Do Learners’Preferred Learning Styles Affect Learning Outcomes and Satisfaction in PLE:A Pilot Study of the Supervised-PLE-IELTS Platform

Personal Learning Environment(PLE)enables a knowledge-based,learner-centered lifelong learning which could be successfully integrated with formal education when taking educators’supervision into consideration.But do learners’preferred Learning Styles matter in PLE?To investigate the relationship among learners’Learning Styles,learning outcomes and satisfaction towards the PLE platform,the study constructed and applied a supervised-PLE-IELTS platform.57 sophomores majored in Business in Wenzhou University took part in a 16-week project.Data were collected by Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles questionnaire for the Learning Styles,post-test of IELTS reading,listening and vocabulary for the cognitive learning outcomes,and Distance Education Learning Environments Survey(DELES)for the satisfaction towards the PLE platform.The results showed:(1)Learning Styles have positive relationship with the cognitive learning achievements in PLE;(2)Learning Styles had no direct effect on satisfaction,and learners of all Learning Styles enjoyed PLE-IELTS platform;and(3)learners who spent more time on PLE platform achieved better cognitive learning outcomes.The paper shed light on the future construction of supervised-PLEs.

Research on the Cultivation Model of Innovative and Entrepreneurial Talents with New Technology Use in Higher Education Institutions

The issue of new technology applications in education is a worldwide concern.Following a thorough review of current studies,this paper believes that new technology in a broad sense has"hard technology"(referring to new inventions,discoveries,and creations that can be practically operated and applied)and"soft technology"(generally referring to technology formed in all industry fields in response to new changes,new markets,new industries,and new business models,such as innovative marketing models,new team building,and management strategizing,cultural and creative skills,etc.),with distinctive and external and internal connotations.In a narrow sense,new technology refers to the most recent and cutting-edge technology in a particular industry field.There are also definitions that are based on their applicability,such as referring to new operation methods as new technologies.The premise of how to precisely implement new technology application education in higher education is to understand how students in higher education institutions think.For this reason,this study takes senior graduate students as its target,and through the statistics and analysis of survey data,we get three results.First,education featuring applications of new technology proves highly compelling,particularly given its importance in graduates'career development,thus garnering support;second,such education is both conceptual and practice-based;third,education concerned with the application of new technologies can be carried out in any major,both in engineering and non-engineering disciplines,with different requirements for educational content and technical skills according to the varying disciplines.Based on the investigation and analysis,we propose solutions and recommend methods of applying new applications in higher education.