Education and Information Technologies最新文献

While the pandemic highlighted the critical role technology plays in children’s lives, not all Australian children have reliable access to technology. This situation exacerbates educational disadvantage for children who are already amongst the nation’s most vulnerable. In this research, we carried out a project with three schools in Western Australia, conducting workshops, interviews and surveys with students, parents, and school staff from which we identified key barriers and enablers for digitally inclusive online learning at individual, interpersonal, organizational, and infrastructural levels. Our findings showed that language, credit rating, housing security, quality and affordability of infrastructural provisioning and teacher and family digital literacy all could act as barriers. Alongside provision of connectivity and devices, we successfully piloted a school-based Digital Inclusion Studio workshop to address aspects of this wider socio-ecology of digital inclusion. We conclude with recommendations for cultivating digital inclusion for learning at various levels: in the home, classroom and at the point of digital service provision and regulation.

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has been increasing in education. Despite its benefits, not everyone perceives its use with the same ease. This raises the need to observe the perceived ease of use (PEOU) of ICT among future teachers, which requires a valid and reliable instrument to measure this variable for the Spanish population. The aim of this study is to validate PEOU among trainee early childhood education and primary education teachers studying at Spanish universities and observe the factorial invariance across gender. Two studies were conducted: the first study consisted of an Exploratory Factor Analysis with 474 students (Mage = 21.17; SD = 4.03), while the second study tested the scale based on 796 students (Mage = 21.25; SD = 3.99). The results found that PEOU is a valid and reliable measurement scale consisting of two factors (FI. Difficulty [α = 0.89] and FII. Ease [α = 0.81], and that there are no gender differences. In conclusion, it provides a scale to assess PEOU of ICT among the Spanish adult population.

Social media has been recognized as a promising online communication environment that supports self-directed informal learning activities outside educational institutions. Development of metacognition is necessary for self-directed learning. Nevertheless, most studies have focused on the use of social media for formal learning. To fill this gap, we consider the specific nature of informal learning on social media and conduct an empirical study targeting individuals who initiate informal learning on one of the most popular social media platforms in China (Bilibili). We derive a new term, Metacognitive Involvement (MCI), to consider multiple facets of metacognition and examine how various MCI patterns change over time and their associations with social interactions based on Social Network Analysis (SNA). In total, 2,434 comments are manually coded and analyzed from one of Bilibili’s most popular learning channels. Our findings reveal that unlike in formal learning where learners do not divulge regarding metacognition, in an informal learning environment they are more active in sharing MCI across time. Furthermore, MCI plays the role of, among others, triggering interactions and MCI-related patterns. It highlights that informal learning on social media is turning MCI development from a static reflection by individuals to a highly dynamic and ongoing process impacted by others. The implications of this study are related to a further understanding of learners’ MCI development as well as how the dynamic mechanisms of informal learning on social media could promote personal development.

Over the years, gamification has played an important role in English education. Despite the promising results, there is a scarcity of research on gamified English teaching. Additionally, most studies addressing this topic used tools with problematic validity, posing challenges in interpreting their findings. Therefore, the objectives were to develop and validate a measure assessing the teacher-perceived applicability of gamification applications and the perceived effect on learners’ motivation and learning outcomes. Two samples of 278 (M = 41.2, SD = 9.38; 81.3% females) and 333 (M = 43.7, SD = 9.2; 87% females) participants were used for Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, respectively. Network analysis examined the mutual dynamics between the items. Additionally, two retest samples were collected to explore the stability of the scale. Measurement invariance was examined between the samples and education levels. The construct validity was assessed by examining associations with other constructs using Spearman’s Rank correlations. The results supported the four-factor model (CFI = 0.863; TLI = 0.85; RMSEA = 0.076; SRMR = 0.077) with excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.91 and McDonald’s ω = 0.94) and excellent stability (ICC = 0.96). The network analysis identified 9 communities. The measurement invariance revealed that the scale measures the same across different education levels and samples. Spearman’s Rank correlations suggested statistically significant associations between individual subscales and selected constructs except between learning outcomes and general point averages. Altogether, the scale exhibits a high temporal and cross-level robustness, making it a valuable tool for gamification assessment in English teaching.

Despite growing interest in the inclusion of virtual reality (VR) in medical education, its full potential for immersive and interactive training remains underutilized, particularly in dermatology. As part of a multidisciplinary project, we tested the feasibility of integrating a VR training scenario for a complete skin cancer screening into the curriculum with 58 medical students. The evaluation focused on simulation usability, cognitive task load, immersion, change in perceived competence, suitability, and cybersickness using established and adapted questionnaires. Participants reported rather high levels of system usability and immersion and medium cognitive task load. Self-assessed competence in performing a skin cancer screening increased significantly after the training simulation.

Prior skin cancer screening experience correlated positively with self-assessed competence and theoretical knowledge, which themselves were neither related to gender nor age. Age correlated negatively with perceived usability and immersion, enjoyment of learning during the simulation and assessed appropriateness of the simulation to learn a dermatological full-body examination while being positively correlated with perceived cybersickness. Gender was significantly associated with the need for technical help during the simulation and openness to new technologies.

As a blueprint of a feasibility evaluation, this study can contribute to further refinement of the presented and relatable VR applications in medical curricula.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of employing an augmented reality (AR) lens imaging system on inquiry-based learning concerning junior high school students’ science achievement, science learning motivation, and inquiry skills. For this purpose, an AR lens imaging learning system was developed specifically for the lens imaging unit. A quasi-experimental design was utilized comprising an experimental group and a control group. The participants included 60 eighth-grade students from two classes in a junior high school in Taiwan. One class, consisting of 30 students, was assigned as the experimental group and utilized an AR lens imaging learning system for inquiry-based learning. The other class, also consisting of 30 students, served as the control group and utilized traditional lens imaging devices for inquiry-based learning. The instructional duration comprised two sessions totaling 90 min. The study’s results revealed that implementing the AR lens imaging learning system for inquiry-based learning resulted in improvements in overall science achievement in the lens imaging unit. Additionally, individual science achievement was enhanced in the convex and concave lens imaging topics. Furthermore, the AR lens imaging learning system increased students’ motivation for science learning. It also enhanced students’ specific inquiry skills in the concave lens imaging topic, such as observation and analysis and discovery. However, no enhancement was observed in inquiry skills for the convex lens imaging topic.

The present study aims to explore the factors influencing learning satisfaction in blended learning implementation. The two variables are attitude and motivation. In addition, this study aims to explain the difference between students’ attitudes, motivation, and learning satisfaction based on gender and the scientific field. A number of 488 students filled out the questionnaires. The interesting aspect of the finding in this study is that attitude is more effective in learning satisfaction if there is motivation to intervene in the blended learning implementation. The effect of motivation as intervening in the model provides a higher significant influence on satisfaction in learning than attitude directly. Other findings, in this study, present that learning satisfaction on the learning implementation can be achieved by students without any difference in gender and scientific field. Science students have higher attitudes and motivation in learning than non-science students. Male students’ attitudes and motivation are higher than female students. The present study contributes to providing empirical evidence and explaining the factors influencing learning satisfaction. The variables are attitude and motivation, which influence students learning satisfaction. The present study, in practice, provides information for teachers and educational institutions to be able to upgrade student attitudes and motivation in blended learning in order to reach student learning satisfaction. Blended learning can be implemented sustainably by considering aspects of student characteristics.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) significantly impacts the process and outcome of programming problem-solving. Studies on SRL behavioural patterns of programming students based on trace data are limited in number and lack of coverage. In this study, hence, the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) was employed to probabilistically mine trace data from a visual programming learning platform, intending to unveil students’ SRL states and patterns during programming problem-solving in a bottom-up manner. Furthermore, the K-means clustering technique was utilized to cluster the Online Self-regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ) survey data, enabling the investigation of prominent behavioural characteristics and patterns among students with differing levels of SRL. The results show that programming problem-solving involves five SRL states: problem information processing, task decomposition and planning, goal-oriented knowledge reconstruction, data modelling and solution formulating. Students with a high level of SRL are more engaged in the problem information processing stage, where they plan task objectives and develop problem-solving strategies by profoundly analyzing the structural relationships of the problem. In contrast, students with low levels of SRL decompose the problem and develop a strategic approach through interacting with the knowledge content, which results in a certain blindness in the problem-solving process.

At present, when the educational process takes place both in classrooms and remotely, the role of innovative technologies is rapidly increasing. The purpose of the study is to determine the influence of immersive virtual reality in teaching on predictors of emotional intelligence development in university students. The questionnaire method was used in the work. In this study, the experimental group utilized immersive virtual reality based on SV-IVR videos, while the control group underwent instruction through traditional methods. According to the Self-Emotional Appraisal, the experimental group showed higher post-test values compared with the control group. In Others’ Emotional Appraisal, the experimental group also showed a significant increase in post-test results, compared with the control group. These results indicate that VR training improves the assessment of other people’s emotions and positively affects the self-assessment of emotions. As for the Use of Emotions, the experimental group and the control group showed a slight increase in post-test results. Final data on the Regulation of Emotions in the experimental group were higher in the post-test compared to the control group. The significant difference between the post-testing indicators of the two groups highlights the positive impact of VR training on the regulation of emotions. Adequate teaching methods, particularly incorporating innovative technologies (virtual reality), have the potential to enhance and cultivate emotional intelligence among students. The need for additional scientific research on a specific issue lies in the importance of organizing, summarizing, and validating the effectiveness of training future university teachers to incorporate virtual reality into their classes.

Using information technology tools for academic help-seeking among college students has become a popular trend. In the evolutionary process between Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and traditional search engines, when students face academic challenges, do they tend to prefer ChatGPT, or are they more inclined to utilize Google? And what are the key factors influencing learners’ preference to use ChatGPT for academic help-seeking? These relevant questions merit attention. The study employed a mixed-method research design to investigate university students’ online academic help-seeking preferences. The results indicated that students tend to prefer using ChatGPT to seek academic assistance, reflecting the potential popularity of GenAI in the educational field. Additionally, in comparing seven machine learning algorithms, the Random Forest and LightGBM algorithms exhibited superior performance. These two algorithms were employed to evaluate the predictive capability of 18 potential factors. It was found that ChatGPT fluency, ChatGPT distortions, and age were the core factors influencing how university students seek academic help. Overall, this study underscores that educators should prioritize the cultivation of students’ critical thinking skills, while technical personnel should enhance the fluency and reliability of ChatGPT and Google searches, and explore the integration of chat and search functions to achieve optimal balance.