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This study used the Technology Use and Perceptions Survey to explore whether there are differences reported by teachers (N = 1,287) from elementary, middle, and high schools from a single school district. A two-step data analysis process using multivariate analysis of variance and item-by-item analysis of variance was employed. We used our analyses to generate profiles for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and draw comparisons across these profiles in our discussion. In particular, high school teachers reported the lowest perception of technology's value and the most infrequent use of technology integration strategies even though they reported their students used technology more frequently. Elementary teachers reported the most frequent use of technology integration strategies and the lowest satisfaction with the access and support they receive. This study supports the need for more research to adequately explore the role of school levels as these differences could provide important insights.

This article focuses on online research group supervision in an online doctoral programme. The analysis of interviews with 10 graduates supervised online in research groups of 4-6 students during the dissertation process highlighted how supervisors structured and supported individual and group research development and progress, leading to perceived sense of online community. The strategies that supervisors and students used within the groups, challenges faced, and implications for online supervision are presented.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of technology support, teachers' confidence in using technology, their beliefs about using technology, and their perceived skills on the use of instructional and application software. The data we used were from 1335 K-12 teachers involved in the Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS) study. Teachers were located in 40 different institutions across the state of Florida. According to the findings of this study, the most significant factor in the instructional and application software use of teachers was found as perceived technology skills. Therefore, professional development for perceived skills or technology competencies of teachers might contribute to increasing the instructional or application software use of teachers. In terms of confidence and comfort using technology, they both had direct and positive effects on instructional and application software. Also, the total effect of support from technology specialists for instructional software use is more than application software use. As evidenced by the models developed in this research, teachers' perceived technology skills for instructional and application software use directly and positively affected their beliefs on usefulness. Our effort to provide more emphasis on the combined effect of a collective set of factors to explain teacher use of technology leads us to address the gaps in the literature on technology use (i.e., the effect of demographic factors and technology availability).

There has been a lack of research on how people with individual differences learn with multimedia materials, in particular with regard to individuals with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by subpar ability in reading, spelling, writing, word recognition, and phonological decoding. This population could potentially benefit from multimedia learning materials according to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and Orton-Gillingham multisensory instructional approach. This study examined how learning in four multimedia conditions influences dyslexic college students' ability to recall and recognize information. Seventy-three college students with dyslexia were assigned to one of the four conditions that integrated the modality (spoken text vs. on-screen text) and multimedia (picture present vs. picture absent) principles. They completed a cued-recall and a content recognition test. The results indicated pictures facilitated recognition, which validated the multimedia principle. On-screen text led to a superior performance in recall and recognition compared to spoken text. This finding suggested the modality principle did not hold for participants with dyslexia in this study, which is especially surprising given that dyslexics have difficulty processing written text. Possible explanations of the findings are discussed.

The purpose of this article is to explore validity evidence and appropriate uses of the revised Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS) designed to measure in-service teacher perspectives about technology integration in K-12 schools and classrooms. The revised TUPS measures 10 domains, including Access and Support; Preparation of Technology Use; Perceptions of Professional Development; Perceptions of Technology Use; Confidence and Comfort Using Technology; Technology Integration; Teacher Use of Technology; Student Use of Technology; Perceived Technology Skills; and Technology Usefulness. We first provide a review of the literature supporting the design of the revised TUPS. We collected data from N = 1,376 teachers from one medium-sized school district in the state of Florida and conducted a variety of psychometric analyses. We performed internal structure analysis, correlation analysis, and factor analysis with these data. The results demonstrate that data collected from the TUPS are best used as descriptive, granular information about reported behaviors and perceptions related to technology, rather than treated as a series of 10 scales. These findings have implications for the appropriate uses of the TUPS.

This qualitative, multicase study examined the perceived effect on teachers of an online professional development (PD) program supported by facilitators who provided extensive feedback to them. Our goal was to identify the barriers to teachers implementing their learning in their diverse contexts. Using inductive and deductive thematic analysis and cross-case analysis of interviews and reflections, we found that positive results are much more likely if the design of PD is contextual and facilitation is in place. However, for this external PD to be effective, barriers to implementation, such as administration or support, school policies, and context need to be considered. The nature of PD does not guarantee the implementation of what was learned in the classroom. Suggestions for improvements in terms of PD design and barriers are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of an in-line ultrasonics-based rheological characterization method for measuring the rheological properties of 6% (w/v) acid-thinned and native corn starch suspensions and gels was studied. The measurements were performed in steady, laminar pipe flow using a 5 MHz frequency transducer to determine the radial shear rate distribution. Two pressure transducers were used to measure the pressure drop allowing the shear stress distribution to be calculated through the conservation of linear momentum. It was possible to obtain shear viscosity over a range of shear rates, 1–50 1/s, from a single velocity profile. A comparison of the shear viscosity function at different flow rates showed that this method could be a valid method of process rheometry during the manufacturing of starch-based products. Both ultrasonics and rotational rheometry results showed that acid-thinned and native corn starch suspensions exhibited Newtonian behavior before heat treatment and non-Newtonian behavior after heating. Power law consistency index and flow behavior index of the acid-thinned corn starch gel at 39°C were 0.60 Pa.s 0.68 and 0.68, respectively; whereas those of the native corn starch were 5.90 Pa.s 0.37 and 0.37 at 38C. Their consistency index increased and flow behavior index decreased with cooling and a thermoreversible change in the flow behavior index was observed in the native corn starch after storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]