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This study investigated the seamless mobile learning practices of UK government workers at various life stages, to understand how context impacted decisions about how, when and where learning was undertaken. Following Hedegaard, the context was understood as involving settings embedded within institutions. Drawing on analysis of data from public domain blogs and reports and anonymised trace data showing e‐learning visits via a mobile device, a picture of institutional practice and values was developed. Against this backdrop, a survey of 50 individuals followed by semi‐structured interviews provided information about seamless mobile learning projects. Mobile learning was often fragmented and ad hoc, rather than part of a longer, seamless learning project. A distinction between just‐in‐time learning and just‐in‐case learning was apparent, with the latter often postponed. For mobile workers, mobile learning focused on current work setting, whereas workers who could work in many interchangeable settings might move to somewhere they could concentrate. Mobile learning was sometimes motivated by a sense of a lack of time and a need to stay 'on top of things' as much as by interest in a topic. Sustained seamless mobile learning projects occurred if there was institutional support for learning that was also of individual interest and if learners had the ability to orchestrate their learning. Learners reported these seamless mobile learning projects to be enjoyable and compelling. This paper contributes to the evidence of seamless mobile learning practice over the life course and illustrates the value of considering an individual's relation to various institutions in conceptualisations of seamless mobile learning. It also offers pointers for the future design of seamless mobile learning tools including a need to offer learners the opportunity to sometimes separate ongoing learning which is related to distinct institutions.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicMobile devices accompany their owners across settings that were previously considered separate, such as work, college and households.This has the potential to impact work/home and other boundaries.From a pedagogical perspective, mobile devices may support seamless learning, in which experiences across distinct settings result in a holistic and unified understanding.What this paper addsIt introduces the concept of the institution to conceptions of seamless learning.It illustrates the ways in which different institutions (workplaces or educational institutions) can shape individual experiences and decisions about when and where to learn.It provides evidence that some working adults engage in seamless learning projects and describe this as compelling and enjoyable, but that others prefer to separate distinct life spheres.Implications for practice and/or policyThere may be value in institutions and designers supporting people who want to engage in seamless mobile learning.However, it is important to be aware that not everyone wants to engage in seamless learning.Seamless learning is more likely to occur when individual and institutional priorities are aligned across several institutions, so there will be challenges for a single institution seeking to promote it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how primary aged children with reading difficulties attend to, understand and act upon different types of feedback within a digital literacy game. A systematic and structured video analysis of twenty‐six children's game play was carried out focussing on moments where children made an error and were followed by in‐game feedback. Our findings show that children benefited from outcome feedback, which supported an accurate interpretation of their game performance and prompted children to try again. In contrast, though the elaborative feedback attracted similar levels of attention, children struggled to understand the content, resulting in a reliance on implicit knowledge to correct their next response. Alongside identifying a set of new questions for future research, the study contributes a number of intrinsic and extrinsic recommendations for ensuring children with reading difficulties attend to and comprehend games‐based feedback. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic? Outcome and elaborative feedback provided in games can scaffold the learner to recognise errors and apply corrective strategies.Elaborative feedback, in particular, has been evidenced to support the learner's understanding and lead to learning gains, albeit with older populations.What this paper adds? An empirical evaluation of how young children who struggle with reading attend to, understand, and respond to feedback in a digital literacy game.Demonstrates that children attend to the outcome and elaborative feedback to equal degrees, but struggle to understand and apply elaborative feedback due to its metalinguistic complexity.Implications for practice and/or policy? Games that embed outcome feedback visually in the target response can enhance the child's attention to, and understanding of, their performance.Games that offer verbal elaborative feedback require additional instruction to maintain children's focus on the feedback and to support content understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted education across the world as campuses closed to restrict the spread of the virus. UK universities swiftly migrated to online delivery. The experiences of students and staff during this transition can inform our return to campus and our ability to deal with future disruption. This study draws on Moore's theory of transactional distance to understand factors influencing student study skills engagement and participation in online learning during this period. We surveyed students (n = 178) in a computing school at a UK university. A partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to explore the influence of transactional distance (between students/teachers and between students/students), access to e‐learning capital, and perceived usefulness on two measures: study skills engagement and participation in online collaborative activity. Results show that transactional distance influences participation, and e‐learning capital influences study skills engagement. Our findings suggest that if universities continue with aspects of online learning for previously on‐campus students they should provide access to infrastructure and training on utilising the online ecosystem to avoid disadvantaging students. Further investment in students' e‐learning capital, such as signposting and adapting existing resources, is also necessary to support this key influence in study skills engagement. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicMoore's transactional distance theory recognises that the significant distance of distance learning is not of time or place, but rather a communication and psychological distance between the learner and teacher that is affected by the structure of the course, the dialogue between the learner and teacher, and the autonomy of the learners. Transactional distance affects student engagement.Studies using Davis' technology acceptance model have found perceived usefulness of the virtual learning environment to be an important factor in student engagement with online learning.Computer self‐efficacy is a factor related to engagement with digital learning technologies.What this paper addsThis study identifies the relationship between factors of transactional distance (transactional distance between student and teacher TDST and transactional distance between students TDSS) with study skills engagement and participation, as mediated by perceived usefulness.We introduce the term e‐learning capital as a measure of self‐expressed ability (skills and resources) to utilise the online learning environment. This e‐learning capital influences students study skills engagement but not participation.Transactional distance between students and teacher did not directly affect study skills engagement or participation.Low student‐student transactional distance positively affects participation in online activities and this relationship is mediated by perceived usefulness of these activities.Implications for practice and/or policyUniversities should draw on this study's findings in order to focus on students' online study skills engagement and participation for any future online or hybrid online and face‐to‐face learning.Further investment in students' e‐learning capital is necessary as a key influence in study skills engagement and this should be reflected in university policies.Lecturers should direct efforts to signposting the value of participation and academic advisors should reframe practical advice relating to study skills for online learners.This cohort effect of student‐student transactions should be encouraged further in online learning activities, including facilitating sharing study approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children on the autism spectrum (AS) often struggle with writing tasks at school. They commonly experience difficulty with two key aspects of writing: the skills required for handwriting (fine motor and perceptual) and the conceptual and language skills required for written composition. Specialist intervention to assist with written expression is, therefore, often needed for students on the AS to succeed academically. This research evaluated the impact of using self‐regulated strategy development (SRSD) in combination with assistive technology on the quality and length of written compositions of students on the AS. It also investigated how students felt about using the SRSD writing strategy. Eight primary school students on the AS between the ages of 9 and 12 participated in this single‐subject study. An ABAC study design was used to evaluate student writing performance across three conditions. Baseline handwriting measurements were collected during condition A. During condition B students used assistive technology alone; in condition C, students applied their understanding of SRSD while using assistive technology. Results from this study show that, in many cases, the quality and/or length of written compositions and feelings of self‐efficacy towards persuasive writing of students on the AS improved when they received physical and/or conceptual writing supports. This paper presents the research design, methods and results from this single‐subject study followed by a discussion of the results and final thoughts and areas for future research. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? There is limited research about how the persuasive writing of students on the autism spectrum (AS) can be supported in a socially inclusive way.Research has shown that the use of assistive technologies like keyboards and writing‐support software can improve the writing outcomes of students on the AS.Research has shown that the use of self‐regulated strategy development (SRSD) writing strategies can improve the persuasive writing outcomes of diverse students.What this paper adds? A single‐subject study using an ABAC study design showed that persuasive writing outcomes improved in quality or length for some students when they used an app that combined the two strategies.Implications for policy and practice SRSD combined with writing‐support software appeared to improve the writing outcomes of some students on the AS. It can, therefore, be used as a tool to support teachers in developing strategies for inclusive classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of students accessing Alternative Provision (AP) in the UK is growing and the ways in which such provision is facilitated is evolving with the use of EdTech. However, there is very little evidence of such provisions being evaluated in terms of their educational impact nor regarding the way in which students engage with them. This results in the voices of students participating in AP being further marginalised by being out of mainstream education, as they fail to be heard by their educators, schools or local authorities. Within this exploratory paper digital data collection methods are shown to offer a solution to this problem and reveal student voice insights into how they engage with and experience one specific form of synchronistic online AP. This study provides evidence of how student voice can effectively be collated in order to provide an opportunity for marginalised student voices to be heard. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Student voice is a critical tool in both engaging students and student engagement.There is a preference in students to give anonymous feedback and this facilitates more honest, open responses.AP uptake is increasing.There has been little evidence of any effort to obtain student voice from students in AP.What this paper adds Gathering student voice from students in AP is critical to assess how students view and respond to their provision.Digital data collection facilitates AP student voice; students both younger and potentially more vulnerable to disengagement can have their voices heard more easily.A substantial majority of students in AP who have left mainstream education perceive online learning delivery methods to have positive impacts.Implications for practice/pedagogy Practitioners should strive to ensure AP students have avenues through which they may have their student voices heard to gain insights into the effectiveness of the provision from a student perspective.Anonymous feedback, which enables students to be confident in expressing their views, even when verbally expressed, can be facilitated through digital data collection methods.Use of live, online interactive lessons are a valuable form of AP worthy of further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational social network sites have many uses in the field of education. The present paper aims to determine factors influencing students' behavioral intention to use a popular educational social network site, Edmodo. Using an extension of the technology acceptance model, we analyzed quantitative responses of 218 university students, registered in an Edmodo supported course. Data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results highlighted that intention was significantly predicted by its antecedents. More specifically, the attitude was the most important factor, whilst perceived usefulness had a moderate impact on predicting intention. Perceived ease of use predicted perceived usefulness directly and also it influenced intention indirectly through attitude. External antecedents of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were all significant. Discussion and implications were drawn based on the results. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Understanding why users accept or reject a particular information system is a common research area.Technology acceptance model (TAM) is used to explain individuals' acceptance and adoption of different technologies.Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have been used to enrich learning. However, the adoption of educational SNS studies is limited.What this paper adds This study is one of the first attempts for employing extended TAM that scrutinizes factors influencing university students' intention to use Edmodo as an educational SNS and a learning management system (LMS) in teaching and learning environments.External antecedents included in the model (subjective norms, output quality, perceptions of external control, perceived enjoyment, technological complexity, and self‐efficacy) significantly predicted university students' intention to use Edmodo as an educational SNS and LMS.Major factors driving the intention to use Edmodo were attitude and perceived usefulness.Implications for practice and/or policy Considering that the attitude was found to have the strongest influence on the intention to use Edmodo, instructors may attach prominent importance to foster students' positive attitudes toward Edmodo use.Instructors may design virtual learning environments with collaborative activities on SNS to increase students' perceived usefulness.Designers and developers of an educational SNS should design interfaces that should be not only less complex but also more enjoyable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers possibilities of creating a learner‐centric environment that can provide more presence and engagement for students leading to an enhanced learning experience compared to conventional classroom practices. However, the potential of IVR in vocational education and training (VET) has not yet been explored in‐depth, and it is an open question of whether it can effectively support learner creation in a designing task. In this paper, we present an IVR application developed to support gardener apprentices in designing gardens. Using this application, we conducted an experimental study with gardener apprentices to investigate the effect of the IVR interface compared to paper sketching and learner behavior on the proportion, composition, and creativity of the design outcome. Additionally, we investigated how it can be combined with a paper sketching activity to improve its effectiveness. Our analysis shows that the IVR interface can be more effective for the proportion aspect, but this may be limited to students that are able to use it after working with paper. In terms of the combination order, the effectiveness of IVR on the design quality was improved when it was carried out after the paper sketching and this ordering produced a more effective outcome for the proportion and composition aspects. Finally, our results show that IVR design quality is related to learner behaviors such as the time spent on designing and the number of simulations used. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of IVR applications in supporting designing skills and how effectiveness can be improved by combining it with a conventional method of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious games are designed to improve learning instead of providing only entertainment. Serious games analytics can be used for understanding and enhancing the quality of learning with serious games. One challenge in developing the computerized support for learning is that learning of skills varies between players. Appropriate algorithms are needed for analyzing the performance of individual players. This paper presents a novel clustering‐based profiling method for analyzing serious games learners. GraphoLearn, a game for training connections between the speech sounds and letters, serves as the game‐based learning environment. The proposed clustering method was designed to group the learners into profiles based on game log data. The obtained profiles were statistically analyzed. For instance, the results revealed one profile consisting of 136 players who had difficulties with connecting most of the target sounds and letters, whereas learners in the other profiles typically had difficulties with specific sound‐letter pairs. The results suggest that this profiling method can be useful for identifying children with a risk of reading disability and the proposed approach is a promising new method for analyzing serious game log data. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Serious games are used to improve learning and to tailor learning environments for people with various difficulties in learning.Learning analytics and serious games analytics are growing research fields, applying and developing data analysis methods to analyze, profile and understand learning using serious games.GraphoLearn is a learning game for training reading skills. The game provides preventive support for learners with varying skill levels including individuals who are struggling with reading.What this paper adds The paper develops and presents a novel approach for serious games analytics to analyze GraphoLearn players.The proposed data analysis approach produces an interpretable set of error profiles, which characterize the learning difficulties in a unique way.The profiling method can be used for longitudinal studies and applied to analyzing logs of other serious games.Implications for practice and/or policy It is possible to reveal and understand profiles of serious game players.The proposed data analysis method can be used to identify players who have a potential risk for reading difficulties or disabilities.Even though the proposed method provides only limited information about players' future skills, it offers a good starting point for other studies in which players' development can be monitored more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of the intention to use and the effective use of a learning management system that integrates social learning tools. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. As our theoretical lens, we adapted the original unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology model by extending it with intrinsic value construct. As such, this research allowed for the first time testing an extended version of the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology model in a social learning context. Our results show that facilitating conditions and intrinsic value variables explained the behavioral intention to use a learning management system that integrates social media technology and that facilitating conditions variable predicted use behavior. Our research findings suggest fostering both students' enjoyment and interest in using social learning technologies for education and offering them facilitating conditions to strengthen technology adoption. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Universities know that students are accustomed to use social media for personal purposes. Teachers are trying to integrate social media tools into learning management systems.There is little knowledge about what makes students' willing to use social media tools for learning.The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology is an approved model that explains the intention to use and the effective use of technology.What this paper adds The paper identifies the determinants that make students' willing to use a learning management system in which a social media tool is embedded.Apart from the main determinants of the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology model, intrinsic value—defined as the feeling of both enjoyment and interest from performing an activity—explains behavioral intention and use behavior toward social media systems.Implications for practice and/or policy The paper concludes with advices for decision makers in universities who want to integrate social learning tools in learning management systems:They have to pay attention to not only the social media system's functionalities, but also to how the system can be enjoyable and interesting to use.They have to think about offering better facilitating conditions to students—like user manuals, an online FAQ, discussion forums, training sessions, or personal human support—to strengthen the adoption of social learning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning analytics (LA) has demonstrated great potential in improving teaching quality, learning experience and administrative efficiency. However, the adoption of LA in higher education is often beset by challenges in areas such as resources, stakeholder buy‐in, ethics and privacy. Addressing these challenges in a complex system requires agile leadership that is responsive to pressures in the environment and capable of managing conflicts. This paper examines LA adoption processes among 21 UK higher education institutions using complexity leadership theory as a framework. The data were collected from 23 interviews with institutional leaders and subsequently analysed using a thematic coding scheme. The results showed a number of prominent challenges associated with LA deployment, which lie in the inherent tensions between innovation and operation. These challenges require a new form of leadership to create and nurture an adaptive space in which innovations are supported and ultimately transformed into the mainstream operation of an institution. This paper argues that a complexity leadership model enables higher education to shift towards more fluid and dynamic approaches for LA adoption, thus ensuring its scalability and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital data are transforming higher education (HE) to be more student‐focused and metrics‐centred. In the UK, capturing detailed data about students has become a government priority, with an emphasis on using student data to measure, compare and assess university performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the governmental and commercial drivers of current large‐scale technological efforts to collect and analyse student data in UK HE. The result is an expanding data infrastructure which includes large‐scale and longitudinal datasets, learning analytics services, student apps, data dashboards and digital learning platforms powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Education data scientists have built positive pedagogic cases for student data analysis, learning analytics and AI. The politicization and commercialization of the wider HE data infrastructure is translating them into performance metrics in an increasingly market‐driven sector, raising the need for policy frameworks for ethical, pedagogically valuable uses of student data in HE. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Learning analytics, education data science and artificial intelligence are opening up new ways of collecting and analysing student data in higher education.UK government policies emphasize the use of student data for improvements to teaching and learning.What this paper adds A conceptual framework from "infrastructure studies" demonstrates how political objectives and commercial aims are fused to HE data systems, with data infrastructure becoming a key tool of government reform.A critical infrastructure analysis shows that student data processing technologies are being developed and deployed to measure university performance through student data.Implications for practice and/or policy Educators and managers in universities need to prepare robust institutional frameworks to govern their use of student data.Learning analytics practitioners, data scientists, learning scientists and social science researchers need to collaborate with the policy community and education technology developers on new policy frameworks to challenge narrow uses of student data as performance metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we tested the effectiveness of three learning strategies (self‐explanation, learning by teaching and passive viewing) used by students who were learning from video lectures. Effectiveness was measured not only with traditional measures, but also with electroencephalography (EEG). Using a within‐subjects design, 26 university students viewed three sets of short lectures, each presenting a different set of English vocabulary words and were asked to use a different learning strategy for each set of lectures. Participants' EEG signals were assessed while watching the videos; learning experience (self‐reported motivation and engagement) and learning performance (vocabulary recall test score) were assessed after watching the videos. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that the self‐explaining and teaching strategies were more beneficial than the passive viewing strategy, as indicated by higher EEG theta and alpha band power, a more positive learning experience (higher motivation and engagement) and better learning performance. However, whereas the teaching strategy elicited greater neural oscillations related to working memory and attention compared to the self‐explanation strategy, the two groups did not differ on self‐reported learning experience or learning performance. Our findings are discussed in terms of potential application in courses using video lectures and in terms of their heuristic value for future research on the neural processes that differentiate learning strategies. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Watching video lectures does not always result in learners actively making sense of the learning material.Self‐explaining facilitates deep learning from viewing video lectures and in traditional educational settings.Learning by teaching also facilitates deep learning in traditional educational settings.What this paper adds Learning by teaching resulted in the highest theta and alpha band power in EEG assessment while viewing video lectures.Compared with passive viewing, learning by teaching enhanced students' motivation to try to understand the material; in addition, both learning by teaching and self‐explaining enhanced the amount of mental effort students put into understanding the material.Learning was increased via both self‐explaining and teaching strategies after viewing video lectures.Implications for practice and/or policy Learners are encouraged to generate explanations during pauses in video lectures or after viewing them, in order to increase learning.Learners are also encouraged to learn by teaching, as this strategy can increase learning and also increase neural oscillations associated with memory and attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blended learning is the fastest growing teaching modality in North America and much of the world. However, research and training in blended learning are far outpaced by its usage. To remedy this gap, we developed a competency framework and Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument (BTRI) to help teachers and researchers evaluate teacher readiness for blended environments. The purpose of this research is to show that the blended teaching readiness model and accompanying BTRI are reliable for use with teacher candidates both before and after going through a blended teaching course. This knowledge would allow researchers and practitioners to have greater confidence in using the BTRI for future growth curve modeling for the identified blended teaching competencies. To accomplish this, we collected pre‐ and post‐data from teacher candidates across multiple semesters who were studying in a blended teaching course. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we determined the pre‐class survey results fell within the range of the four fit statistics cutoffs (RMSEA = 0.045, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.929 and SRMR = 0.043). And, the post‐class survey results had good fit as well (RMSEA = 0.044, CFI = 0.911, TLI = 0.905 and SRMR = 0.051). We also showed that the factor loadings and communalities were statistically significant. By testing the factors in this way, we make a case for the survey to be a valid and reliable instrument in assessing blended teacher competency. Additionally, we tested the model for measurement invariance and found that we could reliably use the BTRI for pre‐post growth modeling. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? Blended learning is the fastest growing teaching modality in Canada and the United States, and is expanding rapidly throughout the rest of the world.Teaching in blended learning settings requires distinct skills and dispositions specific to the modality.A blended‐teaching‐focused competency framework is a necessary element in any blended teacher preparation program. Though there have been attempts to make a blended teaching framework before, none of these exclusively focus on the distinct skills of blended teaching nor have they been validated.What this paper adds? Describes our free, publicly accessible competency framework that focuses exclusively on blended teachingValidates a concise Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument (BTRI) to go along with the framework.Confirms pre‐post measurement invariance for the BTRI which allows for use with pre‐post growth modeling.Implications for practice and policy The competency framework and validation are a theoretical contribution to the rapidly expanding field of blended learning research.With the valid BTRI instrument and framework, teachers can get feedback on their strengths and weaknesses in blended teaching and learn how to improve and help others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of video is commonplace for professional preparation in education and other fields. Research has provided evidence that the use of video in these contexts can lead to increased noticing and reflection. However, educators now have access to evolving forms of video such as 360 video. The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate an instrument for assessing immersive 360 video use in an undergraduate preservice teacher university training program. Data provided evidence of the validity of the Extended Reality Presence Scale (XRPS) for 360 video research in preservice teacher professional development. Moreover, evidence from the study suggests that those with higher feelings of presence are less likely to jump around (or twitch) while watching 360 videos. The main implications are that: a) the XRPS is a validated and reliable instrument and b) more research is needed to examine the presence and practices for in‐service and preservice teachers while watching 360 video. Practitioners notesWhat is already known about this topic? Instructional videos are widely used in preservice teacher training.360 videos show promise for improving preservice teacher professional development in terms of immersion and presence.What this paper adds? An instrument for assessing 360 video teacher presence is presented (XRPS), targeting a current gap in the literature.Data provided evidence of the validity of the tool for future 360 video research and integration.Implications for practice and/or policy Practitioners can use XRPS for assessing preservice teachers' experiences in immersive environments and evaluating 360 videos.Higher feelings of presence are associated with more focused viewpoints. Therefore, practitioners should support and facilitate this watching behavior.Higher scores of presence are associated with a perceived sense of agency and emotional attachment. Therefore, 360 videos should include design elements promoting these feelings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guiding hints and challenge can help scaffold learners to progress beyond what they would achieve independently. The interactive and adaptive capabilities of mobile devices allow educational applications (apps) to support learning through scaffolding designs. However, little research has tested the effects of scaffolding features in apps on young children's learning. Using a 3 × 2 between‐subjects design, this study experimentally tests how three types of app feedback (nonverbal sounds, verbal encouragement, or scaffolded verbal hints) and two types of leveling (gradual vs. random‐ordered challenge) influence 4–5‐year‐old children's learning of novel words (N = 240). Results showed that scaffolded feedback was especially useful when provided at the beginning of app play (p <.01), and scaffolded leveling through gradual increases in difficulty supported faster and more accurate responses than random order challenge (p <.001). Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Researchers have worked to apply what we know about traditional in‐person teaching with young learners and how that might translate to digital platforms.Parent and teacher scaffolding has been shown to successfully help young children learn. Guidance through increased difficulty and explanatory feedback can help learners gradually build their skills and reflect more deeply on the content they are learning.What this paper adds This study adds to the newly growing collection of experiments testing the design features of educational pre‐school apps.Findings show that scaffolding through educational app feedback and leveling can support young children learning.Results also show that the impact of scaffolding can depend on when the guidance is presented during app play – at the very beginning of play versus later on.Implications for practice and/or policy Findings can help educators and other consumers identify which types of apps are better for scaffolding young children's learning.Suggestions are provided to support educational app developers in designing products that are truly effective.Findings suggest that combinations of app designs may differently impact young children's learning, providing next step testing conditions for educational app designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the effects of support for peer feedback, peer feedforward and their combination on students' peer learning processes, argumentative essay quality and domain‐specific learning. Participants were 86 BSc students who were randomly divided over 43 dyads. These dyads, in a two‐factorial experimental design, were assigned to four conditions including: peer feedback (n = 22), peer feedforward (n = 22), mixed (n = 20) and control group (n = 22) conditions. An online peer feedback environment named EduTech was designed which allowed us to implement various types of support in the form of question prompts. In this online environment, students were asked to write an argumentative essay on a controversial topic, to engage in peer learning processes and to revise their essay. Overall, the results showed that students in the three experimental conditions (peer feedback, peer feedforward and their combination) benefited more than students in the control group condition (without any support) in term of peer learning processes, argumentative essay quality and domain‐specific learning. However, there was no significant difference among the three experimental conditions. This implies that peer feedforward can be as important as peer feedback in collaborative learning environments which is often neglected both in theory and practice. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? Writing argumentative essays is a common practice for higher education students in various disciplines which deal with controversial issues.Writing argumentative essay requires solid argumentation strategies which makes it a challenging task for higher education students.Additional instructional support is needed to help students write high‐quality argumentative essays.What this paper adds? Peer learning is a promising instructional strategy for improving students' argumentative essay writing and learning.Online support in the form of question prompts to guide students during peer learning can improve their argumentative essay writing and learning.Next to the peer feedback, peer feedforward is also a promising instructional approach to support students' argumentative essay writing and learning.Implications for practice and/or policy Given the positive effects of peer learning processes, the use of peer feedback and peer feedforward should be given more attention by teachers to support students write high‐quality argumentative essays for controversial issues.Teachers and educational designers should not only provide opportunities for students to engage in peer feedback processes (how I am doing?) but also in peer feedforward processes (where to next?). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We adopt five observation categories, namely classroom management, classroom environment, communication, mathematical content and tasks, to analyse four in‐service secondary mathematics teachers' noticing upon watching video episodes showing an actual mathematics lesson that implemented 3D Printing Pens for teaching and learning shape and space. We use coding to analyse what the participants generally identified as important or noteworthy in the video. Moreover, we employ thematic analysis to delve deeper into the participants' interpretations and decisions in relation to using 3D Pens for teaching and learning mathematics. Our findings have implications for teachers' professional development in the area of technology integration especially in terms of their realisation of the affordances of novel‐to‐them technologies. We also report methodological and conceptual contributions towards teacher noticing. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Various frameworks have been proposed for conceptualising teachers' expertise in technology‐rich pedagogies; however, few have addressed teachers' initial experience of adopting a novel‐to‐them technology in subject teaching.In teacher education, the method of video‐based noticing has been widely undertaken in the last two decades to help preservice and in‐service teachers visualise complex classroom situations and interpret classroom events.What this paper adds This study investigates what in‐service mathematics teachers find significant, the pedagogical considerations they make and their professional development in integrating technologies for teaching and learning mathematics.Particularly, video‐based noticing is used as a means for facilitating teachers' professional growth through realising the affordances of 3D Printing Pens in mathematics education.Implications for practice and/or policy This study provides qualitative evidence that video‐based noticing was productive in facilitating teachers' technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), in particular, in realising the educational affordances of a novel‐to‐them technology.The videos captured the dynamic process of students' drawing with 3D Pens "in action" rather than merely capturing their final products in a static manner, which facilitated the teachers' reflections about the evolution of students' mathematical thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite social media's ubiquity in modern life, research on some topics related to educators' use of social media for professional purposes remains underdeveloped, such as how use may change over time. This study explores educators' self‐directed learning through social media by comparing change and continuity in how users contribute, interact and converse in two teaching‐related subreddits, r/Teachers and r/education. More than a million Reddit contributions spanning three‐and‐a‐half years comprise the dataset: 696 660 contributions to r/Teachers from 55 148 users and 339 618 contributions to r/education from 43 711 users. Learning ecology and affinity space concepts frame multiple methods of analysis, including quantitative measures of individual contributions, content interactions and social interactions, as well as qualitative content analysis of top posts and responses. Findings are discussed in light of the literature as change and continuity in Redditors' participation patterns in the two subreddits suggest distinct spaces for distinct purposes. This study offers a starting point for further work to understand the opportunities and challenges of self‐directed learning in open and complex social media spaces. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Educators use social media to reach outside their local contexts for self‐directed learning.Teaching‐related subreddits vary in how users contribute and interact.What this paper adds Different online spaces host distinct kinds of discussion.Educators' participation in online spaces is not static.Social media research methods should account for the possibilities of change and continuity in contributions, interactions and conversations.Implications for practice and/or policy Teaching‐related subreddits continue to grow and may offer helpful content and interactions to users; however, self‐directed learning through social media also necessitates increased digital literacy.r/Teachers appeared to be a conversational space primarily for teachers.r/education seemed to be a bulletin board space for posting about broader educational topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research shows that both teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and their engagement in metacognitive activities are essential to technology integration in the classroom. However, the interplay between teachers' TPACK ability and their metacognitive skills is still underexplored, especially in the context of developing technology‐infused lesson plans. This study examined how the interrelations among metacognitive activities and TPACK constructs affected preservice teachers' technology integration in instructional design. Sixty‐four preservice teachers designed a lesson with nBrowser, a computer‐based learning environment (CBLE) that helps teachers incorporate technology into instruction by promoting self‐regulated learning (SRL). Drawing on the lesson plans, we extracted six types of metacognitive processes preservice teachers exhibited while solving the task and generated two distinct SRL profiles according to the identified latent profile of metacognitive patterns. The competent self‐regulated learners demonstrated more efforts in metacognitive monitoring activities than the less competent self‐regulated learners in regulating their task solving processes. When comparing TPACK comprehension and design performance between the two profiles, the competent self‐regulated learners outperformed the less competent self‐regulated learners on comprehension and design outcomes. This study provides deep insights into teachers' self‐regulation in CBLEs and emphasizes the pivotal role of metacognition and SRL in teachers' TPACK development. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Success in technology integration calls for teachers' conceptual understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK).Teachers' self‐regulated learning (SRL) ability mediates their TPACK development since metacognitive activities in the SRL process enable teachers to monitor and evaluate TPACK learning towards the sophisticated levels of TPACK.What this paper adds nBrowser, the computer‐based learning environment fosters teachers' engagement in regulated TPACK development.Analysis of teachers' lesson plans affords opportunities to identify teachers' specific metacognitive processes in self‐regulated TPACK development.Latent profile analysis helps to understand the heterogeneity of teachers' metacognitive processes and establish distinctive profiles regarding teachers' self‐regulation.Teachers' TPACK development differed significantly across distinctive SRL profiles.Implications for practice and/or policy Teacher educators should find ways to support teachers' SRL ability in technology education.The identification of SRL profiles could contribute to designing metacognitive scaffolds in the specific domain of teachers' technology education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsic motivation is seen as the principal source of vitality in educational settings. This study examined whether intrinsic motivation promoted online group creativity and tested a cognitive mechanism that might explain this effect. University students (N = 72; 61 women) who volunteered to participate were asked to fulfill a creative task with a peer using online software. The peer was actually a fake participant who was programed to send prepared answers in sequence. Ratings of creativity (fluency, flexibility and originality) and eye movement data (focus on own vs. peer's ideas on the screen) were used to compare students who were induced to have high intrinsic motivation and those induced to have low intrinsic motivation. Results showed that compared to participants with low intrinsic motivation, those with high intrinsic motivation showed higher fluency and flexibility on the creative task and spent a larger percentage of time looking at their own ideas on the screen. The two groups did not differ in how much they looked at the peer's ideas. In addition, students' percentage dwell time on their own ideas mediated the beneficial effect of intrinsic motivation on idea fluency. These results suggest that although intrinsic motivation could enhance the fluency of creative ideas in an online group, it does not necessarily promote interaction among group members. Given the importance of interaction in online group setting, findings of this study suggest that in addition to enhancing intrinsic motivation, other measures should be taken to promote the interaction behavior in online groups. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic The generation of creative ideas in group settings calls for both individual effort and cognitive stimulation from other members.Intrinsic motivation has been shown to foster creativity in face‐to‐face groups, which is primarily due the promotion of individual effort.In online group settings, students' creativity tends to rely on intrinsic motivation because the extrinsic motivation typically provided by teachers' supervision and peer pressure in face‐to‐face settings is minimized online.What this paper adds Creative performance in online groups benefits from intrinsic motivation.Intrinsic motivation promotes creativity through an individual's own cognitive effort instead of interaction among members.Implications for practice and/or policy Improving students' intrinsic motivation is an effective way to promote creativity in online groups.Teachers should take additional steps to encourage students to interact more with each other in online groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multiple case study investigates instructional designers' perceptions of online course quality, their use of cognitive load strategies when designing online courses, and whether utilization of these strategies contribute to online course quality. The participants of this study were instructional designers (n = 5) who worked in various campus programs at a large Midwestern university. Data sources included pre‐interview survey, semi‐structured interview and sample course design documents. Employing a pattern matching technique, the results showed that instructional designers (a) define online course quality based on established standards and rubrics; (b) apply cognitive load strategies intuitively while designing online courses; and (c) consider CLT design strategies as an element contributing to course quality. The results also showed instructional designers' use of cognitive load strategies mainly focused on reducing extraneous cognitive load. Implications for practice and research as well as directions for future research are discussed. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Cognitive load theory (CLT) provides empirically tested strategies to manage cognitive load in different settingsCLT strategies has a positive impact on student learning processes and outcomesWhen designing online courses, it is important for faculty to collaborate with instructional designers to manage cognitive load and improve online course qualityThere is a need to investigate instructional designers' perceptions of online course quality and their use of CLT strategies when designing online coursesWhat this paper adds Provides a deep understanding of instructional designers perspectives on online course quality, application of CLT strategies while designing online courses and how application of these strategies contribute to the online course qualityAlthough instructional designers identify multiple CLT strategies from their work and perceive CLT strategies as an element contributing to course quality, they apply these strategies innatelyImplications for practice and/or policy Multiple stakeholders should be involved in determining online course qualityCollaboration between faculty and instructional designers is essential to manage cognitive load and increase online course qualityCLT and related theories should be emphasized in instructional design programsFuture research should focus on how instructional designers integrate CLT strategies into the systematic instructional design process and instructional designers' decision‐making process through think‐aloud and/or journaling efforts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a case study of English as a second language (ESL) vocabulary learning that examined a group of Grade 4 students' mobile learning experiences of bridging in‐class and real‐life vocabulary learning mediated by a mobile learner‐generated content (m‐LGC) tool. This study was premised on the proposed framework of mobile vocabulary learning from an ecological perspective using the concept of affordances, taking the topic of "Food" as an example. Data collection included learning logs created by students and a questionnaire about students' perceptions of the m‐LGC tool for vocabulary learning. The results revealed four types of affordances of the m‐LGC tool that the learners perceived and acted on in real life outside the classroom, namely: vocabulary form‐meaning mapping, consolidating vocabulary by productive use, vocabulary revision and social affordance. The students' perceptions of the m‐LGC tool for vocabulary learning were positive. This study shows that the various affordances helped students in applying newly learned words to real‐life contexts. Social affordance provided the social contexts for communication via peer interaction, vocabulary expansion as well as the creation of a learning community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses nationally representative survey data of adults Internet use in Britain to examine current patterns in the uptake of lifelong learning via the Internet. We develop and test a model that accounts for structure, agency and outcomes using structural equation modelling to address two questions: (1) how structure (as measured by age, gender, SES, Education and ACORN) is related to personal and capital enhancing outcomes of learning online; and (2) how agency (as measured by digital skills and engagement with online learning) mediates this relationship. We demonstrate that social structure remains an important factor in understanding patterns of uptake and outcomes of online learning, alongside an individual's agentic behaviours. We suggest that countries such as the UK, which have become overly focused on individual interventions to increase the uptake of lifelong learning via the Internet, are going in the wrong direction. Such interventions have failed in the past, and we suggest that they will continue to do so unless policy makers reconceptualise lifelong learning and the Internet in ways that take social structures into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing body of research looking at young people's use of digital technology in informal contexts. However, there is a gap in the literature about how to describe and categorise young people's digital practices in such contexts. This gap is important because in order to be able to understand the differences between young people's digital practices in informal contexts and how these differences arise, you first need to be able to describe and categorise those differences in meaningful ways. You need to be able to answer the question "How do young people use digital technology in informal contexts?" in order to be able to answer questions such as "How do children's digital practices in informal contexts vary?" and "Why do children's digital practices vary?". This paper is significant because it introduces The Digital Practice Framework, an original, theoretically informed, tool to fill this critical gap in the literature. It goes on to indicate how this framework has been used to analyse the factors that facilitate or hinder the development of young people's digital practices in informal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the increased attention and interest related to the application of virtual reality with head‐mounted displays in education, this study examined the elementary students' perceptions of using immersive virtual field trips (VFTs) in the classroom. Reflection papers from 25 students were analyzed and triangulated with field notes from class observations and teacher interviews. The content analysis revealed that VFTs were perceived to be efficient with regard to time and cost, to expand learning opportunities, but lacked physical interaction. Elementary students also suggested immersive VFTs are engaging, real, and provide an increased perception of virtual presence. However, they also expressed concerns about health and safety, psychological side effects, technical malfunctions, and low social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For higher education, the question of how in‐class activities can be supported in large lectures is of great relevance. This paper suggests a gamified flipped classroom approach to address this challenge. In an experimental study, N = 205 educational science students performed either gamified in‐class activities using a gamified quiz with points and a team leaderboard, or non‐gamified in‐class activities using exercise sheets. In line with the theory of gamified learning, the results show a positive indirect effect of gamification on application‐oriented knowledge that is mediated by learning process performance. Furthermore, based on a self‐determination theory framework, the results show positive effects of gamified in‐class activities on intrinsic motivation and social relatedness, but no significant effect on competence need satisfaction. The study provides insights into a particular casual construct of game design elements (points and team leaderboards) triggering specific mechanisms (immediate task‐level feedback and team competition) affecting a mediator (learning process performance) that in turn affects a learning outcome (application‐oriented knowledge). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science‐related competencies are demanded in many fields, but attracting more students to scientific educations remains a challenge. This paper uses two studies to investigate the value of using Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) laboratory simulations in science education. In Study 1, 99 (52 male, 47 female) seventh (49) and eighth (50) grade students between 13 and 16 years of age used an IVR laboratory safety simulation with a pre‐ to posttest design. Results indicated an overall increase in interest in science and self‐efficacy, but only females reported an increase in science career aspirations. Study 2 was conducted with 131 (47 male, 84 female) second (77) and third (54) year high school students aged 17 to 20 and used an experimental design to compare the value of using an IVR simulation or a video of the simulation on the topic of DNA‐analysis. The IVR group reported significantly higher gains from pre‐ to posttest on interest, and social‐outcome expectations than the video group. Furthermore, both groups had significant gains in self‐efficacy and physical outcome expectations, but the increase in career aspirations and self‐outcome expectations did not reach statistical significance. Thus, results from the two studies suggest that appropriately developed and implemented IVR simulations can address some of the challenges currently facing science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research has looked at the potentials, affordances and the productive use of educational technologies to support collaborative learning. Many of these technology tools are purportedly constructed under principles of social constructivist theory of learning. It is timely to examine whether and how these tools, their affordances, and the way they are pedagogically implemented have adhered to and expanded the theory of constructivism. This paper examines a class of constructivist learning technologies called computer‐supported collaborated learning (CSCL) in terms of their affordances in light of socio‐cultural theory of learning and socially shared regulation of learning. We argue that CSCL tools adhere to most of the tenets of constructivism and shared regulation of learning in terms of social outcomes and productive use and discuss gaps where constructivist educational technology tools and the associated pedagogical practices need to be improved (such as addressing inequalities of access). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative learning (CL) can be a powerful method for sharing understanding between learners. To this end, strategic regulation of processes, such as cognition and affect (including metacognition, emotion and motivation) is key. Decades of research on self‐regulated learning has advanced our understanding about the need for and complexity of those mediating processes in learning. Recent research has shown that it is not only the individual's but also the group's shared processes that matter and, thus, that regulation at the group level is critical for learning success. A problem here is that the "shared" processes in CL are invisible, which makes it almost impossible for researchers to study and understand them, for learners to recognize them and for teachers to support them. Traditionally, research has not been able to make these processes visible nor has it been able to collect data about them. With the aid of advanced technologies, signal processing and machine learning, we are on the verge of "seeing" these complex phenomena and understanding how they interact. We posit that technological solutions and digital tools available today and in the future will help advance the theory underlying the cognitive, metacognitive, emotional and social components of individual, peer and group learning when seen through a multidisciplinary lens. The aim of this paper is to discuss and demonstrate how multidisciplinary collaboration among the learning sciences, affective computing and machine learning is applied for understanding and facilitating CL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving emergency procedure. To increase survival rates, it is recommended to increase the number of high school students who know how to perform CPR. We have developed an immersive "Virtual Reality (VR) Resuscitation Training" to train the theoretical knowledge of CPR in which trainees must save the life of the patient in a virtual environment. This paper presents a randomized controlled study with a pre‐posttest design to explore whether a VR enhanced curriculum improves high school students' theoretical CPR knowledge. Forty students without previous CPR experience in the past year were randomly assigned to either the VR group or the standard group. The VR group had a significant higher increase of correct answers in comparison with the Standard group. More importantly, the gain in score on taking the correct sequence of CPR steps was significant favouring the VR‐enhanced protocol over the Standard protocol. Therefore, the use of a VR training for CPR training appears to be an effective learning method for non‐medical students and may be of great value skilling high school students in becoming adequate CPR providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widespread availability of network and technology infrastructure at higher education institutions, the pedagogical innovation envisioned from technology‐enhanced learning is still not prevalent. Faculty need to develop expertise for designing and implementing technology‐enhanced learning strategies that is termed as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study uses action research to examine how one‐to‐one instructional consultation for technology‐enhanced learning functions as an avenue for supporting faculty's TPACK creation. Through content analysis of the consulting notes from 18 consultation sessions, the study found that faculty can be supported to create TPACK through the consultation approaches of technology modelling, pedagogical realignment and deepening practice. These three approaches can be used during instructional consultation for faculty with varying objectives and experiences with technology‐enhanced learning. The implications for faculty professional development in technology‐enhanced learning are discussed. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic: Studies of teacher professional development programmes show that TPACK creation can be fostered through technology modelling and the use of TPACK Activity Types, lesson design prompts and design rubrics.Studies of unfacilitated peer-based design teams show that teachers create TPACK by deepening their understanding of PCK and TPACK through their design conversations.Higher education studies outside of teacher education show that individual technology mentoring and consultation encourages faculty technology adoption.What this paper adds: Academic developers can use three approaches to faciltiate TPACK creation during individual consultation with faculty. These approaches are termed as technology modelling, pedagogical realignment and deepening practice.Technology modelling is suitable for faculty without extensive experience in technology‐enhanced learning. By modelling technology tools and lesson exemplars, faculty develop baseline vocabulary of technological knowledge (TK) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) for TPACK creation.Pedagogical realignment is suitable for faculty with some experience of technology‐enhanced learning for didactic teaching. Developing their understanding of student‐centered pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) provides them with pedagogical guidelines to create student‐centred TPACK.Deepening practice is suitable for faculty who are already implementing models of technology‐enhanced learning. Engaging them in reflective discussions helps them to develop TK, TPK, PCK, technological content knowledge (TCK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and TPACK to improve different aspects in their current model of practice.Implications for practice and/or policy: Faculty can be at different implementation stages of technology‐enhanced learning and a one‐size‐fits‐all approach does not adequately address their development needs.Higher education technology mentoring programmes focus on technology adoption. Different kinds of faculty development strategies are needed to support faculty towards and beyond technology integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the pivotal role of parents in their children's educational development, numerous studies have examined the impacts of parents' information and communications technology (ICT) proficiency on adolescents' information literacy. However, previous research has tended to treat parents as a holistic unit, ignoring the individual uniqueness of each parent in analyses. Thus, the first aim of this study was to explore the parent profiles in terms of ICT proficiency, which were developed through a person‐centered approach employing latent profile analysis. Three distinct parent profiles were identified: quiescent users, compliant users and active users. The second aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the parents' profile memberships and adolescents' information literacy. The results showed that, in general, adolescents whose parents were identified as active users and compliant users tended to perform better on an information literacy test than those of parents categorized as quiescent users. More specifically, those adolescents whose parents were classified as active users achieved significantly higher scores in the information literacy test than those of parents who fit within the profiles of compliant users and quiescent users. Based on the findings, this paper discusses several implications and strategies for enhancing the adolescents' information literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is wide rhetoric that programming should be learnt by all as an element of computational thinking (CT), in practice, it is mostly implemented narrowly as an end in itself consisting of routine practice and traditional testing of the ability to code. This paper discusses a way in which programming could be seen through a wider integrated pedagogical approach as jointly cultivating meaning making of computational concepts in conjunction with the adoption of practices and strategies in a relevant meaningful context for learners. We elaborate on a case of learning to code through digital game modding where programming and other computational concepts coexist. Our design frame includes the principles of black and white box designs, of students as de‐buggers of engineered half‐baked games and of games embedding both concepts and values in simulations involving wider contested complex issues. We use our analysis of the meaning making of students as they debug a choice‐driven simulation game specially designed to bring this integrated kind of learning to the fore. We show elements of context‐aware integrated CT connecting otherwise fragmented areas such as databases, block‐based programming, Geographical Information Systems design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International changes in policy and curricula (notably recent developments in England) have led to a focus on the role of computing education in the early years. As interest in the potential of computing education has increased, there has been a proliferation of programming tools designed for young children. While these changes are broadly to be welcomed, the pace of change has arguably led to more attention to the tools than to key questions about pedagogy. This paper proposes three areas of research (Logo; computational thinking; and teaching STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics) that may inform computing education for young children and suggests that a greater focus on thinking skills and connections to manifestations of computers in the real world is needed. Above all, the paper calls for an informed debate about the trend towards introducing computing education to children in the early years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a year-long technology integration project during which teachers and researchers joined forces to explore children's collaborative activities through the use of touch screens. In the research project discussed in this paper, 16 touch screens were integrated into teaching and learning activities in two separate classrooms; the learning and collaborative processes were captured by using a video, collecting over 150 hours of footage. By using digital research technologies and a longitudinal design, the authors of the research project studied how teachers and children gradually integrated touch screens into their teaching and learning. This paper examines the methodological usefulness of video-based multimodal analysis. Through reflection on the research project, we discuss how, by using video-based multimodal analysis, researchers and teachers can study children's touch-screen supported collaboration and how researchers and teachers can learn together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic study of educational technology is often characterised by critics as methodologically limited. In order to test this assumption, the present paper reports on data collected from a survey of 462 'research active' academic researchers working in the broad areas of educational technology and educational media. The paper explores their familiarity and expertise with various methods of data collection and analysis. Data from the survey highlight a preference for relatively basic forms of descriptive research, coupled with a lack of capacity in advanced quantitative data collection and analysis. The paper concludes with some directions for 'methodological capacity building' to broaden the use of methods in educational technology research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a limited literature on pre-school children's experiences with digital technologies at home and little discussion of the ways in which children harness these technologies for their own purposes. This paper discusses findings drawn from three studies that investigated the role of domestic technologies and digital toys and games in young children's lives. Specifically, it focuses on children's early communicative and creative experiences, concluding that digital technologies have the potential to expand young children's repertoire of activities in this context. It is therefore important that pre-school and early years specialists recognise and respond to the expertise children will have already developed by the time they enter formal education, given the increasing technologisation of communicative and creative activities, likely to continue over the life course of those born at the start of the 21st century. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic Young children's emergent communicative and creative competences in the early years represent valuable starting points for their more formal development-particularly in the context of early literacy-when they start school., What this paper adds This paper explores ways in which these developing competences are supported by domestic digital technologies-the wide and increasing range of technological tools, ranging from computers and mobile phones to MP3 players and technological toys and games available in the home., It concludes that digital technologies have the potential both to facilitate communicative and creative tasks and to expand young children's repertoires., Implications for practice and/or policy Early years policy in the UK already draws attention to the need to build on the experiences children bring with them from home, including their experiences of using domestic digital technologies., Practitioners need to develop imaginative ways of responding to what children already know and can do with technology, in the context of communicating and creating, given the growing significance of digital technologies in these fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether the selective use of technology can begin to overcome the challenge of large cohort teaching and deliver an enhanced student learning experience. It describes the initial development and evaluation of a campus-based management course taught to 270 third year engineering undergraduates at The University of Manchester. The course is structured around weekly keynote lectures, supplemented with extensive use of a virtual learning environment (VLE) and key Web 2.0 applications. The preliminary findings are that technology is not a panacea: face-to-face contact with teaching staff remains the priority for most students. Nevertheless, the VLE was found to improve the student learning experience provided that Use of technology does not reduce face-to-face teaching time;, Teaching faculty acknowledges that students are, for the most part, highly strategic learners, engaging deeper with those technology tools that help them achieve their desired course outcomes;, Close attention is paid to learning design, aligning technology tools with the desired learning outcomes., Further work is now required to explore more effectively the use of the VLE and Web 2.0 as a vehicle for promoting collaborative learning. In addition, the authors will be redesigning course activities, both assessed and unassessed, to start to address the more lofty ambition of moving students from an acquisitive to a participative model of learning. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic There is an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of learning technology in enhancing the student learning experience., There are a number of published case studies describing and evaluating the effectiveness of VLEs in enhancing student learning across a range of disciplines, the majority of which involve small- to medium-sized cohorts., Learning technology can be used to achieve more constructivist pedagogical principles., What this paper adds A well-conducted case study of the use of learning technology to enhance large cohort teaching., A critical review of the literature on the use of learning technology to enhance student learning., An empirical contribution to the debate on whether learning technology can enhance the student learning experience., Implications for practice and/or policy Technology is not a panacea to enable higher education institutions to do more with less., Technology can enhance the student learning experience provided that it does not reduce face-to-face teaching time., In utilising learning technology, close attention should be paid to learning design, aligning technology tools with the desired learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'learning design' is used in this paper to refer to the process of designing effective learning experiences for a variety of contexts: in the classroom or laboratory, in the field, online and via standalone packages using a range of media. Learning design involves a wide set of knowledge, skills and competencies, including: learning theory and its applications, course design principles and procedures, use of media, use of different technologies, relevant business processes and so on. This paper briefly introduces a research project that investigated the field of learning design in the UK and elsewhere, and describes the production of a competency framework derived from the results of that research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pair of papers re-examined the evidence from a national initiative to train all teachers in England to bring them up to the level of newly qualified teachers, who are required to know when to use and when not to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in their professional practice. The first paper confirmed that multilevel evaluation of professional development was robust for ICT teacher training. This second paper contrasts the highest and lowest rated designs for ICT teacher training: an ‘organic’ approach that provided training in schools was highly rated, whereas a centralised computer-assisted learning approach with online access to trainers was the lowest rated design. The study supports an ecological view of the diffusion of ICT innovations in education and recommends that ICT teacher training be designed to support evolution of each teacher's classroom, school and region, as well as the training of the ICT teacher trainers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is one of a pair that re-examines the evidence from a national initiative to train all teachers in England to bring them up to the level of newly qualified teachers, who are required to know when to use and when not to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in their professional practice. Reanalysis of data gathered for the 2004 evaluation uncovers the complexity of such professional development. The effectiveness of contrasting approaches to ICT-related teacher training was analysed using the national survey of 496 trainees and experts’ reports on 11 of the 47 training providers. multilevel evaluation of professional development was shown to be robust for ICT teacher training, including a significant correlation between the views of experts and those of teachers. The presence of the middle level of ‘organisational support and change’ emerged as a particularly discriminating factor, indicating that higher-quality teacher training supports change in the classroom and in the school. Therefore, we recommend that all five of Guskey's levels be consistently adopted for the evaluation of ICT teacher training, and that research should also adopt a multilevel model. A second paper delves deeper to describe and contrast the highest and lowest-rated approaches to ICT teacher training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper provides insight into the learning strategies adopted by children working at Minimally Invasive Education (MIE) Learning Stations. Previous research has clearly indicated the attainment of basic computer literacy by groups of young children in the age groups of 7–14 years. This learning takes place due to the emergence and development of group social processes, an aspect crucial for achieving basic computing skills. The paper describes the process of socially shared understanding and learning as being crucial to individual learning. It is to be noted that this approach of socially shared learning does not challenge the analysis of the individual level of processing; it maintains that individual learning is vital in any learning context, but insufficient to build the psychology of learning. MIE research is of the view that young children learn through interaction with others, particularly peers as it provides an important context for social and cognitive learning. For it is in this way that children make sense of their own experience and environment. Hence, schools are not the only privileged sites of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the rationale, process and outcomes of the Regional Interoperability Project on Progression for Lifelong Learning, a project that established a model of cross-sector collaboration in personal development planning technology in the UK. With specific reference to the widening participation agenda, and grounded in the perspective of lifelong learners, the project tested an approach in which discrete nodes of an individual’s learning journey are joined up through technology services. The paper describes the development of conceptual and practical tools to assist transitions between various communities of learning. A set of scenarios was developed, involving study to study and study to employment, while practical tools included development of UK LeaP draft interoperability standard (BS8788)-compliant links between ePortfolio software, and the actual test transfer of data. The results indicate that recognising the smallest individual elements in the process is important, both in a technical sense and as a means of personalising learning and assisting transition between sectors. Through developing connections between these elements, the project partners engaged in lifelong learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Information and communications technology (ICT) has fast become the rhetorical foundation of the UK government's attempts to transform adult education radically and to establish a ‘learning society’. Central to this rhetoric are a series of largely untested assumptions about the potential of ICT to increase and widen levels of educational participation to include those groups of learners who have previously been excluded. With this in mind, the present paper contrasts recent government rhetoric concerning post-compulsory ‘e-learning’ with an analysis of data from the 2002 National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) survey of 5,885 households. With these data suggesting that access to ICT does not, in itself, make people any more likely to participate in education and (re)engage with learning, the paper concludes by considering how ICT might be more realistically re-approached by the educational and political communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a third-year undergraduate module, Text Through Images ( TTI ; known at first as Texts with Computers ) which ran for some years in the School of English, University of Exeter, UK. Instead of using only words, TTI students made their own computer graphics both to discover and to describe literary structures in texts of their choice. The results were surprising: whatever their “academic” ability, students on this course regularly produced genuinely original literary perceptions, and their natural creativity was released. The module’s innovative methods are eminently transferable to other disciplines. This paper is designed to be read in conjunction with a website: for further details, go to http://www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/asp/journal.asp?ref=0007-1013 presenting a selection of students’ graphics produced on the course; these appear by generous permission of their makers, who hold copyright. The reasons for the module’s success are elusive. Perhaps students feel unfettered by the attitudes associated with traditional verbal expression, the absence of preconceptions about the new process enabling them to bypass old habits of thought. Perhaps the interplay of word and image is particularly fruitful because images and words activate different areas of the brain. It may be that the computer creates the illusion of distance between design and designer, so that the latter feels less personally exposed than when drawing on paper. Perhaps success lies in the combination of individual freedom and on-screen group work, or on the way in which students are enabled to make small but publishable original discoveries. Educational psychologists may be able to explain why the mix works (it has been suggested that it represents a “constructivist/generative learning strategy that Dave Jonassen terms ‘elaboration’”) but more importantly, teachers may find the model useful. What interests me... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and discusses critically a unique experiment in using a combination of broadcast television and an interactive Web site to reach people interested in business and management. The Open University's Business School, in collaboration with the BBC mounted the project, called The Business Café . The paper outlines the contents of the nine broadcasts and the site, which changed weekly. Developing the broadcasts and maintaining the site required complex procedures and teamwork. The broadcasts attracted an audience of 300,000 UK viewers and the Web site recorded over 60,000 visits during the series. The stakeholders and others who offered much constructive criticism, identified more project outcomes during an evaluation. Useful lessons emerged, in particular about cross-team working and about learning from asynchronous networks like the Web. Web site:http://www.open.ac.uk/businesscafe [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the use of datasets is of crucial importance for the advancement of educational research. Specifically in the field of Higher Education, many researchers might share through online data repositories their research outputs in order for data to be reusable, accessible and accountable to educational community. The aim of this paper is to describe how web surveys along with the resultant datasets were created and how the datasets might be of some use to other researchers. The questionnaires are focused on examining teachers' and students' views about technology-enhanced teaching and learning when using virtual learning environments ( VLEs). The investigation was conducted across three Schools in the same University during the same time period. The datasets may assist other researchers in the development of further educational research concerning the use of technology resulting in more generalisable conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the current context for uses of technology in education, including the nature of work, the capabilities required by employees, and developments in the technology itself. A vision for education is needed: how might students be learning in the future and what role might technology play in this? By making students' learning needs the focus we can identify the support technology can offer. The issue of student access is discussed--both physical access to technology and the psychological confidence to use it. One major government initiative--the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme--shows the limits of what has been achieved to date. The paper ends by suggesting how changes necessary within the education sector might be better managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the social, organisational and individual factors that may affect students' acceptance of e-learning systems in higher education in a cross-cultural context. A questionnaire was developed based on an extended technology acceptance model (TAM). A total sample of 1173 university students from two private universities in Lebanon and one university in England participated in this study. After performing the satisfactory reliability and validity checks, the hypothesised model was estimated using structural equation modeling. The findings of this study revealed that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), social norms (SNs), perceived quality of work life (QWL), computer self-efficacy (SE) and facilitating conditions (FC) are significant determinants of behavioural intentions (BIs) and usage of e-learning system for the Lebanese and British students. QWL, the newly added variable, was found the most important construct in explaining the causal process in the model for both samples. Differences were found between Lebanese and British students with regard to PEOU, SN, QWL, FC, SE and actual usage; however, no differences were detected in terms of PU and BI. Overall, the proposed model achieves acceptable fit and explains for 69% of the British sample and 57% of the Lebanese sample of its variance which is higher than that of the original TAM. Our findings suggest that individual, social and organisational factors are important to consider in explaining students' BI and usage of e-learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widespread availability of information and communication technologies ( ICTs) and some research into specific pedagogical practices using them, there has been little research on the role of these technologies in shaping broader pedagogical approaches in higher education ( HE). Increased experimentation in using ICTs raises questions about their pedagogical role in teaching, learning and assessment provision, and in creating innovative pedagogies. An accepted approach is needed to compare the different ways ICTs and rich media are used in HE teaching models. Within the SusTEACH HE sustainability research project this was needed to support the carbon-based environmental assessment of HE courses using ICTs. Building on a review of learning design theories and models, and ICTs used for pedagogical purposes, this paper considers several approaches to conceptualising the role of ICTs in HE courses, leading to the development of the Teaching Models Rating Tool designed to examine the role of ICTs in course provision. This tool characterises courses as using Face-to-Face Teaching Models, Distance Teaching Models, ICT-Enhanced Blended Teaching Models or Online Teaching Models. Whilst this tool was designed to support research on sustainable HE teaching models in the UK, it has wider applications to support comparative assessments of pedagogical and economic impacts. Further developments will be informed by the complex and evolving role of ICTs in HE teaching models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]