Mobile learning in early childhood education: A school-university partnership model

Mobile learning (mLearning) devices are ideal for 21st century learning. mLearning devices are light and, therefore, mobile so that young children can use them anywhere. Examples of mLearning devices are tablet computers, programmable robots such as Bee-Bots and robotic Lego. The term 21st century learning is used around the world and includes the skills of collaboration, communication, new literacy, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. New literacy has emerged because of new technologies and being literate in the 21st century now includes being digitally literate. However, mLearning is not widely used in early childhood education despite the fact that schools are investing in hardware, software, and infrastructure. This thesis reports on the results of a three-year study investigating the synergy between pre-service and practising early childhood teachers using a community of practice approach. The pre-service teachers presented technology rich lessons at partner schools as part of an Information and Communications Technology unit they complete during their studies. The lecturer assisted the pre-service teachers in preparing lessons. The pre-service teachers, who lacked pedagogy and classroom experience, were provided the opportunity to teach “real” children as opposed to teaching each other. The practising teachers, who exhibited excellent pedagogical skills, provided curriculum content and pedagogical feedback to the pre-service teachers and at the same time had the opportunity to observe the developmentally appropriate use of technology in their classrooms. Research findings included how technological knowledge of the participants changed and how the school-university partnerships developed. The pre-service and practising teachers’ dispositions towards mLearning became more positive with the practising teachers increasing their technological knowledge and the pre-service teachers increasing both technological and pedagogical knowledge. Five themes emerged from the results as being central to successful school-university mLearning partnerships. These themes are presented as a chain model where each theme or chain link is important to the survival of the school-university mLearning partnership. The themes identified as pivotal to mLearning partnerships included an enhanced sense of community, cross fertilisation of knowledge and skills, more informed leadership, development of professional knowledge, and closer relationships between partners

Privacy by (re)design: a comparative study of the protection of personal information in the mobile applications ecosystem under United States, European Union and South African law.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The dissertation presents a comparative desktop study of the application of a Privacy by Design (PbD) approach to the protection of personal information in the mobile applications ecosystem under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) in the United States, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) in South Africa. The main problem considered in the thesis is whether there is an ‘accountability gap’ within the legislation selected for comparative study. This is analysed by examining whether the legislation can be enforced against parties other than the app developer in the mobile app ecosystem, as it is theorised that only on this basis will the underlying technologies and architecture of mobile apps be changed to support a privacy by (re)design approach. The key research question is what legal approach is to be adopted to enforce such an approach within the mobile apps ecosystem. It describes the complexity of the mobile apps ecosystem, identifying the key role players and the processing operations that take place. It sets out what is encompassed by the conceptual framework of PbD, and why the concept of privacy by (re)design may be more appropriate in the context of mobile apps integrating third party services and products. It identifies the core data protection principles of data minimisation and accountability, and the nature of informed consent, as being essential to an effective PbD approach. It concludes that without strengthening the legal obligations pertaining to the sharing of personal information with third parties, neither regulatory guidance, as is preferred in the United States, nor a direct legal obligation, as created by article 25 of the GDPR, is adequate to enforce a PbD approach within the mobile apps ecosystem. It concludes that although a PbD approach is implied for compliance by a responsible party with POPIA, legislative reforms are necessary. It proposes amendments to POPIA to address inadequacies in the requirements for notice, and to impose obligations on a responsible party in relation to the sharing of personal information with third parties who will process the personal information for further, separate purposes

Imagined Futures: The impact of mlearning and access to mobile technology on the role of the teacher

The use of mobile devices in education has long been predicted and imagined. Recent technological changes and increased affordability have enabled pioneering schools and educators to embark on mobile device initiatives. In the Irish educational context, schools were able to link their use of devices to anticipated curricular reforms, but lacked national guidance on the use of those devices for teaching and learning. This study concerned itself with the impact of mobile learning and devices on relationships of learning. The literature review revealed a significant gap in the research on the use of mobile devices in certain contexts and a lack of theoretical understanding of their use. The study employed a constructivist grounded theory methodology to explore the experiences of schools, teachers and students in Ireland. A sample of two post-primary schools and seven teachers, with their students, were recruited to the study. Data were gathered using interviews, video analysis, online observations and physical observations of classes. Some methods were extensions or innovations on traditional grounded theory approaches. These data were analysed through the process of constant comparison, from which codes and categories emerged. The categories demonstrated the importance of school context, the value of teachers’ virtual classrooms and the requirement to understand teachers’ beliefs. The findings add new knowledge to the field of mobile learning, and innovation in the methods of grounded theory, and yielded insights of value to school leaders and policy makers. The grounded theories which emerged placed emphasis on understanding a teacher’s beliefs, and demonstrated that those beliefs largely shape their use of technology. They also establish that mobile devices, despite substantial new benefits to users, were not intrinsically agents of pedagogical change

Individual values of GenZ in managing their Internet Privacy: a decision analytic assessment

A nossa investigação coloca a importância dos valores individuais como o centro de qualquer discussão sobre questões de privacidade. Os valores têm um papel essencial no discurso científico. Notamos que o conceito de valores é um dos poucos discutidos e utilizados em várias disciplinas das ciências sociais. Para isso, nesta investigação, apresentamos objetivos baseados em valores para a privacidade na Internet da GenZ. Os objetivos são classificados em duas categorias - os objetivos fundamentais e os meios para os atingir. Em síntese, os nossos seis objetivos fundamentais orientam a gestão das questões de privacidade da Internet da GenZ. Os objetivos são: Aumentar a confiança nas interações online; Maximizar a responsabilidade dos detentores de dados; Maximizar o direito à privacidade; Maximizar a capacidade individual de gerir o controlo da privacidade; Maximizar a percepção da funcionalidade da plataforma; Garantir que os dados pessoais não são alterados. Coletivamente, os objetivos fundamentais e de meios são uma base valiosa para a GenZ avaliar a sua postura de privacidade. Os objetivos também são úteis para que as empresas de media social e outras plataformas relacionadas elaborem as suas políticas de privacidade de acordo com o que a GenZ deseja. Finalmente, os objetivos são uma ajuda útil para o desenvolvimento de leis e regulamentos; Individual values of GenZ in managing their Internet Privacy: a decision analytic assessment Abstract: Online privacy is a growing concern. As individuals and businesses connect, the problem of privacy continues to remain significant. In this thesis, we address three primary questions - What are the individual values of GenZ concerning online privacy? What are the fundamental objectives of GenZ in terms of protecting their online privacy? What are the means objectives GenZ consider for protecting their online privacy? We argue that online privacy for GenZ is vital to protect. We also argue that protection can be ensured if we understand and know what privacy-related values behold GenZ and define their objectives accordingly. Our research brings the importance of individual values to be central to any discussion of privacy concerns. Values have an essential place in scientific discourse. We note that the concept of values is one of the very few discussed and employed across several social science disciplines. To that effect, in this research, we present value-based objectives for GenZ internet privacy. The objectives are classified into two categories – the fundamental objectives and the means to achieve them. In a final synthesis, our six fundamental objectives guide the management of GenZ Internet Privacy Concerns. The objectives are: Increase trust in online interactions; Maximize responsibility of data custodians; Maximize right to be left alone; Maximize individual ability to manage privacy controls; Maximize awareness of platform functionality; Ensure that personal data does not change. Collectively our fundamental and means objectives are a valuable basis for GenZ to evaluate their privacy posture. The objectives are also helpful for the social media companies and other related platforms to design their privacy policies according to the way GenZ wants. Finally, the objectives are a helpful policy aid for developing laws and regulations

The Influence of Technology on the Academic and Social Lives of Students and Lecturers in Kuwaiti Higher Education (HE)

The central purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to identify the perceptions of higher education (HE) students and lecturers in Kuwait, as regards the use of technology in their academic and social lives. In the quantitative phase of the study, the research questions were designed to identify the factors of influence on students’ and lecturers’ use of technology. The data were collected by administering survey questionnaires and the participants’ answers to the items on the survey scales were then analysed using statistical analysis software (SPSS). This involved descriptive analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), which additionally included principal components analysis (PCA), a data reduction method. In the qualitative phase of the study, the research questions were aimed at understanding how students and lecturers used technology for learning and teaching, as well as for social purposes. Thematic analysis was subsequently applied in analysing the interview, diary and observation data. The findings of the quantitative (factors) and qualitative phases (themes) were integrated while interpreting the outcomes of the study. Some of the significant findings to emerge from this thesis were that the expediency of the technologies and disruptive practices of the lecturers empowered the students; triggered student engagement in self-regulated learning; intellectually stimulated students’ ability to identify and solve problems creatively, and improved student learning through social interaction and collaboration, all within a facilitating and encouraging learning environment. However, the analysis also acknowledged certain disadvantages of students being too dependent on technology. Meanwhile, although the lecturers espoused constructivist beliefs, thus helping them to orchestrate classroom activities and create socio-constructivist learning environments, as a means of facilitating learning through the adoption of learner-centred approaches, they were also frustrated. In the final analysis, the students were found to be overwhelmingly positive in their attitudes towards technology, while the lecturers saw themselves as associates in this process, creating communities of learners

Exploring a Culture of Learning with Technology: An Ethnographic Content Analysis of the Activity of Learning with Educational iPad Apps

This study explored the culture of learning with educational iPad apps using activity theory as a guiding framework. First, the top nine educational apps were tracked in the Top Charts section of Apple’s App Store for a duration of four months. The nine sampled apps, selected based on their frequency of appearance, included Toca Hair Salon 2, Stack the States, Endless Alphabet, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Wildlife Count Along, Wild Kratts Creature Power World Adventure, Wallykazam! Letter and Word Magic, Starfall Learn to Read, Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2, and Bug Art. The descriptions, version updates, app content, and customer reviews for each app were digitized, coded, and analyzed in Dedoose using the Activity Checklist. Additionally instructional analysis diagrams were developed to provide insight into the user interface and actions. Results of the study were presented in the form of nine portraits. The overview and relevant instructional characteristics were detailed for each app. The final chapter examined the broader implications of the app experience. The technology, the instruction, the adult guide, and the App Store were identified as mediating factors that contributed to the dynamic app culture

University of San Diego News Print Media Coverage 2008.04

Printed clippings housed in folders with a table of contents arranged by topic.https://digital.sandiego.edu/print-media/1063/thumbnail.jp