Open Learning for an Open World: Reflections on Open and Distance Learning and Teaching at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
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Open Learning for an Open World: Reflections on Open and Distance Learning and Teaching at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand Edited by Jonathan Barrett Published 2011 by The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Lower Hutt under the terms of the Creative Commons license deed Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand (CCBY-NC3.0). This can be viewed at: http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/nz/ ISBN 9781927191002 (Online) Contents Foreword Caroline Seelig iii Contributors 1 Introduction Jonathan Barrett 8 Distance Education at the Open Polytechnic: The ‘Institutional’ Approach Mark Nichols 15 Instructional Design: Theory and Practice Polly Kobeleva and Luke Strongman 31 Research at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand Luke Strongman and Raymond Young, with Polly Kobeleva 56 Introducing Augmented Reality Imaging into Paper-based Learning Materials for Engineering Trade Students Gary Mersham and Sandra Maathuis-Smith 83 Case Study: Developing an Automatic Grader of Advanced Office Skills Zlatko Kovacic 112 Case Study: Second Life Education New Zealand Project John Green 118 Case Study: Applying Real-time Assessment to Unit Standards Brian Pascall 122 Experiences of Teaching Faculty Enrolled in the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand’s Certificate in Designing and Facilitating E-learning Rick Fisher, George Chipindiku and Sandra Maathuis-Smith 126 Case Study: Teaching Practices Discussion Group Puvana Natanasabapathy 155 Enhancing the Engagement and Success of Distance Students through Targeted Support Programmes Ron Grant, Glenda Olivier, Caroline Rawlings and Catherine Ross 159 Engaging Distance Students in Learning: What Matters to Students, What Motivates Them and How Can Engagement in Learning Be Fostered? Catherine Ross 181 Retention: A Critical Issue for Open and Distance Learning Josephine Bourke, with Mark Nichols, John Veal, Les Morris, and Ken Marshall 216 Student Use of Sources: A Collaborative Investigation of Resource Use in Psychology Assignments Estelle Barnard and Nancy Evans Weaver 239 Case Study: Student Engagement and Library Use Philip Clarke 260 Open and Flexible Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Commonwealth Pacific Countries Terry Neal 264 Sustainability in Education: Is Distance Learning an Answer? Josephine Bourke and Ormond Simpson 298 Articulating E-pedagogy for Education Mark Nichols 321 ii Working Papers (#-07) Foreword The Open Polytechnic is a unique tertiary education institution, both in New Zealand and globally. In New Zealand it is the only specialist provider of open and distance learning (ODL). Worldwide, the institution’s range of qualifications, from foundation to degree level, and the depth of its academic portfolio, from trades training to vocational business qualifications are unmatched, set it apart as an institution designed to cater for a wide range of upskilling needs. The depth of the Open Polytechnic’s experience in the ODL field, and the constant improvements we are making in our services, have enabled us to remain a world leader in ODL. One of the greatest challenges, and opportunities, for ODL delivery is to cost- effectively offer high-quality education experiences to a wide constituency of learners that can be delivered in their own time and place. Advances in technology have helped the outreach of ODL, but at the same time we must remain cognisant of the need for equity of access for a diverse range of learners to ensure that the use of technology promotes learning, rather than pushing it out of reach of those that need education the most. In New Zealand, more and more adult learners are seeking to upskill themselves in a recession-prone and competitive job market, while at the same time needing to stay in employment while they gain their qualifications. Internationally, governments of developing countries are looking for cost-effective ways to train millions of their people to help them build first-world economies. ODL provides an affordable, time-tested solution to individual, industry and governmental education needs. Our constant goal is student success. The Open Polytechnic’s ongoing enhancement of our teaching and learning service provision is focused on helping our constituency of mainly adult learners achieve their learning goals so that they can realise their professional or personal aspirations. This ebook highlights ODL teaching and learning at the Open Polytechnic, and features contributions from our leading researchers and ODL experts. We believe it makes a significant contribution to the wider body of work underpinning ODL research and practice. I hope you enjoy reading it. Caroline Seelig Chief Executive Open Polytechnic iii Contributors Estelle Barnard Estelle Barnard is a Reference and Liaison Librarian at the Open Polytechnic. She has been active in this role as academic librarian for the past 7 years and has a special interest in the psychology subject area. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a graduate diploma in teaching. Contact: [email protected] Dr Jonathan Barrett Dr Jonathan Barrett is an Associate Professor in the School of Business and primarily teaches business law. Jonathan holds degrees from English and South African universities. His doctoral dissertation examined the effects of a human rights-based constitution on taxation. His research interests include tertiary education policy and teaching law to non-lawyers. Contact: [email protected] Josephine Bourke Josephine Bourke is a Lecturer in the School of Business. She mostly teaches employment relations and human resource management. Josephine has a Master of Business Studies (Hons) in Human Resource Management, and also holds a Licentiate of the Trinity College London (piano teaching). Her research interests include work–life balance, workplace flexibility and elder care. Contact: [email protected] Philip Clarke Philip Clarke is Co-manager of the Reference and Liaison Team in the Open Polytechnic Library. His research interests include student use of library resources. Contact: [email protected] 1 Dr Rick Fisher Dr Rick Fisher is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Natural Resources, School of Workplace Learning. He teaches environmental law and environmental sciences. Rick obtained his PhD in Ecology from the University of Toronto, and his LLB from Dalhousie University. His current research includes local government law, water policy, and distance education. Contact: [email protected] Ron Grant Ron Grant is a Learning Adviser at the Open Polytechnic and holds a degree and teaching diploma. He has taught in New Zealand, Australia and Thailand. Ron’s interests include student pastoral care, particularly of students with disabilities, and he has been involved in leading the Student Mentoring Programme for a number of years. Contact: [email protected] John Green John Green is a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems and Technology, teaching in the areas of applied computing and social networking. John holds degrees from several British universities and has presented research papers at prominent international conferences and universities across the globe. His research interests include social networking, clanning and motivation in online education. Contact: [email protected] Dr Polly Kobeleva Dr Polly Kobeleva is a Lecturer in the School of Information and Social Sciences. Polly’s BA is from Pyatigorsk, Russia, and her postgraduate degrees are from Victoria University. Her doctoral dissertation examined how unfamiliar names affect comprehension for those learning English as a second language. Polly mainly teaches writing and is interested in multilingualism, vocabulary acquisition and tertiary assessment practices. Contact: [email protected] 2 Dr Zlatko Kovacic Dr Zlatko Kovacic is an Associate Professor in the School of Information and Social Sciences, teaching Information Technology and Statistics courses. He has a PhD in Statistics. His current research interests are financial time series analysis, modelling student retention and cognitive processes in distance education using computers and communications technologies. He is an Editor of the academically peer-refereed Journal of Information Technology Education and an Associate Editor of Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Trandiscipline. Contact: [email protected] Sandra Maathuis-Smith Sandra Maathuis-Smith is a Lecturer in Information Studies, primarily teaching records management. She holds a Masters degree from Victoria University of Wellington and other postgraduate qualifications in education and e-learning. Research interests include cognitive psychology, interface design and technology for facilitating learning. Contact: [email protected] Ken Marshall Ken Marshall is a Lecturer in the School of Information and Social Sciences, teaching business communication. His degree is from Auckland University. His interests include learning for transfer of learning. Contact: [email protected] Dr Gary Mersham Dr Gary Mersham is an Associate Professor in the School of Information and Social Sciences. Teaching responsibilities include Communication Management, Organisational Communication and Global Communication. As a visiting professor he has taught and consulted as a communications specialist in South Africa, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Africa. Gary holds numerous academic