.06.18, 27.08.18 Rustin, M. (2016) [Internet] The neoliberal university and its alternatives, pg:160. [Internet] https://www.lwbooks.co.uk/sites/default/files/s63_14rustin_0.pdf Journal: Soundings, Issue: 63: Spaces of resistance. Date accessed: 28.09.17 Savin, B., Tombs, G. (2017) Research Methods for Education in The Digital Age. Bloomsbury, UK.
85 Siemens, G., (2004). [Internet] Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm Date accessed: 21.03.18 Skott, P.B., Ward.M. (2013). Active Learning Exercises for Research Methods in Social Sciences. CA: Sage. (pg:99). Smith, K.T. (2006). [Journal]. Early Attrition amongst First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that Contribute t Drop-out, Withdrawal and Non-completion Rates of Adult Learners undertaking eLearning Programmes. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol2no2/tyler-smith.htm Date accessed: 07.11.17 Solow, M.R., (1957), [Journal] Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1926047 The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Aug., 1957), pp. 312-320 The MIT Press. Date Accessed: 17.01.18 Solow, M.R., (1987) We‘d better watch out. New York Times Book Review, p.36. http://www.standupeconomist.com/pdf/misc/solow-computer-productivity.pdf Date Accessed: 17.01.18 Ssekakubo, G., Suleman, H., & Marsden, G. (2011). Issues of adoption : Have e-Learning Management Systems fulfilled their potential in developing countries ? In Proceedings of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists Conference on Knowledge, Innovation and Leadership in a Diverse, Multidisciplinary Environment (231-238). Cape Town, South Africa. Stebbins, R.A. (2001). Exploratory Research in the Social Sciences, Sage: London. (p:13,14,15,16). The Conversation, (2017). [Internet] http://theconversation.com/what-lies-behind-africas-lack-ofaccess-and-unreliable-power-supplies-56521 [Internet] Date accessed: 01.05.18 The "Hawthorne effect" — what did the original Hawthorne studies actually show? Author(s): Gustav Wickström and Tom Bendix Source: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, Vol. 26, No. 4 (August 2000), pp. 363-367 Published by: the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment, and the Norwegian National Institute of Occupational Health Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40967074. Date accessed: 24.10.2017 The Noam Chomsky Website, (2018). [Internet] https://chomsky.info/ Date Accessed: 21.03.18 Trochim, W,M,K., [Internet]. Social Research Methods. http://socialresearchmethods.net/kb/sampterm.php (p,n/a). Social Research Methods Knowledge Base. Virtanen, M., et al. (2017). [PDF] Ubiquitous learning environments in higher education: A scoping literature review. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10639-017-9646-6 The Official Journal of the IFIP Technical Committee on Education ISSN 1360-2357. Date accessed: 10.01.18. Vygotsky, L.S. (1997). Educational Psychology, USA: Taylor & Francis Group. (p.48.). Walonick, D,S. (1993). [Internet] An Overview of Forecasting Methodology. http://www.statpac.org/research-library/forecasting.htm StaPac Inc, 2017. Date accessed: 20.03.17. Willis, P. (1978). Learning to Labour, Routledge:USA.
86 WIReDSpace, (2016), [Internet] Chapter 2, Conceptual framework for the study of factors affecting teachers‘ use of technology. http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10539/16919/04.pdf?sequence=4 Data accessed: 16.08.18. Zhang, Qi., et al. (2010). [PDF] Cloud computing: state-of-the-art and research challenges https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13174-010-0007-6?LI=true Published online: 20 April 2010 © The Brazilian Computer Society 2010. Data accessed: 16.01.18.
87
Bibliography: Abeer A. Alamri & Bader A. Alsaleh (2017): Transforming Education in the Gulf Region: Emerging Learning Technologies and Innovative Pedagogy for the 21st Century, American Journal of Distance Education, DOI: 10.1080/08923647.2017.1323568 Bandura, A. (1986). The social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory, Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice Hall. Bonk, C. (2006). [Internet]. The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Says https://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/the-future-of-online-teaching-and-learning-inhigher-education-the-survey-says Charmaz, K. (1983). The grounded theory method: An explication and interpretation. In R.Emerson (Ed). Contemporary field research (pp. 109-126). Boston: Little, Brown Crook, C. (2012). The ― digital native ‖ in context: tensions associated with importing Web 2.0 practices into the school setting. Oxford Review of Education, 38(1), 63-80. Glaser, B.,& Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research, Chicago:Aldine. Hall, R. (2011). Revealing the transformatory moment of learning technology: the place of critical social theory. Research in Learning Technology, 19(3), 273-284. Hill, J.R., et al. (2009) Social Learning Theory and Web-Based Learning Environments: A Review of Research and Discussion of Implications, American Journal of Distance Education, 23:2, 88-103, DOI: 10.1080/08923640902857713 Hine, C (2000). Virtual Ethnography, London:Sage. Hine, C. (2015). Ethnography for the Internet: Embedded, Embodied and Everyday, London: Bloom Dagger, D., & Wade, V. P., (2004) [Internet] Evaluation of Adaptive Course Construction Toolkit (ACCT), http://wwwis.win.tue.nl/~acristea/AAAEH05/papers/6-a3eh_daggerd IOS_ format_v1.1.pdf) Davies, E.M. (2008). Risky Business: Medicl Discourse, Breast Cancer and Narrative, Qualitative Health Research, 18:65-76. Dawson, J.A. (1979). Validity in qualitative inquiry. Paper presented at the meeting of the America Educational Research Association. Dawson, J.A. (1982). Qualitative research finding: What do we do to improve and estimate their validity? Paper presented at the meeting of the America Educational Research Association. Faust, D. (1982). A needed component in prescription for science: Empirical knowledge of human cognitive limitations. Knowledge 3, 555-570. Dillon, C.L., Walsh, M.S. (2009). [Internet] Faculty: The neglected resource in distance education, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08923649209526796 Published online: 24th Sept, 2009.
88 Flood, J. (2002) [Internet] Read all about it: online learning facing 80% attrition rates, TOJDE Volume:3 (2) http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde6/articles/jim2.htm Garrison, R.D, Cleveland-Innes, M. (2005) Facilitating Cognitive Presence in Online Learning: Interaction Is Not Enough, American Journal of Distance Education, 19:3, 133-148, DOI: 10.1207/s15389286ajde1903_2 Giorgi A., Giorgi B. Smith J. A. (2008). Phenomenology. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. London: Sage Publications Inc; :26–52. Gonzalez, C., (2004). [Internet] The Role of Blended Learning in the World of Technology. Retrieved December 10, 2004 from http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/2004/september04/eis.htm. Howard, C., Schenk,K. and Discenza,R. (2004) Distance Learning and University Effectiveness: Changing Educational Paradigms for Online Learning, Information Science Publishing. Pg:2,4. Hudson, L., and Ozanne, J. (1988). Alternative Ways of Seeking Knowledge in Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 508–521. Hsiung Tu, C., McIsaac, M. (2002) The Relationship of Social Presence and Interaction in Online Classes, American Journal of Distance Education, 16:3, 131-150, DOI: 10.1207/S15389286AJDE1603_2 Kaplan B., Maxwell J.A. (2005) Qualitative Research Methods for Evaluating Computer Information Systems. In: Anderson J.G., Aydin C.E. (eds) Evaluating the Organizational Impact of Healthcare Information Systems. Health Informatics. Springer, New York, NY Lane, L. (2009). Insidious pedagogy: How course management systems impact teaching. First Monday, 14(10). Lave, C.A., & March, J.G. (1975). An introduction to models in social sciences, New York:Harper & Row. Lee, J. (2001). [Internet] Instructional support for distance education and faculty motivation, commitment, satisfaction. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8535.00186/full Loftland, J.A. (1976). Doing social life: The qualitative study of human interaction in natural settings. New York: John Wiley. Madison, D.S. (2005). Critical ethnography: Method, ethics and performance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Maguire, L. (2005). [Internet]. Literature Review – Faculty Participation in Online Distance Education: Barriers and Motivators. http://www.bu.edu/ssw/files/pdf/Literature-Review-FacultyParticipation-in-Online-Distance-Education_-Barr2.pdf Markel, M. (1999). [Internet]. Distance Education and the Myth of the New Pedagogy http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1050651999013002005 Mayhew, L.B. (1966) ‗Contriving a Hawthorne Effect‘ Improving College and University Teaching Vol. 14 , Iss. 3.
89 McKelvely, N,K. Curran and N. Subaginy (2015), ‗The Internet of Things‘, in M.Khosrow-Pour (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Information Science and Technology, 3 rd edn., 5777-83, Hershey,PA; Information Science Reference. Miller, R.L. (2000). Researching Life Stories and Family Histories. London:Sage. Moore, M.G, Anderson, W.G. (2003). [PDF]. Handbook of Distance Education. LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS Min, S., et al. (2006). [Journal]. Time management strategies for online teaching http://itdl.org/Journal/Feb_06/Feb_06.pdf#page=7 Neuman, L. W. (2000). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (4th Ed.), USA: Allyn and Bacon. Husman, D.E, Miller, M.T. (1999). [PDF] Faculty Incentives to Participate in Distance Education https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234590541 Papert, S. (1993). Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful NYC: Basic Books Parker, A. (2003). [Internet]. Motivation and Incentives for Distance Faculty. http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/parker63.htm Phillips, R., Maor, D., Cumming-Potvin, W., Roberts, P., Herrington, J., Preston, G., Moore, E. and Perry, L. (2011). Learning Analytics and Study Behaviour : A Pilot Study. In Proceedings ascilite 2011 (997-1007). Hobart, TZ: Australia. Piaget, J. (1928), LA CAUSALITÉ CHEZ L'ENFANT1. British Journal of Psychology. General Section, 18: 276–301. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1928.tb00466.x Piaget, J. (1929). Child's Conception of the World: Selected Works vol 1: "the Child's Conception of the World" (1929) Vol XI (Jean Piaget: Selected Works). Routledge. Piaget,J. (1967). A Child's Conception of Space, Norton Edition, pg.178. Riessman, C.K. (2008) Narrative methods for the human sciences. LA:Sage Postill, J. 2011. Localizing the Internet: An Anthropological Account. Oxford and New York: Berghahn. See draft Introduction. Rockwell, K.S., et al. (2000). [PDF]. Implementing Distance Education: Issues Impacting Administration. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan_Fritz/publication/228979090_Implementing_distance_ed ucation_Issues_impacting_administration/links/0c96052383c8e58bab000000.pdf Roethlisberger FJ. Management and morale. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press Roethlisberger, F.J. & Dickson, W.J. (1939). Management and the Worker. NY:Routledge. Schraiber, L.B. (1995). Qualitative research in health: methodological reflections of the oral report and production of narratives under study on the medical profession. Rev. Saúde Pública. 1995; 29 (1): 63-74. Schifter, C.C., (2000). [Internet] Faculty Motivators and Inhibitors for Participation in Distance Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ605324
90
Shaffir, W.B. & Stebbins, R.A. (1991). Experiencing field work: An inside view of qualitative research in the social sciences. Sage: California. Skuse, A., & Cousins, T. (2007) Managing Distance Rural Poverty and the Promise of Communication in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 42, 2, 185– 207. Stewart, D., & Mickunas Nijhoff. A. (1990). Exploring phenomenology: A guide to the field and its literature (2nd ed.). Athens: Ohio University Press. Stebbins, R.A. (1992a). Amateurs, professionals and serious leisure. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press. Strauss, A.L. (1987). Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge University Press: USA (p.22,33,34). Turkle, S, (1997). Life on the Screen: Identity in the age of the Internet, Touchstone NY. Wilson, M.S. (2001). [Internet]. Cultural considerations in online instruction and learning http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0158791010220104?needAccess=true Whitworth, A., & Benson, A. (2010). Learning, Design, and Emergence: Two case studies of Moodle in distance education. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging Technologies in Distance Education (pp. 195-213). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press. Wrege, C.D. (1976). Solving Mayo's Mystery: The First Complete Account of the Origin of the Hawthorne Studies-The Forgotten Contributions of C. E. Snow and H. Hibarger. ACAD MANAGE PROC August 1, 1976 1976:1 12-16; Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: Design and method (4 th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
91
Appendix 1:
92
Appendix 2: University Staff Survey Please email the survey back to
[email protected] (Don’t forget to sign the ethics form please)
The FACULTY OF EDUCATION ETHICS COMMITTEE CONSENT FORM: SURVEYS, QUESTIONNAIRES (to be completed by the person legally responsible)
I,
of
Hereby agree to participate in this study to be undertaken by:
Paul A Cook
and I understand that the purpose of the research is to determine the effectiveness of distance learning in Universities. And that I will have to complete a ‘likert’ type survey and a potential interview phase within the research process.
I understand that:
1. Upon receipt, my questionnaire will be coded and my name and address kept separately from it. 2. Any information that I provide will not be made public in any form that could reveal my identity to an outside party (i.e. that I will remain fully anonymous). 3. Aggregated results will be used for research purposes and may be reported in scientific and academic journals. 4. Individual results will not be released to any person except at my request and on my authorisation. 5. That I am free to withdraw my consent at any time during the study in which event my participation in the research study will immediately cease and any information obtained from me will not be used.
93
Signature:
…………………………………………….
Date: …………………..
The contact details of the researcher are:
[email protected]
The contact details of the secretary to the Faculty of Education Ethics Committee are Clare McKinlay, Research Office, Faculty of Education, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX. Email:
[email protected] tel. 01482-465031.
Student: Paul Cook Research programme: MA Education
Dates of study: 2017/2018
University of Hull Respondant: (You can just use your first name if you prefer or complete on an anonymous basis) Position in faculty: (Optional ) Eg: Professor emeritus Please circle from 1 – 5 (1 is low/no, 5 is high/yes)
Do you believe the (AI) teenager will destroy the world?
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Have cloud based systems assisted you in your general work in your organisation?
Have cloud based systems improved your workflow with students at your organisation?
Are the Cloud Based delivery methods devised by IT staff suitable for your students?
Are the Cloud Based assessment methods suitable for your students?
94
Are Cloud Based systems used for communications with your students?
1
2
3
4
5
How supportive are cloud based systems to you?
1
2
3
4
5
Would you prefer not to use cloud based systems in your work with students?
1
2
3
4
5
What percentage of your students use the cloud based systems effectively?
1
2
3
4
5
Is the augmented student communication via the Cloud Based systems beneficial to you professionally?
1
2
3
4
5
Do you feel you have benefited from the digital tools available today?
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Do you think that students benefit from the Cloud Based online experience?
Would you say that the use of Cloud Based learning is successful in your organisation?
Are there any further points you would like to make about your organisation and any Cloud Based systems it uses?
Further comments:
Date:
95
Appendix 3:
Table 2. List of reports analysed in order of relevance to research question
Report title
Year published
Shorthand in paper
McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company
Lions Go Digital: The Internet‘s transformative potential in Africa
2014
McKinsey
The World Bank
Economic Impacts of Broadband (in: IC4D 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact)
2009
World Bank (2009)
Deloitte for Facebook on behalf of Internet.org
Value of Connectivity
2014
Deloitte & Facebook/Internet.org
Dalberg
Impact of the Internet in Africa: Establishing conditions for success and catalysing inclusive growth in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal Connecting Africa: An Assessment of Progress Towards the Connect Africa Summit Goals
2013
Dalberg
2013
AfDB
Ch 1.2. ICTs, Income Inequality, and Ensuring Inclusive Growth, in Global Information Technology Report: ICTs for Inclusive Growth (in: Global Information Technology Report 2015)
2015
WEF & Cisco
Organization
African Development Bank (AfDB)
World Economic Forum (WEF), Cisco Systems
96
Dalberg, supported by Digital Jobs in Africa: Rockefeller Catalyzing Inclusive Foundation Opportunities for Youth
2013
Dalberg & Rockefeller
GSMA Intelligence
The Mobile Economy 2014 of Sub-Saharan Africa 2014
GSMA
ITU (UN), Broadband Commission
State of Broadband 2014: broadband for all
2014
ITU
Boston Consulting Group, commissioned by Qualcomm
The Mobile Revolution: How Mobile Technologies Drive a TrillionDollar Impact
2015
BCG & Qualcomm
Internet Society
Internet Society Global Internet Report 2014: Open and Sustainable Access for All
2014
Internet Society
World Wide Web Foundation
Web Index Report 2014/2015: The Web & Growing Inequality
2014
WWW Foundation
Ericsson in collaboration with Arthur D. Little & Chalmers University of Technology
Socioeconomic Effects of Broadband Speed
2013
Ericsson
97
Appendix 4:
