Developing a Web-Based Question-Driven Audience Response System Supporting BYOD

Question-driven Audience Response Systems (ARSs) are in the focus of research since the 1960s. Since then, the technology has changed and therefore systems have evolved too. This work is about conception and implementation of the web-based ARS RealFeedback which uses the principle of bring your own device (BYOD). A state-of-the-art analysis compares the features of existing web-based ARSs. The most important findings are used for the conception and the implementation of the system. Thinking-aloud tests, and the first usages during lectures confirm that the chosen requirements are very significant and valuable for lecturers

Google Glass in Face-to-face Lectures - Prototype and First Experiences

Graz University of Technology has a long tradition in doing technology-enhanced courses. Following the latest trends, as mentioned in the NMC Horizon Report [32], we reviewed the possibility to use a wearable technology, in our case the Google GlassTM, in courses to improve the interaction between the lecturer and the audience with a special focus on huge classes. The lack of interaction in traditional face-to-face lectures is a well-known problem with a long research history [4], [12]. New technologies in Audience Response Systems (ARS) offer new ways to improve the interaction between teacher and student by enabling to ask questions to the audience [5] to get instant feedback during a lecture. Currently many types of web-based ARSs are available on the market [15]. Our research focused on finding an ARS suitable for the visualization in the Google Glass display. Further we developed a prototype and described first practical experiences

Implementing Bring Your Own Device and the Paperless Classroom: A Change Leadership Project

My journey through the implementation of an action plan for a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program is presented in this research document. The action plan incorporated the addition of industrial certification standards for technology integrated into the core curriculum at a public middle school (grades 6-8) during the 2014-2015 school year. Technology skills became a part of students’ daily learning opportunities. An eSTEAM Academy provided interested students and teachers with technology training and skills for classroom inclusion and blended model of face-to-face instruction enhanced with technology in a “paperless” classroom environment. This is an account of our successful journey in the ever changing, ever challenging pursuit of technology infused 21st Century educational excellence

University students’ perception of the use of socrative in learning experiences with mobile technology

La creciente integración de la tecnología móvil en el aula está generando nuevos escenarios para innovar los métodos docentes. En este estudio se analizan las percepciones que maestros en formación muestran específicamente sobre el uso de Socrative y sus implicaciones en procesos de aprendizaje. El diseño de la investigación fue de tipo descriptivo basado en encuestas. En la recogida de datos se administró el cuestionario diseñado ad hoc. Se trabajó sobre una muestra de estudiantes universitarios (n=168) del grado en Educación Infantil de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación de una universidad española. Los resultados de este estudio apuntaron cambios significativos en el proceso de aprendizaje de los alumnos, en las relaciones sociales y en la metodología del docente.The growing integration of mobile technology into classrooms is producing new environments that innovate teaching methods. This descriptive, survey-based study analyzes trainee teachers’ perceptions of the use of Socrative and its implications for learning processes. Data was collected through a questionnaire designed ad hoc. The study sample comprised university students (n= 168) from the bachelor’s degree in early childhood education at the School of Education Sciences of a Spanish university. The results of this study indicate significant changes in students’ learning processes, social relations, and teaching methodologies

Information security concerns around enterprise bring your own device adoption in South African higher education institutions

The research carried out in this thesis is an investigation into the information security concerns around the use of personally-owned mobile devices within South African universities. This concept, which is more commonly known as Bring Your Own Device or BYOD has raised many data loss concerns for organizational IT Departments across various industries worldwide. Universities as institutions are designed to facilitate research and learning and as such, have a strong culture toward the sharing of information which complicates management of these data loss concerns even further. As such, the objectives of the research were to determine the acceptance levels of BYOD within South African universities in relation to the perceived security risks. Thereafter, an investigation into which security practices, if any, that South African universities are using to minimize the information security concerns was carried out by means of a targeted online questionnaire. An extensive literature review was first carried out to evaluate the motivation for the research and to assess advantages of using Smartphone and Tablet PC’s for work related purposes. Thereafter, to determine security concerns, other surveys and related work was consulted to determine the relevant questions needed by the online questionnaire. The quantity of comprehensive academic studies concerning the security aspects of BYOD within organizations was very limited and because of this reason, the research took on a highly exploratory design. Finally, the research deliberated on the results of the online questionnaire and concluded with a strategy for the implementation of a mobile device security strategy for using personally-owned devices in a work-related environment

Investigating Military Instructors\u27 Experiences with Students\u27 Use of Personal Technology: A Phenomenological Study

This transcendental phenomenological study examined the teaching experiences of military instructors who leverage student BYODs in their teaching practices within an enlisted training institution located in the southeastern United States. Employing Dewey’s social transmission theory and Mezirow’s transformational learning theory, this study answered the central research question: How do military instructors describe their teaching experiences when incorporating student-owned devices into teaching/learning activities? Guiding questions sought to address instructor modifications to their teaching practices in pursuit of productive student collaboration and discourse in response to students’ use of their personal devices in the classroom. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 12 participants who experienced the phenomenon while serving as an instructor in an institution which permits the use of student BYODs in the classroom. Data were collected through a qualitative survey, interviews, and focus groups, and analyzed using phenomenological reduction processes to develop themes and insights into participant responses. Four themes emerged to answer the research questions: adopting a BYOD culture, student primacy, BYOD instructor attributes, and learner ownership. The findings corroborated and extended prior research with a better understanding of how students’ BYOD-use impacts military occupational training instructors. This study may also inform a practical application by understanding how instructors describe their experiences, and how they are hired, developed, placed, and sustained in DoD institutions which enable student BYOD-use. Future research should consider a broader group of participants and the inclusion of quantitative methods

Teachers\u27 Perceptions and Experiences in Implementing Mobile Devices Into Their Teaching

This phenomenological study addressed the lack of understanding of how teachers implement personal devices in the classroom and whether the instruction is constructivist in nature. Although mobile technology is convenient, it is not yet understood if Bring Your Own Device/Technology (BYOD/BYOT) programs encourage a teacher pedagogy shift. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of 10 teachers in Grades 6 to 12 who had been part of a BYOD/BYOT program for more than 2 years. Data from interviews and lesson demonstrations were analyzed via a constructivist framework first identifying themes and then categories. Teachers perceived that using mobile technology provided the replacement of old tools, instructional planning changes, and the shifting of learning to the students from the traditional design of the teacher as the lecturer to the teacher as the facilitator. Teachers experienced more student engagement and collaboration although they needed to monitor students more carefully to avoid students\u27 being off task and to ensure safety usage of the mobile devices in the classroom. There are implications for social change both on the local and organizational level. Teachers can better understand how their pedagogy aligns with constructivist teaching and learning, and therefore can see where they still need to grow. On the organizational level, school districts may better understand that using technology at first will be used to replace previous pedagogy practices directly and that it will take support and time for technology implementation to impact changes in teachers\u27 philosophy of teaching

A framework for implementing bring your own device in higher education institutions in South Africa

Although the concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) was only first introduced in 2009, organisations and higher education institutions have shown an increasing interest in and tolerance for employees and students using their own mobile devices for work and academic purposes, to such an extent that it is predicted that BYOD will become the leading practice for all educational environments by the year 2017. Although mobile device usage is increasing in higher education institutions, it has been found that currently no generally recognised framework exists to aid South African higher education institutions with the implementation of BYOD. The problem is further worsened as research suggests that the number of new mobile vulnerabilities reported each year has increased. The primary objective of this study is to develop a framework for implementing BYOD in higher education institutions in South Africa. This primary objective is divided into several secondary objectives, which collectively aim to address the proposed problem. Therefore, the secondary objectives are to understand BYOD in organisations and the challenges it brings; to determine how BYOD challenges differ in higher education institutions; to determine the key components for implementing BYOD in higher education institutions; to determine the extent to which the BYOD key components relate to a higher education institution in South Africa; and to validate the proposed BYOD framework, verifying its quality, efficacy and utility. At first, a comprehensive literature study is used to determine and understand the benefits, challenges and key components for the implementation of BYOD in both organisations and higher education institutions. Thereafter, a case study is used to determine the extent to which the components, identified in the literature study, relate to an educational institution in South Africa. The findings from the case study, in combination with the key components, are then triangulated and a preliminary framework for implementing BYOD in higher education institutions in South Africa is argued. Furthermore, elite interviews are used to determine the quality, efficacy and utility of the proposed BYOD framework. To address the proposed problem, this research proposes a stepby- step holistic framework to aid South African higher education institutions with the implementation of BYOD. This framework adds a significant contribution to the work on this topic, as it provides a foundation upon which further such research can build. It is believed that such a framework would be useful for higher education institutions in South Africa and would result in the improved implementation of BYOD

Digital Learning: Reforming Teacher Education to Promote Access, Equity and Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the present and future impact of digital learning on teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Digital learning in this report is defined as any instructional practice that uses new communication technologies effectively to improve access to and strengthen learning. The focus of the report is student-teachers and teachers. The 2015–2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly seek to substantially increase the supply of well-qualified teachers in the region, drawing on international forms of development and co-operation where necessary (Goal 4)