Teachers' perceptions of one-to-one computing effect on learning environment in Qatari secondary schools

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of one-to-one computing on the learning environment based upon teachers’ perceptions in Qatari secondary schools implementing the E-Schoolbag project (phase one and phase two). A questionnaire was employed to collect all teachers’ responses from ten secondary schools utilizing Tablet PC in the one-to-one computing initiative. The questionnaire assessed teachers’ perceptions about one-to-one computing in terms of: (a) student use, (b) perception of impact, (c) advantages of one-to-one computing, (d) support, (e) and classroom management issues. Teachers were found relatively positive toward the one-to-one computing initiative. Inferential analysis found no statistically significant difference for gender and years of experience in terms of perceived advantages and impact of one-to-one computing

The use of information and communication technologies in teaching English as a second language in Estonian schools

This MA thesis discusses the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching English as a second language (ESL) in Estonian schools and analyses the current situation in the light of the 2011 national curricula for Estonian basic and upper secondary schools, which state that ICT should be applied in teaching approaches. The importance of ICT in the society has grown substantially in the recent years; therefore it is necessary to efficiently integrate modern technologies into education to avoid disparities between schools, societal expectations and the requirements of computer-literate students. The theoretical part gives an overview of the challenges and benefits of implementing ICT into formal education with the focus on teaching English as a second language in Estonia. This section also observes the changing nature of education in the 21st century with the concept of lifelong learning and the transformation of a teacher’s role. The empirical study is based on the survey conducted among 117 English language teachers from basic and upper secondary schools in Estonia. The survey examines the scope of ICT use, determines the most common ICT applications in classes and evaluates the teachers’ e-competence as well as their general attitude to using ICT in the teaching context. The conclusion defines the typical factors that influence the use of ICT in Estonian basic and upper secondary schools and makes recommendations for future developments

The Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Teaching English as a Second Language in Estonian Schools

Käesoleva magistritöö eesmärgiks on vaadelda info- ja kommunikatsioonitehnoloogia (IKT) kasutust üldhariduskoolides Eestis inglise keele kui teise keele õpetamisel. Töö on motiveeritud asjaolust, et 2011. aastal jõustunud uued põhikooli ja gümnaasiumi riiklikud õppekavad sätestavad vajaduse kasutada nüüdisaegseid info- ja kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiatel põhinevaid õppematerjale ja -vahendeid kooli füüsilises õppekeskkonnas. Ühtlasi on moodsad infotehnoloogilised lahendused nagu Internet ja arvutid muutunud ühiskonnas üldiselt, kuid eelkõige noorema põlvkonna jaoks igapäevaseks suhtlus- ja teabevahendiks, mistõttu on noorte üldine arvutioskuse tase väga kõrge. Eelpoolmainitud asjaolude tõttu on oluline tagada, et koolide IKT vahenditega varustatus ja õpetajate digitaalne kirjaoskus oleks tasemel, mis võimaldab moodsate tehnoloogiliste lahenduste tõhusat kasutust õppetöös. Töö teoreetilises osas käsitletakse info- ja kommunikatsioonitehnoloogia kasutuse vajadust, eeldusi ja võimalusi õppetegevuse mitmekesistamisel ning rikastamisel. Näiteks on võimalik inglise keele kui teise keele õpetamisel kasutada Internetis kergesti kättesaadavat autentset ja ajakohast materjali, mis on lisaks keeleõppele täiendab õpilaste kultuuri- ja üldteadmisi. Elektroonsete ja veebipõhiste õppematerjalide kasutus võimaldab õpetajal varieerida õppematerjale vastavalt õpilase võimetele ning loob hea eelduse õpilase iseseisvaks tööks väljaspool kooli, sest õppematerjalid on kergemini ligipääsetavad ja reeglina interaktiivsed. Ühtlasi analüüsib teoreetiline osa arenguid IKT juurutamisel Eesti koolides. Ilmnes, et peamine protsessi koordinaator on Tiigrihüppe Sihtasutus, kes kaasrahastab riist- ja tarkvara soetamist koolidele, korraldab erinevaid koolitusi ja töötab välja tulevikulahendusi nagu e-Koolikott (õpilase tahvelarvuti) ja erinevad infosüsteemid. Näiteks aastatel 2012–2013 kaasrahastab Tiigrihüppe Sihtasutus koolide IKT varustuse täiendamist 5 euro ulatuses õpilase kohta eeldusel, et haridusasutus läbib edukalt taotlusvooru. Eesti Arengufondi 2010. aasta aruandes EST_IT@2018 raport infotehnoloogia kasutamisest hariduses esitatud nägemuse kohaselt võetakse e-Koolikott ja digitaalsed õppevahendid üldhariduskoolides kasutusele hiljemalt 2018. aastal

An evaluation of the effect of a computer-related participatory ergonomics intervention programme on adolescents in a school environment: A randomised controlled trial

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, 2015Computer use is increasing among children and thus the potential for related musculoskeletal pain and postural changes is increasing concomitantly. From an early age children are spending more time in front of computers and television, which encourages a static and passive lifestyle. The cumulative effect of this technology-induced, sedentary lifestyle leads to improper posture as well as pain, repetitive strain injury and dysfunctional movement patterns that can potentially carry into adult life. For this reason, there is a need for designing, implementing and assessing the effectiveness of a participatory ergonomics intervention programme in a school environment in South Africa. This study consisted of two phases: the main objective of phase one comprised a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and pain catastrophising in grade eight learners working on computers in a school environment; and to determine the body areas most commonly affected by pain among learners routinely exposed to computers; and to measure the observed posture of adolescents working on computers in a school environment; and to establish the attitude of the teachers and principals towards ergonomics in schools. Phase two was a randomised control trial, with the objective to determine the effect of a participatory computer-related ergonomics intervention programme on grade eight learners in terms of the effect on musculoskeletal pain while working on a computer, pain catastrophising, and postural change and ergonomic behaviour. Sample Selection: a) School sample Private independent schools were selected to participate in the study because they have principally similar socio-economic ecologies. The particular populations of learners selected for this study were exposed more frequently and with higher intensity to computer use, both at home and at school than is currently the case in less privileged socio-economic environments. Two schools were chosen using randomised cluster sampling from a population of 27 independent co-educational secondary schools in the greater Johannesburg region (Appendix D). b) Learner Sample The learner sample included all grade eight learners from all three classes at the two randomly selected private schools in the greater Johannesburg region who were invited to participate in the study (n=127). Consecutive sampling was done according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. c) Teacher and Principal sample A convenience sample (n=18) of teachers and principals who responded to the questionnaire was used in this study. Procedure: Phase one: A self-report questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data and to measure pain. Pain catastrophising levels were measured with a pain catastrophising scale for children (PCS-C) and observed posture was measured using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment tool (RULA). The ergonomics of the computer laboratories of the two schools was assessed using the Computer Workstation Design Assessment form (CWDA). The attitude of the teachers and principals of the schools were measured using a self-report questionnaire. Phase two: A single blind randomized control trial was conducted (pre and post intervention assessment). School A and school B were randomly allocated to either a control group or an intervention group. Allocation into groups was done using concealed allocation with assessor blinding and therefore, the researcher and the research assistant were blinded to group allocation as well as to the delivery of the ergonomic intervention programme to the participants so as to limit assessment bias. The study was conducted over a period of six months. The intervention and control groups were assessed at baseline prior to the intervention and then at three months and six months post-intervention. The control group and the intervention group were required to answer a validated Computer Usage Questionnaire (CUQ) (Smith, 2007) and the Pain catastrophising questionnaire (PCS-C) (Vervoort et al., 2008) at baseline and at three and six month intervals post-intervention. All the participants underwent biometric measurements of person height, weight, school bag weight and postural analysis using the RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) (McAtamney and Corlett, 1993) method of observation. The learners from the control and intervention group had their postures assessed with RULA while they were using a computer at school during a computer lesson at baseline, three months and six months. The computer-related ergonomic intervention programme was developed with reference to the literature from the few intervention studies that have been done (Ismail et al., 2010; Robbins et al., 2009; Heyman and Dekel, 2009) and it was evaluated by four educators, eight learners and an expert in the field of ergonomics during the pilot study and modified accordingly. The intervention was delivered by a physiotherapy lecturer who was trained in the delivery of the intervention programme. The intervention group received a 45 minute participative intervention programme comprising an educational ergonomic component on posture and workstation set-up and a component of stretches for the neck, shoulders and lower back. This was in the format of a visual power point presentation with planned activities for the participants. A poster demonstrating correct workstation set-up and a variety of stretches was put in the computer classroom of the intervention group. Thereafter, each learner participant was given a sticker to place on their computer screen at home and at school. This sticker, in the form of a red dot, acted as a reminder to the learner participants to adjust their posture and to do their stretches during the time that they spent on the computer. A free web-based link was given to each participant to download onto their home computer to reinforce the reminder of doing stretches and taking regular short breaks from computer use when at home. All participants were given a short multiple choice questionnaire test immediately after the intervention to test their comprehension and understanding of the ergonomic concepts that they had been taught during the intervention programme. The control group participants were not exposed to any ergonomic intervention programme as they were in a different school. At three months and six months post-intervention, the research assistant repeated all the biometric measurements of the learners with regards to height, weight and school bag weight. In addition, the researcher repeated the RULA analysis of the learners’ posture and all the learners who had agreed to participate in the study answered the same questionnaires that they had answered in phase one of the study. The same venue at each school was used at each measurement interval to ensure consistency of environment for accurate measurement purposes. The RULA (postural assessment) measurements were conducted during the week after the biometric measurements and questionnaires were completed. RULA measurements were conducted by the researcher during the Information technology and design lesson in the computer laboratory of each school. RULA measurements were done by observing each learner for one minute while they worked on a computer during their computer lesson. The computer lesson was 45 minutes in length and the observation process started 10 minutes after the start of the computer lesson. The learners were observed from the dominant hand side and from a side-view during the RULA measurement process. Results: Results showed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (77%) in the adolescents in a school environment. A prevalence of rate of 34% was found for learners experiencing musculoskeletal pain while working on computers and a significant percentage (31.4%) of the learners were observed to be in a category 4 action level. In phase two of this study, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal pain relating to computer use between the control (25.8%) and the intervention (42.6%) groups at baseline. After six months, there was no significant difference (p<0.52) between the control and intervention groups which may be due to the positive effect of the intervention. However, the withinin group analysis of the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal pain while working on a computer in the intervention group had reduced significantly (p<0.000) from 42.6% to 18% over a period of six months, compared to the control group which only had a small reduction in symptoms from 25.8% to 24.2% (p<0.39). This suggests that the computer-related ergonomic intervention programme had a positive clinical effect on musculoskeletal pain in learners in the intervention group, but no statistically significant effect was found in the between group analysis over a period of six months. The results indicated that more than one body area was affected by pain in some of the learners. In the intervention group 21.5% of the learners experienced musculoskeletal symptoms in their right shoulder, 18.6% in their lower back, 16.8% in their left shoulder, 9.3% in their neck and 9.3% in their upper-mid back area. Pain catastrophising scores for the total sample of learners (Mean=25.12, SD = 8.1) were measured using the PCS-C survey. A PCS score of 30 refers to the 75 percentile and is clinically relevant in terms of predicting the risk for developing chronic pain. A large portion of learners (73.2%) scored below the clinically significant 75th percentile (a score >30) and 26.8% scored above a score of 30, indicating that this percentage of learners had clinically significant catastrophising scores. The average PCS score of both the control and intervention groups decreased over a period of six months and within each group there was a significant decrease in the total PCS score from baseline over a period of six months (p<0.00). In order to determine if the intervention programme had an effect on pain catastrophising in learners, pain catastrophising for the two groups was tested using the statistical test, repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) to show between group changes. The findings showed that over a period of time, between baseline and three months, there was a significant change in pain catastrophising between the control group and intervention group (p<0.001), however, there was no significant change in pain catastrophising between the two groups at six months (p<0.68), which indicates that the intervention had a positive effect on pain catastrophising in the learner intervention group. The within group changes were significant (p<0.001) for both groups for pain catastrophising between baseline and six months. This similarity of findings of within group changes between the two groups means one cannot determine if these changes were because of the intervention or because of the Hawthorne effect (an observational bias which occurs when human subjects change their behaviour because they think that they are being observed during an experiment) (Gale, 2004) from the researcher’s presence. None of the learners from this study adopted a posture to qualify for action level 1 (AL 1) in either the control or intervention groups. The majority of learners from both groups (40.9% control and 42.6% intervention) were found to be in AL 2 and Al 4 (36.4% for the control and 26.2% for the intervention group). A large percentage of learners from the schools in this study were found to sit in awkward postural positions that could put them at risk of developing musculoskeletal pain. In this current study there was a significant improvement in the number of learners in the intervention group who shifted from AL 4 to AL 2 and AL 3. At six months post-intervention, there were no learners in AL 4 and the number of learners in AL 3 had reduced from 26.2% at baseline to 14.8% (p<0.001) at six months. The control group RULA scores worsened over the period of six months. Although the learners were still not in an “acceptable” range of postural positions, there was a significant improvement on the pre-intervention stage compared with the post-intervention stage, possibly because of the Hawthorne effect. In terms of determining risk factors for developing musculoskeletal pain during computer use, the results showed that only the learners at baseline who worked for more than or equal to 2.5 hours per week on a computer were more at risk for developing pain (OR 2.7, p=0.02) compared to those who worked for less than 2.5 hours per week on a computer. Furthermore, only the learners with pain catastrophising scores ≥30 at three months were found to be at risk for developing musculoskeletal pain (OR 3.34,p<0.001). The set -up of the computer workstation environment in both the control and intervention schools were found to be inadequate. There were non-standardised and non-adjustable desks and chairs in both schools’ computer laboratories and the workspace area of the desk in the intervention school laboratory was compromised. The monitors in both schools were non-adjustable in terms of their height and angle of inclination. With regards to the knowledge of ergonomics amongst teachers from the study, only 13% of the teachers (n=18) had undergone training in ergonomics skills and none of the teachers were satisfied with their knowledge relating to computer-related ergonomics. Finally, the computer-related ergonomics programme in terms of its content was found to be valid and feasible for the South African context. Conclusion: This study showed that an ergonomic intervention programme can be effective in reducing the impact of the poor posture in adolescents using computers in schools

The experience of Gulf Arab students new to e-learning

Supervisor: Dr. Mohamed AllyTechnology-based initiatives are being implemented around the world as a means of improving quality and expanding access to education. With this implementation, however, it has become apparent that, to be successful in a technologically mediated learning environment, students need to develop new skills and modify behaviours that were successful in a traditional face-to-face environment. On every continent one can find initiatives to develop appropriate delivery methods, curricula, resources, and support that utilize new technologies to improve education quality and effectiveness and to address the particular needs of local learners. Government and educators in the State of Qatar face a challenge in that little research has been done into the culturally-specific needs of Arab distance learners, particularly those in Qatar. In the absence of such research, policymakers must rely on studies from other states that do not share their cultural and historical heritage. This study utilized a qualitative approach to examine Qatari students’ experiences in a pilot eSchoolbag project, which combines face-to-face instruction with e-learning resources and strategies. The experiences were reported by the students themselves, within the context of their cultural and educational environment. The study drew on Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s Community of Inquiry model and Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture to structure and interpret the experiences of the participants. It utilized an open-ended pen-and-paper survey and semi-structured small-group interviews with 12 students who represented a range of experience and ability in the use of computers and the English language, though all used Arabic for communication at home. Participants’ experiences reflected elements of online communities of inquiry, with some variations due to this particular group’s age and blended rather than wholly online learning context. Educational values, English-language ability, and experience with computers emerged as structural issues that affected students’ e-learning experience. Three essential elements of the experience for this particular group of students were found to be motivation, belonging, and adjustment. The results of the study add to the body of knowledge about the experience and needs of school-aged Arab students in e-learning

Rethinking Pedagogy: Exploring the Potential of Digital Technology in Achieving Quality Education

(First Paragraph) The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s Category 1 education Institute in the Asia-Pacific region devoted to education for peace and sustainable development, as enshrined in SDG Target 4.7. UNESCO MGIEP promotes the use of digital learning platforms where teachers and students can co-create and share a highly interactive learning experience. With the rise of the internet, there has been a proliferation of online content and digital resources intended to support teaching and learning, albeit widely varying in quality. Digital education media and resources, if carefully designed and implemented, have a significant potential to be mobilized on a massive scale to support transformative learning for building sustainable, flourishing societies

ACCEPTANCE OF DIGITAL LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION - WHAT ROLE DO TEACHERS\u27 COMPETENCIES PLAY?

To transfer knowledge and build competencies effectively and thus make learning processes successful, diverse requirements exist for the teacher. Sufficient knowledge of the content and proficient pedagogical knowledge have long traditions and have been most influential. The currently growing diffusion of digital teaching and learning requires considering the technology itself, equally relevant as pedagogical and content knowledge for teaching in digital learning settings. Teachers are, however, differently skilled in levering the potentials of these technologies for supporting teaching and learning processes. Furthermore, there has not yet been sufficient research on the influence of teachers\u27 competencies on students\u27 acceptance of digital learning. Therefore, this paper presents an empirical study investigating the effects of different teachers\u27 knowledge facets on the perceived usefulness of digital technologies. Results show that students\u27 acceptance of teaching in digital space is influenced by their perception of the teachers\u27 pedagogical, technological, and content knowledge

The Impact of ICTs Diffusion on MDGs and Baroclinic Digital Learning Environments in East and Southern Africa

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) impact all the MDGs, especially in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. The correlation between ICTs and high economic growth and education has not been well researched in most African countries. A learner is often inundated with massive volumes and different kinds of knowledge to learn from, i.e. learning vortices that are chaotic. Chaos theory is the qualitative study of unstable, aperiodic behaviour in deterministic, non-linear, dynamical systems, and from which the behaviour of the system is understood by reconstructing its attractor and gaining qualitative insight. The Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) online platform has digital learning objects that increase opportunities for teaching and learning, supports ubiquitous learning and provides intuitive ways for identifying learning collaborators, learning contents and learning services in the right place at the right time. The specific objectives of the research are:(a) To assess the impact of ICTs on MDGs(b) To ascertain the ICT impact on economic growth, innovations and education in East and Southern Africa(c) To explore the emerging trends in E-learning from ICTs for development(d) To apply Chaos Theory to design a digital learning environment with fully functional interactive e-learning facilities at Zimbabwe Open University.(e) To recommend a development model or a framework for economic growth for these African countries.The methodology used was largely qualitative on technology capacity needs assessment that covered 6 countries, and also quantitative on GDP and Infodensity covering 18 countries in East and Southern Africa.GDP and Infodensity data was collected for 18 African countries to ascertain the link between ICTs diffusion and GDP density per country. The case study for the establishment of the ZOU Online platform is presented and discussed to show the baroclinic and birfucation nature of the chaotic system, in order to design a completely functional digital learning environment. The mean for the 18 East and Southern African countries with respect to main telephone density is 3.8%, mobile subscribers is 27.87%, and internet use is at 4.87%. Capacity needs assessment included both the human capital development and social capital aspects in order to achieve sustainable information and communication technology capacity development. Human capital development is central to capacity needs. There is a strong correlation between ICT diffusion and high economic growth, evidenced by high mobile density. The mobile phone has become a good measure of wealth for an average African, and can be used in education. The solution to poverty and under-development in these African countries is, therefore, knowledge and economic empowerment. The recommended sustainable technology development with an African model is proposed. Chaos Theory offers tremendous opportunities for handling the complexity associated with the design of a fully interactive e-learning environment available online. The paper proved the correlation and potential application of Chaos Theory to the design model for digital learning environments. In the ZOU Online learning environment, it was established that learning objects can increase course interactivity, give students additional opportunities to interact with a variety of learning content, provide opportunitiesf or active learning, enrichment, and remediation, and offer practice with the content which students need to master

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS OF STUDENT TEACHERS AT QATAR UNIVERSITY AND ITS RELATION TO THEIR PROGRAM PREPAREDNESS FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

The purpose of this study was to investigate the educational technology self-efficacy beliefs of student teachers at Qatar University and their relationship with students’ perceptions of teacher program preparedness. Additionally, the study looked at the effect of student teachers’ area of specialization (primary, secondary education) and their achievement level (average, high GPA) on their technology self-efficacy beliefs and their perception of program preparedness. This study utilized a 44 item questionnaire that targeted student teachers’ perception about their ability to complete educational technology tasks and their perception on three aspects of teacher program preparedness: (1) instructor’s role, (2) curriculum content, and (3) field experience. Based on previous self-efficacy measures, the scale was constructed to be aligned with the context of this study. The final scale has been reviewed for validity and reliability and values were acceptable. Data was collected from 174 participants and was analyzed using SPSS. Results indicated that student teachers possessed an average level of technology self-efficacy and they perceive that the teacher program prepared them moderately to integrate technology in their teaching. Further, student teachers in the primary level reported significantly higher self-efficacy levels than student teachers in the secondary level. Furthermore, a strong positive relationship was detected between student teachers’ technology self-efficacy beliefs and their perception about program preparedness. Technology self-efficacy can be predicted by the perceived role of the instructor and the field experience. The implications of these findings and recommendations were offered