Technology For Educational Purposes Research Articles

Parent and Educator Concerns on the Pedagogical Use of AI-Equipped Social Robots

Social robots equipped with conversational artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly common in educational settings. However, the long-term consequences of such uses remain relatively unknown due to their novelty. To ensure children's safe use of social robots, and proper adoption of the technology, it is crucial to scrutinize potential concerns regarding their usage. This exploration will provide insights to inform the design and development of this technology. Thus, this study investigated parents' and educators' perceptions of social robot use by children in the home and school settings. Our main objectives are to; 1) explore whether the types and/or levels of concern are tied to the role that individuals take (i.e., parents vs. educators); 2) explore if the levels of concern vary based on the gender and age of the potential child user; and 3) compile a catalogue of parents' and educators' concerns, both from the literature and those that are overlooked, surrounding children's use of SRs for learning. To address those inquiries, a cross-national online survey study was conducted with parents and educator participants (N = 396). Overall, participants indicated high levels of concern but recognized the potential in responsibly applying such technology for educational purposes.

Web 2.0 in higher education: Difference in usage and perception between Kazakh and Kyrgyz students

The use of Web 2.0 technologies such as social media and user-generated content and their educational prospective attract the attention of many researchers. The results of the vast majority of these studies suggest that the use of social networks in the educational process can be helpful in increasing the quality of education and making it accessible to more students. In order to clarify the students’ opinions, a survey was conducted among students from various majors at leading universities in two Central Asian countries, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The main objective of the study was to determine factors affecting students’ attitudes toward the usage of Web 2.0 technologies for educational purposes, as well as to examine the difference in the perceptions of Kyrgyz and Kazakh students. As the survey results show, social networks and online resources with user-generated content are gaining more and more importance for students. However, this popularity is not always related to education; the goals of using social networks are mostly for communication and entertainment. The use of social networks in education today is possible as an auxiliary means of conducting lessons. Students rather take the initiative and use social networks as a means of exchanging information on the tasks they perform, as a platform for discussing the topics studied, and the projects being implemented, but not as a dedicated system for education. Despite the similarity in the use of information technologies (and social networks) for educational purposes, in Kazakhstan, students begin to use the Internet specifically for education earlier than Kyrgyz students. Also, students from Kazakhstan more often use platforms in the national language.

Information About Ourselves from Ourselves: Young Users of Wearable Technologies in Secondary School

Abstract Several researchers have recognized the value of self-tracking technologies used to personally obtain data about ourselves. The aim of the present study was to assess the barriers associated with the “technologies of existence”, so-called wearables, including lack of knowledge of these devices, lack of information on their correct use, as well as difficulties regarding data integration and interpretation. To help to overcome these barriers we investigated a project involving two self-tracking activities in an Italian secondary school, performing a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the students using these technologies for educational purposes. Thanks to the project and its contextualized practical and theoretical activities, students were able to become “enhanced users” in terms of their knowledge, autonomy and awareness as regards wearable technologies. Our findings regarding the application of wearable technologies in a scholastic setting may also be step forward in addressing a well-known common pitfall of self-tracking: insufficient scientific rigor. Our quantitative and qualitative analysis showed how the use of wearable devices in educational settings had a range of beneficial effects, above all, eliciting satisfaction among students, but also yielding positive outcomes regarding the acquisition of scientific knowledge perceived both in terms of device applications and data interpretation. In conclusion, our findings may have broad implications in the future design and development of wearable technologies.

The Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning in Iraqi Kurdistan: Sulaimani Governorate as an Example

In the past fifty years, educational technology has been a subject with a rapid growth rate and increasing sophistication. The methods and efficacy of its implementation are the focus of developing its theories and research. In the past, education was unavailable in some areas of the world. Understanding how technology has aided education and its impact will help you appreciate how crucial technology has become in education. 
 This paper collects and analyzes data from thirty teachers and students from thirty schools in the Governorate of Sulaimani to assess the effect of technology on teaching and learning in their schools. It inquires whether technology affects the teaching and learning process and to what extent teachers and students utilize technological tools for teaching and learning. As a result of the researcher's interviews with students and teachers, there is clear and compelling evidence that technology positively influences learning and teaching processes. Interestingly, according to the findings of this study, students are much more aware of technology usage whom they use technology for educational purposes more than teachers.

ANALYSIS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES INTEGRATION INTO THE PROCESS OF CORPORATE TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES OF MILK PROCESSING ENTERPRISES IN UKRAINE

Nowadays, the use of the latest IT technologies for educational purposes at milk processing enterprises is at a low level. That is why, to study the motives that have a significant impact on the intention to use technology in the process of training specialists of various directions and levels, a study was conducted based on one of the milk processing enterprises of the western region. The methodology of the analysis was based on the concept of TAM, 32 specialists of various services of the milk processing enterprise in the western region of Ukraine, who are engaged in personnel training in addition to the job, took part in the survey. To obtain primary data, a questionnaire was developed based on literature data of similar studies. The analysis includes testing for the adequacy of the data and the research model – the relationship between the six research elements. The obtained data indicate a relatively low level of confidence in the effectiveness of using computer technologies during corporate training, and the indicator of internal motivation or personal intentions (PI) is the lowest of all values - 3.44. Thus, it can be assumed that such data are related to certain internal beliefs of each member of the group of interviewed employees of the enterprise. To test this assumption, multiple-cause modeling (MIMIC) was used to assess whether there are correlations in respondents' intrinsic motivation with their age and level of education. The calculated coefficients will make it possible to assess the presence of a direct influence of these two variables on the level of employees’ motivation, and their value can be interpreted as the possible presence of an additional factor i.e. the presence of a degree or its absence, as well as the difference in the age of the respondents. The obtained results of the statistical analysis established a correlation between motivation and higher education among employees, indicating that the presence of a specialist or master's degree increases the probability of using computer technologies in the learning process. This is probably related to the use of electronic learning technologies in the programs of their training at the university. Thus, it is obvious that in order to increase the use of IT technologies in the process of corporate training, it is necessary to form among the company's employees computer literacy skills necessary for life in modern society and to develop the ability to use the latest technologies for searching, analyzing, using and transmitting information.

Pelatihan Penggunaan Media Pembelajaran Tentang Budaya Keris Berbasis Virtual Reality di Sekolah Dasar

The utilization of Virtual Reality (VR) technology for educational purposes, namely in instructing Indonesian culture, particularly the Keris culture, holds significant importance. This is due mainly to the limited dissemination of knowledge on Keris and traditional weaponry inside educational institutions, as they are not currently incorporated into the curriculum. The Universitas Negeri Semarang and Politeknik Negeri Jakarta teams have developed interactive learning media focusing on virtual reality (VR) technology. The primary objective of the virtual reality (VR) application is to provide a comprehensive exploration of Keris culture, intending to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indonesia's rich cultural legacy among the younger generation, mainly elementary school pupils. The approach involves offering instructional sessions to students and educators, focusing on utilizing virtual reality (VR) technology as an educational instrument. Training activities were provided at Barusari 02 Elementary School in South Semarang. Considering technological accessibility is crucial to ensuring that all students can access educational materials without obstacles. The findings derived from administering pre- and post-assessments to primary school children indicate that Virtual Reality Technology has the potential to engender greater interest among pupils in acquainting themselves with Indonesian culture. Most participants, above 80%, expressed a strong positive inclination towards utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) Technology to acquire knowledge about various cultural aspects. By providing appropriate support and adopting a comprehensive approach, virtual reality (VR) has the potential to serve as an efficacious instrument for enhancing students' comprehension and admiration of Indonesian culture.

Enhancing Reading-Comprehension Abilities and Attitudes of EFL Students through utilising Content-Creation Tools in Classroom Presentations

Utilisation of content-creating tools in an environment that enhances students' reading comprehension also promotes the integration of language skills and technology for educational purposes. This study aimed to enhance the reading comprehension skills of Business English students in Thailand by incorporating content-creation tools to support their English-language learning. Additionally, it sought to investigate the students' attitudes towards developing their reading comprehension through the utilisation of such tools. This study employed a quantitative research design; and it involved 27 third-year students in a Business- English program. Various instruments, including English reading proficiency and comprehension tests for each unit, as well as content-creation tools, assessment forms for students’ presentations and questionnaires to gauge students’ attitudes were utilised. Quantitative data were analysed by using the mean percentage, and the paired t-test. The results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in students’ reading-comprehension abilities after using content-creation tools for their presentations, with a significance level of two-tails less than 0.05. This finding highlights the significant effectiveness of developing students’ reading comprehension skills through presentations by using content-creation tools for reading comprehension, which met the pre-determined criterion of 70%. Moreover, the students displayed a high level of positive attitudes towards learning English and utilising content-creation tools to develop their reading comprehension skills through presentations. These results suggest that the integration of language skills and technology through content-creation tools creates a stimulating learning environment, fostering positive outcomes in reading comprehension.

A Latent Class Analysis of University Lecturers’ Switch to Online Teaching during the First COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Educational Technology, Self-Efficacy, and Institutional Support

The switch to emergency remote teaching (ERT) due to the first COVID-19 lockdown demanded a lot from university lecturers yet did not pose the same challenge to all of them. This study sought to explain differences among lecturers (n = 796) from universities in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK in their use of educational technology for teaching, institutional support, and personal factors. Guided by the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), lecturers’ behavior (educational technology use), environment (institutional support), and personal factors (ERT self-efficacy, continuance intentions, and demographics) were examined. Latent class analysis was employed to identify different types of lecturers in view of educational technology use, while multinomial regression and Wald chi-square test were used to distinguish classes. The largest latent class were Presenters (45.6%), who focused on content delivery, followed by Strivers (22.1%), who strived for social interaction, Routineers (19.6%), who were ready for online teaching, and Evaders (12.7%), who evaded using technology for educational purposes. Both personal factors and perceived institutional support explained class membership significantly. Accordingly, Evaders were older, less experienced, and rarely perceived institutional support as useful. Routineers, the Evaders’ counterparts, felt most self-efficient in ERT and held the highest continuance intentions for educational technology use. This research suggests that universities engage lecturers in evidence-based professional development that seeks shared visions of digital transformation, networks and communities, and design-based research.

The Provision of Learning in Mexico During the COVID-19 Pandemic

To understand how Aprende en Casa contributed to the spread of digital learning and the implementation of the Educational Digital Agenda in Mexico, this report presents the analysis of an exploratory study that consisted of three semi-structured interviews. The interviewees for this inquiry were a leader of the Aprende en Casa strategy at SEP, the director of a basic education public school in Tijuana, northern Mexico, and the director of a private pre-school establishment in Mexico City. The interviews were conducted from February to August 2021 and centered on each interviewee's perspectives according to their professional standpoint. This report presents the results according to three topics that complemented each other among the interviews: the duty of the State as the main provide of education, the progress and setbacks in the use of technologies for educational purposes, and the factors that define the digital divide in Mexico. Findings suggest that the digital divide in Mexico cannot be merely understood as the access to devices and the Internet that the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) defined in 1999, but as a holistic set of factors that intervene in the use of technologies: Internet and mobile, social class, economic capital, emotions and perceptions, and public policy, results which are very much in line with Robinson et al. (2015). These factors interact within an already unequal society whose educational backbone is its Secretary of Education, but whose implementation burden ultimately lies on the teaching staff.

The Capabilities, Challenges, and Resilience of Digital Learning as a Tool for Education During the COVID-19

The current study's objective examines contemporary advancements in learning utilizing digital technology for educational purposes during the recent pandemic outbreak. The study analysed the challenges, capabilities, and resilience of these digital learning environments and the future of digital learning. The PRISM statement is used to select records and assess the final 37 studies for the current investigation. According to the findings, the COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant challenge to educational institutions, and online learning was a challenging work for students and teachers. The availability of a large number of digital learning platforms, on the other hand, considerably mitigates the problem. Students' and teachers' skills and capacities have grown as a result of the learning process utilising digital platforms. The current study's findings show that education in the post-COVID-19 era is heavily reliant on digital sources, and that new technologies greatly enhance the learning process.

Technology Adoption Model: Is Use/Non-use a Case of Technological Affordances or Psychological Disposition or Pedagogical Reasoning in the Context of Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period?

The educational implications of COVID-19 have shaken both practitioners and researchers alike. Practitioners were expected to use technologies instantaneously, and this set up trauma in individuals. The ramification of understanding people’s response to why technologies are accepted/not accepted and used/not used has significant implications for education. This conceptual paper sets out the process used to develop a theoretical framework based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). The constructs within the original TAM and extended TAM, were explored to understand “why” practicing teachers would choose to use technologies for educational purposes at primary and secondary school levels during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The TAM has been criticized for being simplistic and narrowly focused. Many researchers criticize TAM because their finding cannot be confirmed or that the constructs don’t fit their needs. This paper challenges these critiques. The theoretical framework suggested in this paper represents a view of reality of the relational and influencing effects of variables that potentially moderate or control affective and cognitive responses. It contributes to the existing literature through a comprehensive reviewing of concepts, constructs and COVID-19 “event” contextual realities. The findings offered are that: contextual realities and application often require a grounded theoretical framework to unravel complex questions and answers; the suggested unidirectional influence of perceived ease of use (PEOU) on perceived usefulness (PU) can be challenged through a dispositional rationale; neglecting non-use as a reality severely hampers TAMs applicability in studies focused on theory testing, and TAM provides sufficient flexibility by leaving the doors open for adaptation, and this flexibility is an asset in social science research.

Analysing user reviews of interactive educational apps: a sentiment analysis approach

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate the public opinion (i.e., the learners themselves) of apps incorporating emerging technologies Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and find out how satisfied mobile platform users are with these technologies for educational purposes. We performed sentiment analysis of more than one million reviews from 800 different Android apps collected by systematic scrapping of the Google Play Store. Identified apps were separated into five categories: AR, AR+Educational, VR, VR+Educational, and Educational. We identify reviews from each app as positive, negative, or neutral, and apply aspect labels depending on the content of the review. We adopted Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) and classify the labels into seven categories: technical issues, usability, content, user interaction, feature request, learning qualities, and advert-related. The results indicate that the positive sentiments are 54.6% for AR, 49.6% for AR+Educational, 47.7% for VR, 71.4% for VR+Educational, and 75.2% for Educational. The results suggest that education apps that do not incorporate AR or VR are receiving higher user satisfaction than apps that incorporate these emerging technologies. Analyzing and understanding user reviews will help instructional designers, software developers, and hardware designers to resolve the key inhibitors .of these apps.

The Acceptance of E-Learning during Covid-19 Pandemic amongst Dental Students of Islamabad

Background: The worldwide COVID 19 pandemic coerced all organizations including educational facilities to embrace online teaching methodologies. The present study was done to assess the acceptance of e-learning during COVID 19 among dental students in the metropolitan city of Islamabad using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
 Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving all dental colleges of Islamabad, was conducted between August 2020 – October 2020. The complete enumeration technique was employed for sampling. A structured self-reported questionnaire of the Technology acceptance model (TAM) was used for data collection. It consisted of four constructs, perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), attitude towards use (ATT) and intention to use (INT). The questionnaire was shared online with 600 dental undergraduate students in Islamabad. To analyze the data SPSS (version 22) was used.
 Results: The total number of complete responses received were 274 (RR 45%).The overall mean scores for PEOU, INT, PU and ATT were 3.38, 3.21, 3.1 and 2.92 respectively. Lower mean value showed that the respondents disagreed/strongly disagreed, whereas higher mean value showed that they were inclined to agree/strongly agree with the idea of e-learning. Based on TAM model, six hypotheses were formulated and tested for significance based on the regression statistics. Larger beta and t values and P value of 0.05 using regression analysis showed existence of significant relationship between all the factors.
 Conclusion: The present study explored the acceptance of e-learning by dental students and concluded that in order to motivate students to use technology for educational purposes it is necessary for them to perceive technology to be useful and easy to use. This in turn would help them develop a positive attitude towards using it and consequently motivate greater participation.

Yükseköğretimde Teknoloji Entegrasyonu: Öğretim Elemanlarının Durumları

Since the use of technology in education is considered critical in terms of both teaching and learning, technology integration into instructional methods and teaching environments is a must. This requirement is indispensable for the education organizations at all levels of education, including higher education organizations. The use of instructional technology not only increases the success of the students but also offers many advantages to the academic staff. To benefit from technology for educational purposes, the staff must first adopt the technology and use it to support their teaching and then restructure their teaching experience with technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the issues in technology integration of academic staff at a Turkish university located in Central Anatolia. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were used in this study designed as a correlational survey research. The results showed that the techno-pedagogical competence of academic staff was almost at the advanced level. Moreover, the staff had high level of information and communication technologies (ICT) acceptance so they used technology in their teaching quite often. The participants reported that they used technology during the presentation of slides, and listed their major problems as insufficient infrastructure, limited ICT skills, inadequate technical support, and student- and software- related problems. The findings indicated that it was the daily life experiences of the academic staff rather than the in-service trainings that enhanced their technological and pedagogical skills.

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN EFL CLASSROOM FOR INDONESIAN ADOLESECENT LEARNERS

The coming of the internet and the advancement of technology make revolution in Language Pedagogy, especially in the EFL classroom. Teaching the students who were born as the digital natives forces EFL, teachers have to integrate technology in language teaching. This article was written based on a recent EFL teacher’s practice. This study employed a case study method with 30 students of grade 9 of Junior High School in the west part of Indonesia as the participants. The aim of this study was to elaborate the way how the teacher made the students more familiar with the computer and the internet access in EFL Classroom. A Messenger Group as the main communication platform, supported by other web-based platforms including school’s Facebook (FB) group and online materials were integrated into learning activities. The findings showed that students found using technology in the classroom was easy due to the teacher’s instruction. They also reported that the technology integration in their EFL classroom encouraged their creativity and helped to accommodate their diverse interest. As a result, the students feel more comfortable and confident using technology for educational purposes and, become more creative and innovative in doing their project. Beside the clear instructions from the teacher, the availability of the computer laboratory, internet access, and students’ smartphones really help the success of this course.

ВЛИЯНИЕ НА ЕЛЕКТРОННИТЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ ВЪРХУ МОТИВАЦИЯТА ЗА УЧЕНЕ НА УЧЕНИЦИТЕ

We live in a time when communication technologies are already a part of our daily lives. The technological aspect of education has always been defining in the preparation of students in primary school and high school, especially in the XXI century. In the last few years, and in particular during the COVID pandemic, information technology has been the main tool for teaching, conducting discussions on various topics and issues, conducting tests and examinations, and communication between the main beneficiaries: teachers, students and their parents. Many multi-platform applications have been created, making access to electronic resources on the web much easier. The variety of learning materials can be viewed on any device: computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Educational institutions have managed to adequately and timely adapt to e-learning by changing and adapting traditional school teaching. The software business invests significant funds and resources in the development of communication technologies for educational purposes, due to which students were able to be sufficiently prepare for their school subjects. This was proven by all the exams and competitions, which were successfully conducted in this extraordinary epidemiological situation.

PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF NURSING STUDENTS REGARDING DIVERSE TECHNOLOGY BASED NURSING EDUCATION

Purpose: Modern nursing care has been described as a blend of high tech and high touch, a term that describes a nurse's traditional caring and compassion combined with 21st-century health-care technology. Technology can be used in nursing schools to improve learning and student performance. Communication, student participation, and critical thinking are all improved when a technology-infused atmosphere is provided. The study aims to determine the student’s perceptions and expectations regarding technology based nursing education.
 Methodology: Descriptive cross sectional study was conduct. Students who were full-time students in class, had enrolled their subjects, were current students, and had signed consent to participate in this study were included. Students who refused to participate and were absent from class were not included in the report. Using easy sampling, a sample size of n=150 nursing department undergraduate students was taken. A self-administered questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was used to collect data. Throughout the study, participants' identities were kept private to ensure human subject safety. Data were analyzed using software SPSS (statistical package for social science studies) version 21.
 Results: Demographic characteristics of participants in which Level of the study and programmed of the study included. Minimum students 24(16.0) of the 4th year and maximum students 53(35.3%) from undergraduate 94(62.7%) and postgraduate 56(37.3%) were participate in this study. Over all perception and expectation of nursing students were 1.52± .489 and3.13± 1.32 respectively.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Educators use technology for academic and communication purposes at campuses, according to nursing students in this research and that their teachers helped them to learn using their own technology devices and online platforms. As a result, more effort and special care are needed to improve nursing students' abilities at the entry level so that they can efficiently use technology for educational purposes.

Learning to Unlearn, and then Relearn: Thinking about Teacher Education within the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

ABSTRACT For decades now, in the context of teacher education, we have been discussing the importance of paying attention to the fast and profound changes both in society and in people’s personal lives, as a consequence of the widespread use of new digital technologies. Yet, not much has changed in schools, where traditional teaching still rules. Students continue to be more knowledge consumers than active knowledge producers; besides, the use of technology for educational purposes remains as either a threat or an unattainable goal. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled educational institutions to rethink the role of technology in education. In this article, we comment on the crisis that has struck higher education and how it has set our institutions and ourselves, as professors and teacher educators, into a deep process of rethinking our past practices and reimagining our future.

Development and usability testing of an educational mobile learning app for climate change and health impacts

Abstract Objectives Mobile applications, social media platforms are changing Internet user behavior; creating a new era of education in a connected world. We have previously reported training needs of health providers in the Climate Change. Aim is to develop and test an Android® mobile app as an effective smart learning environment for climate change health impacts. Methods The quasi-experimental design method was used in five phases: easy-to-reach, rich content Mobile app design and development for Android® operating system, scale development, finalizing scales to be used, implementation, data collection, analysis. Dependent t-test of pre-test and post-test awareness scores was analyzed. Usability and satisfaction were assessed with two scales; quantitative data with descriptive statistics. Results The developed Mobile app was effective in enhancing students’ learning experience, and well-received in terms of adopting and using such technology for educational purposes. Pre-test and post-test scores different statistically (p<0.05); increasing participants’ awareness level and were satisfied. Conclusions We conclude that our Mobile app, m-learning project, is successfully incorporated into the learning context; when tested, raised awareness about climate change and health effects for the public. To our knowledge, no currently existing tool to provide new mobile application for climate change education and promote awareness exists.

Mišljenje učenika osnovnih škola o kvalitetu onlajn-nastave tokom pandemije kovida 19

The COVID-19 virus pandemic has radically changed people’s everyday lives. In a large number of countries of the world, including the Republic of Serbia, edu- cational system has undergone a major adjustment as well. From March 2020, distance learning, i.e. online teaching, was introduced in the educational system of our country; from the declaration of the state of emergency until the end of the 2020/21 school year, this teaching model was applied. The aim of this research was to examine elementary school students’ opinion on the quality of online teaching during the 2020/21 school year. The research sample con- sisted of 250 elementary school students from the city of Jagodina and the municipality of Svilajnac. The results of the research show that students believe the quality and content of online teaching were not at a satisfactory level. Students have the same opinion regarding their learning achievements and the lack of interaction with their peers. As advantages of online teaching students highlighted shortened class periods and an interesting form of using technology for educational purposes. The similar research results can be found in domestic and foreign literature, which may indicate a comprehensive systemic problem in the educational sphere.