Infusing reflective practice in eLearning courses – Can widgets help?

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of widgets for reflection, viz. instructional widgets that would be designed to prompt and support students' reflection in eLearning courses. The investigation builds on a literature review, an inventory of 35 reflection techniques and a survey amongst eLearning course owners. The outcomes demonstrate that a large part of the reflection techniques are acknowledged by teachers as being of relevance for their courses. Yet, practical application in distance education is quite rare. Results of the survey are used to ascertain possible contribution of software widgets to the implementation of some of these reflection techniques.