Instructional Technology Course Research Articles

Tech-Enhanced Learning

The current study uses the lens of Robert Gagne’s nine events of instruction and the flipped classroom approach to construct a proposed educational module to teach the instructional technology course for preservice teachers at Al Ain University in UAE. The content was broken down into small parts and presented to students through videos and interactive learning exercises. A quasi-experiment was conducted to study the designed module’s effectiveness. The sample involved two groups of 50 female postgraduates from different fields of specialization. The experimental group students were taught through the implementation of the flipped microlearning module, while the control group was taught the same way, except that the educational content was conveyed without chunking. The researcher collected data by administering an achievement test and using the UTAUT questionnaire to determine student acceptance of the module. The result of the ANCOVA test revealed the existence of a substantial difference between the two groups, as f reached 4.427 in favor of the experimental group, with a significance level of 0.038. The questionnaire findings indicated high student acceptance of the module. The findings are of great importance for educational policy and curriculum designers and highlight the advantages of this module in enhancing student performance in different specialist fields.

Co-Leading Class with Students: Shared responsibility and understanding

Providing opportunities for students to lead and shape class, alongside an instructor, takes into account the unique cultures, needs, and experiences of each student. A co-leading model was used during a blended Instructional Technology course and findings revealed that this model was engaging and gave students an opportunity to share their own experience. Student reflections also indicated some challenges, such as group collaboration and technical issues.

Unpacking Preservice Elementary Education Majors’ Pre-Covid Experiences with Instructional Technology: Implications for Post-Covid Technology Use

Virtual learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has made the effective use of technology, as a learning tool, more important than it has ever been. One of the challenges within instructional technology courses for preservice elementary education majors was whether or not to train students to use technology as a means to an end or to focus on technology skills. Instructional technology courses could reinforce traditional approaches or encourage higher order thinking or acquisition of twenty first century skills for formal or informal settings. This study explored the pre-Covid inclinations and experiences of undergraduate preservice teachers who engaged in various types of technology that facilitated both the learning of content and the building of technological skills to varying degrees. This basic qualitative exploratory study looked at preservice teachers’ perceptions about their engagement with the technologies and about their own capabilities. The findings show connections that were most salient to the preservice teachers. These pre-Covid pandemic findings have implications for the current state of instructional technology and learning using technology in the post-Covid pandemic era.

Progressive Literacy Task: Design Strategy of digital literacy and competencies in learning outcomes

Raising interest in reading and digital literacy skills is currently a big challenge for teachers amid the many information vortices at this time. Attention and awareness of reading are still very low among students. This study aims to make the right learning strategy to form a culture of literacy among college students. This research is descriptive research to find the right model for teaching students about digital literacy both conceptually and in skills. The data in this study is to reveal (1) student learning motivation, (2) the use of learning strategies, (3) digital literacy skills, (4) and the formation of a literacy culture. Data collection techniques in descriptive research are through direct observation, questionnaires, independent assignments, and performance. based on a collection of various data used to formulate appropriate learning strategy designs for students completing instructional technology courses .

Curriculum Content Proposal for Integration of Technology in Education

This study focuses on the content of technology-related courses offered by teacher training institutions to determine the factors that will avoid technology integration in teacher education/training. Two methods are combined in the research. As a first step, the integration of technology in education/teaching models literature was analyzed, synthesized, and categories were created based on the critics. Next, technology-related courses in teacher training curricula were defined, the content of those courses was analyzed, and some content and suggestions were proposed for better technology-integrated courses. Even though literature indicates the most critical barriers to technology integration in education are hardware problems and the lack of technical infrastructure, one of the underlying factors is the teachers' inadequacy in ICT, the usage of technology in education, and technology integration literacy. These inadequacies are the result of the training curriculum deficiencies. There are three suggestions based on the findings and for further studies. The first one is to add courses and contents to the teacher-training curriculum as discussed in interpretation and discussion. Secondly, instructional technology courses should have specific content related to the content area. The syllabus should be developed with the cooperation of the content area teacher trainer for each subject area. Finally, as a part of curriculum development, these proposed courses and their content should be reevaluated for further studies.

Teacher Educators’ Conceptualisation of Technology in Malawi: A Critical Perspective

This study took a critical perspective to explore teacher educators’ conceptualisation of instructional technology in Malawi. Participants included teacher educators from three different public teacher education institutions, and staff members of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that trains teachers and student teachers in the use of digital education technology. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings showed prominence of the media view of instructional technology, especially digital technologies. These conceptualisations appear to be shaped by the teacher educators’ prior training, experience in teaching an instructional technology course, and organisational structures that facilitate the use of instructional technology at the institutions under study. These findings might be useful for teacher educators’ technology professional development content and activities. The findings can also provide insights into extending conversations on the applicability of Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs) in contexts beyond the USA, where they were primarily developed.

Digital Storytelling in Science Teacher Education: Evaluation of Digital Stories

The aim of the study was to evaluate digital stories prepared by preservice teachers in the frame of their planning, content, mechanics, story structure, and use of technology dimensions. Additionally, the study aimed to reveal differences among the aforementioned dimensions’ scores. In order to achieve this, the study’s participants attended a course on theoretical and technological process and tools implemented in digital story creation. A total of 46 digital stories were scored via a rubric and then analyzed. From the analysis, only the content dimension received a high score, whilst all other dimensions were scored at the medium level. The results revealed a significant difference among the digital storytelling dimensions, with mechanics, story structure, and use of technology dimensions negatively differentiated from content and planning. These findings support the use of digital storytelling content that is primarily based on the use of technology and basic digital storytelling principles for science teacher education programs. From this point of view, it can be strongly said that both in field education courses and for instructional technology and vocational courses, the potential for preservice teachers to graduate with having acquired higher skill levels may be realized through digital storytelling. So, teacher education programs should be supported by digital storytelling activities and instructions.

Hybrid Feature Extraction Model to Categorize Student Attention Pattern and Its Relationship with Learning

The increase of instructional technology, e-learning resources, and online courses has created opportunities for data mining and learning analytics in the pedagogical domain. A large amount of data is obtained from this domain that can be analyzed and interpreted so that educators can understand students’ attention. In a classroom where students have their own computers in front of them, it is important for instructors to understand whether students are paying attention. We collected on- and off-task data to analyze the attention behaviors of students. Educational data mining extracts hidden information from educational records, and we are using it to classify student attention patterns. A hybrid method is used to combine various techniques like classifications, regressions, or feature extraction. In our work, we combined two feature extraction techniques: principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. Extracted features are used by a linear and kernel support vector machine (SVM) to classify attention patterns. Classification results are compared with linear and kernel SVM. Our hybrid method achieved the best results in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, F1, and kappa. Also, we correlated attention with learning. Here, learning corresponds to tests and a final course grade. For determining the correlation between grades and attention, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and p-value were used.

Investigating K-12 Pre-Service Teacher TPACK in Instructional Technology Learning

This study investigated the change in pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) self-efficacy beliefs in a technology integration course in a teacher education program. It assessed knowledge components that predicted TPACK self-efficacy beliefs. Pre and post-surveys were administered using Schmidt et al. (2009) instrument at the beginning and end of the course. The study revealed statistically significant change in all dimensions of TPACK self-efficacy beliefs. Cohen’s effect size revealed medium effect size on TPACK self-efficacy beliefs during the pre-service teacher education technology integration course. PCK and TPK were the significant predictors of TPACK in both pre and post-survey report. Content Knowledge (CK) was a significant predictor of TPACK in the post-survey. The result implies that instructional technology courses should pay attention to the factors affecting TPACK during curriculum design and course delivery. In the current research context CK, PCK and TPK predicted TPACK. TK and PK can be mediated by TPK and PCK respectively.

Design Learning environment based on ISTE standards.

The study aimed to design learning environment based on ISTE standards for students and computer science educators. For answering the questions of the study, the researchers adopted the descriptive approach, they Identified the ISTE standards and analyzed the content of instructional technology course based on ISTE standards for students and for computer science educators, then they designed learning environment based on this standard. The sample of the study consists of all students enrolled for an instructional technology course at the first semester 2017 in faculty of education in the Islamic University; the tool of the study was a content analysis to analyze and design the learning environment based on ISTE standards. The study recommended Integrate ISTE standards in academic preparation programs for teachers of faculty of education and Hold training courses for students and teachers in universities to introduce ISTE standards, and motivate teachers and students to embrace these standards.

Design Learning Environment Based on ISTE Standards

The study aimed to design learning environment based on ISTE standards for students and computer science educators. For answering the questions of the study, the researchers adopted the descriptive approach, they Identified the ISTE standards and analyzed the content of instructional technology course based on ISTE standards for students and for computer science educators, then they designed learning environment based on this standard. The sample of the study consists of all students enrolled for an instructional technology course at the first semester 2017 in faculty of education in the Islamic University; the tool of the study was a content analysis to analyze and design the learning environment based on ISTE standards. The study recommended Integrate ISTE standards in academic preparation programs for teachers of faculty of education and Hold training courses for students and teachers in universities to introduce ISTE standards, and motivate teachers and students to embrace these standards.

Design Learning Environment Based on ISTE Standards

The study aimed to design learning environment based on ISTE standards for students and computer science educators. For answering the questions of the study, the researchers adopted the descriptive approach, they Identified the ISTE standards and analyzed the content of instructional technology course based on ISTE standards for students and for computer science educators, then they designed learning environment based on this standard. The sample of the study consists of all students enrolled for an instructional technology course at the first semester 2017 in faculty of education in the Islamic University; the tool of the study was a content analysis to analyze and design the learning environment based on ISTE standards. The study recommended Integrate ISTE standards in academic preparation programs for teachers of faculty of education and Hold training courses for students and teachers in universities to introduce ISTE standards, and motivate teachers and students to embrace these standards.

Social Studies Teacher Candidates’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

This study aims at examining social studies teacher candidates’ self-efficacy beliefs for technological pedagogical content knowledge through multiple variables and presenting new perspectives for researchers and practitioners. A causal-comparative research design was adopted for this study. Among non-random sampling methods, convenience sampling was used to select participants. The sample of the study consists of 349 3rd and 4th year college students (teacher candidates) studying at three state universities in Turkey’s Central Anatolia Region in the 2018–2019 academic year. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) scale was used for collecting data in this study. T-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to analyze data. According to the obtained results, the social studies teacher candidates’ self-efficacy beliefs for technological pedagogical content knowledge can be considered above average. No significant differences were found between participants’ self-efficacy beliefs for TPACK and some independent variables such as gender, year in college, GPA score, personal computer ownership, and Instructional Technology and Material Development course score. On the other hand, it was determined that perceived technology competency and the use of content sharing platforms for professional purposes were important predictors for social studies teacher candidates’ self-efficacy beliefs about TPACK.

Attitudes of preservice teachers having pedagogical formation certificate training towards instructional technology and material design course

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of the trainees registered in Pedagogical Formation Certificate Program (PFCP) towards the Instructional Technologies and Material Design (ITMD) course and to analyze whether these attitudes differed according to gender, department and level of grade. The data were obtained from totally 110 trainees including 78 females and 38 males. In addition to the personal information form, the Attitude Scale towards ITMD Course was used as the data collection tool. The scale had three sub-dimensions as effectiveness, admiration and denial, and the internal consistency coefficients calculated for the current implementation were between .99 and .77. It was understood that the trainees regarded the ITMD course effective enough to be considered good, admired the course at a moderate level, and did not neglect the course very much. It was noticed that female trainees found the course more effective and admired it more rather than the male trainees. The trainees in the English group were determined to consider ITMD course more effective than the trainees in the philosophy group. Moreover, it was proved that the students in the English group admired more rather than the trainees in the theology and philosophy groups. The graduate trainees regarded ITMD course more effective than the ones who were still students.
 
 Keywords: instructional technologies, information technologies, instructional technologies and material design, attitude towards itmd course;

Pre-service teachers’ perceptions and training contributions towards ICT use

Previous studies have concluded that ICT are underused in primary and early childhood classrooms partly due to lack of appropriate training. This study explores ICT use and the validity of a training proposal as reported on a survey by two groups of students after their teaching practicum. Results showed traditional technological tools were used more frequently than collaborative tools and suggest that receiving an instructional technology course provided students with a broader toolkit of ICT tools, a more critical opinion of technology use and an increased sense of agency.

Student's Perception of Web 2.0 Tools and Educational Applications

The information technology used to acquire the skills determined as 21st-century competencies in the education-training process to individuals is increasing rapidly. Nowadays, Web 2.0 tools are increasingly used. Effective use of Web 2.0 tools, which are widely used in daily life, by students and teachers in education are also on the list. Effective use of assistive technologies by teachers depends on their attitudes towards assistive technologies. To increase their success, they use these technologies in activities held in the classroom. In the study, it was aimed to determine the attitudes of teachers and student candidates towards the use of assistive technology. A case study approach constituted the methodological framework of this study. This study was conducted in the fall semester of 2019-2020 with 42 students. Teachers and student’s obligation to take "instructional technology and material design course" was hence initiated as a result. Numerous Web 2.0 tools were reminded to the students for the results of the research. The data of this study were collected through open-ended questions developed by the researchers to define the opinions of the students regarding Web 2.0 tools and educational practices that they will encounter in their future professional lives. Content analysis, frequency and percentage was applied in the analysis of data. The analysis of data was sought to answer the following questions; (1) How often did teachers and students use web 2.0 tools?; (2) What are Web 2.0 tools that teachers and students use or plan to use in their current and future teaching profession?; (3) What are the reasons for teachers and students to use Web 2.0 tools as teachers in their professional lives?; (4) What are eacher education students' views on Web 3.0 technologies and (5) What are the changes and innovations these technologies will bring in the field of education?.

Improving Pre-service Teachers’ Memory and Retention Using Durable Memory Strategies in an Instructional Technology Course

There are evidence that human learning can generally be mediated. Learning takes place when learners interact with learning materials and the environment of the learner has been sufficiently modified in such a way that a specified learning outcome occurs. But how can leaners apply an acquired knowledge or skill if you have not committed it to memory? Durable memory is the basis on which effective inquiry, thinking and learning are done; the ability to remember things. Hence, this study examines how durable memory strategies (Memory Palace and Mind mapping) influence pre-service teachers’ memory and achievement and find out if Intelligence Quotient is a proxy for memory and Achievement. This study adopted the Pretest Posttest Control Group Quasi-Experimental Design. The results show that there was significant main effect of treatment (mind map and Memory Palace) on pre-service teachers’ Memory and Achievement. This study shows that learning using durable memory strategies could make a difference in helping learners retain and recall content that can be used in problem solving, creating things, and thinking critically.

Enhancing design thinking in instructional technology students

AbstractThere is growing demand in our society to cultivate creativity and foster innovation. Design thinking has been successfully practiced as an educational framework for supporting innovation in educational and work contexts. However, research on design thinking education that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge related to design process and practices is extremely limited, particularly in educational contexts. This pre‐/posttest mixed methods study examined blogging as an instructional approach for supporting design thinking education in an online instructional technology course. An analysis of quantitative and qualitative data revealed an improvement in students’ design thinking skills after participating in the course. Students were more comfortable using design practices and processes than their creative abilities. Blogging about design thinking opened the potential for active knowledge construction about design thinking and reflection about personal design practices. However, it also hindered participation of students who were less comfortable with narrative meaning‐making afforded through blogging or sharing their ideas on open networks such as blogs.

Correction to: Using online peer assessment in an Instructional Technology and Material Design course through social media

The original version of this article unfortunately requires correction with respect to the affiliation of the author.

Best Practices in Project-Based Learning

A retrospective case study design was used to analyze online instructional technology courses at two US universities. A project-based learning design model was used for both complete online delivery and emergency remote teaching formats. Although deep areas of scholarship exist for online learning, project-based learning, and digital media literacies, research in the area of project-based learning designs to support technical learning in online courses is nascent. A review of these areas of literature is presented, and results from this case analysis are presented as recommendations to faculty who wish to design project-based learning for online technical courses, or for those who are planning emergency remote teaching conversions for similar technical courses.