A Review of the "Digital Turn" in the New Literacy Studies

Digital communication has transformed literacy practices and assumed great importance in the functioning of workplace, recreational, and community contexts. This article reviews a decade of empirical work of the New Literacy Studies, identifying the shift toward research of digital literacy applications. The article engages with the central theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic challenges in the tradition of New Literacy Studies, while highlighting the distinctive trends in the digital strand. It identifies common patterns across new literacy practices through cross-comparisons of ethnographic research in digital media environments. It examines ways in which this research is taking into account power and pedagogy in normative contexts of literacy learning using the new media. Recommendations are given to strengthen the links between New Literacy Studies research and literacy curriculum, assessment, and accountability in the 21st century

Four Passages to Information Use Related Phenomena in Bachelor Theses at the Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences

Peer reviewe

E-learning usage from a social constructivist learning approach: perspectives of Iraqi Kurdistan students in social studies classrooms

Background: Many schools in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region have incorporated information and communication technologies (ICT) into their environments. However, the results have shown that computer usage has had only a minimal effect on the classroom environment and learning outcomes. This minimal effect could be attributed to the teaching and learning of social studies subjects, which often rely on a traditional vision of teaching and an excessive inclusion of facts and dates in school textbooks. Consequently, students feel compelled to memorize all the information to pass tests. Yet, merely employing technology alongside traditional teaching and assessment approaches, such as lecturing or having students study in isolation without any form of collaborative learning, does not foster the development of students' higher-order thinking skills. It's time to revitalize school curricula and teaching practices to embrace a more contemporary, open-minded approach to social science education. This approach should incorporate a social constructivist perspective with technology to better instill international moral values such as democracy, respect for differences, and learning to live harmoniously with others. Aim: This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the impact of a social constructivist learning approach on the acceptance of technology and its influence on perceived e-learning outcomes among students in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Additionally, this study examines the differences in the effects of the social constructivist learning approach and dimensions of technology acceptance on perceived e-learning outcomes between students studying social studies in Arabic and those studying social studies in English. Setting and participants: Data were gathered from both public and private schools in Erbil governorate, situated in northern Iraq and affiliated with the Ministry of Education-Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government. To select participants, a random sampling technique was employed, encompassing students in grades 8 through 12 of both genders. The data were obtained through a self-administered paper-based questionnaire. Instruments: Data were collected using a social constructivist learning environment survey (personal relevance, critical voice, shared control, uncertainty, student negotiation), dimensions of the attitude toward technology (attitude toward technology use, perceived usefulness, feeling ease of use, learning facility condition, and subjective norms), some additional external variables (investigation, respect for difference, student economic ability, and perceived e-learning outcomes), and socio-demographic data. Conclusion: This study is intended to emphasize the significance of employing constructivist pedagogy to enhance the technology acceptance model and improve learning outcomes. The findings of the study showed that a social constructivist learning environment had a favorable influence on perceived e-learning outcomes as well as ease of use, perceived usefulness, investigation, and respect for difference. Attitude towards technology use and perceived usefulness are contributory factors to the positive perceived e-learning outcomes. Furthermore, feeling ease of use technology has a positive effect on both attitude towards technology use and perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness also has a direct positive impact on attitudes towards technology use. Finally, students’ technological experience is positively correlated with feeling ease of use but not with perceived usefulness. Additionally, regarding the comparison between students studying social studies in Arabic and those in English, the findings demonstrated that students studying social studies in English showed stronger positive effects from the social constructivist learning environment on their perceived e-learning outcomes. Conversely, students studying social studies in Arabic demonstrated a more potent positive effect of perceived usefulness on their attitudes towards technology. Moreover, the positive impact of an attitude towards technology use on perceived e-learning outcomes was more pronounced among the Arabic students compared to their English counterparts. Additionally, the influence of the learning facility on the perceived ease of use, as well as the perceived usefulness of technology, differed between the two groups. The English group experienced a more substantial positive impact. However, there was no significant difference observed in the effect of feeling ease of use on attitudes towards technology use between the English and Arabic student groups. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the effect of perceived usefulness on the social constructivist learning environment for either group. The findings from this research are expected to contribute to the development of effective and efficient counseling and support intervention programs. These programs can play a crucial role in transforming teachers

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Educational Theory in the 21st Century

This open access book reviews the effects of the twenty-first century scientific-technological and social developments on the educational theory. The first part handles the subject, focusing on technology and educational philosophy. In the second part, the implications of new human and social conceptions towards the education paradigms are examined. In the chapters of the last part of the book, more practical dimensions of education are discussed. Transforming school designs, school management, learning-teaching approaches and teacher competencies are discussed in the context of broader social, cultural and technological changes

The implementation of blended learning in International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) English A curriculum in Singapore:an exploratory design-­‐based research

Twenty-first century challenges have generated increasing focus in the use of technology in classrooms to better prepare students for the knowledge economy. In Singapore, the Ministry of Education has encouraged both a shift toward more student-centred pedagogies and the use of technology in classrooms. Though inclusion of technology into classrooms is deemed as useful, it has met with resistance. Teachers and students generally regard information and communications technology (ICT) as an add-on with marginal importance in examination-oriented Singapore. In Singapore, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme was introduced in some schools with the aim to nurture students as inquirers, thinkers and communicators over a challenging two-year timeline. Amidst such challenges, this study uses a blended learning approach to address systemic requirements (i.e. ICT) under curricular constraints of the IBDP. Research was conducted using design-based research by the teacher-researcher over a period of three academic terms within a calendar year. Data, collected from two classes, included field notes, questionnaires and focus group interviews (FGIs). The analysis of the two questionnaires, using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, provided an overview of the patterns of students’ use of technology before and after the intervention study. Content analysis was used as a method of analysis for the FGIs. Themes that emerged from the FGIs were mapped onto a Considerations Model, providing a more nuanced overview of key considerations needed for a blended learning approach. Findings showed that students enjoyed blended learning and found it useful as a bridge between the curriculum and their world; but, they were first and foremost, concerned with their academic performance. Though these students are by some researchers defined as digital natives, findings showed that they were not necessarily digitally literate. Nonetheless, this study suggests that a blended learning approach could be implemented through the Considerations Model

The Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education: Intellectual and attitudinal challenges

mathematics; education; curriculu

Muslim Youth Experiences in South Florida Communities

Peace education scholars and practitioners continue to call for the centering of the voices and lived experiences of marginalized students (Bajaj, Ghaffar-Kucker and Desai, 2016). Situated in this urgent tradition, this presentation presents data from focus groups with young Muslim community members in S. Florida in the post-9/11 era. As a religious and ethnic minority group in South Florida, Muslim students would seem to be uniquely vulnerable in this time of rising xenophobia and Islamophobia. This particular study builds on the researcher’s prior work regarding the “school to terror pipeline” impacting France’s Muslim students (Duckworth 2016), and how teachers approach teaching about the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 (Duckworth 2014).The study’s key methodology is qualitative focus groups, as they are especially well suited to eliciting data on group processes and dynamics, shared narratives and individual narratives (Cooper and Finley, 2014). Our focus groups explore youth experiences within schools of course, but also within the community at large. Neither schools nor students exist in a vacuum. We consider some of the following questions. How do local Muslim youth (defined here as 13-18 or so) perceive their schools, communities and world? What challenges, if any, do they feel they face particular to their identity as young Muslims, especially given the narrative and structural violence of the recent 2016 US election? If they perceive themselves as well integrated and valued as community members, can we determine what school and community leaders may be doing well?While situated within the broad, overall project of peace education to advance inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable students, the study also addresses the urgency of this particular moment in US history. For example, we know from local reporting and from the Southern Poverty Law Center that hate crimes against Muslim students (as well as black students, Jewish students and immigrants) have spiked (Sayre, 2017) and that FL ranks second in the US in activity of hate groups (Bordas, 2017). How do young Muslims in south FL explain and understand this? How do they cope?Finally, the presentation will look to draw insights from the qualitative focus group data in terms of classroom peace building. What tools can peace education offer? What pedagogical strategies can we design to interrupt narrative violence and promote the inclusion and equality needed for a school and community culture of peace? I will develop observations and guidelines based on the data our focus groups elicit. The more clearly we understand these experiences and hear the voices of S. Florida’s Muslim students, the better peace educators will be able to respond