Educational Technology Course Research Articles

In the eye of the beholder: using student narratives to explore memorable teachers

Undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory educational technology course at a large US Midwestern public university completed a “greatest learning experience” narrative assignment, in which they were prompted to discuss and describe their best learning experience. In many of the narratives (n = 267), students discussed a memorable teacher. Using a coding framework informed by the literature, student narratives were analyzed using a descriptive deductive process. Results indicate that most students described memorable teachers as having a combination of instructional and interpersonal skills, possessing positive attributes (e.g. compassion, sense of humor), and leaving a personal or academic impact. Out of the coding categories, students were least likely to discuss specific positive attributes of the teacher compared to teacher skills/actions and impact. Additional results are shared and specific implications for teacher educators, practising educators, and pre-service teachers are discussed.

PhD year 1 students’ experience with the Educational Technology and Innovation Course

ABSTRACTThe advent of information, communication and new technologies, globalisation and rising costs has prompted rethinking what we teach, how we teach and even where teaching and learning take place. The Educational Technology and Innovation Course (Adlt704) was designed to enable students to create, use and manage appropriate technological processes and resources to facilitate teaching and learning. A semi-structured interview schedule and semi-structured questionnaire instrument were used for data collection. A purposive opportunity sampling method was applied. Thematic and simple descriptive analyses were employed to interpret results. The students attested to the benefits of using technology to learn, but also faced challenges including poor internet connectivity and power fluctuations. It was concluded that educational technology contributes to a better learning outcome than face-to-face teaching and learning. Faster and cheaper internet connectivity, highly powered generators and effective student support services were some of the recommendations made.

Stirring the Pot: Supporting and Challenging General Education Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty to Change Teaching and Assessment Practice

Abstract Evidence-based instructional practices (ebips) have been associated with positive student outcomes; however, institutions struggle to catalyze widespread adoption of these practices in general education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) courses. Further, linking ebips with integrated learning assessment is rarely discussed in the literature, even though principles of continuous course design for quality higher education assume the connection of learning outcomes, teaching practices, and assessment. This qualitative action research study documents faculty attempting to utilize ebips and authentic assessment when they were provided support and accountability over multiple semesters. It documents participants' current practices and encourage shifts in both teaching and assessment practices targeting greater student success in stem general education courses. Narrative data drawn from interviews and written reflection describe the impact of structured faculty observation and cross-disciplinary conversation on participants' pedagogical and assessment choices. The faculty participants' voices vividly illustrate our findings: incentives, reflection, mentorship, and collaboration over multiple semesters support changing pedagogical practices and integrating outcomes assessment. While stem-based, the study findings are applicable across the general education curriculum.

Stirring the Pot: Supporting and Challenging General Education Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty to Change Teaching and Assessment Practice

Abstract Evidence-based instructional practices (ebips) have been associated with positive student outcomes; however, institutions struggle to catalyze widespread adoption of these practices in general education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) courses. Further, linking ebips with integrated learning assessment is rarely discussed in the literature, even though principles of continuous course design for quality higher education assume the connection of learning outcomes, teaching practices, and assessment. This qualitative action research study documents faculty attempting to utilize ebips and authentic assessment when they were provided support and accountability over multiple semesters. It documents participants' current practices and encourage shifts in both teaching and assessment practices targeting greater student success in stem general education courses. Narrative data drawn from interviews and written reflection describe the impact of structured faculty observation and cross-disciplinary conversation on participants' pedagogical and assessment choices. The faculty participants' voices vividly illustrate our findings: incentives, reflection, mentorship, and collaboration over multiple semesters support changing pedagogical practices and integrating outcomes assessment. While stem-based, the study findings are applicable across the general education curriculum.

A Global Information Exchange (GIE) Project in a Graduate Course

Graduate students who were enrolled in an introductory educational technology course that met face-to-face completed a Global Information Exchange (GIE) project. The goal of the project was to promote global awareness among the graduate students who were also classroom teachers, and by extension their K-12 students. The graduate students, who also were the participants in this study, implemented the GIE project by communicating and exchanging information with teachers in other countries. The study participants were provided with twenty questions that they could use as a guide to maintain journals regarding their thoughts and experiences related to their implementation of the GIE project. Because the study participants and teachers in other countries worked with their K-12 students, several such students were involved, albeit indirectly, in the GIE project. Seventeen journals maintained by the study participants were analyzed and the findings of the study are reported in this paper. The overall findings indicate that even though there were some initial issues associated with the GIE project, the project was successfully implemented by a majority of the study participants.

Student Learning Through Participation in Inquiry Activities: Two Case Studies in Teacher and Computer Engineering Education

The two case studies reported in this article contribute to a better understanding of how inquiry tasks and activities are employed as resourceful means for learning in higher professional education. An observation-based approach was used to explore characteristics of and challenges in students’ participation in collaborative inquiry activities in two first-year introductory courses in teacher and computer engineering education. The findings highlight that the students’ activities varied with regard to focus and structure and were shaped by the types of inquiry tasks, i.e. case analysis and project-based work, by how the inquiry process was guided and supported and the way the domain-specific knowledge resources and practices were introduced. An exploratory strategy and rather confined use of resources characterised the teacher education students’ inquiry, while collaborative programming, a trial-and-error approach and extensive use of external resources that of the engineering education students’. For the teacher students, the main challenge was to construct meaning of conceptual knowledge and to integrate different forms of knowledge as a lens for analysing practice. The computer engineering students experienced challenges with unpacking the underlying principles and knowledge black-boxed in the widely available resources. The article suggests that future research and curriculum designs should depart from a more refined understanding of inquiry as a learning means, by connecting inquiry activities to the specific knowledge domains, the type of tasks most suited to explore each of this domains and the challenges that may arise for students.

Achievements of Engineering Education Courses in a University

Achievements of Engineering Education Courses in a University

Exploring the Roles of Social Participation in Mobile Social Media Learning: A Social Network Analysis

<p class="BODYTEXT">Social media is increasingly becoming an essential platform for social connectivity in our daily lives. The availability of mobile technology has further fueled its importance – making it a ubiquitous tool for social interaction. An emerging mode of learning is the mobile social media learning where social media is used in the mobile learning mode. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate roles of social participation in this field. Thus, the study investigates roles of social participation in mobile social media learning using the “ladder of participation and mastering”. Participants were students taking an educational technology course in a local university. The study was conducted in a four-month period. Data was collected from discussions while learning among the students using one of the mobile social media platforms, Facebook groups. The data was analyzed using a social network analysis tool, NodeXL. Data was analyzed based on egocentric networks, betweeness centrality, and closeness centrality. The findings revealed that there are four roles of social participation in mobile social media, which are: (i) lurkers; (ii) gradually mastering members/passive members; (iii) recognized members; and (iv) coaches. The findings also indicated that over the course of four months, learners can inter-change roles of social participation – becoming more central or less central in learning discussions. As a result, a <em>roles of social participation</em> scale for mobile social media learning is proposed. Future research could be conducted in other fields to investigate whether mobile social media could be used to promote learning. </p>

The effects of students' motivation, cognitive load and learning anxiety in gamification software engineering education: a structural equation modeling study

Past research has proven the significant effects of game-based learning on learning motivation and academic performance, and described the key factors in game-based design. Nonetheless, research on the correlations among learning motivation, cognitive load, learning anxiety and academic performance in gamified learning environments has been minimal. This study, therefore, aims to develop a Gamification Software Engineering Education Learning System (GSEELS) and evaluate the effects of gamification, learning motivation, cognitive load and learning anxiety on academic performance. By applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to the empirical research, the questionnaire contains: 1. a Gamification Learning Scale; 2. a Learning Motivation Scale; 3. a Cognitive Load Scale; 4. a Learning Anxiety Scale; and 5. an Academic Performance Scale. A total of 107 undergraduates in two classes participated in this study. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis includes the path directions and relationship between descriptive statistics, measurement model, structural model evaluation and five variables. The research results support all nine hypotheses, and the research findings also show the effects of cognitive load on learning anxiety, with strong learning motivation resulting from a low learning anxiety. As a result, it is further proven in this study that a well-designed GSEELS would affect student learning motivation and academic performance. Finally, the relationship model between gamification learning, learning motivation, cognitive load, learning anxiety and academic performance is elucidated, and four suggestions are proffered for instructors of software engineering education courses and for further research, so as to assist instructors in the application of favorable gamification teaching strategies.

Students’ Levels of Critical Thinking, Supportive Behaviors and Types of Questions in an Online Forum Learning Environment

Of late, online learning is widely used in many institutions of higher education. One of the tools of online learning is online forum which can be found in any learning management system. An online forum requires active participation from the students to enhance their learning. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate how online forum discussion benefits the students’ cognitive level and how they support each other through the messages posted. This study will investigate three important aspects related to the posts contributed by the forum participants: (i) their levels of critical thinking, involving either recognize, understand, analyze, evaluate, or create, (ii) the types of questions posted in the forum, and (iii) the supportive behaviors in terms of scaffolding and engaging comments as indicated by those messages. A content analysis method was used to analyze the transcript or messages of an online forum discussion involving 41 postgraduate students undertaking an educational technology course from a public university in Malaysia. Based on the 190 messages posted, the findings show that their levels of critical thinking are still mainly at the lower levels, i.e., Understand (40.5%) and Analyze (29.0%). Moreover, 38 questions were observed, with Course Link (42.4%) and Brainstorm (27.3%) as the two highest types of questions posted. Also, 142 posts indicate supportive behaviors, with Salutations (47.2%), and Thanks (36.6%) as the most observed behaviors. Based upon the findings, future studies to identify and analyze the factors that may affect these three aspects are warranted.

Exploring intensive longitudinal measures of student engagement in blended learning

<p>In this exploratory study we used an intensive longitudinal approach to measure student engagement in a blended educational technology course, collecting both self-report and observational data. The self-report measure included a simple survey of Likert-scale and open-ended questions given repeatedly during the semester. Observational data were student activity data extracted from the learning management system. We explored how engagement varied over time, both at the course level and between students, to identify patterns and influences of student engagement in a blended course. We found that clarity of instruction and relevance of activities influenced student satisfaction more than the medium of instruction. Student engagement patterns observed in the log data revealed that exploring learning tools and previewing upcoming assignments and learning activities can be useful indicators of a successful learning experience. Future work will investigate these findings on a larger scale.</p>

Seeking Open Educational Resources to Compose Massive Open Online Courses in Engineering Education An Approach based on Linked Open Data

Seeking Open Educational Resources to Compose Massive Open Online Courses in Engineering Education An Approach based on Linked Open Data

PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ CREATIVITY FOSTERING BEHAVIORS, PERCEPTIONS ON THEIR TECHNOLOGY SKILLS AND SUCCESS IN PROJECT BASED MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT

In this study it was determined how pre-service chemistry teachers’ creativity fostering behaviours and their perceptions of their technology skills predict their success in Project Based Educational Technology and Material Development course. A sample of the study consists of 45 pre-service teachers attending Department of Chemistry Education at Hacettepe University. After the applications which took 10 weeks, pre-service teachers presented their materials and evaluated their peers and themselves. In order to determine pre-service teachers’ creativity fostering behaviours, “Creativity Fostering Teacher Index Scale” which was developed by Soh (2000) and adapted into Turkish by Dikici (2013) was used. In order to determine pre-service chemistry teachers’ perceptions on their technology skills, “Application Based Educational Technology and Material Development Skills Scale” consisting 46 items and developed by Akgül (2010) was used. Descriptive Statistics of “Creativity Fostering Teacher Index Scale” and “Application Based Educational Technology and Material Development Skills Scale” show that prospective teachers have behaviours supporting creativity and their perceptions about their technology skills is over the average. And multiple regression analysis shows that pre-service teachers’ creativity fostering behaviours and their perceptions on their technology skills together predict their success in project based material development course. Key words: creativity fostering behaviours, perceptions on technology skills, pre-service chemistry teachers, project based educational technology and material development.

Students' use of the internet and social networking sites for learning at Sultan Qaboos University

Students increasingly use the internet and social networking sites but there is little research evidence of its use in fields of learning, specifically in the Arab educational environment. This study therefore investigates students' use of the internet and social networking sites for learning activities and games at the Omani Sultan Qaboos University. To achieve the purpose of the study, a survey questionnaire was developed as the main research instrument. The tests for validity and reliability were conducted during a pilot study. The questionnaire was then administered to the study sample, which was purposive and included (73) educational technology course students who were aware of advanced media including social networking sites. Findings show that the internet and e-mail are frequently used by students, wireless connections and mobile technologies spread quickly among the students and students use search engines for educational purposes. Two research hypotheses were rejected and a third one was accepted. Conclusions and recommendations were then drawn.

木材を用いたものづくり学習における中学生の環境意識尺度に関する研究

The purpose of this study was to identify the environmental consciousness of junior high school students who learned about production while working with wood in a technology education course. We prepared a consciousness questionnaire to clarify the level of environmental consciousness of the junior high school students. The questions asked were made using the answers to a precedent study and free description investigation related to woodworking production processes. We examined The validity and reliability of the questions and carried out the investigation with the cooperation of 500 junior high school students who studied the contents of "Techniques about Materials and Processing" in Aichi, Ishikawa and Nagasaki prefectures. Furthermore, we considered whether or not it is possible to suggest a curriculum that promotes environment-conscious behavior. As a result, the following issues were clarified.

Web‐Mediated Knowledge Synthesis for Educators

AbstractUbiquitous and instant access to information on the Web is challenging what constitutes 21st century literacies. This article explores the notion of Web‐mediated knowledge synthesis, an approach to integrating Web‐based learning that may result in generative synthesis of ideas. This article describes the skills and strategies that may support learning in this way, including: (1) divergent keyword search phrases; (2) synthesis for meaning; (3) in‐the‐moment insights; (4) repurposing; (5) reinforcement; and, (6) note‐taking. Several suggestions for how to begin scaffolding these processes are also provided, based on examples from in‐service teachers during a master's level educational technology course.

Nurturing the 21st Century Skills among Undergraduate Students through the Application and Development of Weblog

The integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into education is one of the main approaches to fostering twenty-first century skills in teaching and learning processes. It is therefore vital to emphasize the integration of ICT into the university-level training of pre-service teachers, in order for them to effectively facilitate students’ learning. ICT literacy is one of the important skills that should be possessed by twenty-first century teachers in order for them to meet the challenges of this era of information and technology. In relation to this, it is also important that pre-service teachers gain sufficient knowledge and are able to apply it innovatively and creatively in their teaching activities. This study aims to identify pre-service teachers’ views on the usage of weblogs, their benefits and their preferred ways of using weblogs. The research participants were 68 pre-service teachers who were taking the GGGE2153 (Educational Technology) course. One focus of this course is that students are required to develop creative blogs for teaching and learning based on their areas of specialization. The elements of creativity, suitability for collaboration, user-friendliness and informativeness are among the criteria that should be of concern to students. The findings from the administered questionnaire show a positive impact of creating weblogs in relation to the development of twenty-first century skills.

The Role of the TPACK in Game-Based Teaching: Does Instructional Sequence Matter?

Previous studies have suggested that understanding the relationships and developmental paths among TPACK constructs plays a crucial role in teachers’ TPACK development process. Researchers (Chai et al., Edu Technol Soc 13(4):63–73, 2010) have found that technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge are all significant predictors of pre-service teachers’ TPACK. Thus, one of the major concerns that educators may have is, which type of knowledge should come first in an educational technology course in order to enhance the participants’ TPACK. This study was conducted to examine the effects of the technology- and pedagogy-oriented course design on improving in-service preschool teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge-Games (TPACK-G) as well as their acceptance of digital game-based learning. The participants were 49 in-service preschool teachers. They were assigned into a technology- and a pedagogy-oriented group. The results show that when integrating the TPACK-G framework into the preschool context, teachers who were taught with game knowledge first tended to have higher competencies in game knowledge and game pedagogical content knowledge than those who were first instructed with game pedagogical knowledge.

Statistical Discourse Analysis: A method for modeling online discussion processes

Online forums (synchronous and asynchronous) offer exciting data opportunities to analyze how people influence one another through their interactions. However, researchers must address several analytic difficulties involving the data (missing values, nested structure [messages within individuals within topics], non-sequential messages), outcome variables (discrete outcomes, rare instances, multiple outcome variables, similarities among nearby messages), and explanatory variables (sequences of explanatory variables, indirect mediation effects, false positives, and robustness of results). We explicate a method that addresses these difficulties (Statistical Discourse Analysis or SDA) and illustrate it on 1,330 asynchronous messages written and self-coded by 17 students during a 13-week online educational technology course. Both individual characteristics and message attributes were linked to participants’ online messages. Men wrote more messages about their theories than women did. Moreover, some sequences of messages were more likely to precede other messages. For example, opinions were often followed by elaborations, which were often followed by theorizing.

A case for examining pre-service teacher preparation for inquiry teaching science with technology

Inquiry has been the framework for guiding reform-based science instruction. All too often, the role of technology is treated tacitly without contributions to this framework. This case study examines a collection of pre-service teachers enrolling in two educational technology courses and the role these experiences play in promoting inquiry teaching. Interviews, field notes, surveys, reflective digital narratives and student-generated exhibits served as the data informing the analysis of inquiry experiences which shaped the enacted lessons of science teachers. Implications for research and practices are discussed.Keywords: teacher reflection; science education; technologyCitation: Research in Learning Technology 2014, 22: 21691 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v22.21691