Harnessing Technology: analysis of emerging trends affecting the use of technology in education (September 2008)

Research to support the delivery and development of Harnessing Technology: Next Generation Learning 2008–1

Becta review 2006. Evidence on the progress of ICT in education.

This is the review of the use and impact of ICT in the education system prior to the publication of the Government's e-Strategy for the education system, known as Harnessing Technology. The Review drew upon Becta's surveys of schools and FE colleges as well as other research to assess the impact of technology within the education system and the progress made in achieving Government policies in 2005-06

GOOGLE+: A BOOST TO E-LEARNING EDUCATION & TRAINING @ COVENANT UNIVERSITY

Just as the advancement in Information Technology (IT) continues to evolve and change rapidly over the past few decades, the art of learning, acquiring and dispersing knowledge and information have also continued to evolve rapidly. These rapid innovations and improvements in IT were designed with the aim of boosting knowledge and education at just the click of the button. Some of the most outstanding innovations and inventions in the (IT) world, which have influenced education and learning in this decade are found in social networks such as Yahoo, Google, Face book, twitter, You Tube, to mention but a few. However, recent studies conducted in this regard revealed that these current innovations and advancements in IT have constituted grave challenges to the knowledge and learning process. The teachers / lecturers of this century, during the process of seeking to transfer knowledge to their student, are often faced with the dilemma of finding how best to gainfully occupy the minds of their students within and outside the class room environment. The students who more often than not, distracted by incoming messages, videos, picture of friends, or simply text messages from friends via iphones, laptops, i-pods, or even i-pads etc. The respondent instantly cannot resist the urge to quickly read and send back a reply via either of the means mentioned here. Other students who log on to either of the networks for a specific task are easily distracted or carried away by say, a fresh advertisement or alternate information which dramatically catches the attention of the students. Consequently, they are drawn and carried away by the new piece of information that drastically - in most cases - changes their trend of thought before they are fully aware of the harm done by the distraction. While applying the simple survey methods of research, this paper shall examine the findings of an ongoing study with two groups of students who offer University Wide Courses (UWC) here at Covenant University. Results from the pilot study conducted gives us reasons to argue that a resent product by Google simply known as “Google+” may be that much desired formula that teachers and lectures all over the world, need to boost the teaching and learning experiences of both teachers, students and researchers within and outside the classroom environment

HIP to COLLEGE 2012-2015: Creating Strong Funding and Nonprofit Networks for Latino Student Success

For the past three-and-a-half years, through the HIP to College initiative, Hispanicsin Philanthropy has worked diligently to strengthen the academic success of Latino students and the long-term community advancement that results from their earning postsecondary degrees. With the support of generous partners, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the HIP to College initiative in North Carolina and Colorado worked to develop networks that support Latino students through high school and into college. Improving outcomes for Latino students is the priority of the HIP Education Focused Initiative. The success of this initiative has been remarkable. HIP is optimistic about the future of this work and its role in cultivating an educational landscape and partnerships in the United States that help Latino students thrive

Academics and Social Networking Sites: Benefits, Problems and Tensions in Professional Engagement with Online Networking

The web has had a profound effect on the ways people interact, with online social networks arguably playing an important role in changing or augmenting how we connect with others. However, uptake of online social networking by the academic community varies, and needs to be understood. This paper presents an independent, novel analysis of a large-scale dataset published by Nature Publishing Group detailing the results of a survey about academics use of online social networking services. An open coding approach was used to analyse 480 previously unused text responses. The analysis revealed a wide range of benefits and also problems associated with engaging with online networking, and tensions within this. The analysis provides further insight into the nuances of uptake, by exploring clusters of co-reported benefits and problems within the qualitative analysis. The findings will help move forward current debates surrounding social media use by academics from being viewed in solely beneficial terms, towards an understanding of the problems and tensions that arise through academic work online

Harnessing technology review 2008. The role of technology and its impact on education. Full report.

This is the second review of the use and impact of ICT in the education system following the publication of the Government's e-Strategy for education, known as Harnessing Technology. The Review drew upon Becta's surveys of schools and FE colleges as well as other research to assess the impact of technology within the education system and the progress made in achieving the system outcomes of the policy

Exploring Student, Family, and School Predictors of Self-Determination Using NLTS2 Data

This study conducted secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) to examine the degree to which student, family, and school constructs predicted self-determination outcomes. Multi-group structural equation modeling was used to examine predictive relationships between 5 student, 4 family, and 7 school constructs developed from NLTS2 data and self-determination outcomes (autonomy, psychological empowerment, and self-realization) across disability groups. The pattern of predictive relationship between the constructs and self-determination outcomes across disability groups was complex. Only one construct—self-concept—showed a positive predictive relationship with all three self-determination constructs across most disability groups. Implications of the complex pattern of findings for research and practice are discussed