ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Jeffrey Town Model for Community Development
Author: Gordon, Ivy Veronica
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Community Development,Models,Community Organizations,Agricultural Occupations,Human Capital,Capacity Building,Foreign Countries

The Jeffrey Town model for community development has been effectively applied to the rural community of Jeffrey Town in Jamaica with Information and Computer Technology (ICT) as a key element. The farmer's association is the vehicle that has driven the change. Included is a brief outline of the community plus highlights of the tangible and intangible components of the model. Special attention is paid to the investment in the human capital to help build capacity of all locals without exploitation so that real empowerment could begin. Jeffrey Town is a success story validating the modern development assistance programmes whereby communities are empowered, allowed to select their own imperatives and, in this case, redressing some of those difficulties with superb results.
Curriculum Transaction in NIOS: Overcoming the Limitations of Packaged Instructions
Author: Bose, Sutapa
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,National Curriculum,Outcomes of Education,Open Education,Distance Education,Independent Study,Supplementary Education

Low learning outcomes in Indian schools and the promotion of rote learning by their instructional systems have been documented time and again. Schools are therefore required to adopt India's National Curriculum Framework (NCF) (2005) that includes guidelines for curriculum transaction. However, the learning outcomes and the kind of learning likely to be promoted by the instructional system of open schools in India, including the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) remain excluded from these deliberations. So these two aspects of NIOS have been examined and it has been inferred that the learning outcomes are unsatisfactory; the instructional system is not designed for meaningful learning; and the self-learning material used for delivering instructions is a barrier to the adoption of the NCF guidelines. Thereafter, it is proposed that the personal contact programme (PCP) is a component of the instructional system of NIOS that will lend itself to the adoption of the NCF guidelines, provided it is designed suitably. Subsequently, a PCP design based on the NCF directives for organising instructional processes is suggested in the context of NIOS.
Introducing a Personal Learning Environment in Higher Education. An Analysis of Connectivity
Author: Saz, Alexandra
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Environment,Higher Education,Teacher Student Relationship,Technology Uses in Education,Learning Processes,Teaching Models,Instructional Design,Instructional Development,Mixed Methods Research,Network Analysis,Case Studies,Aptitude Treatment Interaction,Foreign Countries,College Students,College Faculty

Universities have a key role to play in the progress and development of the Knowledge Society. They should lead the way in the design of teaching strategies that promote knowledge building. Personal learning environments (PLE) represent a groundbreaking new development in educational practices through the incorporation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and an opportunity to promote the creation of universities without walls able to meet the demands of the knowledge society. This study focuses on the relationships established by the participants (students and teachers) in two higher education instructional sequences using institutionally-powered PLE (iPLE). One of the sequences was carried out at the University of Barcelona and the other at the University of Andorra. Both used the same technological support, the &quot;Elgg&quot; platform, which allows users to build their own personal work and learning environment. The main hypothesis of the study is that the relationships formed depend on the techno-pedagogical design of the teaching and learning process. The results show that in both cases the relationships that the participants establish with their peers and teachers are indeed related to the characteristics and requirements of the particular techno-pedagogical designs. Although the technological environment allowed all the participants to establish relationships with others, the main interactions were found in small working groups created to carry out learning and assessment activities. In conclusion, we stress the importance of planning teaching and learning activities and assessment processes that are able to exploit the full potential of PLE.
Still Far from Personal Learning: Key Aspects and Emergent Topics about How Future Professionals' PLEs Are
Author: Prendes Espinosa, María Paz
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Learning Processes,Cognitive Style,Focus Groups,Research Projects,Educational Resources,Information Sources,Social Networks,Learning Experience,Questionnaires,College Students,Online Surveys,Interpersonal Relationship,Preferences,Technology Uses in Education,Self Management,Information Literacy,Research Needs,Learning Strategies,Foreign Countries

The CAPPLE project is an exploratory research project that aims to analyse the PLEs of future Spanish professionals. An ad-hoc survey about their habits for learning was conducted using a sample of 2054 university students from the last year of a degree. After data collection, two main processes were carried out: (1) the analysis of some of the aspects learnt through the data collection; and (2) a series of focus groups in parallel, centered on the exploration of data to obtain some first conclusions with a descriptive analysis. The results of these processes showed firstly, that although the survey size is important, there are other factors to consider, such as the difficulty and constant engagement of questions, which that seriously affected the rate of survey completion. Additionally, data show that future professionals prefer to use analogical tools to complete their learning tasks although they like being connected to social networks in their social lives. They do not have many strategies to organize their learning and are not very critical of the information that comes from their teachers. Regarding PLEs, there are some topics that emerge from the analysis that should be studied in the next future in order to understand better how our students--our future professionals--learn.
Education of the Gifted Students in Turkey and a Sample Activity
Author: Genç, Mehmet Ali
Date: 2016-07-10
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Gifted,Teaching Methods,Special Education,Educational History,Talent Development,Art Education,Qualitative Research,Visual Arts,Publications,Action Research,Observation,Foreign Countries,Program Descriptions

After the Enderun College which successively provided gifted education during the Ottoman period, special education for the gifted in Turkey was interrupted. The discussion of talent education started after 1993 and an education model convenient to the conditions in Turkey was developed following the steps of how it is done in other parts of the world In order to apply this education model, institutions called &quot;the Center of Science and Art&quot; were opened. During the early educational stages of those institutions, the aim was to give &quot;Discipline Based Art Education&quot; while at the later stage, it provided art education for the production of art works. This qualitative study is a response to the insufficient publications of visual arts in the education of the gifted students in Turkey; in the form of &quot;Action Research&quot;. In the study, the education of gifted students in visual arts in Turkey was analyzed and an art education at the level of conformity was presented through observation.
The Role of Institutional Leaderships in the SAPO Campus' Adoption Process
Author: Pais, Fátima
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Web 2.0 Technologies,Technology Integration,Change Strategies,Institutional Advancement,Adoption (Ideas),Administrative Principles,Leadership Effectiveness,Sustainability,Outreach Programs,Program Effectiveness,Administrator Attitudes,Semi Structured Interviews

SAPO Campus (SC) is a web 2.0 service platform, whose aim is to promote collaboration, communication and sharing practices in institutional settings, specifically in educational contexts. Since 2012, a group of schools has promoted the institutional adoption of SC. Taking into account the fact that this is an intentional process as institutions support the platform's adoption, a study was carried out in order to identify the involvement strategies used by principals and school leaders when adopting this technology. Based on a literature review, which included several studies dealing with involvement strategies and how they connect to institutional leadership, an interview was designed not only to understand the strategies used throughout each adoption process, but also their effectiveness. Our research approach also valued the issues related with the continuous and sustainable use of the SAPO Campus platform in terms of the strategies designed and implemented by the schools' principals. The content of these interviews was then analysed, making it possible to establish that, overall, the general outcomes are aligned with the results found on previous research, even though it was possible to identify other strategies used throughout the technology adoption process.
A Comparison of Four Differential Item Functioning Procedures in the Presence of Multidimensionality
Author: Bastug, Özlem Yesim Özbek
Date: 2016-07-10
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Test Bias,Comparative Analysis,Item Response Theory,Regression (Statistics),Test Items

Differential item functioning (DIF), or item bias, is a relatively new concept. It has been one of the most controversial and the most studied subject in measurement theory. DIF occurs when people who have the same ability level but from different groups have a different probability of a correct response. According to Item Response Theory (IRT), DIF occurs when item characteristic curves (ICC) of two groups are not identical or do not have the same item parameters after rescaling. Also, DIF might occur when latent ability space is misspecified. When the groups have different multidimensional ability distributions and test items chosen to discriminate among these abilities, using unidimensional scoring, might flag items as DIF items. The purpose of this study was to compare four DIF procedures the Mantel Haenszel (MH), the Simultaneous Item Bias Test (SIBTEST), the IRT, the Logistic Regression (LR) when the underlying ability distribution is erroneously assumed to be homogenous. To illustrate the effect of assuming a homogenous ability distribution for the groups while they differ in terms of their underlying multidimensional ability levels on the DIF procedures, two different data sets were generated; one set in which DIF occurs, and one set in which no DIF occurs by using 2PL model. The UNIGEN program was used to generate the data. Each of the data sets contained 1000 examinees and 25 items. Item parameters where chosen to be capable of measuring a two dimensional ability distribution of the two groups. The MH, the SIBTEST, the AREA and the LR procedures were applied to the data both with DIF and without DIF. The study showed that all the four methods identified items as biased when the ability space was misspecified.
PLEs in Primary School: The Learners' Experience in The PIPLEP Project
Author: Nieto Moreno de Diezmas, Esther
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Students,Technological Literacy,Independent Study,Student Attitudes,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Phenomenology,Teaching Methods,Misconceptions,Grade 5,Grade 6,Focus Groups,Interviews,Observation,Questionnaires,Leisure Time,Foreign Countries

In this paper the experience of learners during the first phase of the PIPLEP project is explored. PIPLEP is aimed at promoting digital literacy and independent learning with the creation of personal learning environments (PLEs) as the final product. The participants were a group of 17 students enrolled in year 5 of primary school, and the main objective of the research method was to listen to the voices of the learners and their narratives about their emotions and conceptions as regards learning in digital environments, following the main guidelines of the IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Approach) as applied in the LEX (Learners' EXperiences of e-Learning) project. The findings showed that learners had constructed a dichotomy between technology and learning, developed in the setting of the school and home, and based on the recreational use they made of their digital devices. However this misconception about the educational value of technology started to change with the introduction of the PIPLEP project, due to the learners acquiring new skills to use technology to learn.
Analysis of PLEs' Implementation under OER Design as a Productive Teaching-Learning Strategy in Higher Education. A Case Study at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Author: Vázquez-Cano, Esteban
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Open Education,Educational Resources,Information Technology,Masters Degrees,Distance Education,Foreign Countries,Information Needs,Ethnography,Social Networks,Network Analysis,Graphs,Editing,Student Centered Learning,Knowledge Management,Metacognition,Teaching Methods,Learning Strategies,Educational Environment,Case Studies,Universities,Qualitative Research,Action Research

This paper shows some research which analysed the didactic functionality of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) and Open Educational Resources (OERs). They were created by students from the Master's Degree in Information and Communication Technologies applied to language teaching and processing, at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED, Spain). A thorough analysis has been carried out based on a virtual ethnography methodological framework, with a twofold qualitative dimension: on the one hand, by using the Atlas-Ti program and on the other hand by following a reticular, category-based social network analysis with UCINET and yED Graph Editor. Results show that the joint use of PLEs and OERs designed by students improves their digital competence, mainly in capabilities such as: accessing and searching for online information; articulating information needs; finding relevant information; selecting resources effectively; navigating between online sources; and creating personal information strategies. Furthermore, the scrutiny of the forums using the reticular social network analysis shows how the main benefits of the implementation of PLEs and OERs are: a student-centric approach, the development of personal knowledge management strategies and the formation of a self-regulated learning model.
An Instrument for Measuring Performance in Geometry Based on the Van Hiele Model
Author: Sánchez-García, Ana B.
Date: 2016-07-10
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Geometry,Mathematics Achievement,Secondary School Students,Models,Teaching Methods,Reliability,Construct Validity,Mathematics Instruction,Statistical Analysis,Geometric Concepts,Mathematics Curriculum,Gender Differences,Qualitative Research,Factor Analysis,Student Evaluation,Foreign Countries

In this paper we present the process of constructing a test for assessing student performance in geometry corresponding to the first year of Secondary Education. The main goal was to detect student errors in the understanding of geometry in order to develop a proposal according to the Van Hiele teaching model, explained in this paper. Our research methodology took into account reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, as well as the construct validity, with the extraction of 13 factors that accounted for a high percentage of variance. This result leads us to conclude that the instrument constructed has the appropriate technical and pedagogical features to be considered an original and significant contribution to the field of geometry teaching. The final version of the test constructed after the extraction of factors is shown in the Appendix.
Immortality of Prejudice in Striving Ubuntu: Case Studies of Community Managed Schools in Nepal
Author: Rajbhandari, Mani Man Singh
Date: 2016-07-10
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Case Studies,School Administration,Rural Areas,Urban Areas,Equal Education,Foreign Countries,Interviews,Agricultural Occupations,Vendors,Public Schools,Disadvantaged Environment,Social Bias,Public School Teachers,Community Schools,Social Values,Qualitative Research

The immortality of prejudice after the school management transfer has not been judged. This makes communities to take responsibility for schools further by compelling the government to mandate amendments of Community Managed Schools (CMS) Directives. The purpose was to explore the CMS enduring Ubuntu against immorality of prejudice, through participation and involvement. Three community schools were selected. Interviews were conducted with school professional community. Data triangulation was done for validation. The results suggest that management transfer of public schools was mainly initiated in deprived rural areas. Most government teachers are appointed to urban areas, while the community members were mostly farmers and street vendors. The uneven distribution of government teachers has resulted in inequality. The School Management Committees are given the authority to appoint teachers by the CMS Directives, but the Educational Act guards against this. Teachers were appointed by SMCs despite the fact that the Act does not allow this.
Reviews of Educational Policy Regarding One Laptop per Child: &quot;Escuela 2.0&quot; Program in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Author: Sáez-López, José-Manuel
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Learning Processes,Information Technology,Teaching Methods,Problem Solving,Academic Achievement,Teacher Attitudes,Mixed Methods Research,Factor Analysis,Feedback (Response),Laptop Computers,Foreign Countries,Politics of Education,Active Learning,Technological Literacy,Technology Integration,Statistical Analysis,Quasiexperimental Design

The present study assesses the attitudes and practices of teachers in relation to the national program Escuela 2.0 in Spain, implemented in 2009. The study analyzes attitudes and needs of 424 teachers and it assesses teaching practices developed with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Data is analyzed through mixed methods with various instruments using descriptive analysis, factor analysis and a detailed analysis regarding teaching practice from 21 cases. In conclusion, one third of teachers properly integrate Educational Technology into practice. Moreover 62% of teachers support the applied one laptop per child policy and have positive feedback in this regard, however two thirds of the teachers in the sample integrate technology with isolated activities, adapting persisting traditional pedagogical models. There are deficiencies concerning school performance, group work, problem solving and communication in learning activities. Therefore, students need educational guidance for the appropriate use of ICT in the learning process.
Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Undergraduates' Use of Mobile Technology in University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Author: Olufunmilola Ogulande, Oyeronke
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Technology Uses in Education,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Student Surveys,Hypothesis Testing,Correlation,Student Characteristics,Student Attitudes,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis

The proliferation and utilization of handheld mobile technology among undergraduates for mobile learning cannot be underestimated. This study was geared towards investigating individual and technological factors affecting the perceived usefulness of mobile technology by undergraduates in university of Ilorin, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive research of the survey type. Samples were randomly drawn from all students in the 15 faculties. A total of 100 undergraduates were sampled. Two research questions, and one hypothesis were answered and tested respectively. Mean was used to answer the research questions while Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the relationship between the technological and individual factors. Findings from the study revealed that the technological and individual factors positively affected the perceived usefulness of mobile technology for learning among undergraduates. Also, there was a positive relationship between technological and individual factors that affected perceived usefulness of mobile technology. Based on the findings, it was concluded that both the individual and technological factors affected the perceived usefulness of mobile technology for learning positively. It was recommended that students should be encouraged in the use of Mobile technology devices for learning.
Students as Game Designers vs. &quot;Just&quot; Players: Comparison of Two Different Approaches to Location-Based Games Implementation into School Curricula
Author: Slussareff, Michaela
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Design,Video Games,Elementary School Students,Student Participation,Instructional Effectiveness,Knowledge Level,Educational Games,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Simulated Environment,Quasiexperimental Design,Foreign Countries,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Comparative Analysis,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Questionnaires,Navigation,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research

This paper compares two kinds of educational treatment within location-based game approach; learning by playing a location-based game and learning by designing a location-based game. Two parallel elementary school classes were included in our study (N = 27; age 14-15). The &quot;designers&quot; class took part in the whole process of game design except the technical part (programming and content implementation), the &quot;players&quot; class did not get any special treatment but played the game made by their fellow-students. The study describes possibilities and limitations of those two implementation approaches and measures effectiveness of knowledge acquisition and future interests in the game topic. The data revealed positive effect of the active approach (designing location-based game) within the knowledge acquisition. The further qualitative study showed that the active approach brings some unique benefits to the students and could be widely supported by the teachers and national educational systems.