Analyzing the Impact on Teacher Preparedness as a Result of Using Mursion as a Risk-free Microteaching Experience for Pre-service Teachers

Risk-free micro-teaching affords an opportunity for pre-service teachers (PTs) to practice teaching and student engagement techniques outside of a traditional classroom setting. More time to practice teaching is often an expressed desire of PTs. Orchestrating time to practice teaching techniques learned in pedagogy courses is a difficult undertaking for teacher educators, especially while trying to ensure low-risk or risk-free experiences. As explained through this study, the implementation of a Mursion simulation to offer risk-free micro-teaching experiences for PTs served as a valuable addition to an introductory teaching course. The Mursion experience enhanced PTs’ personal preparation for teaching as well as enhancing their professionalism and lesson quality.

Undergraduate Students Engagement in Formal and Informal Learning: Applying the Community of Inquiry Framework

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the evidence of formal and informal learning of students in an undergraduate educational technology course for preservice teachers. The research question was, “How do undergraduate students in an educational technology course bridge formal and informal learning using Twitter?” The framework for this study was the Community of Inquiry. Directed content analysis was used on data extracted from Twitter. Key findings included, (1) evidence of cognitive, social, and teaching presence for students completing course activities using Twitter, that is, for their formal learning; and that (2) students developed competencies during formal course activities using Twitter that supported cognitive and social presence beyond the course requirements, that is, for their informal learning.

Online, Hybrid, and Face-to-Face Learning Through the Eyes of Faculty, Students, Administrators, and Instructional Designers: Lessons Learned and Directions for the Post-Vaccine and Post-Pandemic/COVID-19 World

This exploratory study builds upon the expertise of a panel of faculty, administrators, students, and instructional designers (IDs) who lived through the pandemic and dealt with the associated challenges firsthand. These participants provided insight on how to establish systems that would create successful online teaching and learning opportunities in the post-vaccine and post-pandemic world. Four major themes emerged: (a) integrating technology to facilitate and enhance education; (b) structural support and resources needed to build sound processes for effective online education; (c) establishing faculty presence to facilitate learning; and (d) joint ownership and responsibility of learning—everyone must play a part. These themes have been described in light of theoretical frameworks, such as the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model, Community of Inquiry (COI), and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Finally, evidence-based tips will allow academic institutions to successfully emerge out of the pandemic while still making plans to adjust and adapt in the post-vaccine world.

Making Teaching and Learning Effective Using Analytics

In this paper, an empirical comparison of three state-of-the-art classifier methods (artificial immune recognition systems, Lazy-K Star, and random tree) to predict teachers’ ability to adapt in a classroom environment is carried out. Two educational databases are used for this task. First, measures collected in an academic context, especially from classroom visits, are used (database 1). Then, the three classifiers quantify the acts, behaviors, and characteristics of teaching effectiveness and the teacher’s “ability to adapt in the classrooms.” Professional classrooms visits to more than 200 teachers are used as the second database (database 2). An interactive grid gathering 63 educational acts and behaviors is conceived as an observation instrument for those visits. Within the Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis library environment, and with the progressive enhancement of the raw database, the utilization of state-of-the-art classification methods when predicting teaching effectiveness shows promising results, especially when data quality issues are considered.

The Role of Digital Application Literacy in Online Assessment

As educators and administrators look to countless mobile apps, software programs, and web-based learning tools to meet the demands of students in remote, virtual, and hybrid settings, risks and assumptions of online platforms and assessments must be considered. With the urgency of the COVID-response closure of many schools and the unusual methods employed during the return to school in Fall 2020, there is no better time to examine the digital application literacy which is necessary for students to effectively transition to online learning and assessment. “Digital application literacy” (DAppLit), a specific form of media literacy, involves the nimble use of an app (web-based) or application (computer-based) for education, including assessment. Learners with impaired DAppLit face academic consequences, when insufficient literacy in the platform is the culprit. This paper first explores various skills and strategies from both traditional and digital assessments that digital application literacy requires. Then, it presents the value of low-stakes assessment experiences with applications to introduce navigation techniques and troubleshoot barriers users may face before undertaking weighted assessments. The importance of skills instruction and practice of DAppLit methods is presented. A four-step process is introduced to: 1) set learning goals; 2) guide learners through the application with explicit instructions before use; 3) provide low-stakes explorations; and 4) debrief to address any issues which could represent a failing of application literacy and not content knowledge in an assessment.

A Critical Review of Teaching With Virtual Lab: A Panacea to Challenges of Conducting Practical Experiments in Science Subjects Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in Rural Schools in South Africa

This paper is based on a systematic literature review of published research on the educational application of Virtual Lab. The paper focuses on the use of the mobile Virtual Lab application for learning science practicals in rural school context. This paper analyses the theoretical aspects of using VL in teaching and learning of science practical experiments. The previous studies published in national and international journals and conference proceedings on science education and technologies in education, and regarding the benefits of using VL in science education, are discussed as references for integrating VL in teaching of science practicals in the rural school context. A systematic review method was adopted in this paper to explore articles that focus on Virtual Labs and the use of Virtual labs in teaching and learning. However, the aim of this paper is to provide science teachers in rural schools and education policy makers with a better understanding of the constraints and the benefits of using VL technology in mediating learning of science practical experiments and encourage teachers to adopt the use of VL as technology for conducting science practical experiments. In addition, this paper also addresses the possible factors that may affect learners’ learning of science practical experiments using VL technology in rural school educational settings, giving educational policy makers and curriculum developers enlightenment as to the effective integration of VL technology in science education. We conclude by providing suggestions and recommendations on the use of VL in teaching and learning of science practical experiments in rural schools beyond COVID-19 pandemic.

involvED: Applying a Scientific Approach to Education Technology Innovation for Promoting Family Engagement in the Schools

Parent involvement is a reverently studied, crucial concept that impacts overall student achievement. An educational technology tool, involvED, was developed by a School Psychologist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker using principles of behavioral change research and grounded in family systems theory. Incorporating a scientific approach for targeted, meaningful intervention in regards to family involvement allows for addressment of equity gaps by educating underprivileged families on vital skills, including academic readiness, social emotional learning and trauma informed practices and responses, all while providing incentives for various levels of engagement. The researchers hypothesized that by educating families in an efficient, convenient and consistent manner, as well as providing user- selected incentives for engagement, it would not only increase parent attendance at school events, but also increase the academic, social and emotional skills of the child. Positive statistically significant effects were found amongst users of the tool on both dependent variables, event attendance and the academic, social and emotional ratings of the targeted students by the classroom teacher via the SAEBRS. By addressing potential parental skill deficits and incentivizing prosocial behaviors, student outcomes are positively affected, influencing a breadth of stakeholders.

Combining the Best of Online and Face-to-Face Learning: Hybrid and Blended Learning Approach for COVID-19, Post Vaccine, & Post-Pandemic World

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the landscape of higher education. As academic institutions across the world continue to deal with the global health crisis, there is a need to examine different instructional approaches including online, hybrid, and blended learning methods. This descriptive study provide an in-depth review of the history of blended learning, evolution of hybrid model of instruction, preparedness of faculty with minimal or no experience in online teaching, and lessons learned as faculty worked on navigating COVID-19 situation since early 2020. A fish-bone analysis, a visual and structured approach to identify possible causes of problem, has been used to present the problems faced by faculty during the pandemic. A detailed Strength–Weakness–Opportunities–Threat analysis of blended/hybrid learning has been presented. An evidence-based approach on how instructors can combine the best of both traditional and online instruction to offer engaging learning experiences for students has been described. This research provides valuable insights to faculty and administrators who are preparing to teach during a pandemic and making efforts to academically survive it.