This article describes how gamification in education through the use of digital badges has emerged as a means to motivate and reward student learning. This exploratory, multi-case study looked at the motivations and perceptions of 90 higher education students across four disciplines, regarding the use of digital badges as an incentive for either a…

Higher education institutions are faced with the complex challenges of serving increased enrollment levels within tight budgets. This challenge is prompting many universities to explore new approaches including the use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle for delivering courses to help extend teaching and learning beyond the…

This research aimed to examine the impact of using mobile-supported learning management systems (LMS) in teaching web design on the academic success of students and their opinion on the course; and it was conducted on 70 volunteer students (35 experimental, 35 control) enrolled at Giresun University, Technical Sciences Vocational School, Computer…

With its total number of users (around 62 million) throughout the world, it is important to determine the views of academics who use Edmodo (the leading SLN). In this respect in the first part of this two-part research, the purpose was to examine academics' (n = 50) use of technology and social networks. As for the purpose of the second part, it…

This paper explores students' perceptions of their learning outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction with a technology-facilitated flipped approach in a third-year core subject at an Australian university during 2014. In this pilot study, findings reveal that students preferred the flipped approach to the traditional face-to-face delivery and…

Distance education systems have emerged as increasingly accessible and indispensable features in education owing to the development and spread of communication technologies and the transformation of individual characteristics, needs and demands. With the growing popularity of distance education programs, detailed analysis of their actual success…

This article, with its focus on university students as intended recipients and users of technological innovations in education, explores student preferences across three dimensions of technology-enhanced learning: mode of instruction; communication; and educational technology tools embedded in learning and teaching activities. The article draws on…

The focus of this research is to provide a framework for community colleges and community-based organizations to partner in a manner that improves student outcomes in persistence and graduation rates. The proposed framework encourages digital student engagement that assists students with their non-academic needs, such as hunger or homelessness.…

Reigeluth et al. ("Educ Technol" 48(6):32-39, 2008) proposed major and secondary functions for educational technology systems for the learner-centered paradigm of education. However, the functions proposed should be formatively evaluated and revised using a variety of cases to develop a better understanding of how technology can support…

This article reports on a design-based methodology of a thesis in which a fully face-to-face contact module was converted into a blended learning course. The purpose of the article is to report on how design-based phases, in the form of micro-, meso- and macro-cycles were applied to improve practice and to generate design principles. Design-based…

The transition into academic life for Chinese students coming to Australia can be difficult as they navigate different cultural, social, and educational norms. As a group of two academics from Australia and one from China, we were interested in exploring ways students from China could best be supported prior to leaving their country in readiness…

Different approaches have explored how to provide seamless learning across multiple ICT-enabled physical and virtual spaces, including three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW). However, these approaches present limitations that may reduce their acceptance in authentic educational practice: The difficulties of authoring and sharing teacher-created…

The adoption of blended learning to widen access, reduce cost, and improve the quality of education is becoming prevalent in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa and Tanzania in particular. University of Dar es Salaam and the Open University of Tanzania offer various blended learning courses using Moodle system via regional centres scattered…

When proposing group activities to students with a view to fostering collaborative learning in a hybrid learning space, we often ourselves about the relative amounts of information and knowledge which flow in the interaction, both among the group members and from the external information and knowledge sources. Also about which stages of the…

The application of computer-assisted platforms in writing classes is a relatively new paradigm in education. The adoption of computers-assisted writing classes is gaining ground in many western and non western universities. Numerous issues can be addressed when conducting computer-assisted classes (CAC). However, a few studies conducted to assess…