Browsing by Author "Al-Tawil, Rima"

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    Communities of Learning and Support through ePortfolios: Student Empowerment, and Lifelong Learning for Students and Teachers
    (2022-09) Hoven, Debra; Prokopetz, Rita Zuba; Al-Tawil, Rima; Walsh, Pamela
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // During this pandemic, as educational institutions worldwide shifted their teaching approaches, the realization has strengthened of the need for flexible, learner-centred, authentic assessment. As learning interventions that promote reflection and self-regulation, ePortfolios are considered alternative methods of assessment in classrooms that are in-person, blended, or entirely online. In facilitated instruction, ePortfolios are deployed to enhance educational experiences since they enable students to express their learning in various modes – text, audio, video, visual. The flexibility that eportfolios offer: online and/or offline, on desktops, laptops, or mobile, make them accessible to learners worldwide, thus providing educators with a pedagogical approach that is inclusive, collaborative, and innovative. Critical elements of ePortfolios include students documenting and reflecting on learning of skills, knowledge and competencies, linking formal and workplace learning, participating in communities of learning, and developing multi-modal digital literacies and communication skills. // Paper ID 1329
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    Electronic Nonverbal Cues (eNVC) and the Deeper Learning Tapestry
    (2022-09) Al-Tawil, Rima
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Promoting Equity and Inclusion [POSTER] // This poster illustrates the findings of my recent qualitative study that adopted a reflexive narrative methodology to explore whether electronic nonverbal cues (eNVC) can contribute to deeper learning through interaction and engagement in the online course discussion forums. The rationale for focusing on asynchronous discussions emanates from their absence from the list of instructional strategies used during the pandemic-forced pivot to remote teaching. Although discussion forums constitute the primary tool for distance education offered online, studies to date suggest that instructors not only rely on video technologies for emergency teaching, but also anticipate continued use of video conferencing tools post-pandemic. Narratives gathered throughout this study suggest that such tools can add to the frustrations of students facing various challenges such as: needing more time to process information before responding, having limited access to electricity and internet connection, or living in a crowded/noisy physical space that prevents them from focusing. While discussion forums can address some of these issues by liberating the learning environment from its spaciotemporal constraints, they are often perceived as lacking the level of interaction embedded in nonverbal cues exchanged during face-to-face communication. However, an examination of the categories of nonverbal cues reveals that some of them can infiltrate asynchronous, text-based communication as eNVC, including but not limited to: chronemics, absence or pauses in communication, and visual expressions. These eNVC are interwoven with written words like strands in a tapestry, and they have the potential of influencing the learners’ and instructor’s interaction and engagement that promote deeper learning. In the last decade, the term deeper learning emerged as an umbrella term for desirable attributes of twenty-first-century secondary education that prepare learners to succeed in education, career, and civic life. Scholars also describe deeper learning as an ever-evolving spiral that emerges at the intersection of mastery, identity, and creativity. The spiral analogy is pivotal to this study, along with the symbolism of the tapestry. The poster visually represents these imageries, connecting them with the participants’ recommendations for providing every student with opportunities to experience deeper learning through interaction and engagement in the online course asynchronous discussions. // Paper ID 8321