Study of the Impact of Emerging Technologies Across the Value Chain Function of Educational Technology (EdTech) Firms

Narrative technology has been a prominent feature in educational value creation. Rapid penetration of internet and better digital infrastructure resulted in adoption of emerging technologies in education sector. As business of EdTech platforms soared up, the purpose of this research was to understand the impact of emerging technologies like big data analytics, cloud-based technologies, blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality on various stages of EdTech value chain. This involved content creation, content distribution, and learning plus management system. A secondary data base case study analysis was carried out of EdTech firms in India. The value factors such as cost, accessibility, ease of use, and updated content came out as main attributes impacting acceptance of EdTech platforms. The mentioned emerging technologies impacted the content creation, delivery, evaluation, and feedback stages which resulted in improved performance across these value factors with lesser associated total costs.

Managing Teacher’s Digital Literacy in Responding to the Challenges of 21st Century Skills

Digital technology has become a very important part of the implementation of education. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to find out the need for a digital literacy framework for teachers in facing the challenges of 21st-century education. The participants were 30 class teachers and principals from the Karang Baru State Islamic Madrasah, Al-Ittihadul Islamiyah Islamic School Ampenan, and the Integrated Integrated Elementary School Sekarbela. Data were taken using observation, interviews, questionnaires, and documentation. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research approach. The results of the study indicate that teachers need to increase digital literacy in aspects of Information and Information literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, digital security, and digital problem-solving. The implications of this research can be seen in understanding the concept of improving the quality of teacher digital literacy according to the needs of teachers and the situation of the school environment

Digital Content Creation Tools: American University Teachers’ Perception

This paper studies the perception of Latin American university teachers about the effectiveness of digital content creation (DCC) tools for the creation of e-learning training actions. For this purpose, the opinions of a group of 564 teachers from different universities in 16 Latin American countries have been collected and their answers have been analyzed according to different sociological and academic characteristics (gender, age, teaching experience, area of knowledge, and academic degree). The results indicate that Latin American university teachers express high levels of digital training and highly value the didactic effectiveness of DCC tools to develop e-learning training actions. This valuation is significantly higher among females than males. Gender is also revealed as the most influential characteristic in the perception of teachers about the use of digital resources in the classroom, above any other aspect.

Teaching Digitally-Ready Soft Skills for Employability

The coronavirus pandemic triggered an abrupt change to emergency e-teaching and has accelerated the adoption of digital teaching practices in higher education. This transition from in-person instruction to online-only teaching took place globally and disrupted the conventional lecture format. While the catalyst, namely COVID, was the same throughout the world, a growing body of research confirms that instructors across the educational spectrum are experimenting with, and implementing, a plethora of methodologies based on their digital abilities and experiences. This paper will critically analyse several online-based methodologies and digital tools developed and introduced at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences within an undergraduate module called Employability. The authors will use the six areas of the European Commission’s DigCompEdu framework as a reference to analyse and summarise digital tool implementations and enhance students' digital collaboration skills, online experience, and learning outcomes. The methodological focus is on teaching soft digital skills for employability, namely, digital communication, problem-solving, collaboration skills, as well as, digital content creation and media literacy in tandem with the main content of the course. Possible issues when teaching the Employability module in post-COVID offline or hybrid classrooms will be discussed, particularly with regards to ensuring that teaching formats are fit-for-purpose in increasingly digital, and remote, work environments.

Exploring gamers' crowdsourcing engagement in Pokémon Go communities

PurposeWith the increasing popularity of online games like Pokémon Go, a new wave of crowdsourcing communities have emerged, allowing gamers to collaborate, communicate and share useful game-related information. This paper aims to examine the factors that influence gamers' crowdsourcing behaviour.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework is developed that combines the DeLone & McLean model, self-determination theory, and different levels of engagement behaviour. The online survey collected 371 responses that were analysed using Covariance Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM).FindingsThe results show that extrinsic and intrinsic motivation positively influenced gamers' crowdsourcing engagement intention. System quality and information quality were also confirmed to be positively associated with gamers' crowdsourcing engagement intention. Furthermore, crowdsourcing engagement intention was found to be positively associated with crowdsourcing content consumption, contribution, and creation.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study are useful for the owners of Pokémon Go and other gaming-related crowdsourcing platforms in devising tailored strategies to increase the crowdsourcing engagement of gamers.Originality/valueThis study provides the first empirical evidence of factors motivating online gamers' crowdsourcing intention. This study also presents novel insight into online gamers' crowdsourcing intention by combining diverse theories which offer different perspectives and a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Contribution to the research on the intention-behaviour gap by modelling three behavioural outcomes (content creation, contribution, and consumption behaviour) of crowdsourcing engagement intention, is another important contribution of this study.