Abstract

The necessity to adjust to the prerequisites of the knowledge based society and economy brought about the need for lifelong learning for all in Asian communities. The concept of lifelong learning stresses that learning and education are related to life as a whole - not just to work - and that learning throughout life is a continuum that should run from cradle to grave. Providing lifelong learning for all in Asian communities having varied geographical, educational, economical, social and cultural settings seems an unparalleled task. Present paper offers possible solution to face this challenge by adopting the approach that ICT is an able mechanism to provide lifelong learning to all in Asian communities. This optimism is based on the argument that exploration and implementation of innovative ways to educate people by using ICT will help them to live productive and creative lives and will also help to uplift educational, economic and developmental standards in Asian communities. Bearing this in mind, an innovative initiative is outlined in this paper to promote lifelong learning in Asian communities. The author discusses in detail about the action plan to implement this initiative and possibilities offered for providing lifelong learning for all to build knowledgeable, productive, competitive and cooperative Asian communities.

Abstract

Online courses are a necessary addition to most graduate education programs. Offering students the option of completing program requirements online makes the program more competitive, convenient, and attractive. Responsible online instructors and program administrators must consider whether or not specific courses that are offered in the traditional classroom setting can be delivered in the virtual classroom to produce comparable student learning outcomes (Aisami, 2007; Trepal, Haberstroh, Duffey, & Evans, 2007). Courses that teach counseling skills and techniques are highlighted in this article, as they require ongoing contact among students, faculty, and clinical associates, and ideally involve role-playing, modeling, and immediate exchange of feedback. Face-to-face evaluation methods are typically employed by faculty in these skills-based courses, often with the use of checklists and rubrics. This article will discuss the possibility of designing similar evaluation methods that would be appropriate and realistic for the online setting, including engaging students in rigorous self- and peer-review assignments (Yang & Chou, 2008). In addition, the use of audio and video counseling sessions and live media enhancements such as Skype, will be presented as supplements to text-based online courses (Ash, 2011). The goal for counseling faculty and students is to ensure that quality instruction in the virtual classroom results in solid skill development. Demonstration of skill development would be evidenced in the practice of appropriate interpersonal skills, and counseling techniques and strategies within the context of a counseling session. Ethical counseling faculty and program decision-makers interested in producing qualified professional counselors to serve schools and communities will carefully examine the assessment methods employed in online courses to ensure that they are fair and strong enough to accurately measure counseling skill development (Meyers, 2008; Trepal et al., 2007).

Abstract

Technology has ushered in a new era in higher education making knowledge of technology essential for administrators. Technology is transforming higher education by providing a global interconnectedness that reshapes educational, social, economic and cultural life.

The globalization of networks based on travel, mobile phones, broad-band Internet and other information and communications technologies, are creating change on an unprecedented scale. Similarly, technology enables complex data transfers essential to knowledge-intensive production and distribution.

Globalization forces higher education institutions to examine their participation in the international environment and to assess their involvement in a seemingly transparent world. The potential for technology in global higher education coupled with the mobility of people, information and ideas will expand the influence of technology, globalization and higher education.

Abstract

A game is a set of activities involving one or more players. It has goals, constraints, payoffs, and consequences. A game is rule-guided and artificial in some respects. (Richard Wilson, 2010). According to Garris et al. (2002), define educational game play as “voluntary, nonproductive, and separate from the real world”; and they found that the fantasy, goals, sensory stimuli, challenge, mystery, and control are the six features that characterize games. Generally, a game an activity must include several basic characteristics. The activity is usually a contest of physical or mental skills and strengths, requiring the participant(s) to follow a specific set of rules in order to attain a goal. Gaming is defined as being separate from simulation and is defined, in a basic sense, as any overt instructional or learning format that involves competition and is rule-guided (Dempsey et al, 1994)

Three distinct styles can be formulated from the history of computer and video games. As an audiovisual style of games categorize into three styles viz., 1) photorealism, 2) caricaturism and 3) abstractionism and the first one has its subcategories of televisualism and illusionism.

With respect to thinking process in Games Play, the Students thinking processes is always related to achieve a focused improvement of solution by asking questions like what to change in games, why its changes and how to cause the change. Due to these questions they can achieve the following concepts of thinking processing skills by educational games. They are lateral thinking, reasoning, problem solving, information processing, a mental representation and higher-order learning.

This paper discusses the types of educational games, motivational games, objectives of educational games, and  Research studies in Educational games, games and edutainment, how audiovisual styles used for the students and the pedagogical design with its challenges. This paper also deals with how audio visual learning occurs for the students while playing educational games with its six nutshell characteristics (Dimension, Point of perception; Visual outlook; Audiovisual Motifs; Soundscape and Senso-motorism).

This paper explains the future of educational games and Games which incorporate multimedia technologies may improve other aspects of higher order skills. If properly planned and tuned the games structure and the topic, the user can be achieved their goals.

Abstract

This paper provides qualitative student-centered research from an online Research Methodology course taught partly within the immersive, 3-D environment of Second Life with fifty-eight graduate psychology students for the purpose of suggesting a constructivist-based instruction model for immersive environments. A qualitative method approach was applied through open ended questions, a satisfaction survey, the capturing of graphical images, student recorded perceptions and authors observations. Although the data was mixed on students’ perception of Second Life as an effective medium for learning, the study showed that slightly more than half of participants (53%) found the experience positive and a large number (81%) felt that being part of a constructivist group in-world aided in the individual learning of research method concepts. With this in mind, a new teaching model for immersive environments is proposed.

Abstract

Social, Economic and technological changes of the fast decades are making teaching more crucial than ever. The information and knowledge society needs a continuous change in the role and working of teachers. Being a teacher in the Knowledge society, one has to deal with i) new knowledge and new ways for accessing knowledge; ii) a networked world with new types of co-operation and collaboration; iii) a society in which knowledge plays a crucial role and life long learning.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have brought new possibilities into the classroom, at the same time; they have placed more demands on teachers. Information and Communication Technologies exemplified by the internet and interactive multimedia are obviously of great significance for teachers. It needs to be effectively integrated into the formal classroom teaching and learning conditions. The integration of ICT in teaching in general and teacher education in particular is need of the day.

The curriculum makers and experts introduced the Educational Technology and Computer Education (50:50) at B.Ed level in the year 2002, keeping in view of the above facts.

Hence, in the present study  an attempt was made to i)  To identify the internet services utilized by the B.Ed. students ii) To find out the level of Internet Utilization of B.Ed., trainees iii) To find out the significant difference in internet utilization with respect to their personal, familial and institutional variables. The survey method was employed and a sample of 400 B.Ed students was selected from 5 B.Ed. colleges in Tirunelveli district by adopting random sampling technique. The investigator specially constructed and standardized the Internet Utilization scale for the present study. It is found that most of the internet services are not utilized properly by the B.Ed students and the level of Internet utilization of B.Ed. students is average. The last section of the paper provides some suggestions for effective utilization of internet for teaching and learning purposes.

Abstract

This paper is based on a participatory action research. The research is based on a process of resolving real-life moral dilemmas in the Moral Education classroom. It critically analyses the types of real-life moral dilemmas that a selected group of secondary students thought about. It also indicates the moral choices that they make based on their negotiation skills and cultural background. Participants in this study were twenty-two 16-17 year old adolescents from three different types of secondary schools in a Form Four Moral Education classroom in Malaysia. They were from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, but within a non-Muslim community of students. Moral Education in Malaysia is designed to cater for this group while Muslim students study Islamic Studies. Findings show that students were concerned about moral issues and values that were relational and context dependent. Multiple factors contributed to the problems they described. These factors included national legislation, Malaysian culture, ethnicity, and religion as well as the effects of history, in particular the Japanese occupation.