Research Article
Jhon Holguin-Alvarez, Juan Apaza-Quispe
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 4, Article No: ep524
ABSTRACT
Digital competences develop professional profiles that are more and more attainable for labor communities in constant transformation. The aim is to verify the impact of dances performed in virtual environments on the digital skills of university students affected by coronavirus. An experimental design of two groups of subjects with sequel due to COVID-19 was developed. The total number of participants was 106 students of the Professional Career of Primary Education of a university in Lima. A rubric to measure skills and a self-report questionnaire were used. The experiment was carried out through the execution of a dance competition in the professional practice, which was part of the curricular program. The results showed that the gamified dances in their virtual format developed better digital competencies than the dancers in the face-to-face format. Digital dances had a positive impact on digital competences in their procedural component, and evidence on perceived self-efficacy received insufficient impact. The study contributes has reported digital competence with variable characteristics in subjects with severe and mild sequel, considering that their perceived self-efficacy develops to a lesser extent than their skills.
Keywords: virtual art, digital competence, dance, virtual teaching, group teaching
Research Article
Arystanbek Maulet, Wilfried Admiraal, Nursulu Algozhaeva, Nuri Balta
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 3, Article No: ep515
ABSTRACT
Teachers’ knowledge about technology and teaching with technology is decisive for how affordances of technology integration are taken up. Two questionnaires were administered in 21 high schools in Kazakhstan: one about types of teacher knowledge based on technological pedagogical content knowledge framework and one about affordances of technology integration. The analyses show a relatively high level of all types of teacher knowledge and a large variation in perceived affordances, with relatively low scores for support from the school leader and time available to design and plan technology integration in class. Furthermore, different types of knowledge were related to different affordances, which means that a focus on a high level of all types of teacher’s knowledge of technology might help best to benefit from most of the affordances. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: teaching with technology, affordances, knowledge, teachers, secondary education
Research Article
J. M. van Zyl, E. J. Spamer, C. J. Els
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 3, Issue 3, pp. 166-183
ABSTRACT
The article first explores open distance learning (ODL) as a delivery mode for professional teacher development programs in South Africa by comparing the ODL models of selected universities in developing, developed, and newly industrialized contexts. The article then reports on an empirical investigation conducted about the effect of contact class and vacation school attendance on the academic success of students (n=1310) who wrote examination papers (n=4931) for a variety of modules in four purposefully selected Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programs at the School of Continuing Teacher Education (SCTE) of the North-West University in South Africa. Descriptive statistics show the majority of students did not attend any contact classes or vacation schools, while still performing academically above average. Computing Spearman’s rank-order correlations (r), no practically significant correlations were found between contact class and vacation school attendance and the academic success of students. However, ANOVA analyses reveal that it was beneficial for students to rather attend three contact sessions, than two or no contact sessions
Keywords: Contact classes, Vacation schools, Class attendance, Academic success, Open distance learning
Research Article
Frank W. K. Amenyedzi, Mary N. Lartey, Beloved M. Dzomeku
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp. 151-162
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to assess the computer and Internet usage as supplementary educational material to enhance quality education; help improve educational management and planning; how students use the computers and internet to facilitate their learning; how teachers in the Tema Senior High Schools use the computers and Internet to teach and guide students. Stratified sampling method was used to select students and teachers. The results showed that a significantly high percentage of respondent teachers (92%) were computer literate and 78% of respondent students also had basic knowledge in computer. However, less than 15% of these teachers used the internet as an innovative way of improving teaching and learning. Over 30% of the teachers used the computer mainly for research work. Less than 40% of student respondents used the computer and the Internet facility for entertainment, whereas less than 25% used it for research and learning. Less than 40% of respondent students used the Internet for e-mail and browsing. It was revealed that Internet and computers have helped students to achieve new things such as finishing assignments, solving problems, learning history of other countries, improving typing skills, and chatting with friends. There is no clear interaction between teachers and students through the use of Internet facilities. The Internet was not used for guidance. Despite the limited use of computers by teachers in their teaching, many agree that the computer has changed the way students learn. One fourth of teachers have received some form of training in the use of computers, with quite minimal training in the pedagogical integration of ICT. It appears that integration of ICT in Ghanaian school systems is a major step in promoting innovation.
Keywords: Computer, Internet, Teaching, Learning, Guidance