Student-Generated Questions Fostering Sustainable and Productive Knowledge Building Discourse

The role of questions in student learning is well recognized. However, the controversial issue of who should pose questions that direct inquiry continues: teachers or students? One perspective advocates that teachers generate questions as it assumes that students cannot generate high-quality questions. In contrast, Knowledge Building, a pedagogical approach that advocates transforming schools into knowledge-creation organizations, emphasizes student agency in generating authentic questions as they try to understand the world around them. This study examined the extent to which elementary students could generate questions and explore how student-generated questions help knowledge-building discourse progress. Comparing question threads (i.e., a series of online notes started with questions) and non-question threads (i.e., a series of online notes not started with questions), we noticed that questions posted by students engaged them in sustainable and progressive discourses, which is central to Knowledge Building. Moreover, the content analysis of the data revealed that the threads starting with questions were more likely to end up with productive threads than the non-question threads

Perceptions of classroom technology use among adult English learners

The purpose of this study was to assess adult English Learners’ perceptions of using Microsoft Teams in classes. Specifically, the study aims to explore the strength and direction of the correlation between the elements of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and using Microsoft Teams in English language courses. This study addressed the following research question: What are the strengths and directions of the correlations between the elements of the technology acceptance model and the use of Microsoft Teams among adult ELs? The researcher utilized a quantitative methods approach to investigate the relationship between TAM variables and the use of Microsoft Teams in an adult English course. An anonymous online survey questionnaire based on Alfadda and Mahdi’s (2021) research was used in the study through a secure online platform Survey Monkey and also the researcher sent out the link to colleagues to collect data from their adult EL. SPSS will be used to analyze the data using descriptive statistical techniques. The research participants were 195 adult English learners who utilized Microsoft Teams for their English learning during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2022. The researcher developed descriptive statistics for the Likert-scale survey items and used SPSS to run Person’s correlation coefficient to obtain more information on the relationships between the variables. The study’s descriptive statistics findings reveal a strong positive correlation between the effective use of Microsoft Teams and the attitudes and intentions of students regarding its usage. As the results showed, the positive correlation can be used by educators as well as institutions to get more individuals to use Microsoft Teams as a useful tool for teaching English to adults

Σχεδιασμός & Ανάπτυξη Προγράμματος Εξ Αποστάσεως Εκπαίδευσης – MOOCs για Παιδαγωγούς Προσχολικής Ηλικίας

Δεδομένου ότι οι έρευνες στο χώρο της Προσχολικής Αγωγής όσον αφορά τις Τεχνολογίες της Πληροφορίας και Επικοινωνίας (ΤΠΕ) είναι ελάχιστες και λόγω της απουσίας επιμόρφωσης σε αυτά τα θέματα στους Παιδαγωγούς Προσχολικής Ηλικίας, αποφασίστηκε ο σχεδιασμός, η ανάπτυξη και η αξιολόγηση ενός πρωτότυπου Εξ Αποστάσεως Συστήματος Εκπαίδευσης (ΕξΑΕ) – MOOCs. Το συγκεκριμένο Πρόγραμμα ΕξΑΕ απευθύνεται σε Παιδαγωγούς Προσχολικής Ηλικίας με θέμα την χρήση Web 2.0 εργαλείων στα Κέντρα Προσχολικής Αγωγής. Η μεθοδολογία της έρευνας εκτυλίσσεται σε τρία επίπεδα: α.) τον σχεδιασμό του Προγράμματος και της ιστοσελίδας Ενημέρωσης & Συμμετοχής του, β.) την ανάπτυξη και την πραγματοποίηση διαμορφωτικής αξιολόγησης στο τελικό στάδιο ώστε τα αποτελέσματα της αξιολόγησης να βοηθήσουν στην καλύτερη διαμόρφωση των μαθημάτων και γ.) την κωδικοποίηση και ανάλυση των δεδομένων. Το είδος της έρευνας είναι πιλοτική (pilot study), όσον αφορά το είδος των εμπειρικών δεδομένων είναι μικτή (ποσοτική και ποιοτική) και η λογική ανάλυσή της είναι παραγωγική. Το δείγμα που επιλέχθηκε ήταν βολικό και αποτελείται από 30 ειδικούς αξιολογητές (ειδικοί σε θέματα διδακτικής, σχεδίασης, εκπαιδευτικοί, τελικοί χρήστες). Εφαρμόστηκε διαμορφωτική αξιολόγηση μέσω ερωτηματολογίου για την διερεύνηση του περιεχομένου, της διδακτικής και τεχνικής ποιότητας. Τα δεδομένα που συλλέχθηκαν έδωσαν ποσοτικά και ποιοτικά χαρακτηριστικά και πραγματοποιήθηκε περιγραφική και επαγωγική στατιστική. Τα αποτελέσματα της αξιολόγησης δείχνουν ότι το προτεινόμενο ψηφιακό πακέτο είναι πολύ ικανοποιητικό γιατί η συμφωνία σε όλες τις ερωτήσεις και κατά συνέπεια σε όλους τους παράγοντες του ερωτηματολογίου είναι σχεδόν απόλυτη. Το Πρόγραμμα ΕξΑΕ – MOOCs ενσωματώνει ένα μόνιμο παιδαγωγικό εργαλείο στις γνώσεις των εκπαιδευομένων, συντελεί στο να διευρύνουν τις γνώσεις τους για την χρήση και την αξιοποίηση των Web 2.0 εργαλείων και μπορεί να χρησιμεύσει στην ευρύτερη ελληνική εκπαιδευτική κοινότητα και να εμπλουτίσει την βιβλιογραφία στο χώρο της Προσχολικής Αγωγής. Επίσης, η έρευνα αναδεικνύει ότι για τον σχεδιασμό ανάλογων περιβαλλόντων MOOCs είναι απαραίτητες οι θεωρίες του μοντέλου Μικτής Μάθησης, της Αντεστραμμένης Τάξης, της Συνεργατικής Μάθησης, η σχεδίαση των μαθημάτων να ακολουθεί τα μοντέλα εκπαιδευτικού σχεδιασμού, το εκπαιδευτικό υλικό να στηρίζεται σε παιδαγωγικές αρχές σχεδίασης και οι Τηλεδιασκέψεις (ΤΔ) να σχεδιάζονται με βάση την πυραμίδα της ΤΔ.Given that there are limited studies in the field of Preschool Education regarding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and because of the lack of training on ICT topics among Preschool Educators, it was decided to design, develop and assess an original Distance Education Program (DEP) – MOOC. The MOOC is addressed to Preschool Educators and is about the use of Web 2.0 tools in Preschool Education Centers. The study's methodology unfolds in three levels: a. The design of the MOOC itself and of its Information & Participation website page, b. The development and realisation of the formative assessment at the final stage, so that the results of the assessment can help improve the setup of the classes, c. The codification and analysis of the data. This is a pilot study and uses mixed methods, as the empirical data are both quantitative and qualitative, and the logical reasoning used is deductive. The sample was practically selected and comprises 30 special assessors (experts in teaching, design, educators, end users). The performed assessment was done through a questionnaire to investigate the content, teaching and technical quality. The collected data revealed quantitative and qualitative insights and descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. The results of the assessment show that the suggested digital package is very satisfying, since the degree of agreement in all questions and, consequently, in all factors of the questionnaire, is almost unanimous. The MOOC integrates a permanent pedagogical tool in the knowledge base of the trainees, contributes to expanding their knowledge about the use of Web 2.0 tools and can also be of use to the general Greek educational society and enrich the literature in the field of Preschool Education. Furthermore, the study highlights that, for the design of similar MOOCs, the theories of Blended Learning, Flipped Classroom and Cooperative Learning are essential, the design of the classes should follow the Models of Educational Planning, the educational content should be based on educational design principles and the video conferences should be designed based on the video conference pyramid

The student-produced electronic portfolio in craft education

The authors studied primary school students’ experiences of using an electronic portfolio in their craft education over four years. A stimulated recall interview was applied to collect user experiences and qualitative content analysis to analyse the collected data. The results indicate that the electronic portfolio was experienced as a multipurpose tool to support learning. It makes the learning process visible and in that way helps focus on and improves the quality of learning. © ISLS.Peer reviewe

Connecting the Echo Dots: An Exploratory Ethnographic Study of ‘Alexa’ in the Classroom

Educational research literature regarding epistemic curiosity and voice technology could not be found to answer a burning question of, ‘Why aren’t my students curious?’. The aim of the study was therefore to critically analyse teachers pedagogical approaches and how voice technology was used by students as a more knowledgeable other and the extent to which it affected students’ epistemic curiosity. Using an exploratory ethnographic approach, Amazon’s Echo Dot voice technology was studied in lessons at Hillview School. Data was collected through participant observation, informal interviews and recordings of students’ interactions with ‘Alexa’. Students asked questions to Alexa in large numbers. Alexa was asked 87 questions during two lessons suggesting that Alexa was a digital more knowledgeable other. Types of questions asked to Alexa, such as ‘Can fish see water?’, were epistemic questions and suggestive of epistemic curiosity. Teachers used the Echo Dots infrequently and in a limited number of ways. Teachers relied upon a pedagogical approach and talk oriented around performance which overlooked students’ learning talk. The answer to why students might not be curious was not found. However, evidence to understand how and why they might appear not curious was revealed. The study makes contributions to knowledge through the novel use of the Echo Dots to collect data and through a new data visualisation technique called ‘heatmaps’. The study contributes to knowledge by proposing three tentative notions that emerged inductively from the research: ‘performance-oriented talk’, ‘metricalisation’ and ‘regulativity’. The study aims to make a further contribution to knowledge by suggesting evidence of a ‘pedagogy of performance’. The study recommends ‘learning-oriented talk’ and development of Alexa ‘Skills’ as a way to disrupt the pedagogy of performance and as an area for further research