Gender differences in the ICT profile of University students : a quantitative analysis

This study responds to a call for research on how gender differences emerge in young generations of computer users. A large-scale survey involving 1138 university students in Flanders (Belgium) was conducted to examine the relationship between gender, computer access, attitudes, and uses in both learning and everyday activities of university students. The results show that women have a less positive attitude towards computers in general. However, their attitude towards computers for educational purposes does not differ from men’s. In the same way, being female is negatively related to computer use for leisure activities, but no relationship was found between gender and study-related computer use. Based on the results, it could be argued that computer attitudes are context-dependent constructs and that when dealing with gender differences, it is essential to take into account the context-specific nature of computer attitudes and uses

IT stereotypes in television shows

Despite over 20 years of Information Technology (IT) intervention programs, the proportion of females in the discipline has decreased this century. The depiction of the IT profession on television is a significant source of information about IT careers and may influence student career decisions. In this study, the ways in which male and female IT expert characters were portrayed in five television shows were examined and compared. While many existing stereotypes were challenged, all IT expert characters displayed some stereotypical characteristics, with IT technicians portrayed in the most stereotypical way. Female characters were not as stereotypical as males; but also not well recognised. We posit that the male “geek” technician stereotype overshadows any alternative depictions of IT professionals and reinforces masculinization of the discipline. We suggest that parents and influential adults, the primary audience of these shows, should be included in any future discussions to break down IT media stereotypes

Understanding learner attitudes towards the use of tablets in a blended learning classroom

In 2004, the South African Department of Education (DoE) published the White Paper on E-Education. The aim of the E-Education White Paper was to ensure that South African learners could use education communication technologies (ECT) skilfully by 2013. However, these goals have not been met and a significant digital divide exists between learners with and without access to ET. The lack of consideration of intra- and inter-personal factors such as attitudes in the rollout of ET has often been cited as one of the reasons for the present lack of ET integration and uptake in schools. Hence, this study contributes to this gap in research by exploring attitudes towards the use of iPads in a sample of South African learners in a blended learning environment. A demographic questionnaire and the ET Attitudes Scale were administered to a convenience sample of 285 learners from a private school in the Johannesburg area. Descriptive statistics, ANOVAs and thematic analysis were used to analyse the results. From the findings, it was evident that overall learners were more positive than negative about the integration of iPads in school. However, this pattern differed across the grades with lower grades demonstrating better attitudes towards the use of iPads in terms of enjoyability, ease of use and usefulness. These results suggest that ET attitudes do have a role to play in order to ensure the successful implementation and adoption of ET by learners and should be considered in policy and practice

Pengintegrasian Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi dan Dampaknya terhadap Pedagogi Guru: Kajian Pustaka

Meningkatkan sistim pengajaran dalam pendidikan merupakan isu krusial, terutama dalam era globalisasi. Pendekatan pedagogi tradisional dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran melibatkan aliran informasi yang terarah dari guru sebagai pusat informasi kepada siswa sebagai penerima informasi. Pendekatan tersebut secara khusus didasarkan pada materi pembelajaran yang ditentukan sebelumnya, durasi waktu yang tetap, serta tugas dan kriteria penilaian yang ditentukan oleh guru. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan Teknologi Informasi Komunikasi (TIK) yang tepat dapat mengkatalisasi perubahan paradigmatik baik dalam konten maupun pedagogi yang merupakan jantung reformasi pendidikan di abad ke-21, dan mempromosikan pembelajaran berbasis masalah. Tulisan ini memberikan gambaran tentang cara-cara mengajar tradisional dan beberapa keterbatasannya. Tulisan ini juga membahas cara-cara pengajaran kekinian yang dimungkinkan oleh penggunaan TIK. Berbagai pendekatan yang ditemukan dalam penggunaan TIK dalam Pendidikan disajikan

I-Mart for Mini Mart System for Inventory Management and Buying Pattern Recognition

This paper briefly explained on web application designed to manage inventory and analyze customer buying pattern of a mini mart using APRIORI model. Development process done based on Waterfall Model of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

DIGITAL DEVICES AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: THE RELATIONSHIP IN PISA 2018 DATA

This research aims to find how the infrastructure of digital devices within the school and teachers’ capacity using digital devices affect student achievement defined as PISA 2018 reading, math, and science scores. The data were obtained from the school questionnaire administered to school principals who participated in PISA 2018. This research has shown that the infrastructure of digital devices within the school affects PISA 2018 reading, math and science scores more than teachers’ capacity using digital devices. This research has also shown that there is a strong interplay between the infrastructure of digital devices within the school and teachers’ capacity using digital devices. Research has shown that developing the infrastructure of digital technologies can have practical benefits for students

An Empirical Analysis of Malaysian Pre-university Students' ICT Competency Gender Differences

Network and Mobile technologies industries have been the fastest growing industries in the World including Malaysia. The Malaysian government has given due emphasis on network and mobile technologies with the conceptualization of the MSC and other ICT initiatives in order to steer our country towards a high-income and knowledge-based society as well as achieving the status of a developed nation as stated in the Vision 2020. Nevertheless, the lack of competent ICT personnel has been the main obstacle that needs to be addressed immediately in order to alleviate the problem of providing the necessary human capital required by the network and mobile industries. The most effective way to uplift the number of ICT savvy personnel would be through ICT education in order to upgrade their ICT competencies. The issues of gender differences in terms of ICT competencies have been widely studied especially in the Western countries. This paper attempts to provide a different perspective in that it fills in the gap of lack of information pertaining to the Malaysian pre university students’ ICT competencies. The findings from this study may lead to implications to the teaching and learning of ICT subjects as well as their evaluation and assessment in Malaysia. The utmost end result would be the emergence of more ICT savvy personnel who may contribute to the development of the network and mobile technologies sector in Malaysia. (Abstract by authors

Effect of curriculum changes to enhance generic skills proficiency of 1st-year medical students

Background. Curriculum review is a dynamic, iterative process, and the effect of change may not always be wholly predictable. At Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa, revision of the MB,ChB curriculum was undertaken to meet enhanced and changing educational and medical practice, and to provide opportunities to enhance optimal generic skills underpinning effective learning, implemented in 2008. Objective. To determine the extent to which the newly implemented revised curriculum had an effect on experience in necessary generic skills of students in their first year of study. Methods. Students provided annual formal end-of-module evaluation in addition to focus group interviews. Evaluation by teaching staff was conducted by individual in-depth interviews. A validated generic skills questionnaire completed at the end of each academic year monitored the effect on students’ generic learning skills experience. Results. Feedback from these different evaluation methods identified specific needs in the newly implemented revised curriculum, including contextualisation of interventions, unnecessary duplication of content and malalignment of assessment. This led to minor curriculum changes and an educational capacity-building programme. These responsive curriculum changes after evaluation had the intended positive effect on students’ selfreported acquisition of generic learning skills. Conclusion. The objective of the curriculum evaluation was to monitor content output and the acquisition of crucial generic learning skills. Implementation of a revised curriculum combined with ongoing responsive changes aligned with careful multimodality evaluation can ensure that, in addition to scientific knowledge and skills, generic learning skills development of students is facilitated

Programming music with Sonic Pi promotes positive attitudes for beginners

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorProgramming is often misaligned with beginner students' interests and viewed as difficult. However, most students and teachers are not aware that it is possible to utilise domain-specific programming languages that combine programming with other domains like music making. Sonic Pi is one free domain-specific programming platform that enables beginners to code music, which has been designed for and used in schools since its first release in 2012. However, there is a lack of academic research on the Sonic Pi platform about the extent it may affect beginner student attitudes towards programming in a school context. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent Sonic Pi may help to promote positive attitudes towards programming. A mixed-methods case study was developed and trialled in school time with a middle school class, which measured student attitudes with the three subscales of enjoyment, importance, and anxiety. Overall, the results confirmed an alternative hypothesis that all students’ subscales for programming attitude increased significantly. While these findings are not generalisable due to its limited scope, they are very positive to inform the design and use of platforms like Sonic Pi in comparison to similar music coding platforms like EarSketch and TunePad.Peer reviewe