ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Online Courses in Higher Education in Iran: A Stakeholder-Based Investigation into Preservice Teachers&apos; Acceptance, Learning Achievements, and Satisfaction--A Mixed-Methods Study
Author: Dashtestani, Reza
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Stakeholders,Preservice Teachers,Graduate Students,Teacher Educators,Department Heads,Academic Achievement,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Satisfaction,Affordances,Barriers,Educational Needs,Foreign Countries

This study focused on the perspectives of higher education stakeholders on teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in online courses in Iran, as well as preservice teachers' learning achievements in online courses. Three cohorts of participants were included in the study: preservice teachers of TEFL (n = 104), TEFL university instructors (n = 23), and heads of TEFL departments (n = 10). Data was collected using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The Kruskal Wallis test was used to detect differences among participants' perspectives. Preservice teachers' mid-term and final scores in the online courses were also compared. Results show significant differences among the perspectives of the three participant groups regarding online courses. The preservice teachers appeared to have relatively positive attitudes about online learning, while the university instructors and department heads showed lower levels of satisfaction with this medium. Participants identified several challenges in online learning, including lack of rigor in online courses, lack of credibility of course certificates, lack of technological infrastructures, technical problems, lack of practical content in the lessons, lack of human interaction, students' low knowledge of the content, and employers' lack of interest in employing graduates of online courses. Participants also noted the need for pedagogical and technological training for both university instructors and preservice teachers of TEFL. The comparison of preservice teachers' mid-term and final scores in the online courses showed a significant difference and improvement in students' learning achievements with medium to large effect sizes. In the interviews, participants confirmed that online courses could improve student learning.
Digital Education and Artistic-Visual Learning in Flexible University Environments: Research Analysis
Author: González-Zamar, Mariana-Daniela
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Teaching Methods,Art,Visual Learning,Higher Education,Journal Articles,Educational Research,Internet,Technological Literacy,Intellectual Disciplines,Electronic Learning,Social Sciences,Computer Science,Humanities

The constant development of digital technologies has allowed living in a digital environment based on connections, also transforming the context of the educational process. Experiences show that digital technologies have influenced the way of learning and, consequently, the way of teaching. Learning in the digital age is a complex process since it is a multifaceted and diverse action. The aim of this research is to identify global trends in digital education and its link with the learning of artistic and visual education in higher education settings, during the period 2000-2019. For this, bibliometric techniques have been applied to 1291 documents, obtaining results from the scientific activity of the main authors, research institutions, and countries that promote this topic. The data show increasing relevance, particularly in the last three years. The main subject area is the social sciences. The study has detected the lines of research that are related to the Internet, education, visuals, computer programs, learning, digital media literacy, and educational technology. This work contributes to the academic, scientific, and institutional debate to enhance decision-making based on existing information.
Direct and Indirect Effects of Literacy Skills and Writing Fluency on Writing Quality across Three Genres
Author: Troia, Gary A.
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Literacy,Achievement Tests,Writing Ability,Language Tests,Written Language,Literary Genres,Keyboarding (Data Entry),Handwriting,Spelling,Word Recognition,Vocabulary Development,Elementary School Students,Preadolescents,Grade 4,Grade 5,Correlation

Data were collected for this study early in the school year to analyze the direct and indirect effects of word-level literacy skills (word recognition, spelling, and written vocabulary use) and handwriting fluency on writing quality across three genres of typewritten papers. We further explored whether typing fluency and text generation fluency mediated the effects. Finally, we examined whether there was any difference in the effects across three writing genres. Fourth and fifth graders (N = 175) from 21 typical classrooms in 12 different Midwestern U.S. schools participated. Regression path analyses were employed and revealed that word-level literacy skills had both significant direct and serial indirect effects on quality, via typing fluency and then text generation fluency (text length) when controlling for handwriting fluency. Further, handwriting fluency had no direct effect when controlling for word-level literacy skills but did have a significant serial indirect effect on writing quality via typing fluency then text generation fluency. Results indicate that handwriting fluency matters, even when composing on the computer. Stronger transcription fluency, particularly by hand, leads to higher quality writing, likely because less cognitive effort is devoted to transcription. This study adds to limited research on the cross-modal effects of transcription on writing quality.
Performance Assessments: Promises and Pitfalls
Author: Perie, Marianne
Date: 2020-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Performance Based Assessment,Student Evaluation,Standardized Tests,Educational Benefits,State Boards of Education,Educational Policy,Accountability,State Standards,Portfolio Assessment,Educational Legislation,Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Legislation,Graduation Requirements,Test Wiseness,Prompting

Statewide performance assessments have gone in and out of vogue for over 30 years. While embraced as authentic representations of student work, they often prove burdensome for standardized assessment purposes. They can be a strong addition to a balanced assessment system--when implemented well for the right purposes. State policymakers looking to bring performance assessments to their schools need to think deeply about their purpose and intended use. Since performance assessments are difficult to standardize and expensive to score, states have often abandoned efforts to administer performance assessments. This article describes their benefits and challenges. State stories shared in this article provide lessons for state boards of education interested in adopting performance assessments in their states or recommending them to districts.
Mobile Technology Acceptance Scale for Learning Mathematics: Development, Validity, and Reliability Studies
Author: Açikgül, Kübra
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High School Students,Student Attitudes,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Handheld Devices,Telecommunications,Test Construction,Test Validity,Test Reliability,Barriers,Mathematics Instruction,Intention,Foreign Countries

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid, reliable, and useful scale to measure high school students' levels of acceptance of mobile technologies in learning mathematics based on the second version of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model. The study was designed based on a sequential exploratory mixed-method research design. To this end, both qualitative (interviews with students, review of literature, and expert panel evaluation) and quantitative procedures (Lawshe content validity technique, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, discriminant validity, nomological validity, criterion validity, internal consistency reliability, and temporal reliability) were used to develop and validate the Mobile Technology Acceptance Scale for Learning Mathematics (m-TASLM). As a result, a 5-point Likert scale with 36 items grouped under 8 factors was developed and confirmed. Both validity and reliability studies yielded favorable results. [This paper was presented at the International EJER2019 Congress (Ankara, Turkey, June 19-22, 2019).]
Mobile Teacher Professional Development (MTPD): Delving into English Teachers&apos; Beliefs in Indonesia
Author: Saiful, Jepri Ali
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Faculty Development,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Language Teachers,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teacher Attitudes,Elementary Secondary Education,Teaching Methods

In recent years, mobile phones have been used for teacher professional development (TPD). However, the potential use of smartphones, a current-generation of mobile phones, to develop teachers' pedagogical, social, personal, and professional competences remains underexplored. This mixed methods study, examining the potential use of smartphones for TPD by delving into English teachers' beliefs, employed a sequential explanatory approach. A quantitative survey was completed by 81 participants, followed by qualitative interviews with 8 selected participants. All the respondents were English teachers in elementary, junior, and senior high schools in 11 provinces in Indonesia. The survey was tested for validity and reliability, and analysed using the descriptive statistics method, while the semi-structured interview was analysed using the content analysis method. Almost all teachers had &quot;very favourable &quot;and &quot;favourable&quot; beliefs about the use of smartphones for TPD, perceiving that a smartphone could facilitate the enhancement of their pedagogical knowledge, communication skills, positive characters and English proficiency. Very few teachers had &quot;unfavourable&quot; beliefs, but among those who did, they believed traditional face-to-face TPD was more beneficial and that smartphones would only lead to addiction. This study recommends that smartphones be optimally applied by English teachers for TPD activities and that governments facilitate such implementation by constructing smartphone TPD models and applications.
Internationalizing Professional Development: Using Educational Data Mining to Analyze Learners&apos; Performance and Dropouts in a French MOOC
Author: Chaker, Rawad
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Large Group Instruction,Online Courses,Grades (Scholastic),Academic Persistence,Age Differences,Experience,Background,Employment Level,Geographic Regions,Gender Differences,Enrollment,Intention,Socioeconomic Status,Data Collection,Dropouts,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gap,Professional Development,Student Attrition,Learner Engagement

This paper uses data mining from a French project management MOOC to study learners' performance (i.e., grades and persistence) based on a series of variables: age, educational background, socio-professional status, geographical area, gender, self- versus mandatory-enrollment, and learning intentions. Unlike most studies in this area, we focus on learners from the French-speaking world: France and French-speaking European countries, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Central and West Africa. Results show that the largest gaps in MOOC achievements occur between 1) learners from partner institutions versus self-enrolled learners 2) learners from European countries versus low- and middle-income countries, and 3) learners who are professionally active versus inactive learners (i.e., with available time). Finally, we used the CHAID data-mining method to analyze the main characteristics and discriminant factors of MOOC learner performance and dropout.
Heterogeneity of Learners&apos; Behavioral Patterns of Watching Videos and Completing Assessments in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A Latent Class Analysis
Author: Kang, In Gu
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Large Group Instruction,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Student Behavior,Video Technology,Higher Education,Teaching Methods,Learner Engagement,Student Characteristics,At Risk Students,Intervention,Dropouts,Academic Persistence,Enrollment

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been touted as an effective way to make higher education accessible for free or for only a small fee, thus addressing the problem of unequal access and providing new opportunities to young people in middle and low income groups. However, many critiques of MOOCs have indicated that low completion rates are a major concern. Using a latent class analysis (LCA), a more advanced methodology to identify latent subgroups, this study examined the heterogeneity of learners' behavioral patterns in a MOOC, categorized them into distinctive subgroups, and ultimately determined the optimal number of latent subgroups in a MOOC. The five subgroups identified in this study were: &quot;completing&quot; (6.6%); &quot;disengaging&quot; (4.8%); &quot;auditing&quot; (4.6%); &quot;sampling&quot; (21.1%); and &quot;enrolling&quot; (62.8%). Results indicated this was the optimal number of subgroups. Given the characteristics of the three at-risk subgroups (disengaging, sampling, and enrolling), tailored instructional strategies and interventions to improve behavioral engagement are discussed.
Faculty and Student Technology Use to Enhance Student Learning
Author: Gaddis, Margaret L.
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Higher Education,Blended Learning,College Faculty,Technology Integration,Community Colleges,Teacher Attitudes,Undergraduate Students,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Integrated Learning Systems,Video Technology,Web Sites

Scholarly research has indicated that technology adoption to facilitate blended learning promotes the academic success of many different types of students and improves the quality of existing educational offerings. To understand how technology enhances learning, surveys queried the faculty and students of a statewide community college system. The results indicated widespread technology use among the faculty and students. The faculty survey revealed details of technology tools employed and the motivations for their use or discontinued use. Details regarding faculty use of learning management systems, textbooks, and other media characterized the current technology adoption climate. The student survey collected information about students' perceptions of how technology influenced their learning, their preferences for specific technology tools, and their student progress. Ninety-three percent of student respondents indicated that technology enhanced their learning. Alignment between the faculty use and student preference for technology tools suggested that students are actively engaged in the technology resources used by faculty to enhance learning. Students described how technology facilitated multimodal learning. They also noted that technology increased communication, access, and inclusion in learning. Successful technology use and integration, accompanied by ongoing scholarly debate and monitoring, has the potential to provide more access, promote learning outcomes, and preserve the investment of technology for the institution. The surveys employed here, when used semi-annually, may provide a low-cost model for technology integration monitoring and evaluation. The responses to the surveys also have the potential to provide technology use and integration data that informs strategic planning processes and institutional learning outcome development.
Growth and Collaboration in Massive Open Online Courses: A Bibliometric Analysis
Author: Wahid, Ratnaria
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Large Group Instruction,Open Educational Resources,Educational Research,Educational Technology,Electronic Learning,International Cooperation,Global Approach,Distance Education,Foreign Countries,Bibliometrics,Publications

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are an important approach for achieving UNESCO's aim of open and accessible education. However, there are concerns regarding fragmentation or bias of MOOCs toward certain disciplines or countries. This study sought to: (a) examine how MOOCs research has evolved and is distributed, (b) determine what key areas are discussed in MOOCs research, and (c) identify the major players in MOOCs research and their collaborations. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of 3,118 scholarly works related to MOOCs as recorded in the Scopus database in July, 2019. Specifically, we analyzed the evolution of MOOCs research by examining (a) published studies, (b) source titles, (c) types of sources and documents, as well as (d) the languages in which the documents were written in. We further analyzed the key areas of MOOCs research by looking into common subject areas, keywords used most often, and title analysis. Finally, we sought to increase our understanding of the major players in MOOCs research and their collaborations by examining (a) which countries contributed most to MOOCs research, (b) the main institutions involved, as well as (c) authorship and citation analysis. Findings indicated that in their early development starting in 2009, MOOCs caught the attention of scholars from both the East and the West, and the number of publications grew consistently over the 10 years after that. MOOCs research has been well distributed but has yet to adequately encourage inclusiveness. There has been healthy cross-country collaboration, but there is a gap in MOOCs research originating from certain countries as compared to the rest of the world. Our findings provide important input towards improving the inclusivity and global reach of MOOCs.
Implementing Mobile Learning within Personal Learning Environments: A Study of Two Online Courses
Author: Bidarra, José
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Individualized Instruction,Distance Education,Open Universities,Adoption (Ideas),Technology Integration,Handheld Devices,Statistics,Physics,Social Media,Study,Time Management,Instructional Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Electronic Publishing,Books,Web 2.0 Technologies,Interaction

This article presents a case-study of two distance learning courses, in order to address the question of universal adoption of mobile devices and applications by students, and the impact of these devices in personal learning environments (PLEs). First, a critical discussion of the value of these concepts in the current technological context was carried out, followed by an analysis of their impact on educational use, based on data collected in online courses on physics and statistics at Universidade Aberta, the Portuguese Open University. The results indicated that all students have adopted mobile learning, and the make-up of an individual's PLE depends more on the learning resources available rather than on gender or age. These findings can help provide more efficient ways to implement learning by connecting current social needs to learners' mobile PLEs, particularly when flexibility of time and space are of utmost importance. Further studies at the Portuguese Open University will address a larger and more balanced sample of students across more course units.
Identifying Student Perceptions of Different Instantiations of Open Pedagogy
Author: Hilton, John, III
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,College Students,College Instruction,Student Developed Materials,Course Descriptions,Assignments,Conventional Instruction,Open Education

As the adoption of open educational resources (OER) continues to increase, instructors have started using these resources for more than simply delivering content. &quot;Open pedagogy&quot; is a term used to describe a range of instructional practices that often incorporate OER into the learning process. This study examined student perceptions of two approaches to open pedagogy--student creation of multiple-choice questions and student creation of the syllabus and corresponding course assignments. The sample included responses from 84 students at two colleges in the United States. Results showed that students who created the syllabus and assignments had a more positive experience and were more likely to enroll in a future course that implements this strategy. Those in the multiple-choice course felt that the approach was less conducive to learning than traditional learning activities. The significant differences in student feedback on two different approaches, both of which could be termed open pedagogy, indicate that more research is needed to examine the efficacy of the wide variety of approaches to open pedagogy. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of one instantiation of open pedagogy does not equal the effectiveness of open pedagogy, broadly defined.
Understanding of Inverse Proportional Reasoning in Pre-Service Teachers
Author: Cabero-Fayos, Ismael
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Logical Thinking,Problem Solving,Mathematics Skills,Mathematical Logic,Learning Strategies,Cognitive Style,Word Problems (Mathematics)

From an early age, understanding proportional reasoning is a fundamental pillar in mathematics education, and therefore, teachers should have a thorough knowledge of it. Despite its significance, there are few studies that analyse the difficulties that student teachers have in understanding proportionality, and even less so inverse proportionality. We emphasised inverse missing-value problems by analysing them according to the type of unknown and the representation used. We checked which strategies they use to solve them and related them to other generic problems of proportional reasoning. For such purposes, we used a combined quantitative and qualitative empirical study applied to how pre-service teachers solve fifteen problems. The results show that the representations used in the statements aid their understanding and help solve the problems. Similarly, it is shown here that certain problem-solving strategies complicate proportional reasoning in pre-service teachers.