Economic barriers to development : cost of access to internet infrastructure

The Internet is increasingly viewed as an "indispensable" resource for general development and economic growth (UNDP 1999). Its adoption by governments, organizations and individuals has resulted in the shrinking of spatial and temporal distances between different regions of the world, and has greatly facilitated the "free" and quick exchange of information. Such constrictions of time and space impact upon social and economic interactions at all levels of society. Furthermore, ramifications of this impact are felt by a society, group or individual irrespective of whether or not they use the Internet. The ability to access the Internet, and in particular the costs associated with such access, are therefore important points of consideration. Not only do these costs contribute to the disproportional spread of the Internet across the world's population; they also potentially contribute to uneven patterns of development within, and between countries

The trend of using smart teaching devices in education in Vietnam

This study examines the growing integration of intelligent educational tools within the educational framework of Vietnam, underscoring the nation's swift shift towards a technology-centered learning environment. With 72.1 million internet users in Vietnam, marked by a 98.1% adoption rate of smartphones, 58.8% usage of laptops, and 35.5% ownership of tablets, these sophisticated devices have assumed a central role in the field of education. Notably, there exist governmental initiatives aimed at reinforcing the legal infrastructure, serving as a testament to Vietnam's dedication to advancing education through technological means. Smart educational devices have brought about a transformation in teaching techniques, rendering lessons more captivating, efficient, and accessible. The authors conducted a survey among a randomly selected group of 255 participants, revealing that the entire cohort utilizes smart devices for educational or work-related purposes. Nonetheless, certain students tend to employ smartphones for entertainment, which has raised inquiries regarding their scholastic impact. The paper explores the role of laptops, accentuating their revolutionary contribution to education and the necessity for further investigation to gain deeper insights into their effects. Furthermore, it investigates the obstacles encountered, encompassing technology-related distractions in educational contexts and disparities in technology access. Ultimately, this research underscores the significance of addressing these impediments to fully exploit the potential of intelligent educational devices in Vietnam's educational landscape, with the added benefit of drawing comparisons with global trends to glean valuable insights for further enhancing the educational domain

Mobile Technology in Higher Education: An Extended Technology Acceptance Perspective

There is a lack of research that provides institutions with information on educators’ acceptance of mobile technology in higher education within the United States. This study utilized the Chen et al. (2013) extended technology acceptance model, that extended the original Davis (1989) TAM. In this research study, Chen et al. (2013) survey instrument provided the necessary tool to collect data from educators in higher education within the United States before COVID-19. The results showed statistical significance exists in relationships across the assessed factors of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived attitude toward use, and behavioral intention, which contribute to the acceptance of mobile technology in higher education. The study implies that institutions face a challenging task to understand the technology acceptance of educators as they incorporate the use of mobile technology to support their work and improve instructional practices

Use of information and communication technologies in higher education in Kenya

In this study, I investigated how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are applied in higher education in Kenya. Research questions were; 1) What is the level of self-efficacy and ICTs integration into higher education in Kenya? 2) What is the level of awareness and adoption of ICTs in higher education in Kenya? and 3) What factors enable or hinder utilization of ICTs in higher education development? Mixed method research was applied where 81 questionnaires and 8 semi structured interviews were carried out on lecturers and students. Staff and students were competent in regard to ICTs. Access to ICTs resources in private universities was better than in public universities. Most students and faculty were competent with the common software but competence in regard to specialized softwares was poor. ICTs were used for teaching and learning though the adoption was poor mainly in public universities. Barriers to effective utilization of ICTs in higher education included absence of reward systems, lack of policies, poor support and limited financial resources. In conclusion, the demand for higher education in Kenya surpasses the physical resources at the disposal of higher education institutions in the country. The use of ICTs is essential to ensure that quantity and quality of higher education with the limited resources. Universities therefore need to have their top leadership supporting ICTs plans and strategies, have policies regarding the use of ICTs and have support for ICT tools

Issues Related to Use and Acceptance of Teachers regarding Institutional Repositories

The Institutional Repository (IR) provides access to a vast collection of digital documents created and published by academic organisations. Institutional Repository (IR) services are provided to clients by major R& D institutions and a few academic institutes in India. Top scientists and researchers may use this institutional repository (IR) technology to submit their work, making it easier for the intended audience to obtain research papers in digital form. Institutional repositories (IRs) having gotten a lot of interest from academics from many fields and all around the world. They may have improved the public\u27s perception of academics and related institutions by raising their value creation, reputation, prestige, and visibility. Despite the importance and fast development of investigations, few people have attempted to systematically evaluate and synthesise the effects of previous projects, or to assess the present state of studies in this field. This paper\u27s main aim is to offer a better knowledge and in-depth overview of the present state of research on IRs. The work linked to institutional repositories was carefully organised using a systematic review (SLR) and a methodology. Researchers and universities may benefit from institutional repositories by improving their exposure, reputation, ranking, and public worth. Despite the potential advantages of colleges establishing institutional repositories (IRs). The institutional repository, according to this study, is an extraordinarily strong concept that may serve as a driving force for higher education institutions and, more generally, for scholarly businesses that support basic study

Integration of Information & Communication Technology in Public Secondary Schools in Metro-Manila, Philippines

The purpose of the study was to examine integration of ICT in selected public secondary education schools in Metro Manila, Philippines. The parameters used included a)availability of ICT resources b)level of skills, c)extent of usage d)problems inhibiting adoption, and e)perceptions and goals. Samples of the study included 431 teachers, 1001 students and 17 principals representative of the divisions of schools in Metro Manila. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research design. Methods used included researcher-prepared questionnaire,interview, focus group discussion, and document review.Major Findings The lack of hardware remains to be the most pressing and persistent problem. Relative to student population, the computer-to-student ratio is dismally low at 1:63. Access to computers is limited to those taking computer education subjects. Almost half of the schools do not have computer maintenance due to lack or low budget. While 88 percent of schools have internet connections, yet half of the students claimed that they do not use it. Almost half of the teachers never attended ICT-related trainings. Trainings conducted were generally on computer literacy like basic operations, word processing, and spreadsheet. Critical applications using educational games, CAI, simulations registered lower usage. Most of the teachers do not use ICT in the classroom. The study revealed that ICT is used few times a year and type of use is concentrated on lesson preparation and class management. Majority of teachers accept that students know more about computer and internet and the result of data analysis confirmed this view. Most students underscored the importance of education. With ICT, they believed it can facilitate and improve their learning achievements. Students indicated that they be given more responsibility for their learning. Their problems are primarily on lack of computer, time, internet, and software. Students’ awareness in the relevance of ICT to their future employment is very high. Conclusion The benefits of ICT have not trickled in the classroom. ICT integration remains to be learning about, rather than learning with ICT tools. A policy review is needed for equitable distribution of sparse ICT resources across all learning areas. Public-Private Partnership program have to be strengthened given governments limited resources. A clear strategic plan, concrete actions,continuous measurement & evaluation, and strong leadership are needed to make ICT atransformative tool in teaching and learning

The psychososial aspects of Internet use among high school students in Pattani, Thailand

Studies have shown that internet use has both positive and negative psychosocial effects on its users. However, there are few studies on the psychosocial aspects of internet use among high school students in Pattani, Thailand. This study aims to explore the psychosocial aspects of internet use among high school students in Pattani, Thailand and to investigate how the psychosocial aspects influence students’ academic performance. The study also aims to examine the stakeholders’ reactions on the effect of internet use on the high school students and to recommend social work interventions to reduce the effect of psychosocial issues. A qualitative study was conducted using 23 informants from four districts in Pattani, namely Muang, Yaring, Kokpho and Saiburi. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study found that internet use has affected the Pattani high school students socially and psychologically. Students who spent more than eight hours a day on the internet were more likely to neglect their responsibilities. They tend to have more relationship problems with parents and family members and inclined to be aggressive, easily upset, moody and sleepy in class. Students were also likely to skip meals, get depressed and exhibit poor physical health and showed a decline in academic performance. Nevertheless, internet use has helped the Pattani’s students gain new knowledge, which enable them to make informed decisions. Thus, informants suggested the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Information and Technology, and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security collaborate to block websites that aggravate negative behavior among students. Informants opined that students need to be monitored on the internet use and internet surfing time. This study contributes to the understanding of knowledge on social integration theory and the role of school social workers in assisting Pattani’s high school students’ internet usage. The Students’ Care and Support System (SCSS) introduced by the Ministry needs to include social workers’ support system to effectively solve psychosocial problems arising from the internet use among high school students

A Study of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Utilization in Sunday Catechism Classes in the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City

The current study was carried out in the context of Church efforts to promote the utilization of ICT in religious activities, especially in catechism education to children and adolescents in the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City. In this day and age, information and communication technology (ICT) has become an important integrated component in every area of people’s lives from the workplace and to the school/educational environment, from social activities to religious practices. The Church acknowledges that these ICT advances provide people with various ways of learning new knowledge, sharing ideas and faith, and expanding means of communicating with other people, creatively and conveniently. This research was conducted in May, 2012. The quantitative research approach was employed by means of a survey questionnaire. Data obtained from 351 lay catechists were statistically analyzed in order to identify the types of ICT used in catechesis classes and, at the same time, to examine gender and age differences in ICT utilization. The results of data analysis revealed the following: (a) lay catechists used different types of ICT to support their teaching practice, with Internet/Catholic websites being the most frequently used ICT tool, followed by mobile phone, and then by desktop/laptop computer; (b) there are no differences within catechists’ gender in the use of ICT tools for catechism activities in catechism classes; and (c) there are no differences among catechists’ ages in the use of ICT tools for catechism activities in catechism classes.

Managing Teacher Acceptance of New Technology: The Case of Robotics Kit

This quantitative research aims to identify a model for the acceptance of an educational robotics kit among primary school teachers, providing educators, administrators, and policy makers practical insight for planning design. This study collected the opinions from a population of 871 in-service teachers of mathematics, science, and technology, at public and private primary schools in Phatthalung province. Purposive sampling and quota sampling were applied, generating a total of 488 responses, collected via questionnaire. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling method, generating a structural model to predict the behavioral intent for the adoption of the educational robotics kit. The model comprised of 4 independent variables – perceived ease of use; technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge; perceived usefulness; and facilitating conditions. The model explained 88.2 percent of the variance in behavioral intentions. The findings revealed that perceived usefulness had the strongest direct effect on behavioral intentions. Perceived ease of use had the strongest indirect and total effect on behavioral intentions; moreover, it produced a direct effect on perceived usefulness. In addition, perceived ease of use could be predicted by technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge. The implications discussed include the suggested managerial actions to stimulate the intention to adopt educational robotics kits in accordance with the findings

Learning analytics for the global south

Learning Analytics for the Global South is a compilation of papers commissioned for the Digital Learning for Development (DL4D) project. DL4D is part of the Information Networks in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (INASSA) program funded jointly by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, and administered by the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED) of the Philippines. DL4D aims to examine how digital learning could be used to address issues of equity, quality, and efficiency at all educational levels in developing countries. Over the past two years, DL4D has brought together leading international and regional scholars and practitioners to critically assess the potentials, prospects, challenges, and future directions for the Global South in key areas of interest around digital learning. It commissioned discussion papers for each of these areas from leading experts in the field: Diana Laurillard of the University College London Knowledge Lab, for learning at scale; Chris Dede of Harvard University, for digital game-based learning; Charalambos Vrasidas of the Centre for the Advancement of Research and Development in Educational Technology, for cost-effective digital learning innovations; and for learning analytics, the subject of this compilation, Dragan Gašević of the University of Edinburgh Moray House School of Education and School of Informatics. Each discussion paper is complemented by responses from a developing country-perspective by regional experts in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Learning Analytics for the Global South considers how the collection, analysis, and use of data about learners and their contexts have the potential to broaden access to quality education and improve the efficiency of educational processes and systems in developing countries around the world. In his discussion paper, Prof. Gašević articulates these potentials and suggests how learning analytics could support critical digital learning and education imperatives such as quality learning at scale and the acquisition of 21st century skills. Experts from Africa (Paul Prinsloo of the University of South Africa), Mainland China (Bodong Chen of the University of Minnesota, USA and Yizhou Fan of Peking University, People’s Republic of China), Southeast Asia (Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo of the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines), and Latin America (Cristóbal Cobo and Cecilia Aguerrebere, both of the Ceibal Foundation, Uruguay) situate Prof. Gašević’s proposals in their respective regional contexts, framing their responses around six key questions: 1. What are the main trends and challenges in education in your region? 2. How can learning analytics address these challenges? 3. What models of learning analytics adoption would be most effective in your region? 4. What are the barriers in adoption of learning analytics in your region and how could these be mitigated? 5. How do you envision ethical use and privacy protection in connection with learning analytics being addressed in your region? 6. How can the operationalization of learning analytics be futureproofed in your region? We hope that this compilation will serve as a springboard for deeper conversations about the adoption and sustained use of learning analytics in developing countries – its potential benefits and risks for learners, educators, and educations systems, as well as the ways to move forward that are rigorous, context-appropriate, ethical, and accountable.This work was created with financial support from the UK Government’s Department for International Development and the International Development Research Centre, Canada. The views expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the UK Government’s Department for International Development; the International Development Research Centre, Canada or its Board of Governors; the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development; or the editors