Tablet use in schools: A critical review of the evidence for learning outcomes

The increased popularity of tablets in general has led to uptake in education. We critically review the literature reporting use of tablets by primary and secondary school children across the curriculum, with a particular emphasis on learning outcomes. The Systematic Review methodology was used and our literature search resulted in 33 relevant studies meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 23 met the minimum quality criteria and were examined in detail (16 reporting positive learning outcomes, 5 no difference and 2 negative learning outcomes). Explanations underlying these observations were analysed, and factors contributing to successful uses of tablets are discussed. While we hypothesise how tablets can viably support children in completing a variety of learning tasks (across a range of contexts and academic subjects), the fragmented nature of the current knowledge base, and the scarcity of rigorous studies, make it difficult to draw firm conclusions. The generalisability of evidence is limited and detailed explanations as to how, or why, using tablets within certain activities can improve learning remain elusive. We recommend that future research moves beyond exploration towards systematic and in-depth investigations building on the existing findings documented here.We gratefully acknowledge a donation from ARM Holdings Ltd. that partially supported this literature review.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcal.1212

A mobile game as a support tool for children with severe difficulties in reading and spelling

We used a randomized controlled trial to investigate if a mobile game, GraphoLearn (GL), could effectively support the learning of first graders (N = 70), who have severe difficulties in reading and spelling. We studied the effects of two versions of the game: GL Reading, which focused on training letter-sound correspondence and word reading; and GL Spelling, which included additional training in phonological skills and spelling. During the spring of first grade, the children trained with tablet computers which they could carry with them during the six-week intervention. The average exposure time to training was 5 hr 44 min. The results revealed no differences in the development of reading or spelling skills between GL players and the control group. However, pre-training self-efficacy moderated the effect among GL Reading players: children with high self-efficacy developed more than the control group in word reading fluency, whereas children with low self-efficacy developed less than the control group in spelling.Peer reviewe

Diffusion of e-learning as an innovation and economic aspects of e-learning support structures

Meanwhile, many universities and educational institutions have implemented an e-learning center or some similar, often smaller institutional units in order to support the usage of new media in teaching and learning processes [1]. This paper addresses questions around the installation of such e-learning support structures at different levels of an institution and also looks at the diffusion of e-learning as an innovation in educational institutions

In the nexus of integrity and surveillance: Proctoring (re)considered

Background The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted higher education in many ways, such as the move to Emergency Remote Online Teaching and Learning (EROTL), often including a move to online assessments and examinations. With evidence of increased academic dishonesty in unproctored online assessment, institutions sought ways to ensure academic and institutional integrity and reputation. In doing this, many institutions selected and implemented online proctoring solutions. Objectives This article maps considerations of online proctoring solutions in the nexus between ensuring academic and institutional integrity and reputation, and addressing stakeholder concerns regarding invasive surveillance and the impacts on student privacy. Methods The study involved a PRISMA-informed systematic review of three digital libraries, namely Clarivate's Web of Science, Elsevier's Scopus, and Springer's SpringerLink, for peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings. After screening, a final corpus of 27 articles was analysed. Results and Conclusions The findings include evidence that, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, higher education institutions were largely influenced by cost, usability and efficiency in choosing online proctoring solutions to ensure academic and institutional integrity. Student privacy was either considered in terms of data protection and transparency, or not at all. This article aims to provide valuable insight into the criteria used to select online proctoring solutions to ensure academic and institutional integrity in online examination environments. Student privacy appears not to have the consideration it warrants.publishedVersio

Digital transformation in education: A mixed methods study of teachers and systems

The growth in digital transformation in many societies is outpacing its uptake in education. Leaders in education are seeking guidance about best practices to achieve their transformation goals, from mobile innovation for classroom teachers to system wide digital transformational change. The goal of this thesis is to offer insights, strategies and guidance for education leaders as they implement digital technologies for the purpose of transforming teaching, learning and administration. The mixed methods study utilised teacher interviews and surveys in a hospital school to gather data for descriptive statistics and inductive analysis, and qualitative thematic content analysis of existing industry and education digital transformation frameworks. The findings are presented in three articles, the first two from the hospital school setting. The focus of Paper One is teachers’ professional learning needs to enable effective mobile technology integration in a hospital school setting. Paper Two examines the effectiveness of a customised professional development program for teachers to facilitate integration of mobile technologies with digital pedagogies. The findings of the hospital school-based research identified three types of teacher professional learning needs to enable the effective use of mobile technology: technological, pedagogical, and personal support. Participation in a customised professional development program resulted in notable improvement in hospital teachers’ perceived preparedness to use mobile technology to transform pedagogical practices. Furthermore, technology needs were significantly impacted as teachers gained confidence and collaborated as a learning community. The third Paper used thematic content analysis to identify critical components that provide guidance for education leaders embarking on digital transformation. This Paper recognised four key digital transformation needs: leadership, people, experience, and technology. The thesis affirms that identifying the needs of key stakeholders is a fundamental first step when embarking on transformative initiatives in education, and offers guidance on developing a coherent strategy that addresses drivers for scalable and sustainable change

Safe and inclusive educational apps: Digital protection from an ethical and critical perspective

The mediated use of technology fosters learning from early childhood and is a potential resource for inclusive education. Nevertheless, the huge range of options and exposure to interactive digital content, which is often online, also implies a series of risks. The definition of protection underlying the current strategies to protect children is inadequate as it only extends to reducing children's exposure to harmful content. This study proposes the expansion of this definition. Through systematic observation of 200 apps within the Catalan sphere for children under 8 years of age and principal component analysis, the results support a multidimensional conceptualisation of protection which, instead of being restricted to the potential risks, also considers aspects related to the educational and inclusive potential of digital resources. Five factors are suggested in order to select these resources and contribute to the digital competence of teachers and students. The first factor concerns the use of protection mechanisms and the existence of external interference, the second factor indicates the presence of adaptation tools; the exposure to stereotypes corresponds to the third factor and the last two consider the previous knowledge required and the verbal component of the apps. Finally, the scope of the suggested definition and its limitations as a guide for future analysis will be discussed

Learning analytics support to teachers' design and orchestrating tasks

Background: Data-driven educational technology solutions have the potential to support teachers in different tasks, such as the designing and orchestration of collaborative learning activities. When designing, such solutions can improve teacher understanding of how learning designs impact student learning and behaviour; and guide them to refine and redesign future learning designs. When orchestrating educational scenarios, data-driven solutions can support teacher awareness of learner participation and progress and enhance real time classroom management. Objectives: The use of learning analytics (LA) can be considered a suitable approach to tackle both problems. However, it is unclear if the same LA indicators are able to satisfactorily support both the designing and orchestration of activities. This study aims to investigate the use of the same LA indicators for supporting multiple teacher tasks, that is, design, redesign and orchestration, as a gap in the existing literature that requires further exploration. Methods: In this study, first we refer to the previous work to study the use of different LA to support both tasks. Then we analyse the nature of the two tasks focusing on a case study that uses the same collaborative learning tool with LA to support both tasks. Implications: The study findings led to derive design considerations on LA support for teachers’ design and orchestrating tasks