O Uso de Laboratórios Virtuais por educandos com Deficiência Visual/ Cegos no Ensino de Ciências: Uma Revisão Sistemática de Literatura

O uso de laboratórios virtuais de aprendizagem é cada vez mais adotado como uma ferramenta para apoiar as aprendizagens, por permitir que os sujeitos possam experimentar diversas situações que favoreçam seu desenvolvimento. Ao referirmos aos estudantes com deficiência visual e/ou cegueira, estas práticas tornam-se desafiadoras.Diante disso, apresentamos uma Revisão Sistemática de Literatura (RSL) sobre o uso de Laboratórios Virtuais em aulas de ciências com a participação desses educandos. Foi utilizado o protocolo de RSL consolidado por Kitchenham (2004) como base metodológica. As informações e dados foram encontrados em periódicos científicos conforme os critérios de inclusão e exclusão pré-estabelecidos no protocolo de pesquisa. Localizamos 320 trabalhos, desses, 11 foram selecionados e analisados, de forma a responder as questões estabelecidas. Conclui-se que são incipientes as pesquisas sobre LV para apoiar o ensino de Ciências para o público considerado

A phenomenological study of how secondary principals perceive their responsibility in sustaining technology.

The purpose of this study was to document how ten secondary principals perceived, experienced and defined their responsibility in sustaining technology. Based on interviews of ten secondary principals, with phenomenology as a research method, the study sought descriptions of their self-perceived experiences with sustaining technology. Analysis and reduction of the information resulted in five common themes.The first theme postulates that the secondary principals believed national and state expectations affected their ability to sustain technology---specifically in the form of NCLB/PASS objectives and grant availability. In the second common theme, secondary principals concurred that technological innovations permitted more time for their schools to pursue core educational missions. Thirdly, secondary principals perceived that their school learning communities were gradually changing---becoming more accepting of new technology. Next, secondary principals agreed that technological sustainability is having a profound impact on the learning community---the role of teachers, principals, and parents had been altered and the learning community had grown beyond a single school. Finally, secondary principals perceived students were affecting the process of education by demanding technology become a permanent fixture in schools. Frequently, it was the level of student participation which often dictated the sustainability of a given technology

Instructors\u27 self -perceived pedagogical principle implementation in the online environment

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experience of undergraduate faculty members who participated in the practice of online distance instruction. This study explored instructor\u27s perception of their implementation of pedagogical principles in the online environment, identified factors that influenced their implementation of the principles, and explored the relationship between the influencing factors and the online implementation of the Seven Principles.;Research shows that the implementation the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) varied significantly from one principle to another. Overall the least endorsed of the Seven Principles were Encourage Cooperation Among Students and Encourage Student-Faculty Contact. In contrast, the most endorsed of the Seven Principles were Communicate High Expectations .;This study reveals that Instructional Strategies and Technology Features positively influenced online implementation of the Seven Principles. Time & Distance and Lack of Student Involvement negatively influenced online implementation of the Seven Principles.;Results indicate that significant difference existed in the implementation of the Seven Principles between participants teaching courses in the area of Humanities and Science and Technology. Participants in the Humanities group reported significantly higher implementation of the Seven Principles than participants in the Science and Technology group

Students' Motivation to Learn: An Evaluation of Perceptions, Pedagogy, and Design in One E-Learing Environment

The purpose of this initial study was to investigate secondary students' motivation to learn, mathematics attitudes, and perceptions of transactional distance and social presence as a framework for evaluating virtual high school online learning. The investigation began with a sample of size of 41 virtual high school students enrolled in a web-based Algebra I course that was taught by one teacher in an urban virtual high school. The dropout rate was high, which resulted in only 10 students participating in the study. The students' attitudes and perceptions were evaluated in light of their learner profiles and mathematics achievement in the course. Nine of the 10 students were considered in the study as academically at-risk. The students' ages ranged from 14 to 16 years, and they were enrolled in either 9th or 10th grade. Several students were repeating the course for recovery credits. Due to the small number of participants, this study offers only descriptive statistics and qualitative data what support strictly preliminary and speculative interpretations. Given this stipulation, this study may illuminate some potential relationships between the participants' attitudes and their academic performance. The students who passed the course appeared to possess positive mathematics attitudes, higher motivation, and lower perceptions of transactional distance than the students who failed the course. Social presence did not appear to be different between passing and failing students. Future studies should include larger sample sizes in multiple virtual school settings over a greater period of time so to shed greater light on the relationships of the virtual high school students' attitudes and perceptions to their academic achievement and learner profiles. As part of this study, a framework for evaluating e-learning high school mathematics courses was developed. This framework served as the foundation to develop and evaluation tool used in the study, the e-Learning Evaluation Tool for Algebra I Courses (e-LETAC). The evaluation of the course suggested that the design and pedagogy was in need of improvement. However, the e-LETAC did not include a concise rubric. In future studies, this tool should be expanded to include a solid and reliable rubric.Doctor of Educatio

Electronic classroom, electronic community: virtual social networks and student learning

The capacity for online learning environments to provide quality learning experiences for students has been the focus of much speculation and debate in the higher education sector from the late 1990s to the present day. In this area, 'quality' has become synonymous with engaging students in a learning community. This study reports on a qualitative research project designed to explore the significance of community for students when they study in online learning environments. This project used three case studies to explore tertiary students' thoughts and expectations about community in the online environment. The research was constructed iteratively. Data from the initial case suggested the need to explore the relationship between the constructed online learning environment and the development of learning communities or what I have termed Social Learning Support Networks (SLSN). To explore this issue further, the project was expanded and subsequent cases were chosen that included fundamentally different types of online learning environments. The project had two significant results. Firstly, students not only confirmed popular educational theories on the value of learning communities, but also described how this form of social connection might practically benefit their learning. Secondly, the project found that certain forms of synchronous online environments provided enhanced opportunities for students to form social connections that supported their learning. This project provides new evidence of the benefit of community for students studying online and argues that future online learning environments should be shaped by five key principles designed to foster a sense of social connection between students

Enhancing students’ Learning Experiences Outside School (LEOS) using digital technologies

This thesis reports on an inquiry on enhancing students’ learning experiences outside school (LEOS) using digital technologies. The inquiry took the nature of an ethnographic case study which was conducted over a year. The case study involved a private religious school in rural New Zealand, where Year 10 (14 year old) students visited informal science institutions (ISIs) at the end of each school year. The sample comprised 65 students and 10 teachers. Two research questions guided this inquiry. The first research question sought to understand current practices involved in preparing and assessing students’ learning experiences at an ISI, in this case a predator-free native forest. Student, teacher, and ISI staff perceptions of these experiences were explored using semi-structured interviews, before, during, and after the visit. These data were triangulated using photographs, field-notes, unobtrusive classroom observations, student work-books, and teacher planning diaries. The findings from this first part of the study revealed that very little preparation was done for each LEOS and that the site visit was scheduled on the second last day of the school year. Additionally, the teachers who taught these topics were not necessarily involved in planning the visit and most did not accompany the students to the ISI. It appeared then that LEOS was seen as a reward instead of an informal learning experience where students could construct knowledge through social interactions. These findings then led to the second research question which explored an integrated learning model to enhance science learning when students and teachers engaged in LEOS.The second research question examined whether or not an intervention based on learning support provided by digital means had any effect on the desired learning outcomes when evaluated against the New Zealand Curriculum achievement standards. The same cohort of students now in Year 11 (15 years old) and their teachers were involved in the intervention part of the inquiry. This stage of the inquiry comprised a three phase intervention. The first phase of the intervention placed emphasis on improved pre- and post-visit planning for a Physics achievement standard titled AS90943, The Design Game-Keeping Your Home Warm. The ISI visited was the Show Home which provided the context for informal learning on vi building design and heat insulation. Students, teachers, and the ISI staffs’ perceptions of these experiences were explored using semi-structured interviews, before, during and after the visit. These data were triangulated using photographs, field-notes, making unobtrusive classroom observations, analysing student work-books, assessment results, and teachers’ planning diaries. The findings revealed a substantial improvement in both students’ engagement with the topic, their engagement with the ISI staff, and better performance in their summative assessment. While the teachers spent time to improve pre- and post-visit planning, this phase did not see the use of any social software technologies, even though the students were keen to share their findings with each other, digitally. The second phase of the intervention employed one tool of the learning management system, Moodle namely, forum. The achievement standard explored was Biology, AS90926, Report on Biological Issues.The ISIs visited were a pine forest (Rakau Paina Stand) beside the school, which involved experts on pest control from the Regional Council, and an Island Ecological Reserve, a predator-free forest (the same sight used for the first part of the study to address research question one). The concepts covered were biosecurity and biodiversity. The School Career Advisor accompanied the students who looked for volunteer job opportunities during school holidays. The teaching and learning utilised a blended learning environment where students and teachers collaborated using forum. Once again students, teachers, and the ISI staffs’ perceptions of these experiences were explored using semi-structured interviews before, during and after the visit. Data triangulation involved photographs, field-notes, unobtrusive classroom observations, student work-books, forum postings, assessment results, and teachers’ planning diaries. The summative assessment results revealed a slight improvement in student performance compared to the previous year. While students collaborated using forum, this phase did not see the use of wiki, which led to the third phase of the intervention. The third phase of the intervention integrated the second tool of Moodle called wiki. The achievement standard explored was on Space Science, AS90954, Lunar-Our Moon. The ISI visited was an Observatory. Student attainment on this standard showed a poor pass rate in previous years, attributed by the teachers to the lack of teaching resources. For this phase of the study, the concepts on astronomical cycles. affecting Earth were delivered using a blended learning approach. Data triangulation involved photographs, field-notes, and unobtrusive classroom observations, student work-books, wiki postings, assessment results, and teachers’ planning diaries.This phase saw improvement in pre- and post-visit planning, and co-construction of knowledge using wiki, which resulted in a substantial improvement in student attainment for this achievement standard. The findings from this inquiry suggest that science students can benefit from the use of an integrated learning model when engaging in LEOS. The New Zealand curriculum emphasizes contextualizing science learning, which it seems can be achieved by sound pre- and post-visit planning, and helping students collaborate and co-construct knowledge using digital technologies within learning management systems such as forum and wiki on Moodle. The findings of the third phase of this inquiry also have implications for including informal science education settings (ISIs) in the learning of science and potentially in science teacher preparation resulting in the development of positive attitudes (e.g., value, interest, excitement for science), an open mind for change, and confidence in teaching. It is also thought to help in the development of preservice teachers’ science skills as they themselves experience teaching in diverse contexts relating to the diverse needs of students. Another benefit for preservice teachers would be autonomy in learning because using ISIs to engage students with science learning provides for a deeper understanding of learning, along with diversifying their teaching strategies