Improving Classroom Teaching

This study investigated how female elementary education pre-service teachers in the United States, Turkey and Taiwan learned spatial skills from structured activities involving discrete, as opposed to continuous, transformations in interactive computer programs, and how these activities transferred to non-related standardized tests of spatial visualization and mental rotation. The study used a pretest, intervention, posttest research design with experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group participated in transformational geometry visualization exercises, once a week for six weeks, for approximately 20 minutes each session. Instruments were standardized measures of spatial visualization and mental rotation; intervention activity worksheets directed the participants through 2D and 3D transformational geometry tasks in computer environments. For Turkish and Taiwanese participants, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group in spatial visualization, while the American participants showed no such significant improvement.

This article extends and expands the existing literature on critical thinking (CT) by both establishing the need for more student-centered research on the topic and reporting on the findings of a CT research project with two central, related goals: 1) To record and analyze undergraduate students' definition of CT and 2) To create an easy-to-use instrument that can assist faculty members across many disciplines identify and understand their students' use of the term so as to improve both teaching and learning. In this article an overview of the limits of existing CT research is followed by a discussion of the project's three, related phases and the initial findings of each. Central to our task is improved classroom teaching. In Phase I an open-ended two-question questionnaire was given to students enrolled in sociology and interdisciplinary courses in two departments during the 2005-2006 academic year (N = 157). In the first question, students were asked simply to "define CT". A qualitative analysis of the data revealed not only wide variation in undergraduate students' use and understanding of the term generally but also wide variation among students in any single classroom. Using the most common student-generated definitions of CT from the survey data, in Phase II we developed and piloted a classroom-ready instrument designed to allow faculty to quickly and simply assess their students' understanding of the term "CT". Faculty who piloted the instrument in Phase III generally found it to be user-friendly and pedagogically valuable. Our overall findings suggest both the need to continue student-centered research in the area of CT and the potential pedagogical value of a student-centered classroom instrument such as the one we created.

Creating the illusion of depth in images was first invented 1838 by Sir Charles Wheatstone. It is today still a great experience to view high quality large format images with depth perception, exceptionally of virtual objects like reconstructions of the past or building projects. High quality presentation of computer graphics is provided by projection onto a transparent screen surface from behind. Image separation can be easily performed by polarisation filters in front of the projection lenses. It is necessary that the beholders carry polarized glasses. Interactive viewing in this context means, that the observer is able to select image pairs from the database, can zoom in and out, select the display details and sets the zero parallax to an arbitrary position. The selection must be simultaneously transferred to the second image of the stereoscopic pair. While each data projector is driven by its own computer, a PDA (personal digital assistant) is recommended to receive the instruct...

This study aimed to assess senior high school teachers’ digital literacy competencies in some selected senior high schools across the Savannah region of Ghana. The study adopted a positivist stance in its approach.  A sample size of 188 teachers was drawn from five selected senior high schools across the Savannah region utilizing a descriptive survey design. An adapted questionnaire was used to gather the research data. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 27) and Microsoft Office Excel version 2019 were used to analyze the data. Data was presented in percentages and frequencies. Findings from the study indicated that there is a deficiency in digital literacy competence among teachers in the selected senior high schools: a notable number of teachers (38.6%) are either beginner or intermediate users of digital tools. It was also revealed that a significant number (20.2%) of teachers do not have the needed skills and abilities at all to use these digital tools. Moreover, it was revealed in the study that there was a negative correlation found between teachers’ competency level and their frequency of digital tools usage. Furthermore, the study found out that the few teachers who are either beginner or intermediate users, rarely use these tools in teaching and learning. Despite all these challenges, the findings further revealed that a greater number of teachers acknowledged that it is extremely important to be digitally literate in today’s digital age and that to be digitally literate, several factors such as access to professional training opportunities could account for that. It was therefore recommended that targeted training programs, policies, and interventions be developed to enhance senior high school teachers’ digital literacy skills in the Savannah region of Ghana.

The experience of students submitting written homework is compared to those using online homework platforms at a college in the northeastern United States. Results indicate that online homework platforms can increase student engagement in the course when students are satisfied with the platform's functionality and when students believe the web-based tool matches their own learning style. Findings suggest that students not inclined towards e-textbook use might be willing to set aside their preferences and try an online homework platform if they believe that the experience will be compatible with their learning style. Given the links between perceptions of learning style and platform functionality with positive student perceptual outcomes, results suggest faculty may be able to increase their students' sense of efficacy towards online homework by demonstrating a positive attitude toward the platform, and showing their own engagement with web-based tools.

During the past decade, many enterprises have been re-directing their resources into critical business areas to keep up with economic and market changes. They have adopted electronic business (EB) systems, such as supply chain management, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and enterprise application integration (EAI), to ensure seamless integration with internal processes as well as suppliers and customers. This phenomenon indicates that EB systems are playing an important role in attaining the effectiveness of enterprise operations. However, there is a constant complaint from recruiters that EB professionals with the right skills are hard to come by. To gauge the rapid changes in EB education and industry demand, EB curricula from top universities and job announcements from popular career Web sites in both the US and Taiwan are collected. We analyze the data and compare the results between the two countries to recommend remedial actions for narrowing the gap between industry and academia.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been highlighted as a beneficial learning experience for students in blended and online settings. In highly diverse and international contexts, CSCL also allows students the opportunity to encounter new ideas and values from peers with different backgrounds. However, previous research has highlighted that there are wide variations in student participation levels in CSCL activities and that many students experience social and cultural tensions when working with diverse peers. These issues may damage the quality of online collaboration and limit the potential gains of CSCL. In this study, we explored one evidence-based solution for encouraging CSCL participation: the internationalisation of the online academic content used for collaborative activities. Using a randomised control trial method with 428 undergraduate students in an introductory statistics course, we compared individual and group-level participation in an online collaborative task when students used content from the local context compared to content from international contexts. Our findings suggest that internationalisation of online content can encourage individual-level participation and decrease the disparity of participation within small groups when the content is situated in countries that are personally relevant to students' own backgrounds. At the same time, participation was influenced by individual demographics and group dynamics.

The use of simulations in general and of system dynamics simulation based interactive learning environments (SDILEs) in particular is well recognized as an effective way of improving users' decision making and learning in complex, dynamic tasks. However, the effectiveness of SDILEs in classrooms has rarely been evaluated. This article describes the construction, integration, and evaluation of an interactive learning environment in two educational settings. Subsequently, it explores how undergraduate business students perceive SDILEs and SDILEs-based course approach. This research draws on data obtained from two courses in undergraduate business program, over a period of three years. Results of this study suggest that students enrolled in the SDILE-based courses do indeed perceive important learning benefits and educational value. Further more, introduction of SDILE-bases courses at higher level are more beneficial than at the lower level introductory courses. However, there is need of more resources to be developed and deployed to harness fully the benefits of experiential learning provided through SDILE-integrated course approach.

The study focused on the effect of using T-game in teaching Mathematics among 80 Grade VII Students of Tabok National High School in the Mandaue City Division, Tabok Mandaue City for the 2014-2015 school year. Specifically, it looked into the pre-posttest level of performance among the control group: students taught using the mandated Learner's Material and the experimental group: students taught using the T-Game in teaching mathematics. Aside from the academic performance of the two groups, both groups' attitude was collected to correlate students' performance to their attitude in the learning process. Moreover, the career preferences of both groups were collected before and after the conduct of the study. It was established that the use of T-game has significant improvement on the experimental group which achieves higher scores compared to the control group. However this significant improvement was only evident in the Knowledge and Process level of assessment. It was found out that the T-game provides a positive attitude for students in learning mathematics. In effect, male students tend to consider choosing Science and Mathematics related careers. The result of the study affirms Kiili's Experiential Gaming Model from Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory. It is therefore recommended to use the T-game in teaching Mathematics. This game creates an environment of active learning and full involvement of the students in grasping the necessary competencies. Though this may apply to this institution, it is highly regarded to carefully study the correlated factors and that further related studies with a wider scope of population be pursued.

The study focused on the effect of using T-game in teaching Mathematics among 80 Grade VII Students of Tabok National High School in the Mandaue City Division, Tabok Mandaue City for the 2014-2015 school year. Specifically, it looked into the pre-posttest level of performance among the control group: students taught using the mandated Learner's Material and the experimental group: students taught using the T-Game in teaching mathematics. Aside from the academic performance of the two groups, both groups' attitude was collected to correlate students' performance to their attitude in the learning process. Moreover, the career preferences of both groups were collected before and after the conduct of the study. It was established that the use of T-game has significant improvement on the experimental group which achieves higher scores compared to the control group. However this significant improvement was only evident in the Knowledge and Process level of assessment. It was found out that the T-game provides a positive attitude for students in learning mathematics. In effect, male students tend to consider choosing Science and Mathematics related careers. The result of the study affirms Kiili's Experiential Gaming Model from Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory. It is therefore recommended to use the T-game in teaching Mathematics. This game creates an environment of active learning and full involvement of the students in grasping the necessary competencies. Though this may apply to this institution, it is highly regarded to carefully study the correlated factors and that further related studies with a wider scope of population be pursued.

To better inform and improve classroom teaching and learning, now more than ever before, educational researchers need to effectively and efficiently describe essential components of positive learning environments. In this article, we discuss how our research findings about motivation in classrooms have led to a closer examination of emotions. We describe how motivation theories such as Academic Risk Taking, Flow Theory, and Goal Theory have helped us better understand emotions in our classroom research. Our findings suggest that engaging students in learning requires consistently positive emotional experiences, which contribute to a classroom climate that forms the foundation for teacher-student relationships and interactions necessary for motivation to learn. We conclude that we need to integrate emotion, motivation, and cognition theoretically and methodologically to move our research forward. New theories and methods, even new forms of intellectual discourse, are required. Therefore, we end this article by beginning a discussion of new directions for conceptualizing and researching classrooms in ways that will involve examining the emotions of students and teachers.

This paper shows an analysis of the materials and teaching strategies used in Physics I, II, III and IV within the Engineering courses in the National University of Comahue (Argentina). The purpose of this research is to show that teaching strategies do not noticeably change, in spite of the progressive increase in the complexity and abstraction of the studied concept field, and the increasing tendency to solve Physics problems from a mathematical point of view. Besides, in the advanced Physics subjects, there are difficulties in putting the experiments into practice. Classes are divided into lectures, problem solving and laboratory activities. The results of this investigation show that Physics I and IV theory lessons have the same methodological structure. Class activities and problem-solving become Mathematics problems rather than Physics. They have statements with technical terms so as to be closer to Physics. In advanced Physics, there are no laboratory activities. To sum up, may educational research results be ignored at university level? Should historical and epistemological aspects be taken into account while teaching Physics? These and other questions make us think whether to continue with a rote learning or introduce some changes so as to achieve a meaningful learning.

As part of a mathematics teacher's skillset, knowing what kinds of assessment, when and how to assess, and for what purposes, are important. Although there have been frameworks outlining the various facets of teacher assessment literacy, recent literature suggest that gaps exists on the theoretical underpinnings as well as in psychometric claims of the measures. A framework of assessment literacy is proposed in this paper, informed by the mathematics education literature: (1) knowledge about assessment concepts; (2) skills in applying the knowledge in actual assessment practices; (3) communication and action in providing feedback or changing instructional practices based on assessment information; (4) attitudes and beliefs about assessment and its role in mathematics teaching and learning; and (5) meta-cognition and self-regulation of teachers' own assessment literacy.

This study investigated how female elementary education pre-service teachers in the United States, Turkey and Taiwan learned spatial skills from structured activities involving discrete, as opposed to continuous, transformations in interactive computer programs, and how these activities transferred to non-related standardized tests of spatial visualization and mental rotation. The study used a pretest, intervention, posttest research design with experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group participated in transformational geometry visualization exercises, once a week for six weeks, for approximately 20 minutes each session. Instruments were standardized measures of spatial visualization and mental rotation; intervention activity worksheets directed the participants through 2D and 3D transformational geometry tasks in computer environments. For Turkish and Taiwanese participants, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group in spatial visualization, while the American participants showed no such significant improvement.

This study investigated how female elementary education pre-service teachers in the United States, Turkey and Taiwan learned spatial skills from structured activities involving discrete, as opposed to continuous, transformations in interactive computer programs, and how these activities transferred to non-related standardized tests of spatial visualization and mental rotation. The study used a pretest, intervention, posttest research design with experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group participated in transformational geometry visualization exercises, once a week for six weeks, for approximately 20 minutes each session. Instruments were standardized measures of spatial visualization and mental rotation; intervention activity worksheets directed the participants through 2D and 3D transformational geometry tasks in computer environments. For Turkish and Taiwanese participants, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group in spatial visualization, while the American participants showed no such significant improvement.

359 pages With the prevalence of online learning, studies have also increased gradually. A more recent attempt is the development of Community of Inquiry framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer in 2000. It explains educational experience with the intersection of three constructs: teaching presence, cognitive presence and social presence with the emphasis on creating a community and developing critical thinking skills by increasing collaboration to create effective online learning. Since it has not been known completely especially in regard to cognitive presence because of being developed more recently, it still requires further elaboration. Therefore, this mixedmethod study, specifically designed as an embedded study aims to investigate community of inquiry framework and its three-presence by discovering the effects of self-regulation, metacognition and motivation of students in online course context, particularly focusing on cognitive presence. Both quantitative and qualitative data are collected from the students enrolled in online courses in a well-known public university in Ankara, Turkey. The primary data quantitative were collected from 1740 students selected based on convenience sampling and analyzed via both descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data were collected via online asynchronous discussions from 162 students enrolled in a fully online associate degree program vi selected based on cluster sampling, and interview protocol via 24 students selected based on purposive sampling. Findings indicated self-regulation was crucial factor and suggested to add in the framework as a new presence named regulatory presence. Motivation was also found essential for online learners to attain better learning experience.

Following theoretical frameworks including social-cognitive theory, constructivism and creating collaborative learning community, this correlational study elucidates the community of inquiry framework in regard to self-regulation, metacognition, and motivation in an online learning setting. Data were collected from 1535 students enrolled to an online Information and Communication Technology-I course offered by the Department of Informatics at a well-known public university. The data were collected online through Survey Monkey and then analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using multiple linear regression analysis through SPSS version 23 statistical software. The findings notably revealed that self-regulation, metacognition, and motivation significantly contributed to the prediction of community of inquiry and its three presence types. The findings highlighted the importance of self-regulation for overall community of inquiry and its three presence types due to its significantly valuable contribution. This study resulted in a new tentative model, adding a new construct of regulatory presence, addressing learners' self-regulation. Further research could concentrate on this new tentative model in addition to the new construct.

In order to facilitate senior primary school students in Hong Kong to engage in learning by observation of the phenomena related to electrical circuits, a design of a specific courseware system, of which the interactive human-machine interface was created with the use of an open-source software called the LabVNC, for conducting online remote-controlled experiments was developed in this study. The statistically significant results of a pre-test-post-test evaluation study showed that the LabVNC-based system has potential to promote students to learn the target topic under the approach of learning by observation. The assertion of the teacher on the pedagogical value of the remote-controlled experimentation and the enthusiasm of students in using the LabVNC-based system reveal the potential to integrate the use of the LabVNC-based system with the practice of scientific experiments. Based on the feedback from the teacher and students, the existing LabVNC-based system will be refined under the design-based research approach.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had serious impact on remote education and service-learning implementation in Taiwan. To alleviate these impacts, the Digital Learning Companion, an online tutoring project, was proposed to bridge the digital divide and learning gap among remote children, while offering university students an online service-learning environment. This project recruited international students as tutors for local children. To explore tutors' perceptions of this project during the COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative research, particularly a case study, was conducted. Adopting purposive sampling, 15 participants were chosen for interviews at the end of the project, and 10 reflective videos were used to reveal further information to supplement the interview results. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data. The findings implied that using JoinNet and tutoring journals significantly facilitated the tutoring process, which led to tutors' remarkable development in skills, social relationships, multicultural experience, altruism, social responsibility, self-efficacy, and affective values. However, they encountered some challenges, such as technical problems, communication barrier, lack of tutee information, and short tutoring duration. The solutions to these challenges and insightful suggestions for the project development are pointed out. The results of this study contribute to tutors' cognitive, social, and motivational development, and support the online service-learning-integrated curriculum, which can become a reference for further studies regarding online service-learning implementation to bridge the research gap.

Con el presente artículo, se busca dar a conocer el desarrollo parcial de la investigación intitulada “El juego en química y matemáticas, alternativa para la apatía en su aprendizaje”, adelantada en la Institución Educativa Mariano Ospina Pérez del municipio de Tinjacá, donde luego de un seguimiento a las clases de estas dos áreas se evidenció un sentir de falta de interés y desagrado por su estudio; por lo que se hizo necesario implementar un proyecto que relacionara estas áreas y cómo debería darse su enseñanza, implícito en la relación pedagógica en las instituciones educativas, para así buscar mejorar la actitud que los estudiantes tenían hacia estas. Esto a partir de acciones como charlas e interacción con los estudiantes, donde se marcó que el juego era una buena alternativa; por lo que, se procedió a crear e implementar el juego dentro del desarrollo de las clases. Así, se pudieron ver avances en la forma en que los estudiantes se desempeñaban, pues, hacerlos partícipes del p...

Collaborative digital textbookscomprehensive materials covering entire curriculumsare developing from being books in pdf format to becoming collaborative digital environments where teachers and students can communicate, engage in feedback and discussions, share and manipulate materials, test knowledge, and monitor results. This study investigates how these digital environments are used in school practice: How are the collaborative tools used to improve learning? Thirteen seventh-and eighth-grade classes, 370 students and 30 teachers in five Swedish secondary schools, were investigated over 1,5 years by means of questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews with teachers and students. Here, questionnaire results are presented, while observations and interviews serve to provide contextual insights. Collaborative tools were very little used; often teachers and students were not even aware of their existence. Most use was individual, students were left alone with the digital material. Students read or listened to the text and did not actively engage in learning by e.g. making notes or marking text. Most teachers did not use the material actively to help students understand and learn, most did not even check student results on automated tests. We conclude that the teachers have not incorporated the new, collaborative design of the digital textbook into their thinking regarding tools for teaching and learning and still regard it as a static book. This suggests that making full use of digital tools requires new ways of thinking of teaching, and that it takes more than providing digital tools to achieve this end.

This study explored the effect of a serious game on the vocabulary of K4-6 students in primary education. 206 students and 10 teachers used the serious game 'Word Score 2' during vocabulary lessons in three different conditions: (a) online game and vocabulary instruction, (b) online game only, and (c) paper game and vocabulary instruction. In every condition students' vocabulary was tested before, directly after and four weeks after the lessons took place. Additionally a student questionnaire and teacher interview regarding their experiences has been employed. Results show a significant learning effect for conditions in which teachers used vocabulary instruction additional to the game (both paper and digital). Comparison between the three conditions showed the highest learning effect on both the post-and retention test was achieved by students that played the online game and received the corresponding instruction. Teachers were excited about students' performance and enthusiasm. All teachers thought Word Score 2 fit their usual program and would be willing to replace the conventional vocabulary method.

Recent research suggests that training teachers as learning designers helps promote technologyenhanced educational innovations. However, little attention has been paid so far to the interplay between the effectiveness of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) instructional models promoting the role of teachers as designers and the capabilities (and pitfalls) of the heterogeneous landscape of available Learning Design (LD) tooling employed to support such TPD. This paper describes a mixed method study that explores the use of a novel Integrated Learning Design Environment (ILDE) for supporting a TPD program on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Collaborative Learning (CL). 36 Adult Education (AE) and Higher Education (HE) in-service teachers, with little experience on both CL and ICT integration, participated in a study encompassing training workshops and follow-up fulllifecycle learning design processes (from initial conceptualization to implementation with a total of 176 students). The findings from our interpretive study showcase the benefits (and required effort) derived from the use of an integrated platform that guides teachers along the main phases of the learning design process, and that automates certain technological setup tasks needed for the classroom enactment. The study also highlights the need for adaptation of the TPD instructional model to the learning curve associated to the LD tooling, and explores its impact on the attitude of teachers towards future adoption of LD practices.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the application of modern educational software (MES) in the mathematics classroom environment to the learning and retention process.
Methods: The present study was applied in terms of purpose and quasi-experimental in pre-test-post-test design. The statistical population included 18794 fourth-grade female students in the elementary school in 2020-2021 in Mashhad City, Iran. Then the test group was taught using the creative technology program (CTP) in six sessions, and the control group was taught the traditional teaching method in six sessions. At the end of the training, math tests were performed in the test and control groups and the scores of the two groups were compared to measure learning. Then, two months later, to measure the amount of retention in the two groups, the math test was repeated and the results were compared with the pre-test results.
Results: Based on the results, the CTP has a significant effect on learning and teaching mathematics to fourth-grade elementary students in Mashhad City.
Conclusion: With the advancement of fundamentals of education, the implication of educational software has proved more favorable effects than traditional systems in education and has a higher success rate.

The purpose of this research is to consider how the design of geometry in textbooks might be improved to develop deductive reasoning more effectively in lower secondary schools. In a previous paper, we argued that the development of intuitive skills is very important to solve ...

How to make the learning of complex subjects engaging, motivating, and effective? The use of immersive virtual reality offers exciting, yet largely unexplored solutions to this problem. Taking neuroanatomy as an example of a visually and spatially complex subject, the present study investigated whether academic learning using a state-ofthe-art Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) yielded higher learning gains compared to conventional textbooks. The present study leveraged a combination of CAVE benefits including collaborative learning, rich spatial information, embodied interaction and gamification. Results indicated significantly higher learning gains after collaborative learning in the CAVE with large effect sizes compared to a textbook condition. Furthermore, low spatial ability learners benefitted most from the strong spatial cues provided by immersive virtual reality, effectively raising their performance to that of high spatial ability learners. The present study serves as a concrete example of the effective design and implementation of virtual reality in CAVE settings, demonstrating learning gains and thus opening opportunities to more pervasive use of immersive technologies for education. In addition, the study illustrates how immersive learning may provide novel scaffolds to increase performance in those who need it most.

Remote Laboratories have become part of current teaching and learning, particularly in engineering. Their potential to aid students beyond their hands-on lab classes has been a matter of discussion in literature. Teachers and researchers are aware that the thorough analysis of both strengths and shortcomings of remote labs in didactical implementations may not only lead to the improvement of these resources but also of the pedagogical implications in engineering classes. The present study was carried out in a Higher Education Institution in Brazil in two different courses during three consecutive semesters where a remote lab (VISIR) addressing electric and electronic topics was implemented, yielding 471 students' academic results and opinions. These students' results (while using VISIR) cross-analysed with the course characteristics, reveal some factors teachers may tackle to foster student learning and motivation. The conclusions point to the need for VISIR interface modernization and showed it is more useful in basic courses than in more advanced ones, when dealing with classic lab experiments. Results also show that teachers' involvement plus their ability to brief students on VISIR's usefulness have a significant influence not only on students' performance but also on their perception of learning and satisfaction with the tool. In the analysed cases, the students with more learning needs seemed to be the ones who could benefit more from VISIR.

Remote laboratories are getting very popular in engineering education programs. However, there are not many studies addressing the requirements and design issues of such laboratories. This paper discusses the results of a study of the requirements for developing a remote Radio Frequency (RF) laboratory for university students. This study draws on the perspectives of the students at the university, department of electrical engineering. The results are based on a research study established by 111 engineering students from France, Germany, Romania and Turkey. It investigates how students would like to use the technical content of a state of the art RF laboratory. The result of this study is also compared with the previous outcomes showing perspectives of the other learner groups of such laboratories; engineers and technicians in the technical colleges on the Radio Frequency (RF) domain. Considering the outcomes developed so far, some principles that need to be considered while designing and developing such a laboratory have been proposed. As a case study the proposed principles are implemented in a remote laboratory project. In this paper, the details of user requirements of such laboratories, the proposed principles and the implementation examples are all provided and discussed. Primarily, the general aim of this study is to guide remote laboratory platform developers towards the most effective design of their platforms.

Recent research suggests that training teachers as learning designers helps promote technologyenhanced educational innovations. However, little attention has been paid so far to the interplay between the effectiveness of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) instructional models promoting the role of teachers as designers and the capabilities (and pitfalls) of the heterogeneous landscape of available Learning Design (LD) tooling employed to support such TPD. This paper describes a mixed method study that explores the use of a novel Integrated Learning Design Environment (ILDE) for supporting a TPD program on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Collaborative Learning (CL). 36 Adult Education (AE) and Higher Education (HE) in-service teachers, with little experience on both CL and ICT integration, participated in a study encompassing training workshops and follow-up fulllifecycle learning design processes (from initial conceptualization to implementation with a total of 176 students). The findings from our interpretive study showcase the benefits (and required effort) derived from the use of an integrated platform that guides teachers along the main phases of the learning design process, and that automates certain technological setup tasks needed for the classroom enactment. The study also highlights the need for adaptation of the TPD instructional model to the learning curve associated to the LD tooling, and explores its impact on the attitude of teachers towards future adoption of LD practices.

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The purpose of this survey study was to clearly identify major gaps and needs of e-learning components among students in theColleges of Education (one year Bachelor of Education or B.Ed. degree programme) affiliated by University of Mysore, India. A questionnaire was designed and validated by experts. A pilot test was carried out on a sample of 45 students and the Cronbach alpha value for the instrument was .89. Data were collected from 346 students selected through stratified random sampling method to gauge students' needs on learning elearning components. Findings highlighted that in the ranking of needs for learning of e-learning components, Internet tools and video streaming ranked on the highest level also instructional theories and mobile technology graded as the lowest one. t-Test revealed a non-significant association between gender and needs to learning e-learning components. Moreover, One Way ANOVA test showed there is no significant difference among type of colleges (government / private aided and unaided) and different subjects (science / art / language) in needs for learning of e-learning components.

In this study we explored questioning behaviors among elementary students engaging in inquiry science using the Knowledge Forum, a computer-supported collaborative learning tool. Adapting the theory of systemic functional linguistics, we developed the Ideational Function of Question (IFQ) analytical framework by means of inductive analysis of the questions found in 10 online forums contributed by three classes of Year 4 elementary school students and their teachers. We found 25 categories of questions which we grouped into three main kinds: Scientific, Epistemological, and Metadiscoursal. We then narrowed our analysis to three forums involving digestive systems. Using the IFQ framework, we explored the relationship between nature of inquiry task and students' questioning behaviors. Our analysis shows that for close-ended task that sought scientific facts from authoritative sources, students tended to ask only scientific questions. For open-ended problem-solving task that demanded epistemic justification from the students, there was more even distribution in all three kinds of questions.

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), higher education faces a significant challenge in learning assessment. The emergence of tools like ChatGPT raises concerns regarding the potential for cheating and the reliability of assessment outcomes. This paper aims to address these concerns by proposing a methodology for framing questions that effectively measures learning outcomes while reducing the risk of AI-enabled cheating. To achieve this objective, we employ a methodological approach that involves getting responses from ChatGPT 3.5 to various question prompts across different domains. These responses are then evaluated by faculty members specializing in management education. Through this process, we aim to identify question-framing strategies that effectively assess learning outcomes while minimizing susceptibility to AI Cheating. Our analysis reveals several key findings. Certain question Types (Decision Making, Recent Events, and Experiential Learning) demonstrate greater resilience against AI-generated responses, indicating their potential effectiveness in assessing student learning. This study offers original insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with learning assessment in the context of AI integration. The paper tries to provide valuable guidance for Policymakers, educators & students seeking to enhance the integrity and reliability of their assessment practices.

The changing profile of students, the expectations of business and the capabilities offered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) makes it necessary to change teaching practices, particularly in higher education. This paper proposes a methodological framework destined to force disciplinary course modules to evolve in order to integrate high-level cognitive skills and professional competencies. In this paper, we examine this framework in terms of the primary currents in educational psychology: behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and social constructivism. We present and analyse three case studies showing the evolution of three disciplinary course modules. We show that the lessons taught in these three modules are more motivating and more efficient, producing results that are closer to what employers are asking of their employees.

The study described the influence of age, gender and teaching subject on the readiness of students to the use of podcasting as a learning tool in the classroom. The sample comprises a total of 240 pre-service teachers in the faculty of Education, 100 level students offering TEE 141 (Social Studies Methods).There are 2 research questions and 3 hypotheses: What technological gadget do pre-service teachers have to interact with podcast? Are social science pre service teachers ready for the use of podcasting? There is no significant difference in the readiness of podcasting use between male and female pre-service teachers. There is no significant difference in the readiness of podcasting use based on age levels of social science pre-service teachers. There is no significant difference in the readiness of podcasting use based on social science preservice teachers' teaching subjects. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The instrument used in the collection of data is the Podcast Readiness Questionnaire (PRQ). The reliability coefficient was derived from Kuder-Richardson (KR 20) formula and its value was .94. The result of the study was analyzed using the descriptive statistics, student T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that there is no significant difference in the level of readiness of pre-service teachers based on age, gender and teaching subjects. It further reveals that the pre-service teachers are fully ready for the use of podcasting because they feel it will help them to revise for examinations, revise lectures and help their learning while being mobile.

This article reports on the findings of a mixed methods research study on tutors’ and tutees’ behaviors and attitudes during the tutoring sessions and their perceptions about English language peer tutoring at a bilingual, international, and sustainable university in central Mexico. Observation, peer assessment, and semistructured interviews results suggest that tutees and tutors asked and answered questions and had a positive attitude towards error correction in almost all the sessions. Likewise, they reveal that participants clarified doubts, seemed motivated, motivated their peers, and had a constructive attitude towards teaching and learning from a peer most of the time during the tutoring. Furthermore, results indicate that the participants were positive about the experience, the sessions, their peers, and the influence in their learning.

Discussions of collaborative learning and its benefits have become common currency in many studies. Proponents argue that it promotes active learning, critical thinking, conceptual understanding, long-term retention of material, and high levels of student satisfaction. Despite this list of impressive potential outcomes and the attention it has received, many teachers are unclear as to what precisely is considered the impact of technology in the collaborative learning process. The authors present design principles intended to be useful to teachers in evaluating and monitoring the collaborative learning process. They outline design principles involving two aspects: the participation of the teacher during the collaborative learning process, and the inclusion of a strategy that generates conflicts among members of the group. They also describe the development of two software tools based on the principles they propose.

Remote Laboratories have become part of current teaching and learning, particularly in en-gineering. Their potential to aid students beyond their hands-on lab classes has been a matter of discussion in literature. Teachers and researchers are aware that the thorough analysis of both strengths and shortcomings of remote labs in didactical implementations may not only lead to the improvement of these resources but also of the pedagogical implications in engineering classes. The present study was carried out in a Higher Education Institution in Brazil in two different courses during three consecutive semesters where a remote lab (VISIR) addressing electric and electronic topics was implemented, yielding 471 students' academic results and opinions. These students' results (while using VISIR) cross-analysed with the course characteristics, reveal some factors teachers may tackle to foster student learning and motivation. The conclusions point to the need for VISIR interface modernization and showed it is more useful in basic courses than in more advanced ones, when dealing with classic lab experiments. Results also show that teachers' involvement plus their ability to brief students on VISIR's usefulness have a significant influence not only on students' performance but also on their perception of learning and satisfaction with the tool. In the analysed cases, the students with more learning needs seemed to be the ones who could benefit more from VISIR.

In this introduction to the special section, research in relation to asynchronous discussions in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments is analysed from a methodological perspective. The discussion centres on three quality issues that are considered as critical in recent content analysis approaches: (1) the accuracy of the research methodology applied to gather data in CSCL-settings, (2) the low reliability of the research instruments and procedures, and (3) questions about the validity of the research instruments. Finally, the four contributions in the special are positioned in relation to these three critical topics.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been highlighted as a beneficial learning experience for students in blended and online settings. In highly diverse and international contexts, CSCL also allows students the opportunity to encounter new ideas and values from peers with different backgrounds. However, previous research has highlighted that there are wide variations in student participation levels in CSCL activities and that many students experience social and cultural tensions when working with diverse peers. These issues may damage the quality of online collaboration and limit the potential gains of CSCL. In this study, we explored one evidence-based solution for encouraging CSCL participation: the internationalisation of the online academic content used for collaborative activities. Using a randomised control trial method with 428 undergraduate students in an introductory statistics course, we compared individual and group-level participation in an online collaborative task when students used content from the local context compared to content from international contexts. Our findings suggest that internationalisation of online content can encourage individual-level participation and decrease the disparity of participation within small groups when the content is situated in countries that are personally relevant to students' own backgrounds. At the same time, participation was influenced by individual demographics and group dynamics.

Virtual environments are inherently social spaces where user productivity and collaborative learning can take place. However, the majority of existing studies to date investigate common behaviours such as multi-tasking within traditional face-to-face learning environments. As part of a thesis dissertation, this study investigated the importance of structuring learning environments to maximize learning and minimize virtual distractions. Using an OpenSim virtual environment, the researchers conducted an experimental study during the Fall 2013 and Winter 2014 terms with 91 undergraduate students at the University of Alberta. The study investigated the influence of participants' prior computer experience, cognitive learning styles and extroversionintroversion on the impact of passive and social distractor tasks during learning and recall of factual information in virtual environments. The results indicated that prior video game use is a significant predictor of lower overall test time and higher overall test score, but the software recognition test, social networking use and virtual world use did not have a significant impact on learning performance. While extroverted individuals tended to complete questions faster under the interactive-type distractor condition, they achieved higher accuracy scores under the passive or no distractor-type conditions. Introverted individuals tended to complete questions faster and more accurately under the no distractor-type condition. In addition, the study found that fieldindependent participants outperformed field-dependent counterparts by an average test score of 0.86 at approximately the same speed.

Developing countries have a responsibility not merely to provide computers for schools, but also to foster a habit of infusing a variety of ways in which computers can be integrated in teaching-learning amongst the end users of these tools. Earlier researches lacked a systematic study of the manner and the extent of computer-use by teachers. The current study examined a comprehensive investigation of 300 Central School teachers" use of computers in India. Towards this end, a questionnaire was constructed that listed essential dimensions for teachers" use of computers: Computer Aided Learning (CAL), Computer Managed Instruction (CMI), and Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI). The findings revealed that teachers often used computers to update subject knowledge and teaching skills, develop lesson plans, prepare additional instructional material, notify relevant information via internet, prepare question banks. They sometimes used computers for showing something in the class, showcasing students" work on school-website, preparing test papers, simulations, games, students" assignments. They had either rarely or never used computers for presenting entire lesson, students" classroom presentations, tutorials, sharing information with parents, publishing homework, giving tests to studentseither offline or online, maintaining students" records, and individualized instructions. The analysis indicated that amongst the three categories of computer use, CAL was the most popular category of computer use whereas CAI was the least popular among teachers. The results help to demystify seeming inconsistency and variation with regard to computer use among teachers. The identification of comprehensive ways of computer use empowers stakeholders with vital information and may assist implementation of appropriate measures to fully infuse computers in teaching-learning process.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has been highlighted as a beneficial learning experience for students in blended and online settings. In highly diverse and international contexts, CSCL also allows students the opportunity to encounter new ideas and values from peers with different backgrounds. However, previous research has highlighted that there are wide variations in student participation levels in CSCL activities and that many students experience social and cultural tensions when working with diverse peers. These issues may damage the quality of online collaboration and limit the potential gains of CSCL. In this study, we explored one evidence-based solution for encouraging CSCL participation: the internationalisation of the online academic content used for collaborative activities. Using a randomised control trial method with 428 undergraduate students in an introductory statistics course, we compared individual and group-level participation in an online collaborative task when students used content from the local context compared to content from international contexts. Our findings suggest that internationalisation of online content can encourage individual-level participation and decrease the disparity of participation within small groups when the content is situated in countries that are personally relevant to students' own backgrounds. At the same time, participation was influenced by individual demographics and group dynamics.

Recent research suggests that training teachers as learning designers helps promote technologyenhanced educational innovations. However, little attention has been paid so far to the interplay between the effectiveness of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) instructional models promoting the role of teachers as designers and the capabilities (and pitfalls) of the heterogeneous landscape of available Learning Design (LD) tooling employed to support such TPD. This paper describes a mixed method study that explores the use of a novel Integrated Learning Design Environment (ILDE) for supporting a TPD program on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Collaborative Learning (CL). 36 Adult Education (AE) and Higher Education (HE) in-service teachers, with little experience on both CL and ICT integration, participated in a study encompassing training workshops and follow-up fulllifecycle learning design processes (from initial conceptualization to implementation with a total of 176 students). The findings from our interpretive study showcase the benefits (and required effort) derived from the use of an integrated platform that guides teachers along the main phases of the learning design process, and that automates certain technological setup tasks needed for the classroom enactment. The study also highlights the need for adaptation of the TPD instructional model to the learning curve associated to the LD tooling, and explores its impact on the attitude of teachers towards future adoption of LD practices.

Few women major in Management Information Systems (MIS). The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for women's underrepresentation in MIS. In addition to examining gender differences, an important and novel goal of this study is to examine intra-gender differences in undergraduate students, i.e., differences among female MIS majors and female students who enrolled in MIS courses as a Business elective (i.e., non-majors). This study found that women's experiences with and self-efficacy regarding computers were much lower than men's, but that they did not have more negative stereotypes and attitudes toward the field. Overall female students had more positive attitudes towards their MIS courses and instructors than male students did. One of the most interesting findings was the importance of female high school computer teachers and role models for female students. Importantly, there was very strong evidence for intra-gender differences. Female majors had much higher computer self-efficacy, computer experience, had more positive attitudes toward MIS, and were more likely to have had female computer teachers in high school compared to female non-majors. The implications of these findings for MIS are discussed.

Research has shown that the strategy of matching learning style with certain technology enhances students’ learning experience. This study seeks to identify the learning styles among students in a rural secondary school, based on the Felder Silverman Model (1988) which comprises four dimensions (visual/verbal, active/reflective, sequential/global, sensing/intuitive). A PTechLS module developed by Norlidah Alias (2010) will be implemented in secondary school. The main objective of this study is to analyze the needs for a pedagogical module based on technology and learning style (PTechLS) for the Form 4 Physics curriculum before the implementation. Data were collected through surveys among 47 students in a rural secondary school in the Jempol district in Negeri Sembilan. Two instruments were used: learning style instrument and computer skills and usage questionnaire. From the learning style instrument, most of the students were identified as active (89.3%), reflective (10.7%), sensing...

The purpose of this case study is to better understand the relationships between Web usability and students' perceived learning in the design and implementation of Web-based multimedia (WBMM) tutorials in blended courses. Much of the current research in this area focuses on the use of multimedia as a replacement for classroom instruction rather than as a complement to teaching practices in courses that meet face-to-face. This study analyzed data collected from 41 undergraduate students who accessed a series of WBMM tutorials to learn Web design in an upper-level undergraduate information science course that combines both in-class and online instruction. We provide a descriptive analysis of student survey responses and apply Kendall's rank correlation coefficient to examine significant relationships (p < 0.05) between usability factors and students' perceived learning performance. We also explore the impact of WBMM on other aspects of the course, such as readings, email, office hours, and computer lab. Findings indicate that students responded favorably to most of the usability factors defined in this study and that course lectures and readings may have been enhanced by this virtual resource. In addition, we identified a significant correlation between usability factors of the WBMM tutorials and how students perceive their own learning. This study suggests that multimedia instruction is an effective approach to teaching Web design in blended learning environments that include both face-to-face and Web-based resources.

This paper describes some multi-media tools, which have been developed for recording audio-graphic presentation material for publication in an html reference environment, i.e. "on the web". The tools comprise two Macintosh applications and two Netscape plug-ins. The presentation model, which is used as a basis for the recorded lectures, closely follows the model of delivery used in a lecture theatre itself. The presenter arrives with a set of pre-prepared slides and has a device for displaying those slides and a means for annotating them with hand drawn text and diagrams. In addition voice is used to reinforce the slides and animations presented. The paper describes the applications, the technology used to provide low-bandwidth streaming and the likely applications. One of those applications, the recording of university lectures, has been evaluated in a trial of the prototype for the tools presented here.