Preparing Student Teachers to Teach with Technology: Case Studies in Finland and Israel

This quantitative study examines the training of student teachers for ICT-based teaching in two teacher education institution, in Israel and Finland. The data was collected in 2015-2017 using a questionnaire administered to 41 Finnish and 44 Israeli student teachers. The results show that most student teachers had practice in ICT-based teaching. However, about a third of student teachers in both institutions practiced only two times or less using ICT. Those who practiced mostly used a teacher-centred approach as did their college and school mentor teachers who integrated ICT in their lessons. The variable describing competency in ICT-based teaching correlated with student teachers' attitudes, the number of ICT-based lessons they taught, modelling by the school mentor teacher, and the various schools’ infrastructures and support. The results show that students in Israeli institutions are better prepared to teach with ICT which can be explained by the impact of the latest national reforms. We conclude that students' perception of their TPACK is the function of a variety of factors: on a personal level (attitudes towards the contribution of ICT to teaching and learning); on an institutional level (curriculum, modelling by faculty, institutional strategies); on a field practice school level (modelling by school mentors, infrastructure, pedagogical, technological, and administrative support); and on a national level (reforms and their implementation models). All these factors must be considered to promote the pedagogically innovative integration of ICT in teacher training and the overall education system. The best strategy to achieve this goal is to support collaboration between TEIs and schools on the national level. Wide-scale implementation of ICT in teaching demands significant investments in infrastructure and training. Hence much of its success depends on the national vision and priorities given to this purpose.

Perceptions of Online Teaching and Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Barbadian Primary and Secondary Schools

This paper explores a sample of data collected from a UNICEF Eastern Caribbean rapid assessment on teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in eight countries. The primary investigation method was mixed and captured data from key participants/stakeholders in education using CAPI Technology and Video Conferencing tools. Statistical analyses and qualitative thematic analysis were conducted to report on findings using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Nvivo Qualitative Software. The data on online teaching and learning from Barbados was selected for further review and presented an opportunity to assess the Barbadian experience against other developing and developed countries. In assessing these perceptions in a sample of primary and secondary schools, stakeholders were generally dissatisfied with the online and blended learning modalities citing challenges relating to the equality and equity in access to devices and the enabling environment that facilities effective online teaching and learning.

A “Bird’s Eye View” on Communication Acts in a Classroom of Low Literacy Adults

This paper starts by discussing the relevance of dialogues in Adult Education and Training courses with low levels of literacy. In this group, the educational challenges are complex, and innovating the knowledge creation process involves a better understanding of the teaching/learning process. With these case study, we pretend to understand which Communicative Acts are effective in adult learning process, mainly in adults with low literacy. Based on a mixed methods, applied to a convenience sample, we used an ethnographic approach, and the Grounded Theory Methodology. Using the Contextual Design approach, we developed several models of the context (work models) and got a bird's-eye view of the way the communicational acts and the dynamic acts flow in the classroom. The results showed that it was important to integrate the learners' emotions in an existing framework, the SEDA Framework. We found also essential to expand the Communicative Acts coding, with a new set of 17 codes organized in 3 categories in order to understand better the flow of communication in the classroom.

An Automated Stable Personalised Partner Selection for Collaborative Privacy Education

E-learning platforms have never been as in-demand as they are now since the recent pandemic making privacy education more important than ever. However, for the most part, these platforms are single-user learning environments and lack student-student interactions. To overcome this deficiency, we propose a collaborative e-learning platform for privacy education that matches students in a stable and automatic manner according to students’ preferences. Each student is represented by a vector profile that is created from behavioural skills and academic knowledge obtained from the platform. Once the preferences are determined, the residents-hospitals matching algorithm is applied to select students who will collaborate with one another. Experimental results show that the proposed model offers an effective way to create stable, thus satisfied, coalitions of students from two groups of arbitrary sizes. In addition, the automation allows students to skip the tedious process of manually selecting partners. Therefore, saving their time to collaborate on privacy education with their teammates helping them to increase their privacy awareness.

An Investigation into the Effectiveness of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in South African Schools

The paper presents the findings from current research on the impact that the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum subjects have on two South African Schools in Gauteng province in South Africa. The aim is to present the impact of the CAPs subjects in the school. The study did a critical evaluation of each subject to elaborate on the importance and challenges in implementing the subjects and using a qualitative research method to collect data on a group of teachers and students on their opinion on the impact of CAPs subjects. The findings suggest that even though the curriculum is effective, it needs to be improved to close the gap between public and private schools. Private schools are currently benefiting the most from the subjects and how the curriculum is structured.

Comparing Virtual Learning Techniques Upon Technology Acceptance and Student Engagement in Differing Classroom Environment

With divergent educational processes brought forth through the unforeseen circumstances such as a global pandemic, students have become obligated to pursue virtual means towards obtaining their education. Therefore, this study seeks to review the different formats of virtual learning processes and methodologies that are currently made available to students based on student and user perception and technology adoption efforts. Through comparative analysis efforts identifying synchronous, hybrid and asynchronous virtual educational standards across multiple publications and understanding technology acceptance models (TAM) and theories such as perceived usefulness, it is understood that virtual learning efforts which pursue an asynchronous methodology are more comparable in contrast other formats.

Comparison of E-learning and Classroom Training for Bachelor Students of Traditional Medicine

This paper describes a test and case study of self-evaluation of online courses during the pandemic time. Due to the Covid-19, the whole world needs to sit on lockdown in different periods. Many things need to be done in all kinds of business including education sector of countries. To sustain the education development, teaching methods had to switch from traditional face-to-face teaching to online courses. The government made decisions quickly, and educational institutions had no time to prepare the materials for online education. All classes of the Mongolian University of Pharmaceutical Sciences switched to online lessons. Challenges were raised before professors and tutors during online teaching. Our university did not have a specific learning management system for online education and e-learning. Therefore, professors used different platforms for their online instructions, such as Zoom and Google meet. Moreover, different social networking platforms played an active role in communication between students and professors. The situation is challenging for professors and students. To measure the quality of online courses and figure out the positive and weak points of online teaching, we need to evaluate e-learning.

Connecting O*Net® Database to Cybersecurity Workforce Professional Certifications

The Occupational Information Network O*NET is considered the primary source of occupational information in the U.S. I explore here possible uses of O*NET data to inform cybersecurity workforce readiness certification programs. The O*NET database is used to map out education requirements and how they relate to professional certifications as required by employers and job designers in accordance with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS). The search focuses on the “Information Security Analysts” occupation as listed on O*NET, Careeronestop, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and finally tied back to NICCS source work role to identify certifications requirements. I found that no site has listed any certification as required, desirable or mandatory. NICCS offered general guidance to potential topics and areas of certification. Careeronestop site provided the ultimate guidance for this role certification. Professional certifications are still not integrated in the Cybersecurity Workforce Framework official guidance.

A Study of Facts and Generating Factors of “Dislike for Exercise” and “Dislike for Physical Education”

Recently, a decline in children’s fitness and lack of exercise has become a serious issue in Japan. Consequently, various governmental institutions have repeatedly taken up this problem and a number of policy recommendations have been made that aim to remedy the situation. Following these recommendations, the new Course of Study has proposed measures such as increasing the number of teaching hours for health and Physical Education (hereinafter abbreviated as “PE”) and reforming the PE curriculum within 12 years. By doing so, it has further emphasized the need “to develop the capacity and skills to engage in exercise throughout life, to realize an enriching sports life, and to improve physical fitness.” Despite these measures, the polarization between those children who actively engage in exercise and those who do not, as well as children who have an unfavorable or negative attitude toward exercise and PE lessons “Dislike for Exercise (hereinafter abbreviated as “DE”)” and “Dislike for Physical Education (hereinafter abbreviated as “DPE”)” still persist. The principal role of PE lessons at school is to introduce children to the joy and excitement of exercise. Within this context, emphasis should be placed on “PE” education that forms the basis of life-long engagement with sports. However, “DE” and “DPE” attitudes inhibit PE in school from achieving its goals.

Challenges of Distance, Blended, and Online Learning: A Literature based Approach

The objectives of the study were to show the basic differences between Distance, Blended and Online learning, and establish their common challenges from literature. Approximately 35 categories/sets of research results or findings from more than 65 publications were reviewed and used for this work. Articles were obtained from sources such as Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Google Search Engine, and Elsevier. The key themes used for the search are Distance education, Distance learning, Online learning, Blended learning, Differences between face-to-face and online learning, and the use of the internet for learning. The differences between Distance, Blended, and Online Learning (DBOL) modes were summarized, and 11 challenges of DBOL were realized. These 11 challenges were summarized into six themes namely, lack of infrastructure, low or no IT skills, self-disciplinary problems, content issues, policy issues, and social issues. It was strongly advised that, for effective DBOL implementation and operation, there must be in place a solid DBOL policy, adequate infrastructure, and constant training of stakeholders on the use of learning management systems and the development of related IT skills in general.