Workforce readiness: A study of university students’ fluency with information technology

This study with data collected from a large sample of freshmen in 2001 and a random stratified sample of seniors in 2005 examined students perceived FITness (fluency with Information Technology). In the fall of 2001 freshmen at a medium sized research-one institution completed a survey and in spring 2005 a random sample of graduating seniors completed a similar survey. The surveys measured the student’s self-reported proficiency in basic information technology knowledge and skills such as word processing and presentation software as well as more complex applications such as digital audio. We found a significant increase in perception of skills in presentation software and browsers and although both groups reported low skill levels, a significant decrease in perception of skills in database, web animation, programming, desktop publishing, digital video, and video audio. Although one might assume an undergraduate would indicate an increase in information and communication technology skills, this study found that often student’s perceptions of ability decline. However this decrease may be due to their increased awareness of the skills needed in the workforce.     

The impact of primary school teachers’ educational beliefs on the classroom use of computers

For many years, researchers have searched for the factors affecting the use of computers in the classroom. In studying the antecedents of educational computer use, many studies adopt a rather limited view because only technology-related variables, such as attitudes to computers and computer experience were taken into account. The present study centres on teachers’ educational beliefs (constructivist beliefs, traditional beliefs) as antecedent of computer use, while controlling for the impact of technology-related variables (computer experience, general computer attitudes) and demographical variables (sex, age). In order to identify differences in determinants of computer use in the classroom, multilevel modelling was used (N = 525). For measuring primary teachers’ use of computers to support the leaching or learning process a modified version of the ‘Class Use of Computers’ scale of van Braak et al. [van Braak, J., Tondeur, J., & Valcke, M. (2004). Explaining different types of computer use among primary school teachers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 19(4), 407–422] was used. The present article supports the hypothesis that teacher beliefs are significant determinants in explaining why teachers adopt computers in the classroom. Next to the impact of computer experience, general computer attitudes and gender, the results show a positive effect of constructivist beliefs on the classroom use of computers. Traditional beliefs have a negative impact on the classroom use of computers.     

A structure equation model among factors of teachers' technology integration practice and their TPCK

This study used a structural equation model to investigate the latent structure of teachers' technology integration practice and its relation to their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). We developed a validated survey comprised of 10 items for the TPCK construct informed by competences as proposed by Angeli and Valanides, 2009, Angeli and Valanides, 2013, 6 items for the construct of technology integration with ICT tools (TI-ICT tools), 4 items for that of technology integration with social media (TI-Social media) and another 4 items for technology integration with graphic and dynamic visualizations (TI-Graphic and dynamic visualizations), respectively. The survey was then administered using stratified random sampling in a metropolitan area of southern Taiwan, and a total of 320 valid respondents were collected from elementary and secondary school teachers in January 2014. Further analysis based on structural equation modeling showed that teachers' technology integration practice with ICT tools (TI-ICT tools) maintained not only a direct link to TPCK scores but also an indirect association mediated by that with graphic and dynamic illustrations (TI-Graphic and dynamic visualizations). In addition, the association between TI-Social media and self-assessed TPCK turned out to be spurious after the level of TI-ICT tools was accounted for. Discussion of the results is also provided.     

The effect of gender and Internet usage on physical and cyber interpersonal relationships

The effect of Internet usage on interpersonal relationship has attracted researchers for decades. Much research indicated that the Internet usage is harmful to the interpersonal relationship. Yet with the quick evolution of Internet functions, Internet provides more channels in latest years for conducting interpersonal interactions, which makes researchers argue that Internet usage can enhance interpersonal relationships. In sum, the past research findings were inconsistent. To explain the contradiction, this study explored the effect on the interpersonal relationships in terms of peer, parent–child, teacher–student, and net-friend from the gender difference and various Internet usage perspectives. Data were gathered from 444 college students for structural equation modeling analysis. The results of this study revealed that Internet usage on social interaction and information seeking can positively affect all kinds of interpersonal relationships. Online game playing can enhance net-friend relationship, but is harmful to teacher–student relationship. Surprisingly, video watching can positively affect peer and parent–child relationships. Besides, through the intermediation of higher game playing, males have lower extent of teacher–student relationship and higher level of net-friend relationship. Contrarily, through the intermediation of lower video watching, males have lower extent of peer relationship and parent–child relationship. This proposed model may more clarify the association of Internet usage and interpersonal relationship than past research.     

Information and communication technologies in the life of university freshmen: An analysis of change

The passage from secondary school to university puts students in an environment with different expectations. Not only the expectations towards learning might change, but also towards ICT competences and computer use. The purpose of this article is to find out whether freshmen, after 6 months at the university, changed their self-perception of ICT competences and computer use in comparison with their behaviour at secondary school, and what factors can explain the self-perception of ICT competences and computer use in secondary school, in the university and their possible change. Based on a panel research among 714 freshmen of a large university, this article answers the following questions: (1) What is the self-perception of ICT competences among freshmen and is there a change in this self-perception 6 months after entering the university? (2) How often and for what purpose do freshmen use a computer and is there a change in the frequency of the use of a computer? (3) What factors might influence this attitude, behaviour, and possible change? In function of the basic components of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003) hypotheses was developed and tested to answer these questions. Students who consider the computer to be a useful instrument, have control over the computer, possess a certain level of Internet competence, and are at ease with computers are more likely to have the skills needed to maintain a computer, to develop a web site, and to use basic ICT skills. The predictors have little influence on Internet usage. The same predictors contribute modestly to the explanation of the different frequencies of computer use, and a few of the predictors explain parts of change in ICT skills and frequency of computer use.     

Teachers’ attitudes toward information and communication technologies: the case of Syrian EFL teachers

Based on the new technology initiative in Syrian education, this study explored the attitudes of high school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Syria toward ICT. In addition, the study investigated the relationship between computer attitudes and five independent variables: computer attributes, cultural perceptions, computer competence, computer access, and personal characteristics (including computer training background). The findings suggest that teachers have positive attitudes toward ICT in education. Teachers’ attitudes were predicted by computer attributes, cultural perceptions and computer competence. The results point to the importance of teachers’ vision of technology itself, their experiences with it, and the cultural conditions that surround its introduction into schools in shaping their attitudes toward technology and its subsequent diffusion in their educational practice.     

Developing Web literacy in collaborative inquiry activities

Although many children are technically skilled in using the Web, their competences to use it in a critical and meaningful way are usually less well developed. In this article, we report on a multiple case study focusing on the possibilities and limitations of collaborative inquiry activities as an appropriate context to acquire Web literacy skills in primary education. Four 5th grade school teachers and their students worked with collaborative inquiry activities on the subject of ‘healthy food’. The project was aimed at both the development of Web literacy skills and content knowledge building. Data from a variety of sources were collected: videotaped and written lesson observations, interviews with teachers and students, teacher diaries, student questionnaires, and student assignments. The teachers appeared to be able to carry out the program to varying degrees. Contextual factors that influenced the realization of the project’s goals and results were the adequacy of the research questions formulated by students, students’ inquiry skills, and the teachers’ teaching styles. Students’ learning results show that it is possible to teach Web literacy skills in the context of collaborative inquiry activities. All classes show knowledge gain with regard to the subject healthy food and all classes but one show knowledge gain with regard to Web literacy skills. Although many students show adequate use of particular Web searching, reading and evaluating skills after the project, inconsistency, impulsiveness and impatience are also typical of their Web behaviour. In the context of collaborative inquiry activities teachers are challenged to deal with the paradox that they want their students to be active knowledge builders with help of the Web, whereas the Web seems to invite students to be more or less passive searchers.     

Student teachers' conceptions of technology: A metaphor analysis

This research applied metaphor analysis to investigate student teachers' conceptions of technology. The sample included 237 students enrolled in technical pre-service teacher education in Turkey. Participants were given a questionnaire consisting of demographic questions and the prompt “Technology is like … because …” to articulate their conceptualizations of technology. Data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Participants produced 58 distinct mental images clustered into five conceptual categories that characterize technology as development, facilitation, vital necessity, power, and threat. Gender and major had no significant effect on their conceptions. Overall, the results suggest that student teachers' conception of technology is restricted and mostly focuses on artifact and technical dimensions. The implications and potential ways for constructing balanced and broader conceptualization of technology were discussed within the context of teacher education curriculum.     

The role of interest and images in slideware presentations

With the advent of technologies that allow lecturers to develop presentations using software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and OpenOffice Impress (referred to generically here as “slideware”), lectures and meetings are beginning to resemble cinematic experiences rather than the text filled transactions that have been the norm for the last decade. Unfortunately, there has been little research on slideware use. Furthermore, literature on this topic indicates that lectures typically do little to encourage elaborative thinking. To address this gap in the literature, we tested 90 participants who each viewed a lecture on the visual system that consisted of three different styles of presentation: (1) Image Congruent: presenting images that were relevant to the target information, (2) Image Incongruent: presenting images that were relevant to the narration but not the target information and, (3) Text Based: presenting text summaries of the narration. Throughout each of these conditions, participants provided ratings of interest and then completed a quiz to measure recognition, recall and transfer. Our results revealed that participants were more interested in the image-rich slides than bullet points, and that accuracy (but not interest) depended on whether the images were relevant to the content of the lecture or not.     

Students’ performance and satisfaction with Web vs. paper-based practice quizzes and lecture notes

The use of computers to deliver course-related materials is rapidly expanding in most universities. Yet the effects of computer vs. printed delivery modes on students’ performance and motivation are not yet fully known. We compared the impacts of Web vs. paper to deliver practice quizzes that require information search in lecture notes. Hundred and twenty two undergraduate students used either a web site or printed documents to answer 18 mathematics questions during a tutored session. A revised Web site was designed based on ergonomic criteria, to test the hypothesis that improved usability would decrease time spent on the task, the number of pages consulted, and students’ perceived cognitive load. The group working with printed documents had the highest performance. Furthermore, students perceived the paper materials as less effortful to read, and expressed preference for printing lecture notes and questions. However, students appreciated having a Web site available. No differences were found between the two sites. We conclude that Web delivery imposed higher perceived cognitive load due to the need to read lengthy documents. We suggest possible ways to improve Web-based practice materials, such as simultaneous display of questions and lecture notes.     

Examining the effectiveness of technology use in classrooms: A tertiary meta-analysis

Identifying effective literacy instruction programs has been a focal point for governments, educators and parents over the last few decades (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004, 2006; Council of Ontario Directors of Education, 2011). Given the increasing use of computer technologies in the classroom and in the home, a variety of information communication technology (ICT) interventions for learning have been introduced. Meta-analyses comparing the impact of these programs on learning, however, have yielded inconsistent findings (Andrews et al., 2007, Torgerson and Zhu, 2003, Slavin et al., 2008, Slavin et al., 2009). The present tertiary meta-analytic review re-assesses outcomes presented in three previous meta-analyses. Four moderator variables assessed the impact of the systematic review from which they were retrieved, training and support, implementation fidelity and who delivered the intervention (teacher versus researcher). Significant results were found when training and support was entered as a moderator variable with the small overall effectiveness of the ICTs (ES = 0.18), similar to those found in previous research, increasing significantly (ES = 0.57). These findings indicate the importance of including implementation factors such as training and support, when considering the relative effectiveness of ICT interventions.     

The importance of elementary school students’ social chat online: Reconceptualising the curriculum

The Internet is increasingly being used as a tool for communicating and learning in primary schools across many developed and developing countries. The place of social chat as part of online interactions has as yet not been fully recognised as an important component of learning.     

An analysis of students’ spontaneous computer-mediated help seeking: A step toward the design of ecologically valid supporting tools

This study analyzes middle school students’ spontaneous mathematics-related help-seeking behavior, in view of making ecologically valid recommendations for the design of supporting tools or “help systems”. Our aim was to investigate the content of students’ help-seeking messages – Are there different forms of help-seeking messages and do they evolve with age? We used the archives of a French forum that provides students with free individualized help in mathematics. The data consisted of 206 messages sent by French middle school students over a period of 42 months. The constituent categories of the messages were identified. The results showed that not all middle school students use the same help-seeking “format”. Compared to sixth graders, ninth graders wrote messages containing more constituent categories, i.e., they provided the online expert with more kinds of information. A detailed analysis of the categories further showed that older students’ messages more often contained explicit help requests and contextual information than did younger students’ messages. Thus, the messages of the oldest students (age 15) were both cognitively more understandable and socially more acceptable than those of the youngest students (age 11). The interpretation of these findings and their implications for designing help systems are discussed.     

The self-directed learning with technology scale (SDLTS) for young students: An initial development and validation

Research has found self-directed learning to have a significant impact on the long-term societal demands on our future workforce and our perspective on learning. Over the years, many measures have been developed to examine self-directed learning. However, few, if any, were developed for use by young students (age 10–12). In addition, none have included technology as an element in supporting self-directed learning. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a Self-Directed Learning with Technology Scale (SDLTS) for young students. Using two studies, a proposed 6-item SDLTS was piloted with 558 students, aged 10–12 years (mean = 10.18; SD = 0.38) and subsequently tested to establish the validity and reliability of the scale using a separate sample (n = 545). Applying principal component and confirmatory factor analyses, the results of these studies supported a 6-item, two-factor Self-Directed Learning with Technology Scale (SDLTS): Self-Management and Intentional Learning.     

Concept maps: A useful and usable tool for computer-based knowledge assessment? A literature review with a focus on usability

The concept map is now widely accepted as an instrument for the assessment of conceptual knowledge and is increasingly being embedded into technology-based environments. Usability addresses how appropriate (for a particular use) or how user-friendly a computer-based assessment instrument is. As we know from human-computer interaction research, if the interface is not user-friendly, a computer-based assessment can result in decreased test performance and reduced validity. This means that the usability of the interface affects the assessment in such a way that if the test is not user-friendly, then the test taker will not be able to fully demonstrate his/her level of proficiency and will instead be scored according to his/her information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills. The guidelines of the International Test Commission (2006) require usability testing for such instruments and suggest that design standards be implemented. However, we do not know whether computer-conducted concept map assessments fulfill these standards. The present paper addresses this aspect. We conducted a systematic research review to examine whether and how researchers have studied and considered usability when conducting computer-based concept map assessments. Only 24 out of 119 journal articles that assessed computer-based concept maps discussed the usability issue in some way. Nevertheless, our review brings to light the idea that the impact of usability on computer-based concept map assessments is an issue that has received insufficient attention. In addition, usability ensures a suitable interaction between test taker and test device; thus, the training effort required for test use can be reduced if a test's usability is straight forward. Our literature review, however, illustrates that the interplay between usability and test use training has mostly been neglected in current studies.     

Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and their use of digital media in classrooms: Sharpening the focus of the ‘will, skill, tool’ model and integrating teachers’ constructivist orientations

The ‘will, skill, tool’ model is a well-established theoretical framework that elucidates the conditions under which teachers are most likely to employ information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom. Past studies have shown that these three factors explain a very high degree of variance in the frequency of classroom ICT use. The present study replicates past findings using a different set of measures and hones in on possible subfactors. Furthermore, the study examines teacher affiliation for constructivist-style teaching, which is often considered to facilitate the pedagogical use of digital media. The study’s survey of 357 Swiss secondary school teachers reveals significant positive correlations between will, skill, and tool variables and the combined frequency and diversity of technology use in teaching. A multiple linear regression model was used to identify relevant subfactors. Five factors account for a total of 60% of the explained variance in the intensity of classroom ICT use. Computer and Internet applications are more often used by teachers in the classroom when: (1) teachers consider themselves to be more competent in using ICT for teaching; (2) more computers are readily available; (3) the teacher is a form teacher and responsible for the class; (4) the teacher is more convinced that computers improve student learning; and (5) the teacher more often employs constructivist forms of teaching and learning. The impact of constructivist teaching was small, however.     

Computer-based feedback in linear algebra: Effects on transfer performance and motivation

Two studies investigated the effects on students' perceptions (Study 1) and learning and motivation (Study 2) of different levels of feedback in mathematical problems. In these problems, an error made in one step of the problem-solving procedure will carry over to the following steps and consequently to the final solution. Providing immediate feedback after an error is made could prevent such carry-over effects. Feedback given on all problem-solving steps was hypothesized to yield higher motivation and better learning than feedback on the final problem-solving step. Study 1 investigated students' perceptions of three feedback types: ‘on the final solution step’; ‘on all the solution steps at once’; and ‘on all the solution steps successively’. Feedback on all solutions steps was perceived by learners more positively than feedback on the final solution step. Study 2 investigated the learning and motivational effects of two types of feedback, namely, ‘feedback on the final solution step’ and ‘feedback on all the solution steps’. The hypotheses that feedback on all problem-solving steps would lead to more effective learning and higher motivation than feedback on the final solution step were confirmed. Our results support current efforts to implement step-wise feedback. The implications for further research and for the design of feedback are discussed.     

Split-attention and redundancy effects on mobile learning in physical environments

This study investigated split-attention and redundancy effects in a mobile learning environment on leaf morphology of plants as a function of different combinations of media. Eighty-one fifth-grade students were randomly assigned to the following three conditions: texts with pictures embedded in the mobile device (TP condition); texts embedded in the mobile device and real objects that are outside of the mobile device (TO condition); and texts with pictures embedded in the mobile device and real objects that are outside of the mobile device (TPO condition). Differences in performance on comprehension tests and learning efficiency were examined across conditions. The TP condition was expected to perform better than the TO condition due to a split-attention effect. The TP and TO conditions were expected to perform better than the TPO condition due to a redundancy effect. The results indicated no difference between the TP and the TO condition in comprehension and learning efficiency, but the TP and TO conditions performed better than the TPO condition on both measures. The implications of the results for research and design of mobile learning environments are discussed.     

Stressful life events and adolescent Internet addiction: The mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction and the moderating role of coping style

Although stressful life events have been shown to play an important role in adolescent Internet addiction, little is known about mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation. Based on the integration of self-determination theory and stress-coping theory, the present study investigated (a) the mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction in the relationship between stressful life events and Internet addiction, and (b) the moderating role of coping style in the indirect and direct relationships between stressful life events and Internet addiction. This model was tested with 998 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.15 years, SD = 1.57). Participants filled out questionnaires regarding stressful life events, psychological needs satisfaction, coping style, and Internet addiction. After demographic variables were controlled, stressful life events were significantly positively associated with Internet addiction. Mediation analysis revealed that psychological needs satisfaction partially mediated the association between stressful life events and Internet addiction. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that the mediated path was weaker for adolescents with higher levels of positive coping style. These findings underscore the importance of identifying the mechanisms that moderate the mediated paths between stressful life events and adolescent Internet addiction.     

The benefits of more electronic screen space on students’ retention of material in classroom lectures

Many lecture halls today have two or more screens to be used by instructors for lectures with computer-supported visual aids. Typically, this additional screen real estate is not used to display additional information; rather a single stream of information is projected on all screens. We describe a controlled laboratory study that empirically assesses the effect on students learning of using the increased classroom screen real estate to project an additional stream of information. We measured how well participants learned from a two-stream presentation compared to a one-stream presentation duplicated on both screens. Data indicate that using extra screen real estate can indeed improve learning. In particular, learning was most improved when pertinent prior information was shown alongside currently explained information. There is also evidence that visual comparisons were improved with parallel viewing using extra screen real estate. Subjective data gathered from participants showed a strong preference for learning with two streams of content over a regular one-stream presentation.