Since 2010, both universities in which the authors teach have integrated pc-based e-learning or mobile learning programs into several English courses. Students' online performances are evaluated and used in determining the grades for each course. The data accumulated over the years indicates both changing and unchanged e-learning habits among Japanese university students. By analyzing the accumulated data, coupled with information obtained from questionnaires, we conclude that while some e-learning habits remain unchanged, several new learning habits have emerged. The unchanged e-learning habits include: predominant use of the iPhone, which remains the most popular mobile learning tool; a deadline rush for completing e-learning tasks; a preference for engaging in e-learning in the evening and at night; e-learning diligence, i.e., frequency of participation and duration of participation, show no change. In recent years some new trends have appeared in students' e-learning: more students entering university have previous experience with e-learning, and they are less concerned about the cost of mobile phone Internet connection.
In e-learning environments, ‘digital badges’, often referred to as ‘micro-credentials’, are expected to function not only as valid indicators of learner’s accomplishments but also as useful tools for motivational and reward purposes (Clayton, 2012). In this study, we investigated students’ perceptions about the use of digital badges in an online terminology course we had developed (Iwata et al., 2017). We hypothesized that the badges which students earned for the course would not only function as an indicator of their achievement but also help enhance their learner autonomy. Through a three-year survey on students’ perceptions of their course of study in this course, we found that a large majority of students (88.3%) were satisfied with their study through this course and that most of the students (69.7%) found the use of badges helpful in confirming their course achievements. The results also showed that two-thirds of them (64.3%) found that earning badges helped motivate them toward further autonomous study. These findings indicate that the use of digital badges can provide students with opportunities to enhance their learner autonomy.
English has become increasingly important for medical professionals in Japan. This means English language teachers in medical schools are tasked to not only deliver an intensive time constrained English curriculum, but also expected to design and implement effective and attractive review courses for learners' autonomous study. The authors of this paper have created Moodle-based English courses to improve the English curricula by integrating 'blended-learning' in class. They also have started to provide ongoing access to a range of review courses to help their students' autonomous study. This paper outlines how the authors integrated a self-reflective framework and a badge system in the review courses they created. It illustrates how this framework helped learners identify for themselves the appropriate course at the appropriate level. It also demonstrates how the awarding of badges helps to motivate learners to actively engage with and complete the module and/or the course they have chosen.Keywords: learner autonomy; self-reflective framework; badges; English education; Moodle; motivation.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Iwata, J., Clayton, J. Biographical notes: Jun Iwata is a Professor of English Language Teaching at the School of Medicine, Shimane University, Japan. He teaches English for medical purposes. His research interests include computer-assisted language learning, effective use of ICT in English language teaching and curriculum design for English for specific purposes. Learner autonomy, microcredentials and self-reflection 43John Clayton is a New Zealand Educator with extensive knowledge of deploying, using and evaluating learning technologies in both educational and workplace environments. He is currently the Director of the Emerging Technologies Centre at the Waikato Institute of Technology. He is an active researcher and his current research interests include situated cognition and workplace learning, reflective frameworks and the personalisation of learning, the impact e-learning technologies on learner achievement and the evaluation of workplace and educational environments using perceptual measures.Sarah-Jane Saravani is a manager of the Learning Hub at the Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand. She has responsibility for the provision and development of access to a range of information and learning resources, and for services to staff and students to support their development as lifelong learners in the 21st century. This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled 'Using self-reflection and badges in Moodle-based medical English review courses
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