Digital Competence and Computational Thinking of Student Teachers

Digital competence is one of the most demanded skills, and includes, among other aspects, the use of technological, informational, multimedia or communication skills and knowledge. In recent years, different institutions have included computational thinking among the different areas that make up this digital competence. However, there are few publications that deepen the relationship between computational thinking and digital competence. The present study analyzes the level of digital competence and computa-tional thinking of 248 Spanish university students, exploring the relation-ships between both abilities and the existing differences. According to the results, the majority of the students perceive themselves with a medium to a high level of digital competence, highlighting the multimedia and commu-nicative dimensions, as opposed to the more technological aspects. On the other hand, there is a correlation between computational thinking and digi-tal competence, especially with the communicative and technological areas. Likewise, the results indicate that women obtain lower results in their computational thinking and are perceived to be digitally less competent than men, especially in regard to the technological dimension. These results provide relevant information in terms of research and open the door to the development of training actions in student teachers to overcome the still-existing gender gaps

Karaoke for social and cultural change

This account demonstrates the key challenges faced in producing engaging educational content for information and communication technologies (ICT) deployed in rural India. The 'Stills in Sync' (SIS) project aims to enhance literacy through the revival and proliferation of popular regional folksongs with social awareness themes in rural India. This product entails the use of the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) karaoke feature that won the Worldbank Development Marketplace award in 2002 and the 'Tech Laureate' honor from the Technology Museum of Innovation in 2003. This case study highlights the struggles faced in the production process as we sought to negotiate localism with scalability. The paper is meant to stimulate discussion and further research on the process of digitalizing cultural and educational content in muliple languages for literacy gains and empowerment. I attempt to give three-dimensionality to current buzzwords in education content creation using ICT: localism, relevance and engagement

Designing Futures by Empowering Novice Designers

ABSTRACT “There is a sweet spot between the known and the unknown where originality happens; the key is to be able to linger there without panicking.” Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar All design involves shaping the future - from an industrial design prototype that combines new and old materials to a strategic designer grappling with the complexities of inter-connected systems, each one is optimistically moving towards an intended future. To design such futures, we need more than research, analysis, synthesis, and strategy. We need a commitment to and a deep appreciation of design methods. Ultimately the most nuanced and insightful foresight work is realized through design, design that moves people towards preferred futures. Whose future? How to frame such complex problems? How to consider and weigh potential future pathways? These vexing issues paralyze inexperienced designers, often appearing as a collection of magical acts that are a rarefied mix of process, experience, and intuition. How then does an inexperienced designer move from novice to expert? Our research has been informed by a comprehensive literature review of design and design history, a survey of design practitioners and industry interviews with both inexperienced and experienced design professionals. This report embraces a three-act structure and focuses on: the changing nature of design and designers and how education providers have responded to these challenges; a synthesis of survey and interview responses that helps define the future designer; and practical recommendations to assist novice designers in their continued learning towards the development of their design practice. Our key findings include the realization that design methods are either assumed or overlooked in most graduate design programs that focus on futures-related endeavors. Further, through synthesis, we distilled six insights, which include: Good design starts with advocacy; Design is an anticipatory state of being; On the road to mastery, Learn from travelers; Design depth over scratching the surface; Going beyond the algorithm to develop curiosity and Design literacy matters. These insights are intended to act as inspirational criteria for crafting design learning, and we offer a prototype that combines physical and digital tools to assist the novice designer. We hope this prototype encourages the development and adoption of design habits - habits that are more than just efficiencies or techniques, but rather the forging of an identity, towards becoming a designer of futures

21 century learning skills revisited - a conceptual paper on leaving 'gaps' and going deep

This paper revisits the 21st-century learning skills (21CLS) and discusses the need to leave 'gaps' in the curriculum while pursuing chosen topics more in-depth. The paper suggests ways to choose both 'gaps' and in-depth topics; furthermore, the paper investigates relevant technologies for bridging the gaps and for going deep. The paper discusses the connection between 'Das Exemplarische Prinzip' (exemplary teaching) and what may be interpreted to be the initial thoughts behind the formulation of the 21CLS presented in the document 'A Nation at Risk'. The two concepts are separated by three decades (1951 'Tübinger resolution -1981 'A Nation at Risk'). However, they share the same conviction that not every bit of knowledge available can be taught/learned and, furthermore, that some knowledge is more important than other. We wish to revisit this notion because we believe that the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the automation of increasingly complex processes in our everyday lives will influence education. This indicates that we may need to adjust the topic- and activity-selection principles that teachers and curriculum developers deploy to select what to teach and what to outsource to networked learning and digital learning materials. The discourse of the 21CLS seems to have materialised into a specific practice in Denmark, a practice that embraces programming exercises (Dot/Dash, LEGO Mindstorms, Scratch, Python etc.), tinkering with electronics, playing computer games, 3D printing and Laser cutting in workshops called 'Maker spaces'. The 21CLS, in a Danish context, are distilled into; Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication (the 4Cs). In our research and in the development projects in schools we have taken part in, we have the positive experience that the way the 21CLS are practiced in a Danish context gave some pupils a sense of pride in their products and that some pupils acted more as designers of solutions for real problems than as pupils doing school work. On a more negative note, the 21CLS activities may come across as isolated events with little connection to curriculum or exams. Finally, we raise the discussion of how Teacher Education can develop a practice that incorporates the convictions of the 21CLS in other ways. We suggest a focus on technology that supports dialogue and reflection and bridges both knowledge 'gaps' and time and space 'gaps'. Furthermore, we suggest learning designs that revisit 21CLS as a framework for learning to learn

The Development of Computational Thinking in Student Teachers through an Intervention with Educational Robotics

Aim/Purpose This research aims to describe and demonstrate the results of an intervention through educational robotics to improve the computational thinking of student teachers. Background Educational robotics has been increasing in school classrooms for the development of computational thinking and digital competence. However, there is a lack of research on how to prepare future teachers of Kindergarten and Elementary School in the didactic use of computational thinking, as part of their necessary digital teaching competence. Methodology Following the Design-Based Research methodology, we designed an intervention with educational robots that includes unplugged, playing, making and remixing activities. Participating in this study were 114 Spanish university students of education. Contribution This research helps to improve the initial training of student teachers, especially in the field of educational robotics. Findings The student teachers consider themselves digital competent, especially in the dimensions related to social and multimedia aspects, and to a lesser extent in the technological dimension. The results obtained also confirm the effectiveness of the intervention through educational robotics in the development of computational thinking of these students, especially among male students. Recommendations for Practitioners Teacher trainers could introduce robotics following these steps: (1) initiation and unplugged activities, (2) gamified activities of initiation to the programming and test of the robots, (3) initiation activities to Scratch, and (4) design and resolution of a challenge. Recommendation for Researchers Researchers could examine how interventions with educational robots helps to improve the computational thinking of student teachers, and thoroughly analyze gender-differences. Impact on Society Computational thinking and robotics are one of the emerging educational trends. Despite the rise of this issue, there are still few investigations that systematize and collect evidence in this regard. This study allows to visualize an educational intervention that favors the development of the computational thinking of student teachers. Future Research Researchers could evaluate not only the computational thinking of student teachers, but also their didactics, their ability to teach or create didactic activities to develop computational thinking in their future students

Text Mining with HathiTrust: Empowering Librarians to Support Digital Scholarship Research

This workshop will introduce attendees to text analysis research and the common methods and tools used in this emerging area of scholarship, with particular attention to the HathiTrust Research Center. The workshop\u27s train the trainer curriculum will provide a framework for how librarians can support text data mining, as well as teach transferable skills useful for many other areas of digital scholarly inquiry. Topics include: introduction to gathering, managing, analyzing, and visualizing textual data; hands-on experience with text analysis tools, including the HTRC\u27s off-the-shelf algorithms and datasets, such as the HTRC Extracted Features; and using the command line to run basic text analysis processes. No experience necessary! Attendees must bring a laptop

Improving Read-Aloud Instruction in an Autism Preschool Classroom

The purpose of this study was to look at what literacy strategies can be implemented to engage autistic preschool students during read-aloud instruction. Through this qualitative case study, I conducted research to find strategies that would engage my students in a way that is purposeful, effective, and create instruction where students take something meaningful away from the lesson. The research was conducted in a self-contained preschool classroom with a focus on Autism. A teacher\u27s journal, family questionnaire, observational and anecdotal notes were used and collected to analyze data from read-aloud instruction. The data that was collected was analyzed through the use of triangulation and coding of student participation patterns and engagement in order to determine themes that emerged from the study. Based on the data analysis it was evident that instruction was more effective in a large group setting when implementing a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts based on student interest. Other factors such as seating arrangements, rereading of texts, incorporation of technology also resulted in an increase in student engagement and students demonstrated greater comprehension of the text. Another key component of effective read-aloud instruction was setting up a read-aloud routine that is predictable and consistent. At the conclusion of the study of implementing these strategies it was evident that student engagement and comprehension of the text increased

Talking the Line: A report on drawing workshops for dyslexic/dyspraxic students at the Royal College of Art, London

The article reports on a series of drawing workshops held at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London, which tested an original pedagogical strategy designed to help dyslexic and/or dyspraxic art and design students who had reported difficulties with their abilities to make accurate representational drawings. A group of non-dyslexic/dyspraxic RCA students volunteered as control group, and both cohorts completed three days of workshops in the Drawing Studio of the RCA. Results of a questionnaire in the form of a Likert scale, administered before and after the workshop indicate positive shifts in both cohorts’ attitudes towards specific aspects of the stages involved in the production of accurate representational drawings of still-life set-ups, the human skeleton, and the clothed life-model. Assessment of the drawings produced indicates positive shifts in the two cohorts in geometric accuracy and other qualitative criteria embedded in the teaching strategy such as control of scale, proportion and illusions of depth. Both cohorts displayed similar positive attitude shifts and both sets of drawings indicated similar positive shifts in visual qualities. An interim conclusion posits that the pedagogical strategy appears to enhance the abilities of both dyslexic/dyspraxic students and non-dyslexic/dyspraxic students to make accurate representational drawings. This result correlates closely with the findings of an earlier, prototype workshop held at the RCA in July 2012. It is suggested that similar pedagogically-inclusive strategies might produce positive results in the context of secondary schools as part of a more inclusive curriculum

A Review of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Movement: Achievements, Challenges, and New Opportunities

Examines the state of the foundation's efforts to improve educational opportunities worldwide through universal access to and use of high-quality academic content

Building mathematical knowledge with programming: insights from the ScratchMaths project

The ScratchMaths (SM) project sets out to exploit the recent commitment to programming in schools in England for the benefit of mathematics learning and reasoning. This design research project aims to introduce students (age 9-11 years) to computational thinking as a medium for exploring mathematics following a constructionist approach. This paper outlines the project and then focuses on two tensions related to (i) the tool and learning, and (ii) direction and discovery, which can arise within constructionist learning environments and describes how these tensions were addressed through the design of the SM curriculum