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Technology integration in higher education (HE) has brought immense innovation. While research is investigating the benefits of leveraging, through learning analytics, the data created by the greater presence of technology in HE, it is also analysing the privacy implications of vast universes of data now at the fingertips of HE administrators. This paper argues that student privacy challenges linked to technology integration occur not only "within" but also "beyond" learning environments, namely at the enterprise level. By analysing the UK and US legal frameworks surrounding how HE institutions respond to parents demanding disclosure of their adult children's personal data in the event of mental health crises, this paper offers an example of real and complex privacy issues, often overlooked by interdisciplinary inquiry, that exist in the 'interstitial space' between HE technology and privacy law. The purpose of conducting a comparative analysis was to demonstrate that countries with different privacy regimes are similarly ill-equipped to address certain student privacy issues at the HE enterprise level, leaving HEIs exposed to potential litigation/regulatory risks. The contribution of this work is to invite greater interdisciplinary awareness of, and inquiry into, student privacy beyond learning environments.

This paper evaluated how academics, at a mid-sized UK university, used their iPads for teaching. The data were gathered using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Eighty-four academics completed a survey while 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Eleven interviewees reported that they used their iPads for teaching purposes and the SAMR model was employed to analyse these teaching uses. The other 11 interviewees stated that they did not use their iPads for teaching purposes and the reasons why these academics were not using their iPads are also explored in this paper. Formal pedagogical support and students' access to iPads were considered important by academics in order to use their iPads effectively for teaching.

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.

Lifelong learning opportunities are readily accessible through the hybridization of digital learning contexts--from formal to informal--in today's globally networked knowledge society. As such, expanded learning opportunities generate a continuum of learning contexts and experiences mediated through digital technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to actively examine the interconnections and complex relations between what is learned in formal university scenarios and the everyday learning that happens outside of the classroom, particularly the informal learning that is afforded through expanded and emerging digital contexts. The current research problem illustrates that expanded and emerging professional development scenarios require new pedagogical designs for empowering lifelong learners to harness the affordances of the web across both formal and informal contexts and practices. This study outlines ways in which students shape their learning ecologies in virtual contexts to support formal academic learning in online higher education. The paper presents qualitative results from a larger mixed methods interpretive case study. The multicase and multisite study examines three fully online graduate programmes in Education and Digital Technology during the 2017-18 academic year, collecting data in the form of online programme documentation, student interviews and online participant observation. Purposeful and criterion sampling were used to select 13 participants across three sites in Spain, the UK and the USA. The study was underpinned by a lifelong learning ecologies theoretical perspective to analyse learning processes across a continuum of practices and contexts. Findings illustrate how students conceive of, as well as how they organize their learning ecologies through a unique configuration of activities, digital resources and networked social support, indicating that academic programmes and teachers have an essential role in empowering student learning ecologies across contexts, recognizing past trajectories and supporting the development of valued disciplinary practices and perspectives across a continuum of learning.

There is a crisis of expectation in relation to educational technology. This is sometimes interpreted as a failure of academic researchers to disseminate their work to educational practitioners. However, another interpretation dwells on the lack of vision characterising such research. Because teachers often encounter research most intensely during their own pre-service and in-service education, we review academic research here through a snapshot of output from 10 leading university Education departments sampled in the UK and China. Empirical papers with a central interest in new technology were scarce, representing only around 10% of the sample. Research was strongly situated in "classroom" contexts, although, as critics have suggested, with limited attention to the wider ecology of those places, and with teachers being the focal interest as much as students. A "learning outcomes" research orientation was less common than an interest in process and practice. Although this was approached with different methodologies in China and the UK. Discussion addresses the challenge of effective and authoritative dissemination and those constraints from the political economy of research practice.

Although learning theories suggest that repeat testing can be highly beneficial for students' retention and understanding of material, there is, so far, little guidance on how to implement repeat testing in higher education. This paper introduces one method for implementing a three-stage model of repeat testing via computer-aided formative assessment by employing audience response systems (ARS) and online tests complementarily. The first stage utilises ARS for immediate testing throughout lectures, the second stage facilitates delayed testing using online tests between lectures and the third stage employs ARS to aid in-class revision of the previously studied material at the beginning of subsequent lectures. Using the example of a Business Economics course taught to MBA students at a UK university, the study investigates how two cohorts of students (n[subscript 1] = 46, n[subscript 2] = 48) perceived repeat testing to affect their understanding of the subject as well as their learning motivation and behaviour. The exploratory research indicates that most students perceived all three test stages as helpful to develop their understanding of the subject. However, students who favoured a deep approach to learning (DA) rated testing more positively than students who preferred a surface approach to learning (SA). Surprisingly, students who favoured a DA also reported a greater influence of the tests on their learning motivation and behaviour than students who preferred an SA. These findings mitigate concerns that experienced, effective learners might perceive repeated, multiple-choice-based testing as unhelpful or disruptive to their learning.

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) systems offer several learning affordances, that is, characteristics that can elicit learning behaviors promoting learning outcomes in educational contexts. In particular, the immersive and interactive properties of these systems represent a strong opportunity to support the effective learning experiences. The present review aims at mapping IVR systems' use in K‐12 and higher educational contexts and investigating their effectiveness in facilitating learning in terms of knowledge attainment and retention and motivational outcomes. The synthesis of the reviewed studies (n = 18) show that IVR can support a number of activities and experiences that in turn improve learning and motivate students to fulfill educational goals by eliciting their interest and engagement with the learning materials. The main advantage of IVR seems related to the possibility for users to have first‐hand experiences that would not be possible in the real world, simultaneously offering unique opportunities for experiential and situated learning, as well as promoting students' motivation and engagement. Despite the promising findings, the reviewed studies present several methodological flaws: non‐randomized trials, small sample sizes, unbalanced samples and non‐validated measures. This in turn makes it difficult to generalize from these results. Future research is needed to investigate the unique opportunities of IVR in education. [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]

Abstract: The increasing interest in electronic management of assessment is a sign of a gradual institutionalisation of e‐submission and e‐marking technologies in UK Higher Education. The effective adoption of these technologies requires a managed approach, especially a detailed understanding of current assessment practices within the institution and the development of new or adapted business processes. The findings from close participant observation of assessment processes over a 2‐year period across a large Faculty reveal that three independent variables around (1) initial marking, (2) internal quality assurance and (3) the timing of the return of e‐feedback to students, determine variance in grading journeys. Despite the apparent wide variety of processes, five major grading journeys prevail: three varieties of moderation (moderation of multiple markers and moderation of single markers either before or after grades and feedback are released to students); and two forms of second marking (either blind or open to peers). Within an institution, the identification of major workflows is fundamental to both an effective implementation of assessment technologies and in conducting change. The identification of major workflows across UK Higher Education Institutions remains critical to attain the necessary software development from global vendors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increasing demands in the amount of content to be learned within a medical and health sciences curriculum, there are benefits towards exploring options for new and effective delivery modes. Augmented reality technology has the potential to enhance learning in physiology and anatomy, where students require a three‐dimensional knowledge of human organ systems and structures. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of learning when an identical lesson was delivered through augmented reality using either the Microsoft HoloLens or a mobile handheld tablet device. Thirty‐eight pre‐clinical undergraduate participants completed a lesson detailing the physiology and anatomy of the brain. Pre‐ and post‐intervention tests were provided to evaluate acquired knowledge. After the activity, participants also completed a Likert‐style questionnaire to evaluate adverse health effects experienced and assess their perceptions of the module. There were no significant differences between test scores from lesson delivery in either the HoloLens or mobile‐based augmented reality. However, a significant increase was reported in dizziness when using the HoloLens (25% higher, n = 19, p =.04). No other adverse health effects, such as nausea, disorientation or fatigue were observed. Both modes were effective for learning, providing evidence to support educators and developers wishing to adopt an augmented reality method of delivery in health sciences and medicine. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/GSayCmopGZg Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Modern technology continues to disrupt the way we teach in higher education.Teaching through virtual and augmented reality has shown great benefit in enhancing learning and the student experience in health sciences and medicine.There is the potential for new and upcoming delivery modes to continue this trend, including the introduction of both mobile and head‐mounted display based augmented reality.What this study contributes Investigates the potential for augmented reality to be used as a teaching tool, and supports its implementation in tertiary education.Identifies that although slight dizziness was reported in some participants from using the HoloLens, this does not appear to impact learning or student perceptions of the technology.Presents the HoloLens and mobile‐based augmented reality as novel and evidence‐based methods of instruction in health sciences and medicine.Implications for practice and/or policy Augmented reality is an effective delivery mode which can enhance learning.Students consider augmented reality through both the HoloLens and mobile‐based devices to be enjoyable and engaging.This novel method of instruction is useful to supplement learning in a tertiary education programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matters of data privacy related to social media are increasingly relevant for educators as happenings such as the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal have attracted public attention. Many educators use social media for professional purposes, including with their students and should, therefore, be knowledgeable regarding data privacy issues that impact education. This research explores this issue from an interpretive paradigm based on a mixed‐methods approach derived from survey data from an international sample of 148 pre‐service teachers who were studying education courses at three universities. Data suggest that pre‐service teachers see both educational and distracting potential in social media, but lack knowledge regarding relevant policies and regulations, which reflects trends in the broader population. Attitudes toward educational social media use were not correlated with awareness of data privacy policies. However, comfort with companies' use of personal and student data and faith in governments' capacity to regulate social media companies were correlated. We discuss our findings in relation to the use of social media and related data privacy considerations and the need for data literacy training in teacher education programs. We include recommendations in light of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the role and process of self‐directed reflective assessment (SDRA) enhanced by learning analytics to support pre‐service teachers' (PTs') collective empowerment in a knowledge‐building (KB) classroom. The participants were 43 second‐year PTs from a compulsory course taught by a teacher who had 2 years' teaching experience. A comparison class of 47 PTs, taught by the same teacher and studying the same topics in a regular KB environment, also participated. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in participation and domain understanding between the experimental class and the comparison class. Qualitative tracing of the SDRA group's online discourse indicated that the PTs were empowered and that their collective empowerment increased gradually over time. Analysis of the PTs' prompt sheets revealed that analytic‐supported SDRA helped the PTs engage in collective decision making to choose and judge promising ideas, and in collective synthesis and "rise‐above" of ideas, thus helping them engage in high‐level collective empowerment. The findings have important implications for the design of technology‐rich environments as metacognitive tools to support learners' empowerment, and they shed light on how teachers can use such tools to engage learners in metacognitive practices to increase their empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) simulations for education have been found to increase affective outcomes compared to traditional media, but the effects on learning are mixed. As reflection has previously shown to enhance learning in traditional media, we investigated the efficacy of appropriate reflection exercises for IVR. In a 2 × 2 mixed‐methods experiment, 89 (61 female) undergraduate biochemistry students learned about the electron transport chain through desktop virtual reality (DVR) and IVR (media conditions). Approximately, half of each group engaged in a subsequent generative learning strategy (GLS) of teaching in pairs (method conditions). A significant interaction between media and methods illustrated that the GLS of teaching significantly improved transfer (d = 1.26), retention (d = 0.60) and self‐efficacy (d = 0.82) when learning through IVR, but not DVR. In the second part of the study, students switched media conditions and the experiment was repeated. This time, significant main effects favoring the IVR group on the outcomes of intrinsic motivation (d = 0.16), perceived enjoyment (d = 0.94) and presence (d = 1.29) were observed, indicating that students preferred IVR after having experienced both media conditions. The results support the view that methods enable media that affect learning and that the GLS of teaching is specifically relevant for IVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent interest in the use of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in education seems to correspond with the increased affordability, accessibility and functionality of IVR hardware and software. IVR has the potential to enhance immersion, improve spatial capabilities, promote empathy, increase motivation and possibly improve learning outcomes. However, the extent to which teachers capitalise on these potentials in the future depends their perceptions of IVR and their behavioural intentions to use it. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify relevant factors and influences relating to preservice teachers' behavioural intention to use IVR, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that UTAUT2 provided a suitable model to describe preservice teachers' perceptions of IVR on all dimensions (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, habit and behavioural intention), with hedonic motivation receiving the highest scores and habit scoring the lowest. Interview responses revealed the reasons for the substantial variation in preservice teacher perceptions, which depended on a range of external‐ ("first‐order"), internal‐ ("second‐order") and design ("third‐order")‐related issues. Implications for schools, educational leaders and teacher education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators are recognizing the potential power of immersive virtual reality (IVR) to allow learners to experience previously intangible firsthand phenomena, such as atoms and molecules. In this study, an IVR simulation of a complex gene regulation system was co‐designed with an undergraduate microbiology course instructor. The course, with 234 students, was taught using active learning strategies, including peer instruction and exposure to a two‐dimensional computer simulation. Thirty‐four students from the course participated in an interactive IVR experience using head‐mounted displays. We assess students' conceptual understanding using tests, multimodal data collected during the IVR sessions (including video analysis in combination with physiological sensor data and eye‐tracking data) as well as semi‐structured interviews. We found that students who were seated while in IVR demonstrated significantly higher conceptual understanding of gene regulation at the end of the course and higher overall course outcomes, as compared to students who experienced the course as originally designed (control). However, students who experienced IVR in a standing position performed similarly to the control group. In addition, learning gain appears to be influenced by a combination of prior knowledge and how IVR is experienced (ie, sitting vs. standing). Learning implications for the connections between sensorimotor systems and cognition in IVR are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers in K‐12 settings often teach out of textbooks in order to provide differentiated instruction. Open educational resources (OER) might be an effective alternative to traditional textbooks for K‐12 teachers because of a free access to a rich collection of open‐licensed educational materials. Understanding how to encourage teachers to accept OER is thus critical. However, existing evidence mainly concerns the advantage of OER in cost reduction but overlooks the merit of openness. To fill this gap, this mixed methods inquiry, implementing the technology acceptance model, integrated qualitative and quantitative findings to obtain a comprehensive understanding of teachers' intentions of adopting OER in K‐12 settings. This study found that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness predicted K‐12 teachers' intention to adopt OER with attitudes toward OER as a mediating variable. Perceived ease of use also determined perceived usefulness. Teachers' perceptions of OER adoption were also examined for additional insight into the quantitative findings. Practical implications of adopting OER in K‐12 curriculum were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present three new standardised network concept map (CM) measures that can provide unique information about learning‐related progress, which cannot be determined from previously known measures. Grounded in cognitive development theory on the one hand, and network theory on the other hand, our measures reveal how knowledge is stored, distributed and retrieved. We validated the new measures by testing their ability to discriminate between CMs of respondents with different levels of competency in statistics (students before and after taking an introductory statistics course and experts in the field of statistics). We also validated our measures against the most commonly used traditional and network measures. Based on a small sample of respondents, we show that two of the newly proposed compound measures reveal significant differences between experts and novices in the field, with higher values for experts, showing that expert knowledge is better distributed, more connected and balanced. More importantly, our measures were sensitive enough to show learning‐related progress for students, albeit statistically non‐significant, while common indicators from network theory did not demonstrate these small shifts. The validity of our new measures can be inferred from the consistency of the results from different sets of measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined participatory simulation‐based learning of teaching in a virtual reality (VR) supported learning environment and its affordance for alternative perspectives taking. This VR‐supported, embodiment‐integrated learning environment is designed to enable collaborative and contextualized microteaching practicing by university teaching assistants. A total of 42 chemistry teaching assistants participated in a 3‐hour teaching training session, during which they were randomly assigned to a VR‐supported simulation group and a live simulation group. The study found teaching knowledge development for all participants after simulation‐based training. The live simulation participants better performed in the post‐session knowledge test than the VR simulation participants. Qualitative data indicated a multitude of challenges and opportunities in VR simulation‐based learning, including a concurrent, yet, inequivalent experience of the "diving‐in" and "stepping‐out" learning perspectives during virtual collaborative role‐playing in a hybrid learning space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary digital divide is characterised by the uneven distribution of access to information communication technology (ICT), originating in the different motivation, physical access and skills of users. We synthesised existing theories and frameworks to develop and then empirically validate a theoretical model to predict university students' use of online learning resources (OLRs) at the crossroads of formal and informal learning. Because access to digital content may be a bigger issue for students with special educational needs (SEN), we also examined OLR use among this group. Fifty‐six students with SEN and 1642 mainstream students participated in the survey. Our main conclusions are as follows. In the whole sample, personal socio‐cognitive factors (beliefs, self‐efficacy) are the only significant predictors of OLR use. The results suggest that motivational and skills‐related differences between students contribute more to the digital divide than do either differences related to unpleasant environmental conditions (eg, inaccessibility, high prices, etc.) or personal context (eg, study‐fit, learning preferences, etc.). Separate regressions show that beliefs were significant predictors for both SEN students and their peers, while self‐efficacy was a significant predictor for the mainstream students only. Measuring unpleasant environmental factors as a continuum (environmental and contextual barriers) explained OLRs better than solely differentiating between SEN and mainstream students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators' understanding and use of language is particularly relevant in relation to historically marginalized groups, such as people with disabilities. However, previous research has suggested that teacher education programs do not adequately address the concepts of language and disability. Content acquisition podcasts (CAPs) may provide them with knowledge related to language and disability. The purposes of this investigation were to determine how a CAP impacts undergraduate students' understanding of language with regards to people with disabilities, and examine undergraduate students' perceptions towards CAPs as a learning tool. Qualitative analyses, a pairwise t‐test, and a Pearson's correlation analysis were used to determine CAP's impact on 43 preservice educators. Results revealed that the CAP significantly increased the participants' knowledge and that the participants had positive perceptions towards the CAP. Findings from focus group discussions indicated a number of themes emerged in relation to both language use regarding people with disabilities and CAPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the characteristics of peer discussions used to support formative assessment in lectures, facilitated by a student response system, in an undergraduate qualitative methods course for psychology students. The intent was to examine the characteristics of peer discussions in which student response systems are used to facilitate the practice of formative assessment lectures. The research was guided by the following research questions: (1) What patterns of talk can be identified in the discussions? (2) How do the students use subject‐specific vocabulary in the discussions? (3) How the students' understanding of the subject matter displayed in these discussions? To examine the characteristics of peer interactions, 87 student discussions were recorded and analysed. The concept of exploratory talk was used as a lens to examine the discussions. In 68 of the 87 discussions, the students exchanged ideas and elaborated on their peers' ideas and understanding of the concepts. In the remaining 25 discussions, the process of reasoning was less visible. The findings are relevant for teaching designs that aims to use digital tools to facilitate formative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional dance teaching, teachers' demonstration generally takes up most of the in‐class time, which reduces the opportunities for students to practice. Therefore, researchers have started to adopt flipped learning to increase the in‐class time for students' practice and teachers' guidance. However, there are some problems associated with the conventional approach to flipped learning; these problems include students' lack of preparation before class which affects their engagement in the in‐class activity; lack of guidance when self‐learning; no instant assistance when encountering problems; and lack of reflection. To address these problems, the current study proposes a reflective thinking promoting approach to instruct the students to understand the pre‐class materials and to strengthen their reflection and the interflow among peers in flipped learning. A total of 129 university students were recruited in the present study. They were divided into the experimental group which adopted the annotation, reflection, questioning and interflow (ARQI) approach and the control group which adopted the previous flipped learning approach. The results revealed that ARQI could significantly enhance the students' dance performance. The interview also revealed that ARQI promoted the students' reflection. Moreover, the higher self‐efficacy students tended to gain more benefits from the flipped learning approach than those with lower self‐efficacy. Lastly, following the ARQI steps to finish the pre‐class learning, students were aware that they were required to put more mental and temporal efforts into the class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wiki activities are among the most common online learning activities examined by previous research due to the collaborative learning properties wikis offer; however, students are not always satisfied with such activities. Due to this dissatisfaction, learners may finish the wiki activities but not repeat them. While wikis are primarily used to collate content, the wiki activity proposed in this study is used foremost as a discussion forum. Drawing on the value‐based adoption model, this study examines the influence of perceived benefits, enjoyment, peer interaction, ease of use, and time and effort costs to explain students' reluctance to repeat the wiki activity. Furthermore, it assesses the moderating effect of peer interaction on the other variables. A survey was conducted, and 110 valid responses obtained. The findings reveal that the need to invest a lot of time and effort into the activity is the main reason for not repeating the activity proposed, while peer interaction and enjoyment help to reduce these perceived costs. Therefore, teachers should emphasize the benefits of in‐group wiki activities with regard to not only the final learning performance but also the activities' hedonic and social value. Furthermore, teachers should offer a training session and a user's guide for each specific activity, as well as courses about the team management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Combinations of Conventional Studio and Virtual Design Studio (VDS) have created valuable learning environments that take advantage of different instruments of communication and interaction. However, past experiences have reported limitations in regards to student engagement and motivation, especially when the studio projects encourage abstraction or are detached from context or reality. This study proposes a hybrid approach that overcomes these limitations by blending conventional studio, VDS and live projects. This blend aims to foster opportunities from within a real design situation, while promoting different levels of motivation and engagement. Two case studies comprising academic projects between the University of Los Andes, Colombia and the University of Nottingham, UK were used to validate the approach. In these, students interacted with peers, teachers, people from industry and the community to build 1:1 scale projects, with budgets and timeframe constraints. The study proved that students could successfully work collaboratively and build confidence in their own abilities when placed in a real setting, which enabled interactions face‐to‐face and at a distance to solve a challenge and achieve a common goal. The article reports on lessons learnt from these collaborative learning experiences, which reflect on contemporary cross‐cultural design practiced today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]