Editorial on EAIT 2015, Issue 2 “Teaching and Technology”

Abstract

Beginning this issue is an article by Nikolaos Amanatidis from Arts and Human Sciences, London South Bank University, UK, titled: BUnveiling the teachers’ profiles through an INSET (in service training) course of Greek primary school teachers in the pedagogy of ICT (information and communications technology) in-classroom instruction^. The article notes that to meet the increasing demand for change in the infusion of ICT pedagogy in education in Greece, a nationwide project was launched in May 2008. The research described aimed to study teachers’ views about certain aspects of a course for primary school teachers in the pedagogy of ICT in classroom teaching. It looked at the training experience in terms of the teacher-trainees’ acquisition of ICT competencies as well as of any successful implementation of ICT pedagogic practices in classroom teaching. This was done through the identification of any actual observable changes in the teachers’ profiles during and after the training course. The next article: BExploring relationships among TPACK components and development of the TPACK instrument^ was contributed by Sonmez Pamuk (Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey), Mustafa Ergun (Science Education Department, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey), Recep Cakir (Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department, Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey), Bayram Yilmaz (Educational Measurement and Evaluation Department, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey) and Cemalettin Ayas (Social Studies Department, Sinop University, Sinop, Turkey). They note that educators’ interest in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) has been increasing. Their study aimed to understanding the TPACK framework and its dynamics that contribute to effective TPACK development, and explored pre-service teachers’ experiences through the nature of relationships among the TPACK components. BIntroducing a twitter discussion board to support learning in online and blended learning environments^ describes research performed by Brian Thoms, Farmingdale State College, USA and Evren Eryilmaz from Bloomsburg University, USA. Their article presents a new design component for online learning communities that integrates Educ Inf Technol (2015) 20:217–220 DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9387-3