Ms. Andrea Benn

Principal Lecturer
University of Brighton, United Kingdom

Andrea is a Principal Lecturer with University of Brighton’s Business School and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Academy HE). Andrea holds a MBA (Technology Management), is a member of the SAP University Alliance, (SAP Next Gen) and teaches in the field of Systems and Operations Management.

Andrea’s research interests since joining the University in 2008 have been in the field of curriculum development, particularly blended learning and problem-based learning environments combining collaborative and action research for changing practices to influence change in others. Andrea is also a doctoral candidate for a Doctor of Education with the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University, UK. Her research is using her previous experience to look at how to support students transitioning from 6th Form/college to undergraduates.

Pedagogic Practice in Blended Learning

Abstract: Blended learning is growing in popularity, students are starting to request more online lectures essentially, they tell us, so that they can replay them at their leisure: to listen again to capture what they missed the first time around or to help with revision. Sceptical colleagues tell me all that this will mean is that students will stop attending citing correlation between attendance and attainment while others embrace the whole concept. But somewhere in the middle is the possibility for all to become a reality without either negatively impacting on the other.

Pedagogues are the architects of their own classroom settings, the individual sessions that build up to what we recognise as an overall curriculum. Each teacher will bring something of themselves into that environment, their values, their beliefs and above all their knowledge. All of these should underpin the learning that will take place and in turn should support the design of the lesson, the workshop, the seminar, the lecture. At the end of day, traditional education is a social occasion: an interaction between everybody in the class. Even in a one-directional lecture theatre environment, the lecturer will always bring their own personality, their idiosyncrasies, themselves.

All of the above are integral to the face-to-face element of teaching and all can be adapted ‘in the moment’ if a session isn’t going quite to plan or at least as the lecturer imagined it because of factors that could not have been foreseen, not least the human element of the learners.

So how can we replicate this in a fairly static online environment? This has been my challenge as I have embraced the new arena of the online classroom. My paper will focus on us as individuals and pedagogues and the importance of ensuring that we remain pivotal in the design and delivery of the online element of blended learning.

Dr. Miloslava Cerna

Faculty of Informatics and Management
University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Dr. Miloslava Cerna has gained her Ph.D. in System Engineering and Knowledge Management at the University of Hradec Kralove. She has been teaching Cultural studies and English for Specific Purposes at the Faculty of Informatics and Management for two decades. She has been a member of national and international projects at all levels of the educational system from primary to tertiary education including life-long education. In these projects ICT in education is the core topic, e.g., she was the main coordinator of Socrates project of the EU 'ICT – 'Teaching/Learning English the Fun Way' at the primary school or she cooperated in the university project 'Flexible model of the ICT supported educational process reflecting individual learning styles'. Blended learning belongs to the main areas of her professional interest, especially design, motivation, communication and virtual communities. She has won several awards in e-learning national and international competitions. Utilisation of social applications in tertiary education, language portals and usability testing are further areas of her research. She has published over 100 papers in conference proceedings and journals.

Johann Amos Comenius and his Legacy at the Information Age

Abstract: The main idea of this keynote presentation is to illustrate validity and functionality of educational principles which were stated by Comenius already in the 17th century in the dark time of religious and power changes in Europe but which are incredibly eternal, vivid and efficient up to now in the so called information society. These principles are shown in the eLearning environment.
This presentation encompasses two main areas which inherently blend together: didactic area which represents the theoretical level and the practical level covering the real current educational situation in teaching/learning languages at the Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Králové. Modern approaches to learning languages mingle with a medieval approach to the process of education. This presentation begins with introducing the theologian and philosopher Johann Amos Comenius who was born in the Czech kingdom at the very end of the 16th century. His importance and contribution as a reformer of the educational system is briefly outlined so that the readers could get acquainted with his ideas. This is followed by an illustration of the current concept of teaching/learning languages supported by e-course with remarks on the eternal didactic principles from J. A. Comenius.

Prof. Harrison Hao Yang

School of Education
The State University of New York at Oswego, USA

Harrison Hao Yang is a Professor in the School of Education at the State University of New York at Oswego, USA. He is also a Distinguished Professor in the National Engineering Research Center for E-learning at the Central China Normal University, China. Prof. Yang has published a variety of books and articles, mostly on educational technology. His research specialization includes blended and hybrid learning, distance education, information literacy, technology diffusion and integration, and e-learning experience management. Prof. Yang is the recipient of State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and SUNY Oswego President's Award for Teaching Excellence.

What affects the adoption of flipped learning: the views of instructors and students in higher education

Abstract: Despite the clear advantages and positive prospects for flipped learning in higher education, user adoption is still slow or in its early phases in many developing countries. This study employs structural equation modeling techniques to examine: (1) the relationship between five key factors of influence (social influence, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social presence) and Chinese college students' acceptance of flipped learning; and (2) the relationships between five key factors of influence (computer self-efficacy, perceived technological pedagogical content knowledge, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived organizational support) and Chinese college instructors' continued use intention of flipped learning; Based upon the findings of this study, some specific recommendations will be presented that can support the acceptance and continuation of flipped learning implementation.

Prof. Shengquan Yu

Professor
Beijing Normal University, China

Shengquan Yu is a professor in the School of Educational Technology at Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, China. He is the Director of the Joint Laboratory for Mobile Learning funded by the Ministry of Education and China Mobile Communication Corporation, as well as the Executive Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education. Dr. Yu received his doctor degree in science from Beijing Normal University in 2000. His research interests include design and sharing of Ubiquitous Learning resources, integrating Information Technology into curriculum, design and application of E-learning platforms, theory and practice of regional E-learning, Big Data in Education, etc. Dr. Yu was funded by the National Program for New Century Excellent Talents in 2008. He is a fellow of China E-learning Standard Committee, consulting expert of 12th Five-Year Informationization Plan of Chinese Academy of Science, research fellow of China Educational Policy Research Institute, and expert committee member of Ten Year National Educational Technology Plan. He is also an expert committee member of Distance Education Journal, Information Technology in Elementary and Secondary Education, and Information Technology in Education. Dr. Yu has published more than 180 papers in academic journals and conferences and 20 books, some of which have played significant roles in the area of Educational Technology in China. Dr. Yu has led more than 50 research projects, and owns numerous patents in his field.

A Double Spiral Deep Learning Model Based on Learning Cell Platform

Abstract: The significance of deep learning lies not only in the construction of knowledge content, but more importantly, the use of collective wisdom embedded in social networks to form a rich social knowledge network. A Learning Cell platform that combines comprehensive information such as interpersonal networks, knowledge networks and learning activities can provide good support for solving the shallow learning problems that exist in current online education. The double-spiral deep learning model based on the Learning Cell reflects a deep learning metaphor of social interaction, collaborative knowledge building and sharing, as well as progressive cognition development. In this model, the knowledge network and the social network are two basic frameworks to jointly establish a social knowledge network through the convergence of learning activities. The social knowledge network takes the knowledge content as the core node and establishes the relationships between two knowledge nodes, knowledge node and human node, as well as two human nodes. Meanwhile, teachers and learners are in equal status and can swap their roles. In the initial stage of learning, knowledge networks and interpersonal networks are constructed preliminarily through reception learning. Then, with the gradual deepening of participatory learning, collaborative knowledge construction through interaction promotes the development of knowledge networks. Network nodes generated by human interaction also broaden the interpersonal networks. Therefore personal learning network develops dynamically and spirally. In the advanced stage of learning, learners actively access to these networks and build up a social knowledge space for the community through creative activities, knowledge creation and knowledge contribution and hence to achieve deep learning.