Reflecting a… “Bit”. What relationship between metacognition and ICT?

Abstract Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in educational environments has become widespread in latest years. Since research underlined the important role played by metacognition and self-regulation abilities in fostering learning outcomes, the relationship between these aspects appears to be particularly worthy of investigation. In this review, we present 14 studies that have deepened the relationship between ICT, metacognitive skills and learning outcomes by identifying two main categories. Some articles investigated the effects of ICT environments combined with metacognitive aspects of learning outcomes, while others investigated the reciprocal relationship between ICT and metacognition. In general, from our review, the interaction between ICT and metacognition in producing better learning outcomes appears well established and the results highlight a bi-directional relationship between metacognition and ICT, but also allow to draw attention to gaps requiring further research

Blended learning: panorama y perspectivas

La enseñanza se ha transformado, al comienzo del nuevo siglo, con las tecnologías de la comunicación. Los modelos de enseñanza-aprendizaje mediados por computadoras han supuesto un revulsivo para nuevas formas de enseñar y aprender más allá de las coordenadas espacio-temporales. E-Learning, blended learning y mobile learning ofrecen un nuevo universo de interactividad para la relación didáctica. En este trabajo, se ofrece una revisión del estado de las investigaciones y la literatura científica sobre esta nueva realidad que supone el blended learning, analizando en las principales bases de datos científicas su conceptualización con más de 7.000 registros en Web of Science y casi 95.000 en Google Scholar. Los resultados del trabajo demuestran el fuerte impulso de las buenas prácticas y la consecuente investigación en todas las áreas y niveles educativos, competencias transversales, metodologías docentes, y tecnologías y materiales educativos, concluyéndose que las nuevas formas de enseñar y aprender han de ser estudiadas y comprendidas en sus interacciones con los nuevos medios y contextos de aprendizaje, a partir de la irrupción de la revolución del blended learnin

Blended learning: overview and expectations

RESUMEN: La enseñanza se ha transformado, al comienzo del nuevo siglo, con las tecnologías de la comunicación. Los modelos de enseñanza-aprendizaje mediados por computadoras han supuesto un revulsivo para nuevas formas de enseñar y aprender más allá de las coordenadas espacio-temporales. E-Learning, blended learning y mobile learning ofrecen un nuevo universo de interactividad para la relación didáctica. En este trabajo, se ofrece una revisión del estado de las investigaciones y la literatura científica sobre esta nueva realidad que supone el blended learning, analizando en las principales bases de datos científicas su conceptualización con más de 7.000 registros en Web of Science y casi 95.000 en Google Scholar. Los resultados del trabajo demuestran el fuerte impulso de las buenas prácticas y la consecuente investigación en todas las áreas y niveles educativos, competencias transversales, metodologías docentes y tecnologías y materiales educativos, concluyéndose que las nuevas formas de enseñar y aprender han de ser estudiadas y comprendidas en sus interacciones con los nuevos medios y contextos de aprendizaje, a partir de la irrupción de la revolución del blended learning.ABSTRACT: At the start of the new century, teaching was transformed by the new communication technologies. Teaching-learning models, mediated through computers, have catalyzed new ways of teaching and learning beyond spatial and temporal coordinates. E-learning, blended learning and mobile learning offer a new universe of interactivity for teaching purposes. This work reviews the state of research studies and scientific literature on the new reality created by blended learning, analyzing its conceptualizations in the main scientific databases, with more than 7000 entries in Web of Sciences and almost 95000 in Google Scholar. The outcomes of this work show the strong momentum of good practices and the subsequent research in all the areas and levels of education, transversal competencies, teaching methods, educational materials and technologies. The main conclusion is that new ways of teaching and learning should be studied and understood regarding their connections with new learning media and contexts, starting from the incursion of the blended learning revolution

The Influence of Successful Completion of a Spanish Course on Middle School Students’ Reading Comprehension

This quantitative, causal-comparative study investigated the effect of foreign language education on reading comprehension by students’ biological sex. The theoretical framework for this study is Piaget and Barlett’s Schema Theory. Participants in this study consisted of middle school students within a PK-8 school. A convenience sample of 200 students was selected, 100 males and 100 females. All students were given a pretest and posttest using the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI). Independent variables consisted of enrollment in a Spanish course and biological sex while the dependent variable was reading comprehension skills as determined by assessment results on the SRI. An analysis of covariance, ANCOVA, was used in analyzing the data collected in this study. When controlling for pretest scores, there was a significant difference in Lexile scores of students who took a Spanish course and those who did not, a significant difference in the Lexile scores of female students who took Spanish and those who did not, and a significant difference in the Lexile scores of male students who took Spanish and those who did not. However, there was not a significant difference in the Lexile scores based on biological sex of students taking Spanish after controlling for the pretest Lexile scores. For future studies, the following are recommended: using data from schools in different settings, such as in an urban environment, analyzing data from students of different grade levels, such as elementary or high school students, analyzing data from students who completed a foreign language course other than Spanish, and comparing results from students who completed different foreign language courses