Modern Instructional Technology Research Articles

Web-Based Platform for Don Bosco High School – Senior High School – Technical Vocational Education Track in Adoption of Hybrid Learning

In the last two decades, the hybrid or blended learning paradigm has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional classroom instruction. This study, such elements associated with adopting blended learning addressed numerous results, implications, and possible future paths for Senior High School where Technical Vocational Education in the Philippines progressively interacts and develops with each other. This study aimed at developing a web-based platform or portal for DBHSP – Don Bosco High School Paranaque to resolve some classroom challenges such as conventional teaching, which is time-consuming, and the perennial lack of classrooms in public schools by providing additional/alternative teaching tools. To this end, this study further endeavored to determine the level of project effectiveness of the web-based portal in terms of the ISO 9126-1 software quality model main characteristics, namely: functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. The data processing was analyzed using Fourth Generation Techniques (4GT), dissemination of innovations, and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which is an information system theory that describes how users come to embrace and use technology. According to the paradigm, when users are presented with new technology, a variety of factors impact their decision about how and when they will use it. Hybrid learning predates modern instructional technologies. The authors conclude that its evolution will be inevitably linked to current information communication technologies and an encouraging environment for technology adopters teaching academics in a senior high school – Technology Vocational Education that is simulating some aspects of human thought perception processes. To evaluate the effectiveness, the author contends that Hybrid Learning integrates access, progress, and students' impression of their learning environments. The research technique used descriptive and developmental methodologies, and the DBHS – Senior High School were purposefully selected to benefit from the web-based approaches to teach both on and off-campus learners.

“EFL teachers” TPACK self-efficacy beliefs, web 2.0 competence and perceptions towards web 2.0 tools

The recent advancement of digital technologies has triggered a prominent shift within the field of language education. Considering the teachers' vital roles in adopting modern instructional technologies, this study investigates in-service EFL teachers' TPACK self-efficacy levels, explores the relationship between their TPACK self-efficacy levels and their demographic features and perceptions towards Web 2.0 technologies. Employing a mixed method design, the study collected quantitative and qualitative data in two phases. The quantitative data was collected through an online survey with 227 EFL teachers from various schools. Following the first phase, seven voluntary teachers were interviewed. The findings suggested that participants had a high level of content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, but they reported a relatively low level of self-esteem when the knowledge of technology was included. Furthermore, statistically significant differences were found between the teachers' TPACK self-efficacy levels and their educational level, school type, perceived digital literacy levels and previous INSET experience on Web 2.0 technologies. A positive and high level of correlation between TPACK self-efficacy of EFL teachers and their Web 2.0 selfperceptions was also reported. Semi-structured interviews demonstrated that despite their favorable perceptions towards Web 2.0 technologies, EFL teachers do not amply utilize Web 2.0 tools in teaching mainly due to their inadequate technological and technological pedagogical knowledge.

THE SIGNIFICANCE AND POSSIBLE CHALLENGES IN THE USE OF MODERN INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICE DELIVERY IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the significance and possible challenges in the use of modern instructional technologies for Guidance and Counselling service delivery in public secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in carrying out the study. Multistage simple random sampling technique was used to select 245 subjects comprising 118 secondary school management and 127 guidance counsellors in Ogidi Education Zone of Anambra State. The instrument for data collection for the study was a close-ended structured questionnaire validated by three experts. For the purpose of ascertaining the reliability of the instrument, Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used which yielded a coefficient of 0.82. Out of the 245 copies of the questionnaire administered, 233 copies were retrieved and considered suitable for use for the study. Data extracted from the 233 copies were analysed using mean and standard deviation for answering the research questions while t-test statistics was used for testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data collected and analysed, the study identified 12 means of using modern instructional technologies, 12 rationales of using modern instructional technologies and 13 possible challenges of using modern instructional technologies for guidance and counselling service delivery to students in public secondary schools in the state. The findings on hypotheses tested showed no significant (p<0.05) differences in the mean ratings of management bodies and guidance counsellors. The study inter alia recommended that the government of the state and secondary school management should ensure adequate fund for procurement of necessary modern instructional facilities for functional services of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools in the state.

The reality of employing Instructional Technology in learning Islamic culture at the Institute of Arabic Linguistics at King Saud University from the point of view of students: واقع توظيف التقنيات التعليمية في تعلم الثقافة الإسلامية في معهد اللغويات العربية بجامعة الملك سعود من وجهة نظر الطلاب

The study aimed to uncover the reality of employing Instructional Technology in learning Islamic culture at the Institute of Arabic Linguistics at King Saud University from students` point of view. The sample of the study was composed of all members of the study society, in the Department of Language and Culture in the second semester of 2017/2018. Descriptive approach was used and questionnaire as a study tool. Among the study results: that students employ some of the Instructional Technology in learning, such as websites, and don`t employ some of them, such as social media. The teacher also employs some Instructional Technology such as smartboard and doesn`t use some of them, such as e- learning blogs. The main obstacles were the lack of appropriate training for students in the use of Instructional Technology. There were statistically significant differences between the average responses of the study subjects on the second and third axes according to the educational level variable in favor of the third level. There were no statistically significant differences between the average responses of the study members on the first axis. The researchers recommended: preparing and implementing training programs for students on how to employ modern Instructional Technology.

School Administrators and Generation Z Students’ Perspectives for a Better Educational Setting

The purpose of this study is to examine the school administrators and Generation Z’s perspectives towards each other. The conflict between school administrators and the emerging generation has always been a hot-debate research topic, and it is undeniable that each generation with new defining characteristics make this subject to be worthwhile to re-consider and re-discuss. For this research, from various schools in Istanbul, Kadikoy province, 15 different school administrators and 20 different students of Z generation which were born 2000 and after were volunteered to participate to the research group. This study employed phenomenology pattern and semi- structured negotiation for data collection, and the analysis of the data has been done by using NVIVO 10 program. The study revealed that there are numerous factors that affect the school administrator’s lives: new demands and challenges emerging with new generation, the adaptation problem to the modern instructional technologies and computer-aided teaching system, the role ambiguity, parent’s approach and outside relations influence quality and school management adversely. On the other hand, the analysis of Generation Z student’s perspective brings up a new perspective to the issue of generation gap. From their perspective, the school administrators fail to act in accordance with the changing time and its demands. Most important of all, the generation gap causes the problem of communication, empathy and identification, and this has a decisive, particularly negative influence on their perspective of school life and school administrators. In this study, expectations, responses and critical insights are examined from the lenses of school administrators and students in a way to provide recommendations that could be remedy for the concerns of the school administrators and Generation Z students not only in theory but also in practice.

The Hybrid Course for College-Level Elementary Korean: Its Development and Implementation

ABSTRACT The past decades have witnessed a surge of scholarly interest in the development of viable foreign language (FL) curricula that integrate various instructional technologies into traditional face-to-face language instruction. This is because its proper application has proved effective, especially in helping students facing temporal and/or geographical limitations and in motivating students with different learning abilities to engage more actively in various learning tasks (Hampel &amp; Stickler, 2015; Meskill &amp; Anthony, 2015). This article aims to contribute to the needs of KFL educators who want to apply modern instructional technologies to their classroom-only-based teaching/learning environments. We showcase the elementary-level Korean courses (KOREAN 101 and 102) in their hybrid format, built upon the “flipped” classroom learning model at Queens College of the City University of New York.

Blended learning: the new normal and emerging technologies

This study addressed several outcomes, implications, and possible future directions for blended learning (BL) in higher education in a world where information communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly communicate with each other. In considering effectiveness, the authors contend that BL coalesces around access, success, and students’ perception of their learning environments. Success and withdrawal rates for face-to-face and online courses are compared to those for BL as they interact with minority status. Investigation of student perception about course excellence revealed the existence of robust if-then decision rules for determining how students evaluate their educational experiences. Those rules were independent of course modality, perceived content relevance, and expected grade. The authors conclude that although blended learning preceded modern instructional technologies, its evolution will be inextricably bound to contemporary information communication technologies that are approximating some aspects of human thought processes.

أثر تدريس وحدة الدائرة لطلاب الصف الأول الثانوي باستخدام استراتيجية الدمج بين التعلم بالإكتشاف والتعلم الإلكتروني على التحصيل الدراسي

هدفت الدراسة الحالية الى معرفة أثر تدريس وحدة الدائرة لطلاب الصف الأول الثانوي باستخدام استراتيجية الدمج بين التعلم بالإكتشاف والتعلم الإلكتروني على التحصيل الدراسي واستخدمت الدراسة المنهج شبة التجريبي القائمة على تصميم المجموعتين التجريبية والضابطة المتكافئة ذات القياس القبلي والبعدي لاختبار صحة أو خطأ الفروض ، وذلك للوصول الى تصور شامل لمعرفة أثر استخدام استراتيجية قائمة على الدمج بين التعلم بالاكتشاف والتعلم الالكتروني في تدريس وحدة الدائرة على التحصيل الدراسي، وكان مجتمع الدراسة هم طلاب الصف الأول الثانوي المسجلين رسمياَ خلال العام الدراسي 1432/ 1433هـ في محافظة القنفذة . وعينة الدراسة تكونت من طلالب الصف الأول الثانوي بمدرسة ابن ماجة بمركز القوز بمحافظة القنفذة للعام الدراسي 1432/ 1433هـ، والبالغ (51) طالبا منهم (24) طالبا مجموعة ضابطة درست بالطريقة التقليدية ، (27)طالبا مجموعة تجريبية درست بالاستراتيجية قائمة على الدمج بين التعلم بالاكتشاف والتعلم الالكتروني في تدريس وحدة الدائرة، كما تم استخدام أدوات الدراسة : اختبار تحصيلي يقيس المستويين الاوليين من تصنيف بلوم وهي التذكر و الفهم ، وتمت المعالجة الاحصائية عن طريق استخدام برنامج الرزمة الاحصائية للعلوم الاجتماعية (SPSS) وكانت الاساليب المستخدمة هي اختبار (T) للمقارنة بين متوسطات درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية و طلاب المجموعة الضابطة ، معامل الفا كرونباخ Cronbach,s alpha للثبات ، واختبار ليفين Levene Test للتأكد من تجانس التباين ، معادلة الاتفاق هوليستي Holisti ، ومن أهم نتائج الدراسة :أن هناك فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى ) 0٠1,٠ (α = بين متوسطي درجات طلاب المجموعة التجريبية التي درست حسب استراتيجية الدمج بين التعلم بالاكتشاف والتعلم الالكتروني ودرجات طلاب المجموعة الضابطة التي درست بالطريقة التقليدية الذين درسوا وحدة الدائرة في مادة الرياضيات للصف الأول الثانوي ، وكانت الفروق في صالح المجموعة التجريبية فيما يتعلق (أ) التحصيل الكلي (ب) التحصيل عند مستوى التذكر (ج) التحصيل عند مستوى الفهم ، ومن أهم التوصيات :استخدام استراتيجية الدمج بين التعلم بالاكتشاف والتعلم الالكتروني في تدريس وحدة الدائرة؛ عوضاً عن الطريقة التقليدية، تدريب معلمي الرياضيات على تصميم برامج الحاسوب، تؤدي إلى تطبيق استراتيجية الدمج بين التعلم بالاكتشاف والتعلم الالكتروني في تدريس مادة الرياضيات، العمل على إعادة صياغة محتوى مقرر الرياضيات الحالية بما ينسجم مع التكنولوجيا الحديثة في التعليم، بهدف تجسيد المفاهيم الرياضية بصورة تجعلها مشوقة للطالب، وتحفز على التعلم الذاتي.

Enhancing Student Engagement in a Blended Resident and Online Course Using Clickers and Embedded Questions

This paper describes the use of Clickers (small, mobile phone like electronic devices) and embedded questions in streaming videos for the purpose of student engagement in a course that was taught with a blended delivery model in a live resident classroom and also delivered to distance education students online. In order to provide the ability for instructors to engage students in a rich interactive environment, a creative use of Clickers and embedded questions was developed for a course in Mechanical Engineering-ME 201: Introduction to Thermal Sciences at Penn State.Details of how Clicker devices and specially designed Clicker questions are used to receive feedback of students in a resident classroom are first presented, followed by details of using similar questions embedded in streaming videos for online delivery. The student feedback collection and its analysis for both resident and online courses is discussed. The study shows that such an approach makes creative use of the modern instructional technologies to enhance the teaching-learning process and improve the understanding of students.

Class Design in the Teaching of Music Appreciation in Chinese High School Based on Modern Instructional Technology

The Music Curriculum Standards for High School, which is issued by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, has divided the high school music course into six modules, among which a module of Music Appreciation is included. According to the requirements of the Curriculum Standards and the analysis of the specific content of Music Appreciation, the modern instructional technology is of great significance for the instruction of this module. Taking two typical chapters in Music Appreciation (a textbook published by the People’s Music Publishing House in 2013) as an example, this article makes an exposition of the way of instructional design with comprehensive application of modern instructional technology under the guidance of constructivism theory.

How Context Matters in High-Need Schools: The Effects of Teachers’ Working Conditions on Their Professional Satisfaction and Their Students’ Achievement

Background/Context Educational policy makers have begun to recognize the challenges posed by teacher turnover. Schools and students pay a price when new teachers leave the profession after only 2 or 3 years, just when they have acquired valuable teaching experience. Persistent turnover also disrupts efforts to build a strong organizational culture and to sustain coordinated instructional programs throughout the school. Retaining effective teachers is a particular challenge for schools that serve high proportions of low-income and minority students. Although some interpret these turnover patterns as evidence of teachers’ discontent with their students, recent large-scale quantitative studies provide evidence that teachers choose to leave schools with poor work environments and that these conditions are most common in schools that minority and low-income students typically attend. Thus, mounting evidence suggests that the seeming relationship between student demographics and teacher turnover is driven not by teachers’ responses to their students, but by the conditions in which they must teach and their students are obliged to learn. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study We build on this body of work by further examining how working conditions predict both teachers’ job satisfaction and their career plans. We use a broad conception of the context of teachers’ work, paying attention not only to narrowly defined working conditions but also to the interpersonal and organizational contexts in which teachers work. We also extend Ladd's analysis describing the relationship between the work context and student achievement. Advancing our understanding of this relationship is particularly important, given the increasing emphasis legislators place on evidence of student achievement when evaluating education policy. Specifically, we ask three research questions: (1) Do the conditions of work in Massachusetts public schools affect teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs and their career plans? (2) Are schools with better conditions of work more successful in raising student performance than schools with less supportive working conditions? (3) If the conditions of work are important, what elements of the work environment matter the most? Research Design In this article, we combine a statewide survey of school working conditions (MassTeLLS) with demographic and student achievement data from Massachusetts. We examine three primary outcomes: teacher satisfaction, teacher career intentions, and student achievement growth. From different items on the MassTeLLS, we construct a set of nine key elements that reflect the broad-based conditions in which teachers work. We fit standard regression models that describe the relationship between each outcome and both overall conditions of work and each element separately, modeling this relationship according to the properties of our outcome variables. Findings/Results We found that measures of the school environment explain away much of the apparent relationship between teacher satisfaction and student demographic characteristics. The conditions in which teachers work matter a great deal to them and, ultimately, to their students. Teachers are more satisfied and plan to stay longer in schools that have a positive work context, independent of the school's student demographic characteristics. Furthermore, although a wide range of working conditions matter to teachers, the specific elements of the work environment that matter the most to teachers are not narrowly conceived working conditions such as clean and well-maintained facilities or access to modern instructional technology. Instead, it is the social conditions—the school's culture, the principal's leadership, and relationships among colleagues—that predominate in predicting teachers’ job satisfaction and career plans. More important, providing a supportive context in which teachers can work appears to contribute to improved student achievement. We found that favorable conditions of work predict higher rates of student academic growth, even when we compare schools serving demographically similar groups of students. Conclusions/Recommendations In short, we found that the conditions of teachers’ work matter a great deal. These results align with a growing body of work examining the organizational characteristics of the schools in which teachers work. Together, these studies suggest strongly that the high turnover rates of teachers in schools with substantial populations of low-income and minority students are driven largely by teachers fleeing the dysfunctional and unsupportive work environments in the schools to which low-income and minority students are most likely to be assigned. If public education is to provide effective teachers for all students, then the schools those students attend must become places that support effective teaching and learning across all classrooms.

Comparative Analyses of the Teaching Methods and Evaluation Practices in English Subject at Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and General Certificate of Education (GCE O-Level) in Pakistan

The study was conducted to compare the teaching methods and evaluation practices in English subject at secondary school certificate (SSC) and general certificate of education GCE-O -level in Pakistan. The population of the study was students, teachers and experts at SSC and 0- level in the Punjab province. Purposive and random sampling techniques were applied to select the schools and teachers. It was a descriptive study in which the questionnaires were developed to collect the data, and it was analyzed applying t test and chi square. It revealed that GCE- O level results are better due to the availability of competent teachers, educational equipments, management and incentives given to teachers. The examination system also promotes understanding conceptual clarity instead of cramming. It also revealed that the teacher practise Direct, Audio Lingual and activity based methods in GCE –O level system whereas at SSC level system Grammar Translation and Lecture methods were frequently used by the teachers. It was recommended that the steps may be taken from the concerned institutions to design and implement teacher training programme, equip the schools with the modern instructional technology and provision of language based textbooks.

The New Studio format for instruction of introductory physics

We have developed the New Studio format of instruction for improved conceptual learning while retaining problem-solving skill development in large, first-year physics courses. This format retains the large lecture, but combines traditional recitation and laboratory instruction. The New Studio format integrates simplified laboratories with assigned homework problems to integrate conceptual and problem-solving skills. The studio format combines 2hours of lecture with 4hours of studio each week. The studio is taught for 2hours twice per week, and consists of up to 40 students working in groups of four at tables equipped with modern instructional technology and apparatus. The group setting allows for peer instruction and development of group skills. The combination of traditional lecture with the studio format enables a research-oriented physics department with a large service teaching load to implement research-based pedagogy. Student gains on the Force Concept Inventory were similar to other courses taught by interactive engagement methods.

Learning from programmed instruction: Examining implications for modern instructional technology

This article reports a theoretical examination of several parallels between contemporary instructional technology (as manifest in one of its most current manifestations, online learning) and one of its direct predecessors, programmed instruction. We place particular focus on the unterlying assumptions of the two movements. Our analysis suggests that four assumptions that contributed to the historical demise of programmed instruction—(a) ontological determinisms, (b) materialism (c) social efficiency, and (d) technological determinism—also underlie contemporary instructional technology theory and practice and threaten its long-term viability as an educational resource. Based on this examination, we offer several recommendations for practicing instructional technologists and make a call for innovative assumptions and make a call for innovative assumptions and theories not widely visible in the field of instructional technology.

Competency Based Training Model

A competency based, learner focused training program entitled the Career-Track Training Program (C-TTP) has been adapted from a prominent foodservice systems model. The model describes training system's inputs, controls, transformation processes, feedback loops, outcomes, and interactions with the larger foodservice organization. This model was developed in response to a formal training needs assessment that delineated job competency standards, and assessed employee's abilities and attitudes towards the use of modern instructional technologies in workplace training. Qualitative analysis indicated a need to allay computer aversion, develop training competency standards and incorporate a system wide attitude that training is important. A Project Action Team (PAT) has completed job description analysis and determined applicable skill, knowledge and attitude competencies. Computer aversion is being addressed with the introduction of Computer Based Training. Visual mnemonics (buses, bus stops, transfer tickets, bus route concepts) aid in creating a workplace training culture. Developing an organizational training culture based on employees needs, as measured against competency criterion, is important to today's practitioner.

Humor me: A call for research

A review of the literature indicates that the introduction of humor as an instructional strategy in computer-based instruction (CBI) has not been studied as much as the effects of humor use in the classroom and other media. In this article humor theories are summarized, examples of humor research are provided, and perspectives on the relationships between humor, affect, motivation, information processing, and learner characteristics are discussed. Also, general guidelines for incorporating humor in CBI are suggested, and a research agenda is proposed that would support more definitive prescriptions for humor applications that reflect the affordances of modern instructional technology.

The “whys” and “hows” of modern instructional technology

The “whys” and “hows” of modern instructional technology