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Using Google Drive to Facilitate a Blended Approach to Authentic Learning

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Title: Using Google Drive to Facilitate a Blended Approach to Authentic Learning
Language: English
Authors: Rowe, Michael, Bozalek, Vivienne, Frantz, Jose
Source: British Journal of Educational Technology. Jul 2013 44(4):594-606.
Availability: Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2013
Intended Audience: Practitioners
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Educational Technology, Technology Integration, Internet, Higher Education, Teaching Methods, Foreign Countries, Physical Therapy, Transformative Learning, Power Structure, Thinking Skills, Blended Learning, Case Method (Teaching Technique), Learning Activities, Instructional Effectiveness, Critical Thinking, Cooperative Learning, Feedback (Response), Evaluation Methods, Focus Groups
Geographic Terms: South Africa
DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12063
ISSN: 0007-1013
Abstract: While technology has the potential to create opportunities for transformative learning in higher education, it is often used to merely reinforce didactic teaching that aims to control access to expert knowledge. Instead, educators should consider using technology to enhance communication and provide richer, more meaningful platforms for the social construction of knowledge. By using technology to engage in shared learning experiences that extend beyond the walls of the classroom, we can create opportunities to develop the patterns of thinking that students need to participate in complex, real world situations. We used authentic learning as a framework to guide the implementation of a case based, blended module in a South African physiotherapy department. Google Drive was used as a collaborative online authoring environment in which small groups of students used clinical cases to create their own content, guided by a team of facilitators. This paper describes an innovative approach to clinical education using authentic learning as a guiding framework, and Google Drive as an implementation platform. We believe that this approach led to the transformation of student learning practices, altered power relationships in the classroom and facilitated the development of critical attitudes towards knowledge and authority. (Contains 6 figures.)
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 26
Entry Date: 2014
Accession Number: EJ1011312
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0087947068;58i01jul.13;2013Jun22.15:18;v2.2.460</anid> <title id="AN0087947068-1">Using Google Drive to facilitate a blended approach to authentic learning </title> <p>While technology has the potential to create opportunities for transformative learning in higher education, it is often used to merely reinforce didactic teaching that aims to control access to expert knowledge. Instead, educators should consider using technology to enhance communication and provide richer, more meaningful platforms for the social construction of knowledge. By using technology to engage in shared learning experiences that extend beyond the walls of the classroom, we can create opportunities to develop the patterns of thinking that students need to participate in complex, real world situations. We used authentic learning as a framework to guide the implementation of a case-based, blended module in a South African physiotherapy department. Google Drive was used as a collaborative online authoring environment in which small groups of students used clinical cases to create their own content, guided by a team of facilitators. This paper describes an innovative approach to clinical education using authentic learning as a guiding framework, and Google Drive as an implementation platform. We believe that this approach led to the transformation of student learning practices, altered power relationships in the classroom and facilitated the development of critical attitudes towards knowledge and authority.</p> <p>"The standard of thinking within the confines and parameters of the textbook is an obstacle in finding creative ways for solving problems."</p> <rj>-- Student comment during this study</rj> <p>The past few decades have seen changes in our understanding of how learning happens, yet clinical educators still emphasise the transmission of content in their teaching practices (Graffam, 2007). While lectures are not inherently bad, information moves in one direction and students are rarely given opportunities to articulate their thinking. This means that any misconceptions they have are not shared, making it difficult for teachers to address errors in their understanding. This more traditional approach to learning, in which didactic methods predominate, assumes that knowledge is separate from context and regards it as a discrete "substance" that can be transferred between people (Seely Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989).</p> <p>However, learning is a situated activity in which meaningful knowledge construction happens in the same context in which the knowledge will be used (Lave & Wenger, 1991), rather than something that moves between people. When knowledge and context are separated, knowledge is seen by learners as a product of learning, rather than a set of tools for solving problems in a process of learning (Herrington & Oliver, 2000). In physiotherapy education, students are introduced to the tools -- ways of thinking and knowing -- of the professional community, allowing them access to what it means to be a practising member (Lave & Wenger, 1991). It is this engagement with contextually relevant problems using the tools of the profession that enables the student to move from a legitimate peripheral participant to a practising member of the community.</p> <p>Clinical educators must therefore focus on the process of learning, going beyond teaching students what to know and what to do (Fraser & Greenhalgh, 2001). We must instead help them learn how to think. One way to develop critical thinking is through inquiry-based learning, in which students explore questions that they generate themselves (Justice et al, 2007). It requires an environment that supports open discussion, questioning assumptions and the critical evaluation of information, reflection, evidence and argument. Using principles of authentic learning, teachers can create environments that reflect the context of the real world activity, encouraging students to think and behave as practising members of the community (Herrington & Oliver, 2000). To help them navigate these learning environments, students need guidance in the form of a collaborative partnership to help them move from their current cognitive level to higher understanding. This social construction of knowledge is dependent on language and symbols as a means of communicating advanced ideas through structured dialogue (Vygotsky, 1978). Communication within a specific context is what enables students to make conceptual leaps, without which they would be unable to discern the tacit knowledge that is hidden from the novice (Laurillard, 2002). Communication and dialogue are therefore essential aspects of learning, as they provide the means by which students construct their own understanding of the world. By engaging in shared learning experiences that extend beyond the walls of the classroom, we can create opportunities to help students develop the tools they need to participate in complex, real world situations "in which coming to know is as important as knowing" (Cormier & Siemens, 2010, p 38).</p> <p>The emergence of digital technologies as an empowering medium for change in higher education has the potential to bring about transformative learning through enhanced communication, by providing richer and more meaningful platforms for the social construction of knowledge (Anderson, 2011; Veletsianos, 2011). However, the predominant use of technology in education has been to reinforce didactic teaching by improving the efficiency of content delivery through Learning Management Systems (Wilson, Parrish & Veletsianos, 2008). We must therefore ask if the value of higher education is in carefully controlled access to expert knowledge, or in the engagement that arises through discussion (Cormier & Siemens, 2010). If educators believe that the purpose of higher education is to deliver content, then it follows that their use of technology will merely reinforce didactic teaching methods that have a limited impact on qualitative learning outcomes (Herrington, Herrington, Mantei, Olney & Ferry, 2009).</p> <p>Much of the research into educational technology emphasises its role in information transfer, rather than as a transformative medium that leads to improved learning through structured interaction and flexible approaches to the curriculum. This paper describes the use of Google Drive to create a blended learning environment that facilitated interaction between students and teachers in online and physical spaces, where students completed authentic tasks that aimed to develop critical thinking.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-2">Method</hd> <p>Research setting and background</p> <p>The study was conducted in 2012, in a physiotherapy department at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. It was initiated when the department received feedback from external examiners who indicated that final-year students displayed a lack of reasoning and critical thinking during their clinical exams. The 2nd-year Applied Physiotherapy module (hereafter referred to as Applied) was selected as an appropriate module in which to evaluate the use of a theoretically informed, blended approach to teaching and learning. In Applied, students learn the pathology, clinical presentation and therapeutic management of common health conditions found in the South African health-care system. Previously, students were provided with course readers covering the major concepts for each condition, and a lecturer went through the course readers with the students, using a predominantly lecture-based format.</p> <p>Consequently, several changes were made to the module, including a move from lectures to case-based learning, and the integration of technology to facilitate different forms of communication, both of which were informed by social constructivist and situated theories of learning. We moved from having one lecturer in the classroom, to having between eight and ten facilitators, and used clinical cases to promote critical thinking and problem solving in small groups. We used Reeves, Herrington and Oliver's (2002) 10 characteristics of authentic tasks as a framework to guide our implementation of case-based learning using Google Drive.</p> <p>Google Drive is a free service from Google that includes word-processing and presentation components, enabling multiple authors to work together in real time. It has version control, permissions-based sharing and instant messaging features that enhance the potential for collaboration. Students used Google Drive to collaboratively create notes in small groups both during and after classes, based on their exploration of the case. We used principles of authentic learning to design the cases and inform the teaching approach, which is briefly described below.</p> <p>1 Authentic activities have real world relevance, matching as nearly as possible the tasks of professionals in practice. Facilitators used Google Drive to develop clinical cases, making regular adjustments based on student feedback and observations of activity in class and online. The cases were designed to encourage ways of thinking that would be expected in the real world management of patients. Using Google Drive enabled us to plan the teaching methods and modify variables at each stage of the case (Figure 1).</p> <ulist> <item>2 Authentic activities are ill defined and problems are open to multiple interpretations rather than easily solved by the application of existing algorithms. The cases were complex, requiring students to find associations between variables that were not explicitly linked. They needed to derive their own research questions after identifying gaps in their knowledge and understanding, conduct the research and then create their own notes in Google Drive, summarising and synthesising the information they had found (Figure 2).</item> <item>3 Authentic activities comprise complex tasks to be investigated by students over a sustained period of time. Each case ran over a 3-week period, with students and facilitators meeting in class for face-to-face contact three times a week, and interaction on Google Drive was used to supplement the classroom discussions. The task (ie, clinical case) was not an isolated activity, with Google Drive being used both in class while students engaged in research and content creation, and afterwards when facilitators and peers gave feedback on the students' notes.</item> <item>4 Authentic activities encourage students to examine the task from different theoretical and practical perspectives, using a variety of resources that require them to critically evaluate information. Facilitators reviewed students' case notes weekly, providing feedback using the comments feature, asking questions about missing information, unsubstantiated claims and dubious sources. Students were able to respond within the comments, asking their own questions or clarifying their understanding. Other facilitators joined in the conversation, sharing their own experiences and thoughts.</item> <item>5 Authentic activities require collaboration, which is integral to the task, so that success is dependent on it. Case notes were developed collaboratively by the student groups, and all notes were available to all other groups, as well as to facilitators. Each week, students created summaries of their case using the slide-show component of Google Drive, presented this in class, and then shared the summary with everyone. Google Drive also features an instant messenger, which allowed students and staff to discuss aspects of the case notes while looking at the document together, from different locations (Figure 3).</item> <item>6 Authentic activities provide the opportunity to reflect on learning, both individually and with others. Facilitators provided feedback to students within their case notes in the form of comments and questions, encouraging them to reflect on their assumptions and reasoning. Students were challenged on their statements and encouraged to articulate their understanding, as the questions were not asked to elicit information, but rather to stimulate further thinking (Figure 4).</item> <item>7 Authentic activities can be integrated and applied across different subject areas and lead beyond domain-specific outcomes. Each case was designed to integrate research, ethical reflection, legal aspects of health care and knowledge from other modules, eg, Anatomy. The case was designed so that it was not an isolated activity that was separate from other modules.</item> <item>8 Authentic activities are seamlessly integrated with assessment in a manner that reflects real world assessment. Formative assessment was an inherent part of the activity, with peers and facilitators regularly challenging statements and assumptions that arose during the classroom sessions, and in the online notes. Students and facilitators used comments in Google Drive to ask questions regularly.</item> <item>9 Authentic activities create polished products valuable in their own right rather than as preparation for something else. The notes that were created in Google Drive constituted the students' content for the module, making them an important product of the task. The questions for the tests at the end of each term were derived from both the students' notes and the facilitators' guides, which meant that the student notes had real value (Figure 5).</item> <item>10 Authentic activities allow multiple solutions and diversity of outcome, rather than having a single correct response obtained by the application of rules and procedures. Each group's online case notes were different, reflecting the questions they answered after exploring their own understanding of the case. While facilitators ensured that the major concepts were addressed, students could take their own routes to achieving the objectives.</item> </ulist> <p>Data collection</p> <p>Focus groups were held at the end of the first semester in 2012, including one of the authors (MR) and two groups of six students. This method was chosen because it encourages the creation of meaning though sharing ideas that individuals may not have thought of independently (Babbie & Mouton, 2006). All students in the 2nd-year class (n = 61) were asked if they were prepared to participate in a focus group, and 22 responded positively. Twelve students were invited to participate and were selected from both high and low ends of scales measuring their age, levels of online participation and their average marks in the module, in order to include as diverse a sample as possible. While there seems to be no strong evidence for the number of groups or participants in this approach, researchers agree that diversity of participants is important to reduce bias (Carlsen & Glenton, 2011). Each focus group began with an explanation of the purpose and procedure of the discussion. Participants were asked to discuss the following topics, which were based on the major changes in the module: the move from lectures to case-based learning in small groups and the use of Google Drive for students to collaboratively develop content. The discussions were recorded and the audio files sent for independent transcription, and then sent to participants for verification.</p> <p>Data analysis</p> <p>The transcripts were analysed inductively to determine themes that emerged from participant responses (Elo & Kyngäs, 2008). Inductive analysis was chosen as there is no evidence of any previous studies that evaluated the use of Google Drive to work collaboratively with the aim of developing critical thinking in any domain of health-care education. Words and phrases with similar meanings were identified, coded and then organised into categories that best represented the emergent themes. The themes were analysed and discussed by the author and a coauthor, and then independently reviewed by the third coauthor, in order to reduce the potential for bias (Pope, Ziebland & Mays, 2000).</p> <p>Ethical considerations</p> <p>The study received ethical clearance from the University of the Western Cape Ethics Committee (project registration number: 09/8/16). Students volunteered to participate and were informed that there would be no negative consequences if they chose not to. All participants could withdraw at any time, including after the focus groups had taken place. Participants were informed that while participant anonymity was required, they could discuss the content of the focus group with others. Transcripts were anonymised on return from the transcriber, prior to being sent to participants.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-3">Results and discussion</hd> <p>Responses are presented in support of the major themes that emerged during the content. These themes include changes in student perceptions of their roles in the learning process, personal empowerment through self-directed learning, changing of power and the development of critical thinking.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-4">Transforming student perceptions around learning</hd> <p>While they were initially resistant to the approach, the following responses highlight how the students underwent a transformation in how they think about their role in learning, as well as a changing perception of what learning is.</p> <p>When this new approach came it changed the whole thing. It forced me to understand why would I do this, instead of that. So it changes that perception that you can memorise your way through a degree.</p> <p>My learning has changed. If I do the research, if I read the notes on Google Drive and if I go through it every day, I feel that I retained that information. When I come to write [tests], it just comes -- like it's a part of me.</p> <p>Being a student used to be like a job. So with this job I come to varsity from eight and knock-out at two and that's it, nothing to do with learning. Now it broke that fine line and redefined what learning was, it's not a classroom thing; it's a daily thing.</p> <p>It's not just learning from a book, it's … it's trying to find out how to learn.</p> <p>These responses demonstrate that while we provided the opportunity for transformation, it was the students who took advantage of the opportunities (Veletsianos, 2011). The use of authentic learning to develop cases that we implemented in Google Drive enabled us to help change how students perceive their own role in the learning process. As part of this process, students had to create their own research questions after identifying gaps in their understanding, through discussion with peers and facilitators. Rather than being given content and told what to learn, the process required them to evaluate their own needs and respond appropriately, thereby empowering students to take control of their learning. This move towards thinking about learning represents a departure from traditional conceptions of learning, where students simply get on with it, without putting much thought into what it means to learn (Ovens, Wells, Wallis & Hawkins, 2011).</p> <p>The following responses demonstrate how students perceived the inquiry-based component of the cases, and the development of critical thinking as part of an approach to lifelong learning.</p> <p>I thought it was really effective that we have to explain to our peers what we have researched. So we have to have a good understanding of what we've found and not just copy-and-paste into our documents, but really be able to explain to other people so that they can understand.</p> <p>I had to learn new ways of researching and how to find relevant and concrete information online, and to be selective of what information to choose.</p> <p>So I found some good stuff the other night, but then I checked the date and I was like, that's older than me, I can't use that.</p> <p>Using Google Drive afforded students a platform to develop the processes and skills they needed for the independent exploration of concepts and facts (Justice, Rice, Roy, Hudspith & Jenkins, 2009). This critical interaction with information and with each other helped them to move towards autonomous learning, empowering them to control where, what and how they learn. The affordances of the technology must lead to a form of social interaction that goes beyond information exchange towards more reflective and in-depth analysis (Abrams, 2005). Specific features of Google Drive facilitated this process, including the "public" nature of the notes, which encouraged regular feedback from peers and facilitators, instant messaging that allowed students to chat with each other in the document window, and email notifications when changes or comments were made (Figure 6).</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-5">Changing power relationships as part of learning</hd> <p>We used interaction in the online and physical space to intentionally change power relationships between teachers and students, guided by principles of authentic learning. The following responses highlight how students perceived these changing relationships.</p> <p>I found that we've all got something to learn from each other. Even a lecturer has something to learn from a student… I think it has a lot to do with the interaction with facilitators. I've never had a problem with asking questions, but I still always felt like I'm going to look like an idiot if everyone knows this and I don't. I never feel like that any more … you're not going to think I'm an idiot.</p> <p>I come from a background where we are taught protocol -- this is your teacher, address him as "Sir." Now, coming with the type of relationship we have [in Applied] -- that level of "superiority" has been reduced. And having [you] interested in things that I know, it's nice to discover that, hey, I also know something -- I have something to say.</p> <p>I like the way the teaching happens now, it broadens our minds, our ways of thinking. Like, okay, we didn't see that part, or, yes, we can think that way. You open your mind to a whole new world, a new way of thinking.</p> <p>Power relationships are well established in medical education, with teachers often using their power to "motivate" students with fear and shame (Jarvis-Selinger, Pratt & Regehr, 2012). By intentionally changing these relationships, we created a safe space, where both students and facilitators could normalise "not knowing" the answer. By liberating students from the necessity of being "right," they could explore their own understanding without fear of being exposed and shamed. The changing power relationship and reduction of authority can play a role in changing students' beliefs about who controls their learning, with an open environment helping them take on that responsibility (Bergström, 2010). This movement of authority away from the facilitators led to the development of personal empowerment among the students, enabling them to direct their own learning.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-6">Development of critical thinking</hd> <p>We believe that this approach enabled students to change how they think about learning, relationships and content, in ways that led to critical thinking. The responses below demonstrate evidence of critical thinking around content, the profession and their teachers.</p> <p>We're more confident in challenging ourselves. We're not just going to accept things. We're going to challenge ourselves and think further because we don't just want to know the basics. We want the knowledge to go further than what we see.</p> <p>I believe that as a physio, you have to ask "why?", every time you see something. Applied has changed our mindset. Every time we face a challenge, every time we see something … Why is this happening? Why is it happening this way?</p> <p>It allowed me to scrutinise what my lecturers teach me. It opened that door -- they're not always right, they don't know everything.</p> <p>Text-based online learning tools have been shown to provide opportunities to express and share ideas, time for reflection, better understanding of in-class topics and the development of critical thinking (Ghodrati & Gruba, 2011). If teaching is about "moving minds" to develop independent thinkers who will not bend to the will of teachers (Laurillard, 2012, p 5), it is clear that these students did not simply accept the voice of authority. They grasped that knowledge is distributed and that the teacher is not the sole source of information (Veletsianos, 2011). Whether teachers are willing to give up this control and acknowledge to students that they may also be wrong will be a challenge to many.</p> <p>In addition to the themes earlier, one student reported an undermining of the process by a colleague in the department, who was not involved in this module.</p> <p>Some people in the department are bashing [this module]. They say we don't know enough, but we're second years, we're not supposed to know everything. And when people are saying we're never going to get there because of the way this module's happening, that annoys me because I don't see it like that. We don't see the plan -- these people [the other lecturers] probably don't see the plan either, we know they don't. We were told that we were going to fail before we even started -- we were told it's not going to work. She didn't say she doesn't think it's going to work -- she told us it's not going to work.</p> <p>This demonstrates that this student took a critical stance and disagreed with the lecturer's point of view. She challenged their authority, positioning herself as a novice learner, and confident of where she is at this stage of her training. Attempts to modify teaching practices may have far-reaching consequences for other lecturers, and should be approached with the understanding that they may resist the process. If colleagues perceive that an inquiry-based approach focuses more on skills than discipline-specific content, they may argue that it "undermines students' education" (Justice et al, 2009). These curricular changes, while apparently beneficial for students, were nonetheless undermined by colleagues, suggesting that innovative approaches to teaching and learning may need institutional support in order to drive the process (Bozalek & Dison, 2012).</p> <p>Finally, the use of Google Drive was demonstrated to fundamentally change teaching and learning practices in ways that went beyond simply increasing the efficiency of information distribution. The use of technology in this study emphasised the flexible approaches to the curriculum that present a practical means of changing practice for educators interested in teaching and learning. However, it should be noted that these changes required more time to develop and implement, and suggest the need for increased resources when considering this approach.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-7">Limitations of the study</hd> <p>The students who volunteered to participate in the focus groups present a self-selecting bias in the study. These students may have had better experiences in the module, and may therefore have been more likely to point out positive outcomes. In addition, the focus groups described were held only once at the end of the first semester, meaning that these outcomes represent a single snapshot at an early stage of the process.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-8">Conclusion</hd> <p>We used Google Drive as a collaborative authoring platform to implement authentic learning tasks in the form of clinical cases, and used features of the online service to encourage interaction and discussion in order to develop critical thinking in a clinical context. We demonstrated that students' ways of thinking and being changed during the course of the module, facilitating a process of transformation around learning. This transformation was evident in their changing perceptions of their own role in the learning process, a movement of power away from teachers as students took control of their learning, and the emergence of critical attitudes towards knowledge and authority. If clinical educators aim to develop critical thinking within their students, they should consider the use of authentic activities that are integrated across physical and online spaces, using appropriate technology platforms that are informed by sound theoretical perspectives.</p> <hd id="AN0087947068-9">Practitioner Notes</hd> <p>What is already known about this topic</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> Teaching practice in higher education tends to emphasise the transmission of content from expert to novice.</item> <p></p> <item> When technology is used in higher education, it usually reinforces didactic teaching methods that carefully control access to expert knowledge.</item> <p></p> <item> However, it is structured dialogue within specific contexts that leads to enhanced understanding of abstract concepts.</item> </ulist> <p>What this paper adds</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> An innovative approach to integrating technology into teaching and learning practices, using Google Drive and authentic learning.</item> <p></p> <item> Evidence that technology integration should emphasise tools that facilitate enhanced communication and interaction between teachers and learners.</item> <p></p> <item> Evidence of transformation in terms of how students perceive their own role in the learning process, power relationships with teachers and critical attitudes towards knowledge and authority.</item> </ulist> <p>Implications for practice and/or policy</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> When considering the integration of technology into teaching and learning practices, content should be used as a framework for structured dialogue and communication, rather than an end in itself.</item> <p></p> <item> Technology should facilitate discussion that happens both in the classroom and online, and allow the context of the learning activity to occupy both spaces.</item> <p></p> <item> The selection of technology should be driven by pedagogy and aligned with theories of learning, rather than the affordances of the technology.</item> </ulist> <ref id="AN0087947068-10"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" type="bt"></bibl> <bibtext>Abrams, Z. 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Educational Technology, 48, 3, 39-44.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Figure 1: Using Google Drive to collaboratively develop clinical cases based on student feedback during each case</p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Figure 2: Example of the clinical cases that students were presented with, along with facilitator discussion around logistics, in the margin</p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Figure 3: Students' case notes with version history visible, showing who had made contributions to the notes</p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Figure 4: Example of facilitator feedback and student interaction in the margins of the student-generated notes</p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Figure 5: Example of a weekly summary, presented for feedback and then shared with all groups</p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Figure 6: An email highlighting a conversation in the comments of case notes, between two students and a facilitator</p> <aug> <p>By Michael Rowe; Vivienne Bozalek and Jose Frantz</p> <p></p> <p>Michael Rowe is a lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of the Western Cape, engaged in research on the use of emerging technologies and their potential to change teaching and learning practices within clinical education. Email: michael@realmdigital.co.za</p> <p>Vivienne Bozalek is a professor and director of Teaching and Learning at the University of the Western Cape, and is researching innovative pedagogical practices in higher education including the affordances of educational technologies to improve teaching and learning.</p> <p>Jose Frantz is a professor in the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of the Western Cape, conducting research in the area of faculty development and health education programmes. She is also the Deputy Dean of Research in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences.</p> </aug>
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  Data: Using Google Drive to Facilitate a Blended Approach to Authentic Learning
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rowe%2C+Michael%22">Rowe, Michael</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bozalek%2C+Vivienne%22">Bozalek, Vivienne</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Frantz%2C+Jose%22">Frantz, Jose</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22British+Journal+of+Educational+Technology%22"><i>British Journal of Educational Technology</i></searchLink>. Jul 2013 44(4):594-606.
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  Data: Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
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  Data: 13
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  Data: 2013
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  Data: Practitioners
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Evaluative
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Technology%22">Educational Technology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technology+Integration%22">Technology Integration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Internet%22">Internet</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physical+Therapy%22">Physical Therapy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transformative+Learning%22">Transformative Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Power+Structure%22">Power Structure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thinking+Skills%22">Thinking Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Blended+Learning%22">Blended Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Case+Method+%28Teaching+Technique%29%22">Case Method (Teaching Technique)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Activities%22">Learning Activities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Instructional+Effectiveness%22">Instructional Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Critical+Thinking%22">Critical Thinking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooperative+Learning%22">Cooperative Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Feedback+%28Response%29%22">Feedback (Response)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evaluation+Methods%22">Evaluation Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Focus+Groups%22">Focus Groups</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africa%22">South Africa</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/bjet.12063
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  Data: 0007-1013
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  Data: While technology has the potential to create opportunities for transformative learning in higher education, it is often used to merely reinforce didactic teaching that aims to control access to expert knowledge. Instead, educators should consider using technology to enhance communication and provide richer, more meaningful platforms for the social construction of knowledge. By using technology to engage in shared learning experiences that extend beyond the walls of the classroom, we can create opportunities to develop the patterns of thinking that students need to participate in complex, real world situations. We used authentic learning as a framework to guide the implementation of a case based, blended module in a South African physiotherapy department. Google Drive was used as a collaborative online authoring environment in which small groups of students used clinical cases to create their own content, guided by a team of facilitators. This paper describes an innovative approach to clinical education using authentic learning as a guiding framework, and Google Drive as an implementation platform. We believe that this approach led to the transformation of student learning practices, altered power relationships in the classroom and facilitated the development of critical attitudes towards knowledge and authority. (Contains 6 figures.)
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  Data: 2014
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  Data: EJ1011312
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