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Currently, some universities in Cambodia are exploring the usage of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which can support education by allowing cost-free independent learning for university students. For effective implementation, it is fundamental to understand the current Cambodian ecosystem, how universities implement MOOCs for teaching, and how students use them for learning. Due to a current gap in the literature on this matter, this research work aims to investigate students’ awareness of MOOCs, usage, and difficulties encountered with their adoption for learning. This research work is a case study of a university in Cambodia, and it adopts a mixed-mode approach involving a quantitative questionnaire, followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews. Currently, many students are not aware of MOOCs, and regarding those using them, they report a low level of organized effort, which points out to the fact that students are in general not very organized and systematic in the way they approach learning using MOOCs. Furthermore, a major issue still lies in the way these courses are implemented in the curriculum and the learning activities, underlined by the type of ICTs affordances currently exploited by the usage of MOOCs for learning.

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Background The use of herbal medicine (HM) as a self-management practice for treating various diseases has gained popularity worldwide. Consumers co-administer herbal products with conventional medicine without the knowledge of possible herb-drug interaction (HDI). Aim This study aimed to assess patients’ perception and use of HM and their knowledge of HDI. Setting Participants attending primary health care (PHC) clinics in three provinces (Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Free State), South Africa, were recruited. Methods Focus group discussions comprising a total of thirty ( N = 30) participants were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Discussions were audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Results Reasons for using HM, sources of information on HM, co-administration of HM and prescribed medicine, disclosure of the use of HM, PHC nurses’ attitudes and not having time to engage were frequently discussed. Respondents’ lack of knowledge and perceptions about HDI and their dissatisfaction with prescribed medicine because of experienced side effects were also discussed. Conclusion Because of the lack of discussions and non-disclosure about HM in PHC clinics, patients are at risk of experiencing HDIs. Primary health care providers should regularly enquire about HM use on every patient, to identify and prevent HDIs. The lack of knowledge about HDIs by patients further compromises the safety of HM. Contribution The results highlighted the lack of knowledge of HDI by patients thus assisting the healthcare stakeholders in South Africa to implement measures to educate patients attending PHC clinics.

Teaching and learning in higher education still largely use traditional approaches that promote memorisation of content knowledge. These traditional approaches are in stark contrast to the world of work, which encourages problem-solving and higher-order thinking. In a first-year civil engineering concrete technology course, we used reflection on an authentic learning task to encourage a deeper learning experience for students. We hoped that by including reflection and an authentic learning task in the module, students would be more actively engaged with the module content. The research question addressed in this study is: how does reflective practice and an authentic learning activity support student learning in a practical component within a first-year civil engineering module? Reflection should allow students to think deeply about what worked well and what did not during conceptualisation, development and submission of their authentic learning project. This case study collected qualitative data to generate the findings. The data consisted of student reflections during and after completion of the practical component. Students’ reflections indicated that the authentic learning task resulted in much deeper learning as opposed to surface learning and memorisation of content knowledge. The results indicate that the reflective exercise encouraged students to think deeply about their learning and on how to improve their skills, knowledge and attitudes throughout the project. Finally, this process shifted the focus from content knowledge dissemination to development of critical thinking and lifelong learning skills.