Despite teacher resistance to the use of technology in education, blended learning has increased rapidly, driven by evidence of its advantages over either online or classroom teaching alone. However, blended learning courses still fail to maximize the benefits this format offers. Much research has been conducted on various aspects of this problem, but only one other study has examined teaching practice in a blended course. Teachers using blended learning were interviewed about their use of online and classroom components and the reasons for their decisions. The online and classroom aspects of their course were analysed against a pedagogical framework of engagement strategies. Classroom components were found to be more highly valued by teachers than those online, an attitude largely driven by their perceptions that specific learning functions were best suited to particular formats. The courses themselves reflect these values. Most teachers used well-developed engagement strategies in their classroom teaching, compared to a minimal use of strategies online. Further, with one exception there was a lack of integration between online and classroom components. Blended learning will not fulfill its promise of better learning unless teachers can be encouraged to re-think and redesign courses that afford students more, and different learning experiences than those offered by either online or classroom alone. This paper adds to a small literature base examining what teachers actually do in blended learning, and signals steps that teachers and their institutions might take to build on the opportunities presented by blended learning.

As mobile technology has advanced, awareness is growing that these technologies may benefit teaching and learning. However, despite this interest, the factors that will determine the acceptance of mobile technology by lecturers have been limited. This study proposed and tested a new model that extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) with three new variables: digital literacy, ICT anxiety, and ICT teaching self-efficacy.The TAM models the adoption of new technology based on measuring a users' beliefs and attitudes to the technology. In particular, the TAM states that two factors influence a user's use and perception of new technology. The first factor, perceived usefulness, is the degree to which a person believes that a particular technology will be beneficial to their lives. The second factor, perceived ease of use, is the measure of the degree an individual believes a particular technology is free from effort.Research has shown that a large portion of lecturers still resists the integration of technology into the classroom. Two aspects, in particular, have been consistently found to impact lecturers' adoption of technology. The first aspect shown to influence the adoption of new technology is the beliefs held by the lecturers. Specifically, it is the perceived value of the new technology (perceived usefulness) and perceived effort needed to learn to use the new technology (perceived ease of use) that have been established as playing a major role in the adoption of technology. The second major aspect seen to influence adoption is the skill of lecturers to use digital technology (referred to as digital literacy) and the skill needed to integrate it into their teaching (teaching selfefficacy).The new model that was proposed and tested measured the impact of digital literacy, ICT anxiety, and ICT teaching self-efficacy, along with the well established factors of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, on lecturer' acceptance of mobile learning. A survey was used to measure the major variables in this study. The research found that Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee. Contact Publisher@InformingScience.org to request redistribution permission. This research has added to and clarified the existing literature into mobile learning. In particular, it recognizes the role that lecturers play in the future acceptance of mobile learning. It shows that the factors that influence lecturers' adoption of mo...

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<p>Mobile technology has gained increased focus in academic circles as a way to enable learning that is not confined by time and place. As the benefits of mobile learning are being clarified so too will researchers need to understand the factors that influence its future use. The adoption of mobile technology will largely depend on whether students believe that mobile technology fits their particular needs. However despite the interest in the potential of mobile learning, researchers have only a limited knowledge of the factors that may influence student adoption. To address this gap in the literature, the present study was undertaken to determine how ICT skills impact students' adoption of mobile learning. The study posited that the perceived ease of use and usefulness of mobile technology would mediate the relationship between ICT skills and the intention of students to adopt mobile learning. A survey of 446 students from three tertiary institutions found that students' intention to adopt mobile learning was influenced by specific types of ICT skills. In particular, it was found that advanced skill in mobile technology and basic ICT skills both played significant roles in the intention to adopt mobile learning. No evidence was found to support the assertion that advanced ICT skills influenced their adoption of mobile learning.</p><p> </p>

Executive SummaryThe development of digital information literacy (DIL) has been slow in comparison to changes in information communication technologies, and this remains an issue for the higher education sector. Competency in such skills is essential to full participation in society and work. In addition, these skills are regarded as underpinning the ability to maintain life long learning. Evidence suggests that simple exposure to technology is not sufficient to promote adequate levels of literacy.Why has DIL development been so slow? How can we speed the process up? The purpose of this study was to identify obstacles and supports to fostering the development of DIL to staff and students in higher education.The literature identified a range of obstacles that hindered students' ability to develop their technology related skills. The issue of access and the digital divide that has been of interest to those concerned with social equity continues to generate lively discussion. The students' own beliefs and attitudes to learning new technology can also become barriers to the students' learning progress when they experience low self-efficacy or anxiety about their ability to develop digital skills. Conversely, students who are over-confident regarding their technical proficiency can also be hindered in their ability to develop good digital information skills.Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee. Contact HPublisher@InformingScience.orgH to request redistribution permiss Three broad strategies were inferred from the learning principles advocated nearly 80 years ago by Dewey as having the potential to support the development of digital information skills. The first of these was collaboration and sharing.ion. Editor: Thomas Connolly Developing Digital Information LiteracyWhile the benefits of collaboration were established decades ago, the advent of the Internet has made this a reality through online communities of practice. Dewey's advocacy of experiential learning has been widely applied on the Internet in the form of bricolage. Finally, personal relevance, the third of Dewey's principles, is an inherent part of the Web 2. 0 tools that personalize online environments to the individual.Using a case study design, four higher education institutions ran 10 two-hour workshops in which participants were given autonomy over their learning and goals and were encouraged to collaborate and to engage in explorative trial-and-error le...