First-year higher education students’ acquisition of digital content creation literacies in discipline-specific settings

Digital knowledge production involves the processing and presentation of digital information and content through the implementation of digital literacy practices in technical, cognitive and social-emotional dimensions. As such, this thesis addresses the question: How and why do first-year higher education students acquire digital content creation literacies in a discipline-specific setting? Firstly, this thesis contributes to the conceptualisation of digital literacy as a social practice through theorizing the complex and evolving nature of digital literacy practices in disciplinary-specific contexts in higher education. Secondly, the thesis develops a theoretical explanation to how higher education students acquire digital content creation literacies within their discipline-specific settings. Drawing on the New Literacies Studies’ theoretical approach, first-year students’ digital literacy practices, in particular content creation literacies, are explored in relation to sociocultural factors, and enablers and contradictions influencing their practices in disciplinespecific settings. Additionally, Gee’s (2008) principles of literacy and Discourse acquisition inform the analysis of student acquisition of digital literacy practices. An adaptation of Ng’s (2015) digital literacy framework is applied as an analytical tool for categorising students’ digital literacy practices and is further complemented by Engeström's (2001) second generation Activity theory framework when analysing the students’ digital literacy practices involved in assignment writing (the digital literacy event). Using a case study design with a mixed methods approach, quantitative (a questionnaire) and qualitative (focus groups, interviews and student assignments) data is obtained from a total of 103 and 27 students respectively. A key finding of this thesis is that discipline-specific learning and assessment activities (LAAs) instantiate individual and collaborative digital content creation and also drive the desire for students’ acquisition of digital literacies for content creation. However, there are some ‘actual processes’ (Maxwell, 2012) that are not directly perceptible, such as student experience in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), age, volition, gender, course culture, historicity of practice and student histories of learning with ICT that influence student digital content creation practices. By the same token, this thesis highlights the importance of students owning or having technology access at university as lack of access is a constraining factor for their engagement in their LAAs. The main contribution of this thesis is the finding that, when LAAs, which foster the acquisition of digital content-creation literacies are part of the curriculum, students can acquire the respective literacies through self-teaching, scaffolding from peers or senior students, trial and error, and engaging in practice within their disciplines, implying that there is no need for overt instruction as is the case of digital skills training isolated from the context of practice. The implication of this finding is that universities need to annually review firstyear students’ prior digital literacy skills and practices to inform the responsive adaptation of the LAAs. Additionally, universities require a deliberate strategy for collaboration between their academics, library staff, writing centre staff and professional development units on the integration of digital literacies for learning into the curriculum

“Query complexity and query refinement: Using web search from a corpus perspective with digital natives”

At the dawn of the new millennium, Prensky (2001a; 2001b) popularized a view of the younger generations as “digital natives”. While this myth has not gone unchallenged (Prensky, 2009; Thomas, 2011), students have since then been acritically assumed to be almost naturally fluent ICT users. However, recent studies have revealed that this is not always the case. As far as Web search in particular is concerned, a tendency has been shown towards a simplistic “get in, get the answer, get out” approach (Thompson, 2013, pp. 20–21) which prevents them from taking full advantage of the Web’s potential for autonomous learning. In this context, this chapter advocates the importance of familiarizing students with advanced Web search skills as an opportunity for a rewarding accessible DDL experience while also contributing to their development of critical reasoning

REMOTE EDUCATION IN THE TIMES OF COVID-19 AND THE FUTURE OF E-LEARNING

Digitalization, globalization, and online learning have revolutionized the educational scenario. It was not long ago when remote learning, which essentially means learning without being physically present in the boundaries of an educational institution, was condemned and deemed "ineffective". However, the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus has forced students and teachers to adopt remote learning, causing unprecedented changes in the learning process. Based on the recent switch to remote learning, it is safe to say that not only remote education ensures better reach and lifelong learning, but it is also learner-oriented, flexible, convenient, economical, and saves a lot of time and resources. The need of the hour is to make remote learning available to everyone, by broadcasting lessons on television, radio, social media, YouTube, distributing informative books, and attention-grabbing pamphlets. Keeping in mind the benefits and freedom that come with remote education, we can presume that remote education is here to stay. The present paper will analyze the educational scenario during COVID-19, andwill also discuss the future of E-learning as a brighter prospect for students around the world.  It will attempt to provide insights into the various aspects of remote learning through the analysis of the results ofan online survey, which was conducted on seventeen students from different countries all over the globe. The participants shared their views and experiences regarding the remote learning experiences during Covid-19.Keywords: Education during Covid-19, future of e-learning, remote learning as an effective tool to promote worldwide education and literacy

필리핀 레이테 SHS 졸업생의 STEM과정 지원 시스템 평가

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 국제대학원 국제학과(국제협력전공), 2022. 8. Han, JeongHun.The learners are the core of the learning and teaching process. They are the important priority that guides the educational institutions to come up with significant directives and policies. The implementation of the K to 12 curriculum has brought an essential alter to the system of education in the Philippines. This study has evaluated the impact on the different support systems which are the curriculum, teachers, learning environment, and learning resources in the execution of the senior high school particularly the STEM strand or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and the academic performance of the 65 senior high school graduates. A structured google survey questionnaire was employed to gather information. The study considered the descriptive correlational approach to evaluate the level of significance of the support systems and perspective of graduates on STEM strand and academic performance. The results of the study revealed that only the curriculum has a significant relationship with academic performance. However, it has also been found out that the different support systems have a significant relationship with each other. As they need support from one another in the fulfillment of the best educational system. It has found also that the learner’s perspective towards the STEM strand does not affect their academic performance. On the other hand, it attested that the STEM strand of the curriculum itself is gender-sensitive. It is implemented fairly with no gender favoritism and no gender discrimination.학습자는 학습 및 교육 과정의 핵심입니다. 이는 교육 기관이 중요한 지침과 정책을 마련하도록 안내하는 중요한 우선 순위입니다. 초중고교부터 12세까지의 교과과정의 시행은 필리핀의 교육 시스템에 근본적인 변화를 가져왔습니다. 이 연구는 고등학교, 특히 STEM 분야 또는 과학, 기술, 공학, 수학의 실행에 커리큘럼, 교사, 학습 환경 및 학습 자원과 같은 다양한 지원 시스템과 학업 성과에 미치는 영향을 평가했습니다. 65명의 고등학교 졸업생. 정보를 수집하기 위해 구조화된 Google 설문조사 설문지를 사용했습니다. 이 연구는 지원 시스템의 중요성 수준과 STEM 분야 및 학업 성과에 대한 졸업생의 관점을 평가하기 위해 기술적 상관 접근 방식을 고려했습니다. 연구 결과, 교육과정만이 학업성취도와 유의한 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 서로 다른 지원 시스템이 서로 중요한 관계가 있음을 발견했습니다. 최고의 교육 시스템을 실현하기 위해서는 서로의 지원이 필요하기 때문입니다. 또한 STEM 분야에 대한 학습자의 관점이 학업 성과에 영향을 미치지 않는다는 것을 발견했습니다. 반면 STEM 스트랜드나 커리큘럼 자체가 젠더 민감하다는 것을 증명했다. 남녀 차별 없이 공정하게 시행하고 있습니다.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Background of the Study 2 1.2. Research Questions 12 1.3. Null Hypotheses 13 1.4. Importance of the Study 13 1.5. Scope and Delimitation of the Study 15 Chapter 2. Review of Related Literature and Studies 17 2.1. Related Literature and Studies 17 2.2. Theoretical Framework 22 2.3. Conceptual Framework 26 Chapter 3. Methodology 27 3.1. Research Design 27 3.2. Research Locale 28 3.3. Respondents of the Study 28 3.4. Research Instruments 29 3.5. Data Gathering Procedure 29 3.6. Method of Scoring and Interpretation 30 3.7. Statistical Treatment 31 Chapter 4. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data 33 4.1. Background Information of the Respondents 33 4.2. Academic Performance of the Respondents 37 4.3. Different Support Systems on STEM Strand as perceived by the Respondents 39 4.4. Learner’s Perspective on STEM Strand 45 4.5. Correlation between the Different Support Systems on STEM Strand and the Academic Performance 47 4.6. Correlation between the SHS Graduates’ Perspective on STEM Strand and the Academic Performance 49 Chapter 5. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations 52 5.1. Summary of Findings 52 5.2. Conclusions 54 5.3. Recommendations 54 Appendices 56 Bibliography 62 Abstract (Korean) 68 Acknowledgment 69석

Technology Leadership in Malaysia's High Performance School

Headmaster as leader of the school also plays a role as a technology leader. This applies to the high performance schools (HPS) headmaster as well. The HPS excel in all aspects of education. In this study, researcher is interested in examining the role of the headmaster as a technology leader through interviews with three headmasters of high performance schools. Various topics related to technology leadership among headmaster have been discussed based on National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A) 2009 recommended by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). From the conversation, the headmaster of HPS have played their leadership role of technology in schools by meeting the various components of NETS-A. In terms of challenges, the online internet is a major obstacle to promoting the use of ICT in the school. The hard work and effort by the headmaster of HPS in the field of ICT has shown a good result and outcome. The headmaster of other schools should have to emulate the great efforts HPS headmasters to create a generation of young literates

Information literacy in Portugal : A perspective from European Higher Education Area

This paper takes as its general reference the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), whose creation endeavoured an educational approach across all the European Union countries. A new educational model must foresee the development of new skills and information skills constitute one of the most important requirements that university students need in the Information Era. These skills were effectively prioritized in the conception of the European educational model and, consequently, they should have an impact on the teaching-learning process. So, it is important to know and understand how these students are prepared in terms of competences and skills, regarding the access to, use, (re)production, and diffusion of information gathered and applied in different contexts. It is also necessary to establish a connection between training and the acquisition of information skills prior to university, during the university attendance period and at the end of the university degree. This configures a comprehensive approach that will consider the educational context, the students' informational behaviour and their personal and social contexts and demands.An ongoing research project, that supports the present paper, has incorporated these elements and they are positioned at the core of the work. It configures an information behaviour study focused on the issue of information literacy in the current Portuguese and European learning models, the determination of the contextually acquired competences, and the intrinsic abilities to search for and use information. The theoretical-practical model in development will contribute to setting a strategy that will support the effort of Portuguese universities in this field

Conceptualization and practice of information literacy instruction in community colleges

This interpretive multi-case study methodology was conducted with five sites using interviews, observations, and document analysis to answer two research questions: (1) How do community colleges and their libraries\u27 instructional mission statements/statements of purpose conceptualize and understand information literacy? and (2) How are Information Literacy Instruction Programs providing students information literacy instruction, as demonstrated in classroom information literacy instruction sessions? The problem is that students who graduate with an associate\u27s degree and enter the workforce or transfer to university and have not had IL instruction will be at a disadvantage compared to students who have had access to IL instruction. It is argued that students need to be information literate in order to fully participate in the academic system. Access to IL instruction in community colleges can vary widely. Some students receive IL instruction in their community college and some do not. The mission or vision statements of the five community colleges studied do not use the words ‘information literacy\u27 at all. Not having IL in the mission or policy statements doesn\u27t create a culture where IL is important. All of the sites struggle with faculty buy-in for IL instruction sessions. Some sites have less buy-in than others. Four of the five sites do not have a dedicated space for IL instruction sessions, one doesn\u27t have computers for students to use in the IL instruction sessions. No site has IL instruction for online students. The common IL instruction at all five programs are 50-70 minute sessions. All IL sessions teach the use of general information sources like Google and databases; the different command languages, protocols, and search parameters for different systems as well as how to identify keywords for the information needed; find the controlled vocabulary specific to the discipline or information retrieval source; construct a search strategy appropriate for the information retrieval system selected; and use either MLA or ALA style to cite sources. All programs discuss evaluating reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias of potential resources. Those students who do receive IL instruction through the five programs are getting quality instruction

Career Technical Education Teachers: Using Handheld Technology To Teach Essential Skills

This paper explores Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perspective of in-class use of handheld technology in learning environments with effective pedagogical practices that lead the way to improving classroom teaching. The technology for this study encompasses laptops, iPads, tablets, and cell phones, collectively referred to as “handhelds.” This study sought to consider teachers’ own experiences with the use of handheld technology devices in classrooms. The goal of this study was to examine how handheld devices provide a few ways or methods whereby technology can be integrated into curriculum design to help teacher-student interactions and in-class participation in order to promote a collaborative learning space that supports the students’ educational interests. Teachers with handhelds in classes may engage students effectively for learning and collaboration through the course content, using digital media to build collaborative learning environments. With handheld computers in class, the teacher can use different methods of teaching, including lectures, discussions, and small-group work to increase class participation (Sung, Chang, & Liu, 2016). Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers use in-class handhelds as tools in constructive dialogue between teachers and students, thereby helping students to discover new meanings in their learning tasks. It can be used to help teachers meet their goals of helping students acquire in-depth knowledge of subject matter. The use of these technologies can create ways for teachers to engage students in learning in the classroom