Research Article
Nagla Ali, Ieda M. Santos, Rehab AlHakmani, Othman Abu Khurma, Myint Swe Khine, Usama Kassem
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep469
ABSTRACT
It is becoming increasingly vital for the next generation of students to acquire problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaborative skills for them to be successful in the 21st century. The use of technology greatly bolsters the integration of these skills. Robotics, one of the many emerging arrays of technologies, presents learners with challenges and opportunities for developing innovative ideas, critical thinking, and higher-order thinking skills. As a result, the Ministry of Education in Dubai realized these potentials and took an essential step in the form of the distribution of Lego Mindstorms Education kits to schools with the goal of encouraging teachers to use these kits in their classrooms. This research study aimed to investigate teachers’ perceptions of a training on Lego Mindstorms in terms of content, methodology, activities, and recommendations. In addition, the study investigated how teachers perceived Lego Mindstorms based on TAM model. A total of 59 high school (cycle 2) teachers participated in the current study. The data from the teachers were collected using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data analysis consists of descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Teachers showed positive perceptions of robotics integration, emphasizing its potential to enhance teaching and learning. Their willingness to learn and adapt, combined with their recommendations for enhanced training methods, highlights the importance of continuous professional development for effective robotics integration. Teachers expressed the need for more practical training, hands-on activities, and a balance between theoretical and practical aspects. A positive correlation between perceived learning usefulness, perceived teaching usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitudes, and teachers’ intention to use Lego Mindstorms in their future teaching was found.
Keywords: robotics, TAM model, teaching usefulness, learning usefulness, behavioral intentions
Research Article
Dirgha Raj Joshi, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, Jeevan Khanal, Shashidhar Belbase
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep454
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of classroom practices of using communication tools, collaboration skills, digital skills, and software skills of teachers on the communication behaviors of students during mathematics instruction. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 466 mathematics teachers in Nepal. The primary statistical techniques applied in the data analysis were mean, standard deviation, one-sample t-test, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that the level of skill transformations of mathematics teachers in digital skills was found to be significantly low. Moreover, practices of using communication tools, collaborative skills of teachers, digital skills enhancement of teachers, and software skills enhancement of teachers were found to be significant predictors of the communication behavior of students. The results of this study suggested that teachers’ technological empowerment is essential for developing digitally competent teachers who can transform the traditional mathematics classrooms into an online mode that is more constructive, collaborative, engaging, and supportive to the learners in a flexible and joyful learning environment. The study contributes to providing the knowledge of digital instructional skills of mathematics teachers to the communication behavior of the students. Moreover, the study gives an insight into using multi-group SEM in studying teachers’ technological skills on students’ learning of soft skills, such as communication behavior.
Keywords: collaboration, communication, communicative behavior, digital tools, mathematics teaching, transformation
Research Article
Ragad M. Tawafak, Liqaa Habeb Al-Obaydi, Blanka Klimova, Marcel Pikhart
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 4, Article No: ep452
ABSTRACT
This abstract presents a research study that investigates the effects of technology integration (TI) through digital gameplay on English as a foreign language (EFL) college students’ behavior intention. The study employs a mixed-methods research design, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The quantitative phase involves a pre- and post-test design, measuring the behavior intention of EFL college students before and after engaging in digital gameplay activities. The qualitative phase involves in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to gather students’ perceptions and experiences with using digital gameplay in their language learning process. The findings reveal that TI through digital gameplay positively influences EFL college students’ behavior intention, including their motivation, engagement, and self-efficacy in language learning. The qualitative data provide insights into students’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of using digital gameplay, highlighting its potential for improving language skills, fostering social interaction, and promoting autonomous learning. The implications of the study suggest that incorporating digital gameplay in EFL college classrooms can be an effective approach to enhance students’ behavior intention and contribute to their language learning outcomes. This study contributes to the existing literature on TI in language education and provides practical recommendations for educators and policymakers to leverage digital gameplay for enhancing EFL college students’ behavior intention.
Keywords: technology integration, digital gaming, behavior intention, EFL college students
Research Article
Paula Sofia Nunes, Paula Catarino, Paulo Martins, Maria Manuel Nascimento
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 3, Article No: ep436
ABSTRACT
There are several educational software (ES) used in the classroom environment for the teaching and learning of geometric contents that are part of the Portuguese basic education mathematics program. There are studies that show that the use of this type of artifact has a fundamental role in the behavior of students, raising, among other aspects, a greater motivation for learning mathematics. The aim of this work is to explore and describe implications for the behavior and learning of students in the 7th grade of Portuguese basic education, in face of a pedagogical practice that involves carrying out tasks using ES Plickers, in the theme similarities of the domain geometry and measurement, throughout intervention carried out. The adopted methodology presents characteristics of a quasi-experimental study. The participants were 61 students from three classes of a school in the north of Portugal, followed during eight consecutive classes. A set of tasks using Plickers, tests and a questionnaire survey were used as instruments for data collection. The results point to positive increments, at a behavioral level, as well as in the evolution of learning, in view of the use of this methodology in the classroom.
Keywords: educational software, Plickers, similarities, behavior, learning
Research Article
Mailizar Mailizar, Abdulsalam Almanthari, Suci Maulina
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 2, Article No: ep298
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine factors that influenced experienced teachers’ intention to use E-learning in their teaching of mathematics. Data were collected using a questionnaire from 161 secondary school mathematics teachers who completed a six-month in-service online training provided by the Indonesian Ministry of Education. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the framework while E-learning experience was included as an additional construct. An extended TAM model was proposed and tested in this study. It consisted of five constructs, namely: intention to use, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward using, and experience. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling with SMARTPLS 3.0. The findings showed that attitude toward E-learning use and E-learning experience were the two most significant constructs in predicting E-learning use. Contrary to previous studies, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were non-significant factors for the prediction of the behavioral intention. Implications for future research and practices are discussed.
Keywords: behavioral intention, teachers’ intention to use e-learning, extended TAM model, teachers’ e-learning experience, e-learning in mathematics classroom
Research Article
Levent Cetinkaya
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 55-74
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental psychological and behavioral control which the adolescents perceived from their parents and internet addiction. It employed relational survey model and was carried out with the participation of a total of 356 students (female=205, male=151) aged 14-18. Correlation and regression analyses were utilized to determine the level and direction of the relationship between their perceived parental psychological and behavioral control, and internet addiction. The results yielded a positive, medium-level and meaningful relation between them. It was found that parental psychological control explained nearly 18% of the total variance in internet addiction and mothers are perceived as significantly more psychologically controlling in internet addiction than fathers. Also, the relationship between parental behavioral control and the level of adolescents’ internet addiction was found negative and non-significant. Consequently, it was noted that perceived parental psychological control was effective in adolescents’ internet addiction tendencies, whereas behavioral control did not produce such effect.
Keywords: Internet addiction, Psychological control, Behavioral control, Parental control
Research Article
Ahmed Tajudeen Shittu, Bamidele Wahab Kareem, Omotayo Olabo Obielodan, Michael Ayodele Fakomogbon
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 2, pp. 142-157
ABSTRACT
This study examined predictors of pre-service science teachers’ behavioral intention toward eresources use for teaching in Nigeria. The study used cross-sectional survey research method and a questionnaire with a set of items that measure technology preparedness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention to gather the data of the study. The sample of the study is comprised of 124 pre-service science teachers graduating from a teacher education program in a Nigerian university. The research instrument of the study was subjected to validity and reliability check. Structural Equation modeling and t-test analysis was used to test the hypotheses of the study and the data collected were used to fit the specified model of the study. The findings of the study showed that technology preparedness does not statistically influence students’ behavioral intention towards e-resources use for teaching, but perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use does. The study also revealed that significant difference exists between male and female pre-service teachers behavioral intention towards e-resources use for teaching. Thus, the findings of the study confirm the validity of technology acceptance model construct and provide evidence that technology preparedness of pre-service teacher is inadequate to induce their behavioral beliefs toward future use of e-resources for classroom practice.
Keywords: pre-service teachers, e-resources, perceived usefulness, ease of use, behavioral intention
Research Article
Charlie C. Chen, Sandra Vannoy
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp. 87-107
ABSTRACT
Voice over Internet Protocol- (VoIP) enabled online learning service providers struggling with high attrition rates and low customer loyalty issues despite VoIP’s high degree of system fit for online global learning applications. Effective solutions to this prevalent problem rely on the understanding of system quality, information quality, and individual beliefs about the usefulness of this technology. This research aims to provide insights into increasing the loyalty of users to VoIP-enabled global learning programs from the perspectives of information systems (IS) success and control belief. A theoretical model is proposed to integrate seven major constructs of IS success and planned behavior theory. We tested our model using the path analysis of data collected from an experiment where 66 undergraduate students from the USA and Taiwan worked in pairs using Skype to improve their English and intercultural communication skills. Data analysis results showed that information quality and perceived behavioral control are much more important than system quality in increasing satisfaction with the use of Skype. An increase in user satisfaction can lead to an improvement in intercultural communication competence and to increased user loyalty. Theoretical and practical implications are drawn from the findings to conclude this study.
Keywords: Information quality, VoIP, Global learning tool, Perceived behavioral control, User satisfaction, Individual performance
Research Article
James Marken, Gary Morrison
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 1-14
ABSTRACT
While the concept of objectives is widely used in many applied fields of instruction, the systematic derivation and application of objectives for learning and instruction is a key feature of systematic instructional design. However, the treatment of objectives and the terminology surrounding them is sometimes nebulously employed. This article takes a historical look at the terminology around objectives used in the research literature to track changes over time. Data base searchers were conducted using Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, and ERIC to identify various terms using nine different objective related terms. Searches were limited to peer-reviewed sources, and restricted by date to include only the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s respectively. Results show that terms with more concrete definitions, such as behavioral objectives, have fallen off markedly, while terms with more operational definitions, such as educational objectives or learning objectives, have gained in currency. Implications for the field of instructional design are discussed.
Keywords: Objectives, Instructional design, Behavioral objective, Cognitive objective, Performance objective