The Yegiora Files

Using social media and a learning management system like Moodle in teaching and learning is a tough challenge. One needs to spend a lot of time to read about all these applications in order to be competent users.  Take for instance, in a class of 30 students you have those who are avid users of social media and those who dislike social media for whatever reason. If half of the class is on the dislike side of the spectrum then the social media experience will not be as expected. As a facilitator should you force students who dislike social media to open Facebook and Twitter accounts purposely for the unit or course? Should there be assessment tasks involving social media applications like Facebook and Twitter? For Moodle, you have some students who are interested or competent users, while others who are not that interested or competent. The interested users are deeply engaged in glossary and forum discussions. They tend to read most of the definitions and shared their comparativ

The advent of the internet has revolutionized  teaching and learning. Knowledge is no longer absorbed from reading printed books, journals and newspapers. There are various other online sources that one can use to acquire information. As such, more and more institutions of higher learning are following the trend by using online platforms to facilitate teaching and learning. This shift is also reflected in the language used and the type of learning. I learnt about Moodle when I joined Divine Word University in 2012. The online learning management system was used by the University to provide a blended teaching and learning approach. In a recent workshop at the National University of Samoa , I found out from colleagues at the University of Fiji that they are also using Moodle and Turnitin . From 2012 to today, I have taught myself how to use Moodle. There were no ongoing workshops on Moodle like we had this year (2016). I used the Moodle website and YouTube to educate myself. Aft

Students who apply for a particular program at any higher education institution should know the nature of their program and their rationale for applying. That is the expectation one has of a particular student enrolled in a program. The decision to apply for a particular program is considered rational after students have considered their options, and after much consultation. This process means that one is required to learn more about the program before applying from their respective provincial guidance officers or other sources. It is a bit confusing when you have students enrolled in a program like PNG Studies and International Relations who do not understand the program. One questions whether or not they filled out the application form or school leavers form by themselves? The lack of understanding of this program is reflected in the online student unit evaluation comment segment. One or two students show in the comments they make that they do not understand the overall program t

Being an academic is more then just walking into a classroom to teach and share your experience. There are other processes involved to ensure that what you are saying is understood and measured at the end of the day. One needs to have the right skill set and temperament to survive in academia. For example, you have to grow a thick skin if you are working for an academic institution which conducts anonymous student evaluation every semester. Some feedback from students will challenge greatly your integrity and academic credibility. Students demand quality since they pay so much to access the services and programs an institution offers. This makes what they say on their evaluation forms very important in the quality process. This is imperative since we are trying to move from a teacher centered to a student centered learning style. The student learning experience and understanding of what the particular academic is doing in the unit is a pivotal part of the shift.   In our discussion

1. Read the learning guide for step-by-step instructions. 2. Find below a screenshot of the glossary module: 3. Click and open the glossary to this page: 4. Click the ‘Add a new entry’ button. 5. You will move to this interface: 6. Type ‘international relations’ or ‘international law’ in the concept and tag box and the definition below in the box with references. 7. Tick all boxes and click the orange ‘Save changes’ button. 8. Open glossary to see your definition.

T he fourth issue is environmental security. Lawson (2012) states that the protection against pollution and depletion is the essence of environmental security.  Pollution of our atmosphere, fresh waterways, sea and land is considered a threat to human survival. Pollution has a chain reaction feature, causing the depletion of other resources.  People living along the Ramu river and its tributaries located near the Nickel and Cobalt mine are scared of poisonous chemicals in the waterways. The various tributaries and the big Ramu river are a vital source of food for the people. These fresh waterways contain fish and prawns which are important sources of protein. If the waterways are polluted, then the chemicals will reduce the fish and prawns.   Goal 6 shares an interesting fact that; “more than 80% of wastewater resulting from human activity is discharged into rivers or sea without any pollution removal.” In addition, Goal 12 gives a very interesting fact, man is pollu

One important trend that we need to note is the shift from the traditional state-centric approach to a more expansive understanding of the concept of security, as outlined by Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008).  These scholars gave two reasons for the shift; the first being the fact that most violent conflicts in the world today are within states. Group identity and culture are the two factors at stake in many of these conflicts.  Secondly, the scholars said the capacity of the state to provide security for its citizens has been eroded by a range of non-military threats such as environmental problems, population growth, disease, refugees, and resources scarcity. Globalization is another factor; it has made the world a big global village. States are now interconnected economically and via technology making it hard to engage in state-to-state conflict. This understanding of security by Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) leads us to the debate between state secur