Affective issues in learning technologies: emotional responses to technology and technology's role in supporting socio-emotional skills

This paper focuses on some of the author's research studies over the past thirty years and places these in a wider context to reflect on research into affective issues in learning technologies over this period, and to consider whether and how the issues uncovered by research have changed as technologies have developed over time. Three issues are given particular attention: firstly the reasons for learners' use or lack of use of technologies for their learning; secondly adult learners' attitudes towards using technology for learning and thirdly how technology might support socio-emotional development and expression in children. The discussion of these issues is framed by two of the author's research projects. For the first two issues this is an early study of students' perceptions and attitudes towards using computers for tutorial learning in 1980. The factors that influenced the students' use of the computer tutorials are discussed (including access, assessment and anxiety about using computers) and also the extent to which some of these factors persist for many learners using (or not using) technologies today. The discussion of the third issue draws on a series of studies conducted in the 1990s to investigate whether educational technology could support children and young people's emotional expression and communication and development of socio-emotional skills. Finally the paper considers how these kinds of issues have been taken forward and how they are represented in contemporary research and suggests that trust is an important factor in using learning technologies

Affective issues in learning technologies: emotional responses to technology and technology's role in supporting socio-emotional skills

This paper focuses on some of the author's research studies over the past thirty years and places these in a wider context to reflect on research into affective issues in learning technologies over this period, and to consider whether and how the issues uncovered by research have changed as technologies have developed over time. Three issues are given particular attention: firstly the reasons for learners' use or lack of use of technologies for their learning; secondly adult learners' attitudes towards using technology for learning and thirdly how technology might support socio-emotional development and expression in children. The discussion of these issues is framed by two of the author's research projects. For the first two issues this is an early study of students' perceptions and attitudes towards using computers for tutorial learning in 1980. The factors that influenced the students' use of the computer tutorials are discussed (including access, assessment and anxiety about using computers) and also the extent to which some of these factors persist for many learners using (or not using) technologies today. The discussion of the third issue draws on a series of studies conducted in the 1990s to investigate whether educational technology could support children and young people's emotional expression and communication and development of socio-emotional skills. Finally the paper considers how these kinds of issues have been taken forward and how they are represented in contemporary research and suggests that trust is an important factor in using learning technologies

Computer anxiety and attitudes toward using Internet in English language classes among Iranian postgraduate student teachers

This study was designed to investigate the level of computer anxiety and the overall attitudes of Iranian postgraduate student teachers toward using the Internet in English language classes. Using a stratified random sampling, 160 participants (64 males and 96 females) were selected to take part in the study. These respondents were English language teachers who were pursuing their studies in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), English Literature, and Linguistics in public universities of Malaysia. A three-part questionnaire consisting of demographic information, Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (CARS) and Internet Attitude Scale (IAS) was administered in the data collection process. A pilot test was also conducted to achieve the reliability of the instruments. In order to strengthen the results, a semi- structured interview was conducted as well. The results indicated that the level of computer anxiety and the attitudes of the respondents toward using the Internet were of a moderate level. The findings of the independent-sample t-test showed significant mean differences between males and females and their level of computer anxiety and also their attitudes toward using the Internet. In addition, findings of the Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a significant negative relationship between computer anxiety and the participants' attitude toward using the Internet in their English language classes. Meanwhile, responses gauged through interview also supported the above findings. In conclusion, to eliminate the computer anxiety of teachers and encourage them to use the Internet technology in their classes, they should be equipped with sufficient technology skills through training programmes which can convince them about the usefulness of technologies in their instruction and create positive attitudes when using technology in the teaching and learning process

Understanding School Bullying in Chinese Secondary Schools

Bullying has been defined as a person or several people who were affected negatively by another individual or group over and over again (Olweus, 2013). It has been reported that both the victims and perpetrators of bullying are more likely to have suicidal ideation and other suicidal behaviours. Moreover, bullying can be a precursor for school violence and can contribute to poor academic performance. The purpose of the study tends to raise awareness on the subject among teachers, parents, and people who work for school health and administrators on the prevalence and factors associated with bullying among adolescents in China. It should lead to efforts to establish courses and polices for school health and youth health. It should also help to establish trends in the prevalence of bullying actions

Reducing techno-anxiety in high school teachers by improving their ICT problem-solving skills

Teachers need to continuously update their information and communication technologies (ICT) knowledge, but they are usually not trained to deal with the problems arising from their use. In fact, studies in the literature report techno-anxiety (i.e. unpleasant physiological activation and discomfort due to present or future use of ICT) in teachers. Thus, the goal of this action research is to study if teachers’ techno-anxiety can be reduced by increasing their ability to solve technological problems. An inter-subject experiment has been carried out with 46 teachers. High school teachers were chosen because they are digital immigrants, while at the moment of this research their students are digital natives (born around year 2000). Since we could not find any specific training for teachers to increase their resolution skills of technological problems, in order to apply the treatment for our study, we have designed and deployed an online course about ICT problem-solving skills based on the 70/20/10 model for learning and development. Results show the success of the course when it comes to increasing the ICT problem-solving skills and to reducing techno-anxiety.Preprin

AN ADAPTATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ANXIETY SCALE INTO TURKISH: RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY STUDY

The widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been growing in various fields. AI is defined as human-like automation in place of human beings that can operate many functions based on some level of intelligence. In education, AI offers powerful pedagogical tools that can help enhance instructional quality. Given the inevitable advancements of AI in education, this study aims to investigate teachers’ AI anxiety levels based on various demographic factors. For this purpose, the AI Anxiety Scale is adapted into Turkish, which provides a good fit of the model to the data for the construct validity. Moreover, the reliability coefficients of the scale show strong evidence of consistency in teachers’ responses to the items. For sociotechnical blindness dimension, male and female teachers do not show any significant differences. However, for learning, job replacement, AI configuration dimensions and the total scale, female teachers are more anxious towards AI than male teachers. Moreover, there is no difference observed based on degree levels teachers hold. Additionally, anxiety levels of teachers are not related to teachers’ age and years of experience in teaching

Cyberbullying among College Students

There is an epidemic of cyberbullying in higher education, impacting college students. The purpose of this study is to examine cyberbullying among college students. The incidence and awareness of cyberbullying in a college sample shed further light on the issue and explored college students\u27 experiences with the phenomenon. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on 278 college students from Illinois State University. Results showed that 44.8% of students had experienced cyberbullying, with females being more likely to be victims, international students, and those of sexual orientation being more likely to experience cyberbullying. According to the data, the most prevalent social media platform for cyberbullying was Snapchat. Most participants acknowledged that they did not report the incident to law enforcement, unlike only a few who stated they did. Those who did report the incident indicated nothing was done about the incident. Participants indicated that cyberbullies commonly target random people. The study\u27s conclusions suggest that college students, particularly females and international students, need in-depth instruction and knowledge regarding cyberbullying, and future research is needed to determine how to protect college students from being bullied online and create awareness about the issue

Cyberbullying: Predictors and Prevalence in American and German Middle School Students

abstract: ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate several factors associated with cyberbullying and its victims; gender, age, and the time spent using various forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Because cross-national studies are so important to understanding the similarities and differences found in this global problem, the current study explored the connection between traditional bullying and cyberbullying in middle school students in both the United States (N = 111) and Germany (N = 279). Participants ranged in age from 12 to 15 years and were administered self-report questionnaires during the regular school day. It was predicted that German students would have higher mean rates of CMC use; Americans would have higher mean rates of participation in and being victims of cyberbullying; there would be no mean differences in American and German student outcomes as either victims or perpetrators of traditional bullying. Results indicated that German students did use CMC more often than American students did, but Americans used certain forms of CMC more often, such as texting, IM and email. Contrary to expectations, Germans were more likely to participate in cyber and traditional bullying behavior. Americans did have a greater number of victims compared to perpetrators for both traditional and cyberbullying behavior. Additional results found that the American sample had a pattern of decreasing then increasing behavior as student age increased, across participation in all forms of bullying behavior, and participation rates often depended on the age of the students involved. Future research suggestions might focus on the importance of distinguishing the varying thought processes that define cyberbullying within a culture, specifically within our own culture. Additional research might also address how online communities and their inherent social norms and interactions, may inadvertently contribute to increasing cyberbullying and victimization of others outside of those groups and communities. Finally, due to the constant updating and improvement of social media, a follow- up study utilizing updated online applications would add considerably to the current knowledge base.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Educational Psychology 201

Violence and Bullying Incidents Reported by School Counselors: The Efficacy of Counselors and Preventive and Interventional Approaches

This study aims to determine the frequency of violence and bullying reported by Turkish school counselors and examines their perceived efficacy and preventive and interventional approaches using a qualitative/quantitative mixed method. Counselors reported the high frequency of different violent incidents (occurring between students, inflicted by families and inflicted by teachers) as recorded or in particular non-recorded. The frequency of family violence is higher in middle schools than high schools. All bullying frequency sub-types were high, physical bullying especially so. The frequency of physical, verbal and sexual bullying was significantly higher in middle schools. Trained and untrained counselors do not perceive efficacy as sufficient; they applied limited preventive and interventional studies, focusing on students rather than families or school personnel

The Relationship between Computer Anxiety and Learning Styles (Sensory-intuitive and Verbal-visual) among Persian University Students

This study was conducted in central Iran among all first-year university students studying engineering courses at Arak University of Technology. All students (No = 310) were included in this study. Instruments used mostly consisted of a computer anxiety questionnaire plus a learning style questionnaire. The data was analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics (Mean, Frequency, Standard Deviations, Independent T-test as well as Point Biserial Correlation Coefficient). The results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between computer anxiety and sensory-intuitive learning styles, in that the students having sensory learning style suffered from computer anxiety more frequently than the student having intuitive learning styles. In addition, there was a statistically significant relationship between computer anxiety and verbal-visual learning style, given that the students having visual learning style suffered from computer anxiety more than the students having verbal learning style. No statistically significant relationship, however, was found between computer anxiety and gender