Browsing by Author "Zawacki-Richter, Olaf"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Open Access
    Automated Essay Scoring (AES) Systems: Opportunities and Challenges for Open and Distance Education
    (2022-09) Bai, John Y H; Zawacki-Richter, Olaf; Bozkurt, Aras; Lee, Kyungmee; Fanguy, Mik; Cefa Sari, Berrin; Marin, Victoria I
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // This paper reports on a systematic review of artificial intelligence applications in education (AIEd) with a special focus on automated essay scoring (AES) systems. AES systems may provide enormous time-savings, especially for large-scale distance teaching institutions with massive numbers of students, by reducing marking and freeing up teachers’ resources for individual feedback and personal support of distance learners. After an introduction on how AES systems function, a review corpus of published articles between 2007 and 2021 is synthetised to evaluate critical discussions and research trends in AES. Articles in the corpus generally evaluated either the accuracy of AES systems or the experience of users, and include implementation of AES systems in various settings (i.e., higher education, K-12, and large-scale assessments). Despite the opportunities that AES might afford for educational institutions, many questions related to the feasibility and validity of AES systems, their implementation, and the associated ethical issues are still unanswered. The findings of this research provide a solid foundation for this discussion. // Paper ID 8339
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    Open Access
    Discourses of Distance Education and Covid-19 in South Korean News between 2019 and 2021: A Topic Modeling Analysis
    (2022-09) Lee, Kyungmee; Kim, Tae-Jong; Bozkurt, Aras; Zawacki-Richter, Olaf; Sari, Berrin Cefa; Marin, Victoria I
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Promoting Equity and Inclusion // This paper aims to identify dominant discourses of distance education that emerged in Korean society before, during, and after the Covid-19 outbreak in January 2019. To achieve the aim, the authors have conducted a Topic Modeling analysis of 8,865 news articles published by 54 South Korean media outlets between 2019 and 2021. As a result, five key topics and the top 10 keywords associated with each topic have been identified for 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively—15 topics and 150 keywords in total for the three years. There have been meaningful shifts not only in the quantity of news articles published each year but also in the quality of conversations presented in those articles on distance education. This article carefully analysed and reflected both continuity and discontinuity of distance education discourses in Korean society. Based on the results, we have drawn four discussion points: a) the normality of DE discourses, b) the historicity of DE discourses, c) the maturity of DE discourses, and d) the partiality of DE discourses. Despite the specific cultural context from which the four points were drawn, the discussions offer valuable insights applicable to different cultural contexts. // Paper ID 8809
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    Open Access
    Evaluation of Global Online Training Activities of the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) in 2020
    (2022-09) Zawacki-Richter, Olaf; Lee, Kyungmee; Elmasry, Eiman
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Fostering Lifelong Learning // This paper reports on an evaluation of the online training activities of the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) in Turin (Italy). The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the design, implementation and quality of training activities of ITCILO that were delivered in an online distance learning mode since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. The methodology for this evaluation included quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods to provide conclusions and recommendations from the findings, substantiated with statistical data and case studies documenting good practice. 1.284 responses from 151 different countries were collected from a participant's survey, and in-depth interviews were conducted with ITCILO's staff members (27), institutional clients (2), and participants (7). The results of the evaluation are reported in terms of training outreach, learning effectiveness, learner preference of the international online training activities. For example, the number of enrolments on the Centre’s training activities increased dramatically, caused by the rapid adoption of online training activities during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Subsequently, 75 % of the participants said they would prefer digital training activities (blended or fully online) in the future. However, internet connectivity is still a problem in many countries: 50 % of participants from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania reported they had regular issues with internet connectivity that disrupted their learning. Based on the findings, ten recommendations for the further development of ITCILO's online training activities are presented. // Paper ID 0979
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    Open Access
    Keynote Address: Fostering Lifelong Learning
    (2022-09-15) Zawacki-Richter, Olaf
    "The Contribution of Open, Distance and Digital Education to Lifelong Learning" keynote address delivered by Professor Olaf Zawacki-Richter, University of Oldenburg, at the Tenth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF10) in Calgary, Canada on 15 September 2022.
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    Learning with Digital Media: A Systematic Review of Students’ Use in African Higher Education
    (2023-03-20) Loglo, Frank Senyo; Zawacki-Richter, Olaf; Panda, Santosh
    This study examined African higher education students' digital media use for learning. A total of 64 papers were selected for final synthesis from 1046 publications between 2010 and 2021. The review was dominated by campus-based undergraduate studies in the STEM subjects. The synthesis confirmed a variety of digital media usage; however, learning management systems were mainly used for course delivery and primarily accessed by students through weak internet-enabled mobile devices. Digital-media learning activities include communication, information search, instruction, knowledge management, exploration, assessment, collaboration, and simulation. Subject areas were found to have no associations with type of learning activity. These findings suggest an emphasis on transmissive learning modes in digital environments, which may not promote active learning. Although African countries have leapfrogged the development of tethered devices and internet applications, connectivity cost, reported incompatibility, technical issues, and low digital proficiency still prevent the upscaling of technology-enhanced learning via mobile devices.