A Case Study of Millennial English Teachers’ Awareness of Digital Media in EFL Classrooms

Digital literacy embodies the competence in effectively employing technology for information retrieval, appraisal, creation, and transmission. This case study not only explores the digital literacy of millennial English teachers but uniquely unveils the seamless integration of a diverse array of digital media into their EFL classrooms. The questionnaire served as a means to gauge the extent of the millennial English teachers understood the notion of digital literacy. Meanwhile, to understand how they use digital technology resources in their instructional design and pedagogical strategies, this study deployed observation, interview, and document analysis. Ten English teachers from Cianjur who belong to the millennial generation enlisted in the study. The findings underscored that the participants adeptly utilized an array of digital technology tools in their day-to-day professional undertakings. They have demonstrated proficiency with digital teaching tools and have seamlessly integrated them into their EFL classroom. Nonetheless, there is a discernible need for further support in advancing their digital literacy skills, and further, collaborative environment to explore innovative pedagogical approaches. Also, a sufficient amount of time for professional development is necessary, as are policies that promote the effective use of mobile devices in the classroom. Furthermore, it is imperative to stimulate the teachers’ experimentation with emerging technologies and elevate their digital literacy levels. Therefore, it is advised that government and policymakers proffer substantial, reliable, and easily accessible technical support tailored to the needs of millennial English teachers to continue their digital literacy growth

In Media We Trust - A Solution to Disinformation and Fake News in Albanian Audiences during the Russia-Ukraine War

In this study we have analyzed the impact of disinformation and fake news in Albanian Audiences during the Russia-Ukraine war and we present the solutions given from the Albanian audiences and Albanian journalists in fighting these phenomena.We have explored how the Albanian audiences have reacted to the information received from the international and national media during the Russia-Ukraine war, what media narratives were disseminated and how endangered these audiences were. We have investigated the role of Albanian journalists and their recommendations to minimize the spread of disinformation in times of crises. Do we trust the media? What is the main and immediate solution to disinformation and fake news during crises? What about other solutions?Two hypotheses have been formulated: Hypothesis 1 (H1): Albanian audiences have been faced with disinformation and fake news, creating uncertainty about the accuracy of the events during the Russia-Ukraine war, and Hypothesis 2 (H2): To fight disinformation and fake news primarily it is needed that media and journalists increase their professional level.By means of a qualitative content analysis in the Albanian media (mainstream and social) and two online questionnaires on Albanian audiences (N=387) and Albanian journalists (N=42) we find that Albanian audiences have been faced with disinformation and fake news and in order to fight disinformation and fake news primarily it is needed that the media and journalists increase their professional level

Retaining Teachers Through Building Confidence in Collaboration Skills: Promoting 21st-Century Teaching Skills in Teacher Education

In 2023, the United States faces a monumental teacher shortage. Murdock (2022) has quoted an estimated 36,504 full-time teaching positions as unfilled, with another 163,650 positions filled by underqualified individuals or by those teaching outside of their field of study. Although this figure falls short of the 53 percent of all schools reported by the National Education Association (NEA) as understaffed, it is a figure of consequence for educators and schools (Walker, 2022). The NEA has also reported that 55percent of those in teaching and in educational support positions have considered leaving the profession earlier than planned. In 2018, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducted their Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and found similar results. In the survey, 14 percent of teachers aged 50 years or younger stated their desire to leave the profession within the next five years

Nyonya Culture Expression in Malaysian Chinese Media Based on Facebook

In the digital age, the Malaysian Chinese media has become an important communication platform for Malaysian Chinese and has a key influence on cultural communication. Nyonya culture, a unique product of the fusion of Chinese and Southeast Asian cultures, has gained widespread attention and use in the media. In this research, 19 Facebook posts were coded and analyzed to investigate Nyonya culture as a comprehensive cultural symbol, its transmission of traditional Chinese culture in the five dimensions of food, crafts, traditional customs, social affairs, and media entertainment, as well as the integration of new cultural symbols. The study aims to provide a new approach to integrating and disseminating Nyonya culture in the context of digitalization, as well as providing a unique perspective on the dissemination of traditional culture through Malaysian Chinese media

The Development of TPACK-Based Learning Media to Enhance the Skills of Written Communication

The research aims to develop a model of existing essay writing teaching materials. In this research, the authors used a research and development (R&D) approach to analyze and demonstrate technology as a solution to a crucial problem in teaching essay writing. Data were obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and observations. To find out the feasibility of the model to be developed, several assessment steps were carried out, namely expert/expert testing, one-on-one trials, small group trials and testing the effectiveness of teaching material models. Based on the test results, the findings of this research indicate that a new teaching material model that can stimulate lecturers and students to learn essay writing is needed. To sum up, to make an effective and enjoyable instructional process, it is necessary to be concerned with instructional methods that are varied and liked by students

WeChat News Contact among Chinese Youth and Impact on Political Participation: the Role of Social Capital, Political Trust, and Media Literacy

Several recent studies have found that social media positively influences the online political participation behavior of youth. However, only a few studies have explored the political participation behavior of Chinese youth on specific social media, such as WeChat, the most widely used mobile social media in China. To bridge this gap, this study examines Chinese youths’ contact with WeChat and its subsequent impact on political participation. The study uses a questionnaire to collect data and uses the SPSS 25.0 version to analyse data. The findings show that: (1) Chinese youths' WeChat news contact positively affects their WeChat political participation; (2) Chinese youths' social capital positively affects their political trust; (3) social capital and political trust play a partially mediating role between youths' WeChat news contact and youths' WeChat political participation; (4) media literacy plays a moderating role between youth WeChat news contact and youth WeChat political participation. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed

A Systematic Review on Social Media Health Communications and Behavioural Development among Indians in the COVID-19 Context

Social media holds enormous power in directing the flow of health information during a health crisis and can tap into the individual and collective consciousness to make behavioural improvements. Being the third country with the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported worldwide, the magnitude of the pandemic was immense in the Indian context; timely health communications that prompt individuals to adopt preventive measures were crucial in the process of risk control. This systematic review consolidated evidence on the effect of COVID-related social media communications on the development of protective behaviours among the Indian population. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and CINAHL yielded 11 studies highlighting six themes related to social media and protective behaviours. The themes associated with the positive impact of social media include catalysing awareness, shaping psychological responses and perceptions at an individual level, behavioural changes at a community level and social media as the most influential media source for behavioural improvements. The negative effects comprise misinformation and disparities that emerge from social media health communications

Incidental News Exposure and Algorithmic Governance of Social Media Platforms in Ambient Journalism

The emergence of social media platforms as the leading platform for people to access news has brought essential changes in journalism. People encounter news in a diffuse news environment. The news algorithmic distribution of social media platforms determines the content ecology of people's chance encounter with news, and the problems of information overload, information cocoon, vulgar news, and so on brought by news algorithmic distribution are becoming increasingly prominent. Algorithmic governance as a trend is unstoppable. This study adopts a qualitative research method to focus on the challenges and governance of the algorithmic distribution of news in social media to provide lessons for establishing an excellent online news ecosystem and promoting efficient management of cyberspace

The Guiding Role of Social Media in the Socialization of Celebrity Fans

This paper focuses on the role of social media in guiding the socialization of celebrity fans through qualitative research. Specifically, we explore fans’ choices of social media platforms and the navigating role of fan communities on fans’ personal identity, group identity and emotional labor. Through the analysis of social media platforms as well as in-depth interviews with fans, we find that the various features and functions of social media platforms have different impacts on the socialization of fans in China. At the same time, fan communities can also provide a place for fans to communicate and identify with each other, promote interaction and emotional exchange among them, and enhance the sense of belonging and pride. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications for understanding the role of social media in guiding the socialization of celebrity fans

Woldemar Voigt’s Alliance of Finite Reality with Infinite Fantasy

This article tries to explain why we should ally the cerebral, vertical, and asymmetrical finiteness spared in autism with the cerebellar, horizontal, and symmetrical infinity impaired in it to avoid global warming, a super-wicked problem. The physicist Woldemar Voigt implied the alliance of detectible finiteness and lying infinity in 1887 at the University of Göttingen through the transformations of his “Shining Sphere,” or Riemann Sphere. Since they cannot lie, autistics cannot face problems, rooted in the maybe of dreaming and fantasy. The author posits that our problem is ignoring the alliance of classical asymmetry and quantum symmetry in our brainstem, Stonehenge’s builders, artless discourse, and nature’s nature. He also suggests that recalling nature’s roots will save about eight billion nonautistic liars (rooted in the “tree of knowledge”) from a disaster worse than Lisbon’s Earthquake in 1755. The ruin of life on Earth can wane by willfully grasping the union of vertical and finite asymmetry with horizontal and infinite symmetry in the “tree of life.” Asymmetrical finiteness (e.g., from front to back in a dog tick) hugs symmetrical infinity in living beings (e.g, the legs and eyes of a dog tick) as relativity hugs quantum physics; and Descartes’ cosines hug Euler’s sines in a complex plane