Web 2.0 Technologies for Classroom Instruction: High School Teachers\u27 Perceptions and Adoption Factors

Web 2.0 technologies have potential for teaching and learning, but show a slow rate of adoption in education. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contribute to high school teachers\u27 intention to use Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction. Research questions examined were (a) To what extent are high school teachers using Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? (b) What opinions do high school teachers have regarding Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? (c) Which factors best predict the decision of high school teachers to adopt or not Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? The decomposed theory of planned behavior was used as theoretical framework. A survey design was employed adapting Ajjan and Hartshorne\u27s (2008) questionnaire. Participants were high school teachers from a specific school region of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Data from 137 participants were analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression methods. Findings showed that teachers do not use these technologies: blogs 51.1%, wikis 36.5%, social networking 53.3%, social bookmarking 59.9%, and audio/video conferencing 41.6%. Many did not plan to use them at all. Regarding predictors of teachers\u27 behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 technologies: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors, with attitude the strongest (β = .634); of the decomposed factors, perceived usefulness and compatibility were significant predictors. Teacher comments suggested that lack of equipment, lack of training, lack of funding, security issues, and firewalls were possible obstacles affecting perceived usefulness and compatibility

Teaching Qualitative Research Online: Using Technology to Leverage Student Engagement

Three faculty colleagues collaborated to effectively pilot the concept of an online community to integrate innovative technologies for learning qualitative research concepts and skills in an online research course. The strategies implemented resulted in engaged students with improved research skills. Students also expressed how much they enjoyed learning and implementing concepts of qualitative research. Technologies that were integrated included cutting-edge apps, social media, and Blackboard collaboration tools. The team followed the ASSURE model (Smaldino, Lowther, Russell, & Mims, 2015) to plan and implement for effective integration of technology and media

Teaching Qualitative Research Online: Using Technology to Leverage Student Engagement

Three faculty colleagues collaborated to effectively pilot the concept of an online community to integrate innovative technologies for learning qualitative research concepts and skills in an online research course. The strategies implemented resulted in engaged students with improved research skills. Students also expressed how much they enjoyed learning and implementing concepts of qualitative research. Technologies that were integrated included cutting-edge apps, social media, and Blackboard collaboration tools. The team followed the ASSURE model (Smaldino, Lowther, Russell, & Mims, 2015) to plan and implement for effective integration of technology and media

Online Presentations with PowerPoint Present Live Real-Time Automated Captions and Subtitles: Perceptions of Faculty and Administrators

Captioning of recorded videos is beneficial to many and a matter of compliance with accessibility regulations and guidelines. Like recorded captions, real-time captions can also be means to implement the Universal Design for Learning checkpoint to offer text-based alternatives to auditory information. A cost-effective solution to implement the checkpoint for live online presentations is to use speech recognition technologies to generate automated captions. In particular, Microsoft PowerPoint Present Live (MSPL) is an application that can be used to present with real-time automated captions and subtitles in multiple languages, allowing individuals to follow the presentation in their preferred language. The purpose of this study was to identify challenges that participants could encounter when using the MSPL feature of real-time automated captions/subtitles, and to determine what they describe as potential uses, challenges, and benefits of the feature. Participants were full-time faculty and administrators with a faculty appointment in a higher education institution. Data from five native English speakers and five native Spanish speakers were analyzed. Activities of remote usability testing and interviews were conducted to collect data. Overall, participants did not encounter challenges that they could not overcome and described MSPL as an easy-to-use and useful tool to present with captions/subtitles for teaching or training and to reach English and Spanish-speaking audiences. The themes that emerged as potential challenges were training, distraction, and technology. Findings are discussed and further research is recommended

Simulación multimedia interactiva para el logro del aprendizaje procedimental del manejo del microscopio

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two instructional strategies to get procedural knowledge: one based on Merrill’s learning principles, and the other based on independent instructional sequences. Additionally, the way students interact with instructional activities regarding their preferred learning style was determined. An experimental design between two groups was used, applying a post-test only among students from a distance learning college. Findings showed the instructional sequence based on Merrill’s learning principles was more effective in achieving procedural learning in its declarative knowledge dimension and in the time of learning indicator, but showed no significant effect on accuracy in the skill technique indicator. There was no statistical difference between learning styles and time commitment to the preferential learning activity, but there were different trends in the selection of instructional activities. Findings showed that the multimedia simulation used was adapted to the four learning styles.Se llevó a cabo una investigación para comparar la efectividad de dos estrategias instruccionales para el logro del aprendizaje procedimental: una basada en el uso de una secuencia instruccional siguiendo cinco principios de aprendizaje de Merrill, y la otra, basada en el uso de secuencias autónomas. Adicionalmente, se determinó la manera como los estudiantes interactúan con las actividades de instrucción en relación con su estilo preferencial de aprendizaje. Se utilizó un diseño experimental entre dos grupos, con postprueba únicamente con estudiantes en una universidad de educación a distancia. Los resultados mostraron que la secuencia de aprendizaje basada en los principios de aprendizaje de Merrill fue más efectiva para el logro del aprendizaje procedimental en la dimensión conocimiento declarativo y en el indicador tiempo de aprendizaje, aunque no mostró efecto significativo sobre el indicador precisión en la destreza técnica. No hubo diferencia estadística entre los estilos de aprendizaje y la dedicación de tiempo a la actividad preferencial de aprendizaje, pero sí hubo tendencias diferentes en la selección de actividades de instrucción. Los resultados mostraron que la simulación multimedia utilizada se adaptó a los cuatro estilos de aprendizaje

Class Size and Interaction in Online Courses

This article presents findings of a study conducted to determine instructors ’ perceptions of optimal class sizes for online courses with different levels of interaction. Implications for research and practice are also pre-sented. A Web-based survey method was employed. Online courses studied were those taught sometime in the last 5 years by a single instructor in undergraduate or graduate programs from U.S. higher education institu-tions. Instructors described the level of interactive qualities in their most recently taught online course using a Web version of Roblyer and Wiencke’s (2004) Rubric for Assessing Interactive Qualities in Distance Courses, and they indicated optimal class sizes according to such qualities. Responses from 131 instructors were analyzed. On average (a) instructors described their online courses as highly interactive, (b) the actual class size of the online courses was 22.8, (c) a class size of 18.9 was perceived as optimal to better achieve the course’s actual level of interaction, and (d) a class size of 15.9 was perceived as optimal to achieve the highest level of interaction. No relationship was found between online courses ’ actual class sizes and their actual level of interaction. Modern distance education is a means for higher education institutions to increase enroll-ments and students ’ access to learning (Lewis, Alexander, & Farris, 1997). Between 1997 and 2001, the percentage of American higher edu-cation institutions that offered distance educa-tion courses increased from 34 to 56, and course enrollments increased from 1.7 million to 3.1 million (Wirt, Choy, Rooney, Provasnik, Sen, & Tobin, 2004). Institutions also seek to implement quality distance education that often translates into high initial fixed costs and variable costs related to delivery of instructio