Effectiveness of Google Classroom: Teachers’ Perceptions

Technology has gained importance in all stages of education yet educators have been unable to figure out which of the many available technological tools best fit their classroom practices. Google Classroom is one such tool that is free of cost and has gained popularity within a short span of time. The main purpose of the study is to assess teachers’ perception on the effectiveness of Google Classroom. The study is carried out through a qualitative research design. The sample of the study, which uses semi-structured interview method, consists of 12 higher education teachers who have implemented Google Classroom for at least one semester in their classroom. The data acquired has been put through a comprehensive analysis by coding and categorizing the data through NVivo. Findings revealed that teachers perceive it as only a facilitation tool that can be used for document management and basic classroom management, without having a significant impact on teaching methodologies. The responses of the teachers indicate that lack of user-friendly interface is the main reason for its inefficiency. Further studies can be conducted by taking the students’ perspective into account. Key words: Educational technology, Google Classroom, Integrating technology, Virtual Classroom

Effectiveness of Google Classroom: Teachers’ Perceptions

Technology has gained importance in all stages of education yet educators have been unable to figure out which of the many available technological tools best fit their classroom practices. Google Classroom is one such tool that is free of cost and has gained popularity within a short span of time. The main purpose of the study is to assess teachers’ perception on the effectiveness of Google Classroom. The study is carried out through a qualitative research design. The sample of the study, which uses semi-structured interview method, consists of 12 higher education teachers who have implemented Google Classroom for at least one semester in their classroom. The data acquired has been put through a comprehensive analysis by coding and categorizing the data through NVivo. Findings revealed that teachers perceive it as only a facilitation tool that can be used for document management and basic classroom management, without having a significant impact on teaching methodologies. The responses of the teachers indicate that lack of user-friendly interface is the main reason for its inefficiency. Further studies can be conducted by taking the students’ perspective into account. Key words: Educational technology, Google Classroom, Integrating technology, Virtual Classroom

Attitudes of Islamic Learning and Education Faculty Students towards English Language at Karachi University

The research paper aims at studying the attitudes of the students of Islamic Learning and Education Faculty towards English at the University of Karachi. It is based on testing the hypothesis that the students of Islamic Learning Faculty have less positive attitudes towards English as compared to the students of Education faculty through a survey on first year students of both faculties. A five-point Likert scale was used to conduct a survey on 151 students of the Islamic Learning faculty and 135 students of the Education faculty. The results were calculated using an independent t-testand standard deviation which reveals that there is a minor difference in the attitudes of thestudent of both faculties. The students of the Education faculty showed more positive attitudes when asked about the importance of English as compared to the attitudes of the students of Islamic Learning Faculty. However, the difference in their attitude is negligible. As the results reveal a minor association between the attitudes of the learners and their faculty, the study; therefore, proves the null hypothesiswhich says that there is no significant difference between the attitudes of the students of both the faculties. Keywords: attitudes; English language; t-test; standard deviation; Islamic learning faculty; education faculty; likert-scale

Do I Talk Too Much in Class? A Quantitative Analysis of ESL Classroom Interaction

Teacher-learner interaction in the classroom is dictated by how well the teacher manages classroom talk-time which has a direct influence on learner achievement in an ESL Classroom. Teachers often perceive that they allocate enough time for student talk time; however, the past literature suggests that teacher talk-time takes around 70-75% of overall time in the class. The purpose of this study is to analyze the TTT (Teacher Talk-Time) in the context of ESL classroom in Pakistan. Convenience based sampling was used to assess the Teacher Talk-Time through observational method. Findings of 12 sessions (30-hours) showed that average Teacher Talk-Time was 65% of the total classroom time. The study highlights that ESL teachers need to improve the Learner Talk-Time (LTT) as the analysis showed that on average each student only gets 22 seconds of talk-time in an ESL class. A blended learning model can help ESL teachers to eliminate some of the talk-time and engage learners with meaningful activities that encourage classroom interaction in the target language

Effectiveness of Google classroom: Teachers’ perceptions

Technology has gained importance in all stages of education yet educators have been unable to figure out which of the many available technological tools best fit their classroom practices. Google Classroom is one such tool that is free of cost and has gained popularity within a short span of time. The main purpose of the study is to assess teachers’ perception on the effectiveness of Google Classroom. The study is carried out through a qualitative research design. The sample of the study, which uses semi-structured interview method, consists of 12 higher education teachers who have implemented Google Classroom for at least one semester in their classroom. The data acquired has been put through a comprehensive analysis by coding and categorizing the data through NVivo. Findings revealed that teachers perceive it as only a facilitation tool that can be used for document management and basic classroom management, without having a significant impact on teaching methodologies. The responses of the teachers indicate that lack of user-friendly interface is the main reason for its inefficiency. Further studies can be conducted by taking the students’ perspective into account

Discourse and Power Relations: A Critical Discourse Analysis of a Pakistani Talk Show

The paper aims at studying the ways power and inequality are enacted in a Pakistani talk show aired on Capital TV on 14th August 2019. The research primarily focused on analyzing turn-taking patterns of the discussion held between the host of the program and three guests. The analysis revealed the unequal distribution of turns implying the unequal distribution of power between the host and guests as well as between the guests. The host of the program through her discourse asserted power as she was the one to control the topic of discussion throughout the program. Her power can be attributed to the power of media. Besides, one of the guest speakers, Jawwad asserted his power through his knowledge. The female speaker did not have enough representation and was not given enough chance to share her views, therefore, it can be concluded that gender was another element that played an important part in forming the power relations in the discussion that was observed.Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Discourse Power Relations, Media Discourse and Talk Shows, Turn-takin

Understanding e-Loyalty in Online Grocery Shopping

Online grocery stores are becoming more popular than ever. As the number of consumers of online grocery stores increases, understanding e-loyalty in this context is pivotal. Despite its growing importance, e-loyalty in online grocery shopping is a less explored area in expanding e-commerce literature. The purpose of this research is to examine and understand the mediating role of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty in context of online grocery shopping. Predictors (convenience, merchandising, site design, and financial security) identified in Szymanski and Hise’s e-satisfaction model are used to further extend the model by examining their relationship with e-loyalty through mediation from e-satisfaction. The proposed model was tested on a sample of 351 online shoppers through the database of two large online grocery stores in Pakistan. The results were measured through regression analysis. Findings suggest that there is no significant relationship between any of the variables under study. Moreover, the mediating effect of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty was also not found. The results indicate significant contribution in three main areas: provides new insights for understanding e-loyalty, rejects Szymanski and Hise’s e-satisfaction model in the context of online grocery shopping, and validates findings of previous researchers who had suggested distinguish nature of online grocery shopping. Managers need to adopt different strategies for online grocery shopping due to the perishable and variable nature of the products. Some other variables can also be added to the model, such as e-trust and e-service quality, to further validate the research model

Effectiveness of Google classroom: Teachers’ perceptions

Technology has gained importance in all stages of education yet educators have been unable to figure out which of the many available technological tools best fit their classroom practices. Google Classroom is one such tool that is free of cost and has gained popularity within a short span of time. The main purpose of the study is to assess teachers’ perception on the effectiveness of Google Classroom. The study is carried out through a qualitative research design. The sample of the study, which uses semi-structured interview method, consists of 12 higher education teachers who have implemented Google Classroom for at least one semester in their classroom. The data acquired has been put through a comprehensive analysis by coding and categorizing the data through NVivo. Findings revealed that teachers perceive it as only a facilitation tool that can be used for document management and basic classroom management, without having a significant impact on teaching methodologies. The responses of the teachers indicate that lack of user-friendly interface is the main reason for its inefficiency. Further studies can be conducted by taking the students’ perspective into account

Culture Shock: Experiences of Balochi Speakers Living in Karachi

The study aims at finding out instances of culture shock among the Balochi speakers at the University of Karachi through conducting semi-structured interviews with 12 Balochi speakers. The research study is based upon ‘Qualitative Research Paradigm’ as it is exploratory in nature; therefore it helps to gain better insights into the subject. Causes of culture shock, phases of culture shock and the strategies adopted by the participants to overcome the challenge of culture shock are the focus of the study. The result reveals language problem, unhelpful nature of the local people, relationship with elders, independence enjoyed by girls, relationship between gender, co-education, lack of segregation between male and female in social gatherings, relationship between teachers and students and differences in the way of teaching to be the major cause of culture shock for the people belonging to the Balochistan Province. Learning Urdu and English language, maintaining group solidarity and mixing up with local people are some of the strategies used by the participants to overcome the problem of culture shock. Besides, the study reveals that participants have passed through the different phases of culture shock while adjusting themselves to the culture in Karachi. However, all the participants are now well adjusted to the life in Karachi despite all the problems that they have encountered during their initial days inKarachi