bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Class blogs as a teaching tool to promote writing and student interaction
Authors: Sullivan Miriam , Longnecker Nancy
Published: April 2016

Blogs are a useful teaching tool for improving student writing and increasing class interaction. However, most studies have looked at individual blogs rather than blogs maintained by a whole class. We introduced assignments involving participation in class blogs to four science communication classes with enrolments of between 15 and 36 students. We administered paper-based surveys to obtain student perceptions of the value of the blogging assignment. Based on feedback in semester one, we increased commenting requirements and spent more time integrating the blog with coursework in semester two. In semester two, students had significantly improved perceptions of the blog assignments. The most commonly cited benefit by students in both semesters was that the blog helped to improve their writing. Most enjoyed the opportunity to have increased intellectual exchange with other students and the majority agreed that knowing other students read the blog motivated them to write better. Students disliked being forced to comment and they felt that they benefited just from reading other students’ posts. However, we recommend that weekly commenting should be mandatory, as this increased involvement and perceived value of the assignment.

 
Implementing the interactive response system in a high school physics context: Intervention and reflections
Authors: Shieh Ruey S. , Chang Wheijen
Published: April 2016

The interactive response system (IRS) has been widely used to promote student learning since 2003. It is an electronic system connected to handset devices allowing students to transmit their responses by pressing the desired buttons and meanwhile allowing the teacher to monitor and track individual students' answers anonymously and statistically. However, there is limited research examining the challenges teachers may encounter when designing IRS-based questions and providing mediations which may lead them to develop quality questions. The purpose of this study is to address this research gap by investigating one high school teacher's IRS implementation based on both the teacher's and students' teaching/learning experiences as well as presenting an intervention to help the teacher develop higher quality IRS questions. High quality questions denote questions that are able to help students engage in deeper thinking and eventually lead to comprehensive understanding of the concepts learned. The data sources consist of tests, classroom observations, interviews, face-to-face meetings, and email correspondence. The findings disclose that enhancing the teacher's content knowledge and capability of recognizing the students' learning pitfalls is the foundation to developing quality IRS questions. Collaboration established between the teacher and a university physics education expert appears to have effectively helped both participants gain insights and knowledge into designing quality questions aimed at identifying the students' learning bottlenecks.

 
Implementation of an electronic Objective Structured Clinical Exam for assessing practical skills in pre-professional physiotherapy and occupational therapy programs: Examiner and course coordinator perspectives
Authors: Snodgrass Suzanne J , Ashby Samantha E , Rivett Darren A , Russell Trevor
Published: April 2016

Assessment of practical clinical skills is essential in the health fields. Objective Structured Clinical Exams (OSCEs), where examiners assess students performing clinical procedures on simulated patients (actors), are central to the evaluation of practical skills. However, traditional OSCEs require considerable time-investment to administer, and providing timely, individualised student feedback is difficult. To address these issues, an electronic OSCE (eOSCE) was developed utilising the iPad and specialised software. The eOSCE was trialled in four courses within two entry-level rehabilitative pre-professional programs at two universities, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Evaluation consisted of student surveys (n = 206), eight student focus groups (n = 25), examiner surveys (n = 25) and interviews with course coordinators (n = 3). This paper describes the administration of the eOSCE and reports on its evaluation from the academic’s perspective. A majority of examiners (68%) preferred the eOSCE over traditional paper-based OSCEs, primarily because of the consistency and promptness of student feedback. The advantages academics cited were equitable student feedback and post-examination administrative time-savings. Disadvantages of the eOSCE were the pre-examination preparation required and challenges for examiners not comfortable using technology. Overall, the key benefits of the eOSCE were the automated, immediate individualised student feedback and a time saving in OSCE administration.

 
Learning outside the walls of the classroom: Engaging the digital natives
Authors: Veira Andrea K. , Leacock Coreen J. , Warrican S. Joel
Published: April 2016

This study investigated the response of students and teachers to the use of ICTs to promote teaching and learning outside of the classroom and regular school hours in a Caribbean secondary school. Following an action research design, Grades 10 and 11 Biology students were given access to subject content and learning support through online discussion groups (Google and Facebook), a website that hosted information and an accompanying blog.  Data were collected by questionnaire, interviews, and observation. Initially, the students were reluctant to use the discussion groups, though they eventually reported that these facilities provided useful learning support outside of the classroom. They however rejected the Google group in favour of the more familiar Facebook group. Students were so enthusiastic about these resources that they requested that more subject areas be added.  Teachers were somewhat reluctant to answer this call, citing the lack of access to equipment and time as deterrents. One year later, the initiative had expanded to the point where the school had acquired additional equipment, had devised a policy for ICT use, additional resources were added to the website and increasingly, students were using their portable devices for academic purposes both in and out of school.

 
Authentic learning exercises as a means to influence preservice teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy and intentions to integrate technology
Authors: Banas Jennifer R. , York Cindy S.
Published: April 2016

This study explored the impact of authentic learning exercises, as an instructional strategy, on preservice teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy and intentions to integrate technology. Also explored was the predictive relationship between change in preservice teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy and change in intentions to integrate technology. Participants included 104 preservice teachers enrolled into a professional preparation methods course. Technology integration self-efficacy was measured as perceived technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). A paired samples t-test revealed a significant increase in self-efficacy for all TPACK constructs, as well as intentions to integrate technology. The effect was greatest for PCK. Also, multiple regression analysis revealed change in technology integration self-efficacy as a model, predicted change in intentions to integrate. Particularly change in perceived technology knowledge, predicted change in intentions. Implications for professional preparation programs are shared.
 
Blended learning in design education: An analysis of students' experiences within the disciplinary differences framework
Authors: Pektas Sule Tasli , Gurel Meltem O.
Published: April 2016

Blended learning has already become an indispensable part of education in many fields. However, the majority of existing research on blended learning has assumed homogeneity of disciplines. This study suggests that research highlighting disciplinary effects and differences is much needed to effectively develop courses and tools consonant with the characteristics of each discipline. To help close this research gap, this paper focuses on design education and analyses student experiences in a “blended design studio” that combined the Moodle learning management system, live videoconferencing, and social networking media (Facebook) with traditional face-to-face learning (design studio). Students’ perceptions of the methods and tools were elicited through structured and open-ended questions and qualitative variations in responses were categorised. Subsequent quantitative analysis revealed that the characteristics of soft-applied fields require customisation in blended courses and educational system designs in several ways.

 
The competencies required for effective performance in a university e-learning environment
Authors: Parkes Mitchell , Reading Christine , Stein Sarah
Published: April 2016

The aim of this study was to identify and rate the importance of the competencies required by students for effective performance in a university e-learning environment mediated by a learning management system. Two expert panels identified 58 e-learning competencies considered to be essential for e-learning. Of these competencies, 22 were related to the use of technology. The remaining 36 competencies encapsulated a range of practices considered to be essential for learning within a social constructivist framework. Six of the competencies identified were either new or substantially different from what had been previously identified in the literature. A survey of e-learning stakeholders rating the importance of the e-learning competencies indicated that the competencies were not of equal importance. Critically, a number of key competencies from a social constructivist perspective that dealt with interacting and working with others were rated as being unimportant. This suggests that there is a disconnect between what the literature says about the importance of social constructivism to e-learning environments in theory and what e-learning stakeholders perceive its importance to be in practice.
An epistemological analysis of the application of an online inquiry-based program in tourism education
Authors: Hsu Liwei
Published: April 2016

This paper was designed to investigate the application of an online inquiry-based program to European tourism from an epistemological perspective. Fifty tourism students (n = 50) participated in this study and their epistemological beliefs were measured with the Epistemological Belief Scale. A set of pre-, post-, and delayed tests were utilised to assess each participant’s learning outcomes. The results showed that online inquiry-based learning (IBL) did change the participants’ epistemological beliefs significantly, with a large effect size (Cohen’s d) of .83. However, correlation analyses indicated that the relationship between an individual’s epistemological beliefs before and after the online IBL experience, and the differences of pre- and post-tests, is rather low (g = .287). Yet, the association between their changed epistemological beliefs and the delayed test was higher (g = .556). These results suggest the possible effectiveness of online IBL in helping tourism students’ develop more sophisticated epistemological beliefs, which may not be able to help learners comprehend the subject matter immediately but may facilitate better long-term retention.

 
 
Bricks or clicks? Predicting student intentions in a blended learning buffet
Authors: Hood Michelle
Published: April 2016

This study examined predictors of students' intentions to access face-to-face (f2f) or online options for lectures and tutorials in a buffet-style blended learning 2nd-year psychology statistics course (N = 113; 84% female). Students were aged 18 to 51 years (M = 23.16; SD = 6.80). Practical and technological predictors, along with attitudinal and motivational factors drawn from the expectancy value model, were tested. Higher work commitments, greater reliance on rehearsal, higher self-regulation, and higher critical thinking were the most important predictors of intentions to use online lectures. Almost 40% of the variance in those intentions was explained. Having the required computer software was the only independent predictor of intentions to attend synchronous online tutorials. Overall, 10% of the variance in those intentions was explained. Intentions to access asynchronous (archived) online tutorials were uniquely predicted by lower ability and higher extrinsic motivation. Overall, 26% of the variance in those intentions was explained. The predictors did not explain significant variance in intentions to attend f2f lectures or tutorials. These findings contribute to understanding how students go about making choices when faced with buffet style blended learning courses. Motivational and practical factors both influence the choices students make.
Understanding the role of prior knowledge in a multimedia learning application
Authors: Mohd Rias Riaza , Zaman Halimah Badioze
Published: April 2016

This study looked at the effects that individual differences in prior knowledge have on student understanding in learning with multimedia in a computer science subject. Students were identified as having either low or high prior knowledge from a series of questions asked in a survey conducted at the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at University Technology MARA, Malaysia. The subject domain chosen for this study is a topic taught to undergraduates in the field of Computer Sciences, in the subject of Operating Systems, i.e., Memory Management Concepts. This study utilizes a multimedia application that is shown to a total of 257 students. Early results from the recall and transfer tests indicate that students' individual differences play a vital role in learning outcome. As expected, the low prior knowledge group scored significantly in the recall tests as compared to the transfer test, and the high prior knowledge group performed comparatively better in the transfer test. This suggests that educational designers who wish to foster learning and understanding should incorporate learners' prior knowledge as a design principle.

 
 
An adaptive scaffolding e-learning system for middle school students’ physics learning
Authors: Chen Ching-Huei
Published: April 2016

This study presents a framework that utilizes cognitive and motivational aspects of learning to design an adaptive scaffolding e-learning system. It addresses scaffolding processes and conditions for designing adaptive scaffolds. The features and effectiveness of this adaptive scaffolding e-learning system are discussed and evaluated. An experiment was conducted within the domain of velocity and acceleration. The results revealed that the adaptive scaffolding system appeals to students and promotes improved performances and motivational outcomes. Specifically, the results suggested that learners with lower levels of knowledge who possessed extrinsic motivation benefited the most from the adaptive scaffolds. The implications of the design guidelines for developing personalized, adaptive scaffolding e-learning systems are discussed, and future research directions are recommended.
Indirect measures of learning transfer between real and virtual environments
Authors: Garrett Michael , McMahon Mark
Published: April 2016

This paper reports on research undertaken to determine the effectiveness of a 3D simulation environment used to train mining personnel in emergency evacuation procedures, designated the Fires in Underground Mines Evacuation Simulator (FUMES). Owing to the operational constraints of the mining facility, methods for measuring learning transfer were employed which did not require real world performance evaluation. Transfer measures that examined simulator performance relative to real world experience, fidelity assessment, and appraisal of the training value of the platform were utilised. Triangulation of results across all three measures indicated the presence of learning transfer, suggesting the viability of indirect measures in instances where real world performance testing is not possible. Furthermore, these indirect measures of learning transfer also provided some insight as to the strengths and weaknesses of the simulation design, which could be used to inform the development of future versions of the product.
"I'd be so much more comfortable posting anonymously": Identified versus anonymous participation in student discussion boards
Authors: Roberts Lynne D. , Rajah-Kanagasabai Camilla J
Published: April 2016

Academic staff members encourage university students to use online student discussion boards within learning management systems to ask and answer questions, share information and engage in discussion. We explore the impact of anonymity on student posting behaviour. An online survey was completed by 131 second year undergraduate psychology students (91% response rate). Overall, students reported being significantly more likely to post to discussion boards when anonymous posting was enabled than when identified posting was required (d = .49). Students who preferred to post anonymously were significantly less likely to post on discussion boards requiring identification than other students (η2 = .27). The experimental manipulation of anonymous/identified postings using a simulated discussion board thread revealed no significant differences in the perceived credibility of authors of anonymous and identified messages, or in the likelihood of responding to these messages. A combination of individual level factors; including online privacy concern, self-consciousness and self-efficacy; were predictive of the likelihood of making identified postings (R2 = .387), but only self-efficacy was a significant unique predictor of anonymous postings (sr2 = .05). Educators can consider enabling anonymous postings and providing training to increase student self-efficacy as ways of increasing student engagement through decreasing concerns about self-presentation online.

 
 
What counts as educational video?: Working toward best practice alignment between video production approaches and outcomes.
Authors: Winslett Greg
Published: April 2016

The twenty years since the first digital video camera was made commercially available has seen significant increases in the use of low-cost, amateur video productions for teaching and learning. In the same period, production and consumption of professionally produced video has also increased, as has the distribution platforms to access it. Furthermore, advances in social media technologies and learning management systems have changed the ways in which video materials can be used in teaching and learning. These developments have, among other things, brought about a complexity in the decision-making behind the production of video materials for higher education teaching and learning. Before we can begin to systematically describe and recommend certain video materials and production approaches for specific learning outcomes, it is useful to consider the existing body of research that describes how video is being used in higher education teaching and learning. This paper uses a landscape literature review of higher education video usage to identify and compare the range of production types and related educational outcomes. The paper concludes by calling for a refreshed research agenda that will assist in identifying the parts of university curricula well suited to being supported by video materials.
Were knowledge management abilities of university students enhanced after creating personal blog-based portfolios?
Authors: Chang Chi-Cheng , Liang Chaoyun , Tseng Kuo-Hung , Tseng Ju-Shih , Chen To-Yu
Published: April 2016

The effect of creating blog-based portfolios on knowledge management (KM) abilities among university students was examined in the present study. Participants included 43 students majoring in Multimedia and Game Science at a University in Taiwan. Students spent nine weeks creating their personal portfolios by using a blog. The t-test was conducted to examine the difference in KM abilities before and after creating blog-based portfolios. The results showed that students' KM abilities after creating blog-based portfolios were significantly better than before creating blog-based portfolios.

 
Navigating and decoding dynamic maps: Gender preferences and engagement differences within- and outside-of game experiences
Authors: Lowrie Tom , Jorgensen Robyn , Logan Tracy
Published: April 2016

A survey (n = 410) revealed statistically significant gender differences between middle school students' preference for playing particular types of games. Subsequent instrumental case studies theorised the "within-game" and "out-of-game" experiences of two middle school students as they played a digital hand-held game. These two case studies comprised stimulated recall sessions and subsequent follow-up, open-ended interviews. The analysis described the influence digital game playing can have on a participant's mathematics sense making. Findings included distinct differences in both the approach and the strategies employed by the respective participants to not only engage with the game, but contextualise it within their own knowledge and experiences. Furthermore, the study demonstrated the extent to which game playing can be a catalyst for further learning outside the game experience.
Using the interactive whiteboard to scaffold a metalanguage: Teaching higher order thinking skills in preservice teacher education
Authors: Harrison Neil
Published: April 2016

This research focuses on how the interactive whiteboard (IWB) can be effectively used to teach higher order thinking skills to primary preservice teachers in the history classroom. The case study finds that skills such as analysis, evaluation and inference constitute a valuable metalanguage that needs to be explicitly taught to preservice teachers. The IWB provides an effective stimulus for teaching this metalanguage insofar as it offers the user scaffolding affordances to plan and design higher order thinking (HOT) activities when otherwise the task can appear too difficult to achieve, especially for the younger preservice teachers. But risks await those preservice teachers who grant the technology a determinant model of materiality.
‘Partly self-made niches’? Student-only spaces in an LMS
Authors: Pettit John
Published: April 2016

Eighty-nine students were provided with a student-only live-voice space in a Learning Management System (LMS). Would they use it and, if so, would they feel sufficient ownership to create what Havnes (2008) described as “partly self-made niches”? In this study, a substantial proportion of respondents reported that they used the space not only for social support but also for key aspects of peer-learning. They reported that these student-only sessions gave them freedom to explore module-topics in new ways, and to share professional practice. Some disliked the lack of structure, but many valued the freedom to vary the focus and pace of their sessions. Several interviewees reported setting up sessions at short notice – for example, via Twitter – to meet their immediate concerns and requirements. A number of respondents valued these sessions as distinctive from, and complementary to, their tutorials in the same live-voice environment. The paper links these findings to debates about whether peer-learning should be explicitly organised, and about how education can disrupt itself as advocated by Bass (2012).

 
Examining factors affecting beginning teachers’ transfer of learning of ICT-enhanced learning activities in their teaching practice
Authors: Agyei Douglas D. , Voogt Joke
Published: April 2016

This study examined 100 beginning teachers’ transfer of learning when utilising Information Communication Technology-enhanced activity-based learning activities. The beginning teachers had participated in a professional development program that was characterised by ‘learning technology by collaborative design’ in their final year of their pre-service preparation program.  Transfer of learning was proposed as characteristic of (i) the professional development program,(ii) beginning teachers and (iii) school environment. Beginning teachers held positive views about active learning and ICT use developed during the professional development program, which seemed the strongest predictor in transfer of their learning. The study also showed that a significant amount of explained differences in the level of transfer of ICT-enhanced activity-based learning innovation could be attributed to range of factors across individual beginning teachers and school environment characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed.

 

 
Learning styles and perceptions of student teachers of computer-supported collaborative learning strategy using wikis
Authors: LI Kai Ming
Published: April 2016

This paper reports the results of an attempt to integrate a collaborative technology, Wiki, into learning within a course in a teacher education programme based on social constructivist learning theory. The current study aimed to explore student-teacher acceptance of the proposed pedagogy and to identify specific learning style preferences that might be favourable to accepting the proposed pedagogy. A total of 56 student teachers participated in this study. They completed a number of collaborative tasks using a wiki during the learning process, and were then invited to complete a questionnaire designed to solicit their perception on the usefulness of wikis and their attitudes towards using a wiki, and 39 of them also returned a learning styles inventory which was used to identify the learning styles profile of the student-teacher samples. The findings reveal favourable perceptions of the use of a wiki as a collaborative learning tool in the course. Qualitative data collected from open-ended questions also reflects similar favourable results. Active learners were also found to be significantly different from reflective learners in accepting the wiki as a learning tool.
Development of student and academic staff perceptions of the elements of an online learning environment over time
Authors: Palmer Stuart , Holt Dale
Published: April 2016

Academic staff play a fundamental role in the use of online learning environments (OLEs) by students, yet studies investigating the perspectives of staff are limited, and the least common investigations are those comparing the relative perceptions of students and staff.  Many OLE evaluations present a point-in-time snapshot of the system, but extended evaluation of OLE usage is required to reveal the detail in the evolution of system use.  The data from a large, repeated cross-sectional and quantitative survey of university students and staff were analysed.  Drawing on 4680 survey responses over the period 2004–2011, it was found that:

both student and staff mean ratings of importance and satisfaction suggest an increasingly positive engagement with the OLE over time;

virtually all mean ratings of satisfaction, and many of the mean ratings of importance, for students were higher than for staff, supporting the view in the literature that students have a more positive attitude than staff toward OLE use; and

the general trend was a reduction in the magnitude of the differences between students and staff between 2004 and 2011.

More fine-grained analyses of the differences observed for individual elements of the OLE are also reported.

 
Design of a blended learning environment: Considerations and implementation issues
Authors: Gedik Nuray , Kiraz Ercan , Ozden M. Yasar
Published: April 2016

This study identified critical issues in the design of a blended learning environment by examining basic design considerations and implementation issues. Following a design-based research approach with the phenomenological tradition of qualitative research, the study investigated instructor experiences relating to the design, development, and implementation processes of a blended course. The results reveal that the design considerations centred on the pedagogical approach, course organization, materials preparation, interactions, and the instructor's and students' roles. The affordances of the implementation included the arousal of the students' interest and participation, flexibility, time conservation, the ability to track student progress, and the improvement of interaction, collaboration, and communication opportunities. The challenges were increased workload, course and time management, overlaps, and the creation of harmony between the face-to-face and online environments. The overall results show that the critical issues involved context, the pedagogical framework, instructor competency, and technical issues in the blended course design.

 
Capturing dynamic presentation: Using technology to enhance the chalk and the talk
Authors: Venema Sven , Lodge Jason M
Published: April 2016

Despite rapid changes in the ways in which university courses are being delivered, lectures have remained a common feature of many courses. The lecture is problematic for many reasons, not the least being that it does not encourage interaction. The current project attempted to address this problem by implementing 'digital ink' into lecture sessions. The approach used in this study is innovative because the handwritten component of the content was written on top of content created in advance and presented in PDF form. The response from students was overwhelmingly positive. During the course of the implementation, a number of teething problems were encountered; suggestions for overcoming these problems and future enhancements are also discussed. Digital ink provides a potential avenue for increasing interaction in lecture sessions whilst not limiting the capacity for capturing all aspects of the session.
Exploring discipline differentiation in online discussion participation
Authors: Redmond Petrea , Devine Jo , Bassoon Marita
Published: April 2016

Online discussion forums are often the only interaction or communication a student in an online learning environment will have with the course instructor and fellow students. Discussion forums are intended to elicit a range of thinking skills from the students, from purely social interaction to metacognition in order to achieve deep learning. Given the increasing use of online learning environments, it is timely to question whether students from different disciplines use online discussion forums in different ways, particularly in terms of their level of thinking. If there is differentiation, educators need to provide discipline specific opportunities for undergraduate students to interact in dynamic online discussions as part of a rich learning experience. This ethnographic study explored the types of online postings provided by students as part of their learning journey in two undergraduate online courses, one in an Engineering program and another in a Teacher Education program at a regional university. The goal of the research was to identify evidence of higher order thinking within students’ online posts. Data were analysed according to Henri’s Content Analysis Model for Asynchronous Conferencing.
A change agent’s facilitation process for overcoming the barriers of ICT adoption for educational administration – The case of a rural-Bangladesh vocational institution
Authors: Khalid Md. Saifuddin , Nyvang Tom
Published: April 2016

The factors influencing the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) as a professional and management tool outside the classroom have received little research attention. The two objectives of this research were: how do stakeholders of educational administration experience the barriers of ICT adoption, and how can they facilitate the transformation process in addressing the barriers that prevent the adoption? Taking a case from the development context of rural Bangladesh, the investigation is based on three theoretical stances: educational administration, the diffusion of innovations, and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). Field-study based change agent facilitation applied PRA as a two-way diffusion communication method. The study concludes that barriers originate from the levels of individuals, the educational institution, the national agencies, and the external environment. PRA provided a useful framework facilitating communication to highlight barriers and gain a deeper understanding of what exactly the barriers at different levels are in a specific institution and how they influence practice.
Using research to inform learning technology practice and policy: a qualitative analysis of student perspectives
Authors: Russell Carol , Malfroy Janne , Gosper Maree , McKenzie Jo
Published: April 2016

As learning technologies are now integral to most higher education student learning experiences, universities need to make strategic choices about what technologies to adopt and how to best support and develop the use of these technologies, particularly in a climate of limited resources. Information from students is therefore a valuable contribution when determining institutional goals, building infrastructure and improving the quality of student learning. This paper draws on a survey of student experiences and expectations of technology across three Australian universities. Analysis of text responses from 7,000 students provides insight into ways that institutional learning technologies and academic-led technologies are influencing the student experience. This paper also discusses how the three universities have used this information to develop strategic initiatives, and identifies a need for new strategies to support academic-led use of the available tools.

 
Actual and preferred teacher feedback on student blog writing
Authors: Chen Wen-Chun
Published: April 2016

This research illustrates the provisions and receptivity of teacher feedback in a blog-mediated writing project between two colleges. The blog serves as a peer collaboration platform, as well as a mediating tool for teachers to offer timely feedback or prompt student idea exchanges. This paper discusses how teacher feedback may alter in response to students’ online writing activities, and examines the reciprocity between the teachers’ provision and the students’ receptivity. Thirty-four students, two teachers, and two teaching assistants (TAs) participated in the two-semester tele-collaboration. Feedback from the teachers and TAs was categorized by Hattie and Timperley’s (2007) taxonomy, which comprises four levels of feedback: the task, the process, self-regulation, and superficial praise. In addition, a new category, mediative feedback, was created to highlight the networked learning. Data were collected from blog message archives, a perception survey, and interviews for qualitative and quantitative analyses. The findings illustrate the evolution of feedback provisions, specifically the addition of mediative feedback type and reduction of superficial comments during online writing tasks. Furthermore, a clear mismatch between the highest rated and most provided feedback type also illustrates the impact of web 2.0 tools on teaching practices.
Does multimedia support individual differences? – EFL learners’ listening comprehension and cognitive load
Authors: Yang Hui-Yu
Published: April 2016

The present study examines how display model, English proficiency and cognitive preference affect English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ listening comprehension of authentic videos and cognitive load degree. EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The control group received single coding and the experimental group received dual coding. The results show that the display model affects EFL learners’ cognitive load and listening comprehension of CNN news. There is no interaction among English proficiency, cognitive preference and experimental conditions on the listening comprehension scores and cognitive load scale. Learners with a low aptitude for visual learning had poorer performance and a higher cognitive load than those with a high aptitude for visual learning. All learners, regardless of cognitive styles and level of English, benefited from dual coding. The dual-code display model thus seems to be effective in reducing EFL learners’ cognitive load.
Schools going mobile: A study of the adoption of mobile handheld technologies in Western Australian independent schools
Authors: Pegrum Mark , Oakley Grace , Faulkner Robert
Published: April 2016

This paper reports on the adoption of mobile handheld technologies in ten Western Australian independent schools, based on interviews with staff conducted in 2011. iPads were the most popular device, followed by iPod Touches and iPhones. Class sets were common at lower levels, with 1:1 models becoming increasingly common at higher levels. Mobile learning, or m-learning, was still at an experimental stage in most schools, but common themes were already emerging around the need to integrate mobile devices into a broader learning ecology. Key discussions focused on their role in promoting consumption or production, collaboration or personalisation, and creating seamless learning spaces. Used for both organisational and pedagogical purposes, mobile devices were seen as enhancing student motivation, with empirical evidence of improved student learning also emerging in small-scale studies conducted by two schools. Challenges included the need to carefully manage the technology, ethical issues in its use, and staff roles in its deployment. Pedagogically grounded and adequately contextualised professional development (PD) was seen as vital for time-poor staff, while a desire to set up a professional community of practice was widely expressed. All the schools surveyed planned to extend their use of mobile handheld technologies in the future.
Investigating elementary school students' technology acceptance by applying digital game-based learning to environmental education
Authors: Cheng Yuh-Ming , Lou Shi-Jer , Kuo Sheng-Huang , Shih Ru-Chu
Published: April 2016

In order to improve and promote students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour, integrating environmental education into the primary education curriculum has become a key issue for environmental education. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate elementary school students' acceptance of technology applying digital game-based learning (DGBL) to environmental education. A total of 32 fourth graders in an elementary school participated in a seven-week DGBL teaching experiment. After the experimental teaching session, a survey concerning "perceived ease of use", "perceived usefulness", and "user intentions" was conducted. The results show that the DGBL system is suitable for both genders at all levels of experience. In addition, the 4th grade students' "perceived ease of use", "perceived usefulness", "attitudes toward use", and "intention to use" reveal a high degree of positive and significant correlations. Furthermore, a path analysis verifies that DGBL acceptance will be directly influenced by a learner's "attitude toward use" and "perceived usefulness." Finally, when designing DGBL for 4th graders, the rich learning content and ease of use should be taken into account because they significantly contribute to a learner's intention to use the system, which may result in greater learning effectiveness.
Strategy-oriented web-based English instruction — A meta-analysis
Authors: Chang Mei-Mei , Lin Mei-Chen
Published: April 2016

In this meta-analysis study, a total of thirty-one studies related to strategy use of students in Taiwan in a web-based English context were identified, collected, and analysed. Three criteria for selecting the appropriate studies are (a) they must have applied web-based instruction; (b) they must be related to English learning; and (c) they had to provide one of the following data in order to calculate effect size (ES), including means and standard deviation (SD), F values, or t values. The characteristics were divided into three groups; that is, study characteristics, methodological characteristics, and design characteristics. The findings reveal that predicting, summarizing, self-questioning and clarifying; text annotation with pictures, and glossing were strategies with higher effect size (ES > 0.920). Findings from the meta-analysis in this study could provide a basis for designing and developing a strategy-oriented web-based instruction.
Editorial 29(2)
Authors: Bennett Sue , Dalgarno Barney , Kennedy Gregor
Published: April 2016

This issue provides another diverse collection of articles that advance our understanding of educational technology. Five of the articles included are concerned with applications of technology to teaching and learning. Two articles focus on language learning, while three papers in this issue are concerned with the challenges of technology integration by school teachers. This issue also includes two future-oriented articles; one presents the findings of a large scale survey of Australian university students’ use and expectations of technology for work, social and study purposes across three institutions and the other is an exploration of the space between policy and practice in relation to the introduction of the National Broadband Network in Australia.
Transforming higher education and student engagement through collaborative review to inform educational design
Authors: Von Konsky Brian R. , Martin Romana , Bolt Susan , Broadley Tania , Ostashewski Nathaniel
Published: April 2016

This paper reports on staff perceptions arising from a review process designed to assist staff in making informed decisions regarding educational design, approaches to engage students in learning, and the technology to support engagement in the classroom and across multiple locations and delivery modes. The aim of the review process was to transform the level of student engagement in the business faculty of an Australian university. The process took a collaborative approach through consultation with academic staff involved in the design and delivery of the units under review, and included targeted professional development as necessary. An institutional framework that characterises engagement indicator contexts and their attributes facilitated dialog during the review process. This paper reports on a mixed method study that included a survey of participants, and purposeful interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of the process. Although the study identified factors that hindered implementation and operationalization of review recommendations in some instances, study participants were generally of the view that recommendations would enhance student engagement. It is demonstrated that the bottom-up approach described in this paper is consistent with theoretical frameworks for transformational change in teaching and learning and the adoption of innovations.
Editorial
Authors: Atkinson Roger , McLoughlin Catherine
Published: April 2016

Two Outstanding Paper Awards made at ascilite Hobart 2011
Online learning in the workplace: A hybrid model of participation in networked, professional learning
Authors: Thorpe Mary , Gordon Jean
Published: April 2016

The design and conceptualisation of online learning environments for work-related, professional learning was addressed through research with users of an online environment for social workers. The core questions for the research were to identify the nature of participation in the online environment, the relationship between online participation and the offline context, and the implications for conceptualisation of online learning environments to support work-related learning. Key areas of the research literature in technology-enhanced and work related learning are discussed in order to position the study, to inform the research methods used and interpretation of the findings. Online participation needs to be understood as a hybrid concept, in that it is a reflection of offline roles, opportunities and pressures, as well as the usefulness, usability and relevance of what is online. Online participation was diverse, from short browsing for information, to more reflective engagement that supported movement across the boundaries between roles and areas of work practice and a focus on practice skills and underlying values. Online sites intended to support work-related learning should start from the perspective of the socio-technical interaction network, with its emphasis on building in the social context at all stages in the life of a site.
Developing technological pedagogical content knowledge in pre-service science teachers: Support from blended learning
Authors: Alayyar Ghaida M. , Fisser Petra , Voogt Joke
Published: April 2016

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework has been used to prepare pre-service science teachers at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait for ICT integration in education. Pre-service teachers worked in teams to design an ICT solution for an authentic problem they faced during in-school training. Pre-service teachers were separated into two groups. The first group was coached by ICT, pedagogy, and content experts. The second group was offered a blended condition, by which they had access to an online portal with different tutorials and examples, with opportunities to meet with different experts whenever they wanted. Pre-test and post-test design data were collected for attitudes toward ICT, ICT skills, and TPACK. The findings show that the self-reported TPACK, the score of attitudes toward ICT, and ICT skills increased in both groups. However, the blended support condition reported a higher increase in the participants' technological knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), their attitude toward ICT as a tool for instruction and productivity, and ICT enjoyment. This indicated that students perceived the blended condition for supporting design teams as a more desirable method for enhancing their development of TPACK.
The e-portfolio continuum: Discovering variables for e-portfolio adoption within music education
Authors: Taylor John , Dunbar-Hall Peter , Rowley Jennifer L.
Published: April 2016

This article presents the results of audit data compiled from a case study introducing e-portfolios into a Music Education degree program, and highlights the key challenges faced  from  the  initial  stages  of  student  use  to  curricular  embedding  and  student adoption.  This  article  discusses  the  technological,  social  and  educational  impacts inherent  in  a  student’s  adoption  of  e-portfolios  within  a  degree  program,  and critically,  shows  how  training  for  e-portfolio  use  must  manage  these  complex,interrelated imbalances on an individual student basis.