Research Article
Xiaotong Yu, María Ángeles Gutiérrez-García, Roberto Soto-Varela, Melchor Gómez-García
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 1, Article No: ep545
ABSTRACT
Robotics education and robot-embedded learning have become focal points in recent interdisciplinary and innovative education. Despite the identified opportunities, there are still limitations and considerations before integrating educational robotics into foreign language education on a large scale. This survey investigates foreign language teachers’ perceptions and acceptance of teaching with educational robotics and robot-assisted language learning. To achieve this, the ERPA scale, containing five subscales measuring teachers’ technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge, and the perceived usefulness of robots, was adapted as the data collection instrument. The scale consisted of 19 items based on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 109 foreign language teachers from Spain participated in the survey. The results suggest a positive relationship between teachers’ basic digital competence, technological knowledge of robot usage, pedagogical knowledge in foreign language teaching, and perceived usefulness of robots. Additionally, the length of service and target language positively affect acceptance. This research contributes to current educational robotics studies by identifying features of robots considered suitable for language teaching, such as animal-like embodiments instead of humanoid forms.
Keywords: attitudes, acceptance, educational robotics, EFL, second language
Review Article
Zara Ersozlu
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 3, Article No: ep517
ABSTRACT
Mathematics anxiety is a significant problem in education that affects students’ learning outcomes, academic success, and well-being. This systematic literature review aimed to explore the role of technological interventions in reducing mathematics anxiety and promoting positive learning experiences in mathematics learning. Our findings revealed a mixed picture, where learning mathematics through online distance education increases mathematics anxiety, especially among primary school students, while interventions such as game-based learning and digital tools show positive results in reducing students’ mathematics anxiety levels. Additionally, the results of this study contribute to ongoing discussions on effective strategies to reduce mathematics anxiety and improve mathematics education through the integration of technology, providing new understanding among educators, parents, researchers, and policymakers in creating inclusive and effective learning environments. Using technology to reduce mathematics anxiety and increase student achievement emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts.
Keywords: mathematics anxiety, technology, digital tools, primary school students, positive attitudes towards mathematics
Research Article
Alfiya R. Masalimova, Marina R. Zheltukhina, Olga V. Sergeeva, Zhanna M. Sizova, Philipp N. Novikov, Albina R. Sadykova
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 1, Article No: ep488
ABSTRACT
The proliferation of technology and the heightened significance of e-learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the perspectives and attitudes of educational stakeholders toward educational technology. The objective of this research was to explore the attitudes of higher education students toward e-learning. Data collection was conducted via a questionnaire. The findings demonstrated that the key benefit of e-learning, as reported by a substantial majority (77.0%) of participants, is the convenience of studying from home. This is closely followed by the advantage of learning at one’s own pace, as 69.4% of respondents expressed. A considerable proportion (58.8%) highlighted the comfort factor associated with e-learning, along with the cost-saving aspect of reduced expenses on accommodation and transportation. Other advantages included the ability to access course materials remotely (57.6%) option to record meetings online (51.1%), regarding disadvantages of e-learning, the majority (59.4%) of respondents indicated that e-learning limits interaction with others, followed by social isolation (44.1%), lack of self-discipline (43.5%), internet problems (43.5%). The results showed that e-learning was perceived to be less effective compared to conventional face-to-face learning. Also, we showed that, in general, there is no significant relationship between socio-demographic variables and attitudes toward e-learning. Only a few significant relationships were found regarding demographic variables on attitudes. We made educational implications for the next studies on our results.
Keywords: higher education students, university students, undergraduate students, e-learning, attitudes
Research Article
Sultan Aldehami
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 2, Article No: ep353
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted in the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to investigate levels of teachers’ assistive technology (AT) knowledge and skills use in classrooms for students with intellectual disability (ID). A total of 98 special education teachers of students with ID completed an online survey. Results indicate that the teachers’ levels of knowledge and skills related to AT use in classrooms for students with ID were reaching proficiency. Teachers’ levels of AT knowledge and skills statistically significantly differed based on gender, training, level of education, teaching experience, and school location but not on grade level. However, there were statistically significant differences in teachers’ professional development based on gender and teaching experience but not based on training, level of education, grade level, and school location. Furthermore, results indicate that teachers’ perceptions of AT significantly predicted teachers’ knowledge and skills related to AT use in educational environments.
Keywords: special education, intellectual disability, assistive technology, attitudes, special education teachers
Research Article
Muhammad S Bawa’aneh
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 3, Article No: ep304
ABSTRACT
In the current circumstances, the second wave of COVID-19 Pandemic is spreading and we seem to have to live longer with most of the urgent measures taken in early 2020 to fight the spread out of the pandemic; of which is school closure. The present study aims at investigating students’ satisfaction, attitudes and challenges in UAE public schools during the distance learning time of the third trimester of the academic year 2019-2020. The study also aims to measure differences of satisfaction level, attitudes, and challenges across gender and geographic places of residence within the UAE. Data collection started eight weeks after the commencement of the distance learning process and continued for two weeks. The first eight weeks that preceded data collection witnessed a continuous update of the, previously rich and well established, educational plans in line with continuous development plan for students and instructors that included intensive training for students and instructors on the use of up-to-date educational technologies. That has reflected on the results of the study, where the student satisfaction level, attitudes and challenges were found to lie within the “strong” category indicating high satisfaction level, positive attitude, and minimum faced challenges, with statistically significant differences in the mean across gender and residency for some cases. Such positive result is directly related to the fact that students of the UAE public schools were partially exposed to electronic learning even before the pandemic, the tremendous efforts of the ministry of education to guarantee smooth transfer to full distance learning after the outbreak of the pandemic, and the well established infrastructure of the country.
Keywords: student satisfaction, student attitudes, student challenges, distance learning, e-learning, virtual classes, COVID-19
Research Article
Ehab Malkawi, Ali Khaled Bawaneh, M S Bawa'aneh
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 1, Article No: ep283
ABSTRACT
The study aims at investigating the satisfaction level and attitudes of undergraduate students at United Arab Emirates University towards eLearning and virtual classes in exceptional circumstances of COVID-19 Crisis, in view of five demographic independent variables: students’ gender, educational level, residential location, college, and GPA. The researchers adopted and implemented a questionnaire where its validity and reliability for collecting data have been verified. Mean, standard deviations, and one-way ANOVA tests were conducted. The results indicate that the students’ satisfaction level and attitudes towards eLearning and virtual classes are strong in general with varying degrees between items. The results did not show a significant difference at the level (α = 0.05) for the independent variables: students’ gender, residential location, college, and GPA. However, the results imply that there is a statistically significant difference in students’ satisfaction level and attitudes towards eLearning and virtual classes for the independent variable of educational level. The study concluded with few recommendations; supporting the current efforts of the university to provide all the requirements of education via eLearning and virtual classes such as suitable infrastructure and technical support. Besides, there is a need for a continuous update of the teaching and learning platforms in line with continuous development and training for instructors and students.
Keywords: undergraduate students’ satisfaction, students’ attitudes, eLearning and virtual classes, UAEU, COVID-19
Research Article
Kashif Ali Sabiri
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 11, Issue 2, pp. 177-195
ABSTRACT
This literature review focuses the research conducted on Information and Communication Technology in English as a Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. It reviews various aspects of ICT integration, ICT tools, barriers and challenges to ICT integration, teachers’ perceptions and views about ICT and advantages and benefits of ICT integration in education. The factors effecting pre-service and in-service teachers and student teachers’ perceptions, views and confidence about ICT integration are also discussed and analyzed. This review further discusses the gaps in the studies and establishes a theoretical background for further studies specifically in Oman.
Keywords: ICT, EFL teaching, barriers and solutions of ICT use, teachers’ attitudes and beliefs on ICT use
Research Article
Fatima Islahi, Nasrin
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 37-54
ABSTRACT
To acquire benefits from technology in education, due consideration must be given to attitude of teachers which plays an important role in guiding and predicting future successful use of technology in the classroom. With the feminization in the teaching fraternity and the studies reporting gender specific perception towards usefulness of technology and ease of use, the present study was, therefore, undertaken to examine the attitude of teachers towards use of technology in teaching with a gender perspective. A survey was conducted on 482 secondary school teachers from India, using Attitude towards Information Technology scale. The attitude of the respondents were assessed in terms of four dimensions; namely significance in life, usefulness for students, productivity for teaching, and teacher’s interest and acceptance. The quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques like t-test and ANOVA. Findings suggest that with regard to different factors viz., training, location of schools, medium of instruction and marital status, no gender specific differences in attitude towards information technology was found. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the effective use of technology in classrooms should be expected from all teachers irrespective of their gender.
Keywords: Attitudes toward information technology, Gender differences, Teacher attitudes, ICT in the classroom
Research Article
Emmanuel Fokides
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 56-75
ABSTRACT
The study examines the factors affecting Greek pre-service teachers’ intention to use
computers when they become practicing teachers. Four variables (perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use, self-efficacy, and attitude toward use) as well as behavioral intention
to use computers were used so as to build a research model that extended the Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) and structural equation modeling was used for parameter
estimation and model testing. Self-reported data were gathered from 487 pre-service
teachers studying at the Departments of Primary School Education in Greece. Results
revealed a good model fit and of the nine hypotheses formulated, seven were supported.
Overall, the TAM, with the addition of computer self-efficacy beliefs, adequately
represented the relationships among the factors. It also possesses the explanatory power
to predict pre-service teachers’ intention to use computers when they become practicing
teachers since a high percentage (68%) of the variance in behavioral intention to use
computers was explained, while the most influential factors were perceived usefulness and
attitude toward computers. Implications for practice are also discussed.
Keywords: attitudes toward computers, perceived ease of use, pre-srvice teachers, self-efficacy, structural equation modelling, technology acceptance model
Research Article
Zhwan Dalshad Abdullah, Azidah Bit Abu Ziden, Rahimi Binti Chi Aman, Khalid Ismail Mustafa
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp. 338-354
ABSTRACT
The present quantitative study aims to find out the underlying factors of attitudes towards information technology and the relationship with academic achievement among students, through a self-developed questionnaire. The attitudes of the respondents were assessed in terms of three dimensions; namely affection, behavior, and belief. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between Arts and Science students in terms of their attitude towards IT in favor of Science students, and also proved that there was no statistically significant correlation between students' academic achievement and their attitudes towards IT. While students at the medium level of academic achievement tended to score higher on the affection toward IT comparing with students at the satisfactory level of the academic achievement. The results of this study provide information for policy makers, and the researchers who are interested in understanding the factors that affect technology use by students in their learning.
Keywords: Student attitudes, Information technology, Academic achievement, Students’ disciplines
Research Article
Samira M. Bakr
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 2, Issue 4, pp. 308-318
ABSTRACT
Appraisal of teacher attitudes towards computers has gained importance following the widespread availability of microcomputers in schools all around the world. This study aims at investigating Egyptian teachers' attitudes towards computers in terms of gender and years of teaching experience. Attitudes of a sample of 118 public school teachers, 53 (45%) male and 65 (55%) female, were assessed using ‘The Attitude Towards Computer Instrument’ (ATCI), developed by Shaft et al (2004), which is a Likert type instrument with three factors of affective, cognitive, and behavioral. The gathered data were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings showed that the Egyptian public school teachers' attitudes towards computers are positive. There were no significant differences in terms of gender and teaching experience. Recommendations for further research are provided.
Keywords: Attitudes towards computers, ATCI, Teachers' attitudes, Egyptian teachers, Microcomputers in schools
Research Article
Yalın Kilic Turel, Mehmet Gurol
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 2, Issue 4, pp. 264-281
ABSTRACT
Although there are many studies focusing on usefulness of learning objects, only a few studies investigated possible effects of learning objects at the middle-school level. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of learning objects-enriched instructional settings on 7th grade students’ achievements, retentions, attitudes, and motivations in the science class as well as their perceptions towards the course. Learning objects regarding the unit of structure and features of matter were placed into the Learning Management System, Moodle, which was accessible by science teachers of the participants. Almost all subjects pointed out that they preferred such teaching method hereafter because of its positive effects on their learning and remembering. The interactive and challenging learning objects, particularly the ones containing games, simulations, and questions, were identified as more beneficial by both teachers and students.
Keywords: Attitudes, Learning objects, Learning objects-enriched instruction, Motivation, Retention
Research Article
Ali Simsek
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 177-187
ABSTRACT
This study examined the relationship between computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy of students and teachers in elementary and secondary schools. The sample included a total of 845 subjects from two private school systems in Turkey. The Oetting’s Computer Anxiety Scale was used to measure computer anxiety whereas the Murphy’s Computer Self-Efficacy Scale was used to measure computer self-efficacy of subjects. The results demonstrated that elementary students were less-anxious than secondary students; males had lower anxiety scores than females; and the difference between anxiety scores of students and teachers was not significant. However, students had higher self-efficacy scores than their teachers; elementary students were more self-efficient than secondary students; and males had higher computer self-efficacy scores than females. The correlation between the variables of computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy was moderate, negative, and significant.
Keywords: Computer anxiety, Computer self-efficacy, Attitudes toward computers, Beliefs about computers, Elementary education, Secondary education
Research Article
Adem Uzun, Aysan Senturk
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 196-207
ABSTRACT
Purpose of this study is to compare students’ course achievement and attitudes towards computers in computer literacy course between two course delivery methods: Blended and face-to-face (FTF). Using a pretest-posttest control group experimental design model, participants were assigned to experimental and control groups purposefully in order to achieve group equivalency. The study was conducted during the fall of the 2006-2007 academic year. Participants were 179 students from the Faculty of Education at Uludag University in Turkey. 86 students were taught with the blended mode of delivery, which involved using both FTF and online modes of instruction; 93 students were taught with FTF mode alone. At the beginning of the study, prior knowledge about computer literacy and attitudes towards computers were measured in both groups. At the end of the study, students’ final course scores and attitude scores towards computers were evaluated. Data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests. A statistically significant difference was found between the FTF and blended group (p < 0.05). The analysis showed that the blended group was more successful than the traditional group in terms of both course achievement and attitudes towards computers.
Keywords: Blended learning, Face-to-face instruction, Computer literacy, Attitudes toward computers