Effect of a Full Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention on Selective Attention in Children

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of two educational interventions, a program based on Full Immersive Virtual Reality games and a Typical Training program, in Selective Attention (SA) of children aged 8-10 years old. Forty-eight girls of elementary school from the city of Komotini, in Greece, participated in this study. They were randomly divided into three individual groups of 16 children each, one Control Group (CG) and two experimental groups. The CG did not receive any structured SA training program, while the two experimental groups attended a program focused on improving SA for 6 weeks, twice a week for 24 min, each time. The participants of FIVE group attended a full immersive program in Playstation4 VR and the participants of TT group attended a typical training to the gym. Before, after and one –month after the interventions SA was estimated using Super Lab, recording the number and the RT of correct answers of relevant and irrelevant questions to volleyball. Two-way analyses of variance with repeated measures were conducted to determine the effect of training program groups and measurements across number and RT of correct answers on SA performance. Analysis of the data illustrated that the post-test SA scores and the one –month retention test SA scores were remarkably greater than pre-test SA scores for both experimental groups and not for the CG. In conclusion exergames VR are effective tools for improving SA such as typical training

The Effect of the Conflict Resolution Learning Model and Portfolio Assessment on the Students’ Learning Outcomes of Civic Education

This study was aimed at investigating the effect of the conflict resolution learning model and portfolio assessment on students’ learning outcome in civic education. This study was a quasi-experimental study using a sample of 120 students selected by applying multistage random sampling technique. This study used a 2x2 factorial design. The data were analysed by using ANOVA. The results showed that the civic education learning outcomes of the students who learned using the conflict resolution learning model were better than those of the students who learned using the conventional learning model, and the civic education learning outcomes of the students who were assessed using portfolio assessment were not different to those of the students who were assessed using objective assessment. Based on these findings, it is suggested that civic education lecturers, to improve the learning outcomes of the students in that subject, need to use appropriate learning models

Educational Use of Social Media in Primary and Childhood Education Degrees at a Virtual University

The use of social networks is part of people's daily lives, and university students, in their academic life, make particularly intense use of them on a daily basis for different purposes. This research analyses the nature, intensity, and type of educational use of these social media by childhood and primary pre-teachers who are pursuing their studies online in Spain. To this end, we designed and validated an ad hoc questionnaire, obtaining 268 valid responses to research the specific characteristics of students studying for degrees in early childhood education and primary education and a double degree in early childhood and primary education at a university that is exclusively online. The results show that participants habitually use a variety of social media, but they only use some of them for educational purposes. General social networks offer future teachers versatility, the possibility to develop and leverage social capital, and opportunities to connect formal, nonformal and informal settings. The most used networks were WhatsApp, YouTube and above all Facebook, a reasonably large percentage use Instagram or Pinterest, and, to a lesser extent, Skype, and a lightly under half have Twitter. With regards to how they are used for educational purposes, a majority of respondents reported using them to find classroom activities, new ideas and material that might be of use in their academic work. It was also found that students consumed more information than what they produced, such that social capital is not used in an optimal way. It is concluded that in a university that operates exclusively online, the use of social networks fulfils the function of covering affective and social needs in an optimal way

The Effectiveness of Using Direct Instruction in Teaching Comprehension Skill of Third-Grade Students

Direct instruction is required in the use of different comprehension skills in order to advance students' ability to independently comprehend texts. Being able to make connections is an important reading comprehension strategy which allows students make meaning of what they are reading. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of using the direct instruction method in developing the reading comprehension skills among a sample of third-grade students in Irbid Kasbah District that comprised of 60 students distributed into an experimental group 30 students from public schools, who were taught by using the direct instruction “routine”, and a control group that consisted of 30 students from private schools who were taught by the conventional teaching method. A test of 20 items was used to measure the effectiveness of using the direct instruction “routine” in developing the reading comprehension skills. The researchers checked the validity, and the reliability of the test, and the statistical analysis was extracted. The findings revealed statistically significant differences attributed to the effect of the teaching method, in favor of the experimental group, and significant differences attributed to the gender effect in favor of females, while there are no statistically significant differences due to the interaction between variables group and gender. From the findings of this study, the research concludes that the teaching method has notable effects on the reading comprehension skills of students regardless of their age, gender or other socio-demographic characteristics. More importantly, the study has demonstrated that direct instruction method has immensely positive effects on the comprehension skills of third grade students

Designing the University Competitiveness Management System: Functions, Levels, Objects

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the problem of systemic university competitiveness management in order to propose a vision of the structure of the university competitiveness management system (UCMS), its levels, functions, and management objects based on the implementation of the constructive competition theory. The basic research methods included the following: content analysis, analysis of the modern concepts of university competitiveness management. The constructive theory of competition was used as the basic methodology of the research. Based on certain factors affecting competitiveness, the competitiveness of university (Cu) coefficient was calculated. At the intersection of four management functions (planning, organization, motivation, and control) at three levels of competitive behavior (strategic, tactical, situational) and three spheres of system influence (resource usage, optimizing actions, achieving results), 36 special functions of competitiveness management have been identified. At the same time, it was unveiled that the implementation of the UCMS in the overall university management structure is accompanied by organizational changes. In view of this, the success of the operating activities of the university as a higher education institution should be ensured by monitoring competition in the market and implementation of the competitiveness management program developed precisely for this institution. The study revealed that the competitiveness of the university increased after the introduction of the UCMS, the coefficient of competitiveness (Cu> 1). Implementation of the proposed competitiveness management system can significantly increase planning flexibility, adaptability and contribute to an increase in the world ranking of universities in developing countries

The Effectiveness of an Educational Environment Based on Artificial Intelligence Techniques Using Virtual Classrooms on Training Development

The aim of the current research is to measure the effectiveness of an educational environment based on artificial intelligence techniques using virtual classrooms in developing field training for female student teachers at Prince Sattam University. By researching in previous studies, and the quasi-experimental approach to measure the effectiveness of the independent variable “the learning environment based on artificial intelligence technology and the variables dependent on field training” and the research sample that consisted of (15) students from the field training students, the researcher concluded that there are statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group and the control group in favor of the experimental group on the scale card, which explains that the female students’ teachers’ use of virtual classrooms using artificial intelligence technology helped to develop field training and teaching skills at a semi-high degree (84.40%), and this result indicates a high level in the development of field training skills. The researcher recommended the necessity of employing virtual classrooms in teaching practical education courses, and training student-teachers on how to use electronic media and keeping abreast of recent developments in training and teaching through the use of Blackboard platforms

The Effect of Self-Directed Learning on Students' Digital Literacy Levels in Online Learning

Digital literacy is a media-based learning that combines education and technology with the hope that students can make the most of it. This requires learning skills, one of which is the ability to take the initiative to be responsible for learning materials, often called self-directed learning. The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of self-directed learning on students' level of digital literacy in online learning. This study used a quantitative approach with ex-post facto research type. The populations in this study were students of the University of Lampung with a sample of 947 taken using simple random sampling. The data collection instrument used was adapted from the Self Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL) and Digital Literacy Measurement (DLM). The data collected were analyzed using linear regression. The results showed the positive and significant effect of self-directed learning on the digital literacy level of students, with the contribution of 54.80%, and the rest was influenced by other factors that were not measured in this study. The effect also had a positive direction, which means that the higher the student's self-directed learning score, the better the digital literacy skills will be

The Influence of Wayang Beber (The Legend of Wasis Joyokusumo) as a Character-based Learning Media on Students’ Critical Thinking Ability

Critical thinking ability and character education seem to be interesting educational topics that are being discussed in the digital era of 21st century. It is necessary to optimize the character education in the learning process earlier using various learning media. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence learning process of legend story the theme of “obligation and right me” using the a character-based media of wayang beber (the legend of Wasis Joyokusumo) on the students’ critical thinking ability. This study is quasi experimental research using post-test only non-equivalent. The samples or participants are two classes in Pati city, namely SD Ngepungrejo 01 Pati as the control class with 36 students and SD Payang 2 Pati as the experimental class with 38 students. Cluster sampling is a technique used to determine the research subject. The data then collected using several techniques, namely observations, interviews, tests, and document analysis. In analyzing the data, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis methods are implemented. In this case, the content validity and construct validity are utilized to test the internal validity. The external validity is tested using try out test of instruments on the sample of study. The validity and reliability tests are implemented. After that, the questions are eligible to be used to obtain the data. The conclusion of study is that the implementation of wayang beber as a characterbased learning media influences the students’ critical thinking ability because the significance value is less than 0,01

Prospective Teachers’ Intercultural Sensitivity alongside the Contextual Factors as the Affective Domain to Realize Multicultural Education

The multicultural education of Indonesia calls for prospective teachers (PTs) with sufficient intercultural sensitivity. Hence, this mixed-method intercollegiate study aimed to quantitatively measure the intercultural sensitivity of PTs at UIN Raden Fatah Palembang and IAIN Curup and to qualitatively investigate the contextual factors underlying their intercultural sensitivity. 1,800 PTs of both universities were involved as the quantitative participants, and 10% of them were purposively selected as the qualitative participants to join interviews and FGDs. The findings revealed that the PTs of both universities had high intercultural sensitivity. Their intercultural sensitivity was underpinned by six contextual factors, such as interests in other cultures, frequently joining activities of other cultures, living in a multicultural environment, experiences of interacting with people of different cultures, the senses of family and friendship, and learning experiences in the crosscultural understanding course. The PTs’ high intercultural sensitivity implies that they are ready to teach Indonesian multicultural students under the national multicultural curriculum of Indonesia, K-13. However, external empowerments are required to maintain their current state of intercultural sensitivity because intercultural sensitivity is an affective or attitudinal domain vulnerable to change. Research limitations, implications, and recommendations are provided at the end of the data discussion and conclusion sections