Using Flipped Classes to Develop Scientific Communication and the Attitude Towards Technology Acceptance in Science Learning in Intermediate Schools

This study aimed for using flipped classroom to develop scientific communication and the attitude towards technology acceptance in science learning among intermediate school students. For this purpose, the quasi-experimental design with the experimental and the control group method was used. The sample involved (49) third intermediate stage students from two different schools in Wadi Al-Dawasir Governorate, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A list of written scientific communication levels suitable for intermediate school students and a procedural model for learning with flipped classes were presented. The study applied the scientific communication test and the technology acceptance in the science learning scale. The statistical analyses revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the means of the scores of the experimental and control group students in the scientific communication scale and the technology acceptance in the science learning scale in favor of the experimental group. Recommendations and suggestions were presented.

Active Learning Online

Preparing graduates for the present and future workforce is an important strategic learning and teaching goal of higher education. Towards realizing this goal, institutions are expending significant effort promoting active learning as an institution-wide teaching approach. Active learning defined as learners deeply participating in the learning process are being increasingly used in face-to-face contexts, but can it be used just as effectively in the online environments now common in higher education? In their 2017 paper, the authors established that active learning online is certainly possible. In this current article the authors assert that not only is active learning online possible, but that it is a necessity to bolster workforce and higher order thinking skills needed in this current century. Importantly, the faculties have a crucial role to play in implementing active learning online, and active learning online permeate the whole of the online learning experience within courses.

Impact of Information Communication Technology Strategies on Learning Effectiveness

Transnational higher education is a multinational growth strategy requiring a foreign direct investment to establish a university or a campus in a new country and, if possible, to use articulation agreements with credible partners to increase domestic enrolment. Due to the potential international student learning style differences, we hypothesized there may be difficulties teaching Information Communication Technology (ICT) courses in transnational strategies due to the student origin or domestic campus location. The purpose of this study was to examine if student learning was effective within ICT graduate courses at an accredited sub-Saharan Africa-based university implementing the transnational education strategy. We found student learning was effective, but paradoxically, some factors indicated unusual results. Learning impact was higher when students disregarded the learning objectives, which we were able to explain theoretically. Conversely, learning impact was higher for many students who avoided tutoring, which we also rationalized.

Incorporating Affective Computing Into an Interactive System With MakeyMakey

People's motions or behaviors often ensue from these positive or negative emotions. Set off either subconsciously or intentionally, these fragmentary responses also represent people's emotional vacillations at different times, albeit rarely noted or discovered. This system incorporates affective computing into an interactive installation: While a user is performing an operation, the system instantaneously and randomly generates corresponding musical instrument sound effects and special effects. The system is intended to enable users to interact with emotions through the interactive installation to yield a personalized digital artwork as well learning about how emotions affect the causative factors of consciousness and personal behaviors. At the end of the process, this project design renders three questionnaires for users to fill in as a means to enhance the integrity and richness of the system with a survey and to further increase the stability and precision of the system through progressive modifications aligned with user suggestions.

Sadness, Negativity, and Uncertainty in Education During COVID-19 on Social Media

The global COVID-19 pandemic increased social media usage to obtain information and to share concerns, feelings, and emotions, turning it into a prolific field of research through which it is possible to understand how audiences are coping with the multitude of recent challenges. This paper presents results from a social media analysis of 61532 education-related news headlines posted by the major daily news provider in Portugal, Sic Notícias, on Facebook, from January to December 2020. We focus on how the news impacted on audiences’ emotional response and discourse, and we analyze the key issues of the most commented news content. The results show a prevailing sadness among audiences and a very negative discourse all throughout 2020, with a high degree uncertainty being expressed. The main concerns revolved around parents supporting children in their first remote learning endeavors, financial sustainability, the lack of devices, the disinfection of schools, and the students’ mobility, particularly in the non-higher education context.

Reimagining Engagement

This article explores how to successfully adapt simulations developed for traditional classrooms for synchronous platforms. Acknowledging the importance of the co-construction of knowledge and the impact of active learning in classrooms, this article explores instructional design approaches, logistical issues, and pedagogical considerations for translating successful in-person simulations to online synchronous learning environments. An example from a graduate level intercultural communication course is described as a platform for addressing lessons learned and sharing best practices. By reimagining five areas of adaptation, including materials, technology, grouping students, communication, and the role of the facilitator, faculty can examine critical junctures at the intersection of content knowledge, technology know-how, training pedagogy, and instructional design to conduct successful synchronous simulations.

A Technology Acceptance Case of Indonesian Senior School Teachers

Based on the immense importance of technology acceptance among the teachers and its vital role in education, the current study aims to bridge the theoretical gap by investigating the association between the school teachers' perception of facilitation learning environment and learning through experimentation among senior school teachers in Indonesia. Data was collected from the senior school teachers of Indonesia using a cross-sectional field survey. The final dataset of 163 respondents was then analyzed using SmartPls3 to test the measurement and structural models. Results revealed that the external variables like facilitation learning environment and learning through experimentation were positively associated with the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and actual use of the educational technology among the senior school teachers. This study provided insights that the technology supportive learning through experimentation gives a feeling of comfort and ease to teachers, further leading towards the actual usage of modern technology in classroom settings.

Exploring Student Support in a Completely Online Module Within an Open Distance eLearning Institution

Most first-year students lack technological skills, which hampers their learning. Within the University of South Africa (UNISA), as an open distance and e-learning (ODeL) institution, first-year students require support to succeed, particularly because they are responsible for managing their own time and studies. Using a signature course, such as ‘Language through an African Lens' (AFL1501), which is a completely online module offered by the College of Human Sciences, the author explores how qualtrics data and narrative analysis aid students in completing their coursework. The article further touches on the significance of UNISA tools and other online resources as fundamentals of connectivism, the theory of technology as an extension of human faculty, and transformative learning theory as a support mechanism. The contributions of the lecturer and teaching assistants in facilitating first-year students' success in the online module are invaluable, as is evident from this report involving 600 survey respondents from Unisa.

The Role of Multimedia in Developing Middle School Students' Reading Comprehension and Creative Thinking Skills

This research examined the effect of multimedia on developing reading comprehension and creative thinking skills of English language among second year middle school students. Forty participants were randomly selected from Hala Middle School, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt in the academic year 2019-2020. This study was conducted according to the pre-test- and post-test-based two group quasi-experimental model. Therefore, the participants were randomly divided into two groups (20 each). One group was selected as experimental group and the other as control group. The experimental group was taught using the multimedia while the control group received regular teaching. According to the results, the students supported by the multimedia were more successful than students supported only by traditional teaching method. Therefore, the multimedia positively affected developing reading comprehension and creative thinking skills among EFL students. Finally, the use of the multimedia increased the students' motivation in learning EFL.

In-Service Teachers' Perceptions of K-12 Online Learning Curriculum in a Graduate Course

While the number of K-12 students learning online continues to increase, the focus on online teaching is still absent in most teacher education programs. In this article, the authors examine the data from the fourth cycle of an action research project designed to examine K-12 online learning curricular materials at one Midwestern university. The learner-generated course data generated four themes: the benefits and challenges of K-12 online learning, success factors need for K-12 online learning, growing acceptance of K-12 online learning, and student self-efficacy for teaching online. Recommendations to improve the course based on the data and these themes included updating the Michigan-focused course readings, adding case studies related to overcoming student anxiety and issues often found in urban settings, and the creation/inclusion of some tool or instrument to measure learner readiness to teach online.