A conceptual framework for using and evaluating web-based learning resources in school education

Web-based learning resources (WBLRs) have provided teachers with a wide range of new teachingexperiences that are not possible in traditional classroom. However, little research has beendone as to which approach to WBLRs is suitable to address issues that are pertinent to learning.This paper proposes a conceptual framework to explore the design and evaluation of WBLRs inschool education. The paper also examines the way in which the framework is used to evaluatestudents? and teachers? perceptions of WBLRs by means of survey questionnaires. Before developingthe framework, a literature review is undertaken to report on the state of research in the fieldof WBLRs. The literature review reveals a lack of design and evaluation of WBLRs in educationalsettings. Then, the framework is developed in three steps. First, the concept of WBLR isdefined as a learning object that exists at the intersection of content, pedagogy, and technology.Second, concepts of usability are analyzed, and a definition of technical and pedagogical usabilityis proposed. Technical usability is a self-evident requirement, but it is not sufficient for designingpedagogically usable WBLRs. The usability concept must be extended to capture issues that arefundamental to learning. Nevertheless, technical and pedagogical usability cannot be consideredas separate, disjointed activities. Finally, the context of use and evaluation is specified. The contextis the totality of relationships between students and surrounding elements within a teachingand learning situation. The WBLR can be considered as an element of the context, and as such, itbecomes a source of learning, by means of interaction with the students. To investigate the valueof the framework, a case study is undertaken in three classes. To this end, the framework wasused to inform the study, and the findings of the study were mapped back onto the framework inorder to identify additional features found in classroom settings and points in the conceptualframework that did not significantly impact the case study. The main factor that impacted the designand evaluation of WBLRs was the pedagogical usability. While students and teachers globallyagreed about technical usability, the findings indicate that they differed in their perceptionsof pedagogical usability. In addition, the conceptual framework and the findings of the case study differed to a certain degree regarding the connectedness of some pedagogical usability criteri

Investigating technical and pedagogical usability issues of collaborative learning with wikis

Wikis have been recently promoted as tools that foster collaborative learning. However, there has been little research devoted to the criteria that are suitable to address issues pertinent to collaborative learning. This paper proposes a set of criteria to explore technical and pedagogical usability issues of collaborative learning with wikis. The criteria are then used to evaluate students’ collaborative writing activities. The units of study are wikis that groups of students developed collaboratively using MediaWiki. This paper also reports on technical and pedagogical implications for the use of wikis as collaborative learning tools in teacher education

Developing web-based learning resources in school education: a user-centered approach

Web-based learning resources (WBLRs) are potentially powerful tools for enhancing teachingand learning processes in school education. They can provide teachers and learners with a widerange of new and exciting experiences that are not possible in a traditional classroom. However,WBLRs are still the domain of technical and software experts rather than teachers and learners.As a result, much of the development of WBLRs is carried out without a true understanding ofissues pertinent to learning and pedagogy. Also lacking is user involvement in the developmentprocess of WBLRs. The aim of this work is to propose a user-centered approach to the developmentof WBLRs to translate pedagogical issues into a software tool that supports effective learning.The article also reports on the application of the approach in school education

Didactics of ICT in secondary education: Conceptual issues and practical perspectives

While there is a huge research literature on the field of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a tool in teaching and learning, there is much less research on the area of ICT as a subject or similar designations such as school informatics. As a result, there is a lack of theoretical grounding of the didactics of ICT and associated teaching and learning processes. One of the main reasons for the lack of theoretical underpinnings of the didactics of ICT is that there have been in the past and there persist even now strong disagreements and confusion about the nature of ICT as a school subject. While the content of the subject has been clearly defined in the school curriculum, the didactics of ICT is still unclear. This paper suggests ways forward in formulating a framework for conceptualizing the didactics of ICT. The framework draws on research in learning paradigms, epistemology, general didactics, conceptual, and curricular issues of ICT. The article also reports on implementations and evaluations of the framework that were carried out by trainee teachers in secondary schools

A co-writing development approach to wikis: Pedagogical issues and implications

Published version of a paper from the journal: World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology. Also available from the publisher: http://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v77/v77-107.pdfWikis are promoted as collaborative writing tools that allow students to transform a text into a collective document by information sharing and group reflection. However, despite the promising collaborative capabilities of wikis, their pedagogical value regarding collaborative writing is still questionable. Wiki alone cannot make collaborative writing happen, and students do not automatically become more active, participate, and collaborate with others when they use wikis. To foster collaborative writing and active involvement in wiki development there is a need for a systematic approach to wikis. The main goal of this paper is to propose and evaluate a co-writing approach to the development of wikis, along with the study of three wiki applications to report on pedagogical implications of collaborative writing in higher education

Using the flipped classroom model of instruction to explore teaching and learning activities in mathematical education for engineers: An activity theory perspective

International audienceThe main concept of Flipped Classroom (FC) is to invert, or flip, the content of teaching in terms of what is done during the homework phase, compared to the activity in the class with the teacher. Traditionally, the students at higher education attend a lecture, accompanied with tasks to solve at home or in a colloquium arranged by the University. The FC model will alter this completely, giving the students the opportunity to watch the lectures at home using pre-recorded videos. When attending class, instead of listening to a lecture, the students spend the time in a more dialogue-based problem-solving activity. To capture this complexity, the poster proposes a conceptualization of FC within the Activity Theory Framework. </p

An activity theory perspective on contradictions in flipped mathematics classrooms at the university level

Author´s accepted manuscript (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology on 24/03/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1591533.acceptedVersio

Using the interactive learning environment aplusix for teaching and learning school algebra: A research experiment in a middle school

Published version of an article from the journal: Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology. Also available from the publisher: http://www.tojet.net/ Open AccessMost software tools that have been developed with the aim of helping students to learn school algebra have not yet achieved successful results in classroom. Almost all of them are menu-based systems that provide transformation rules in menus and buttons. Aplusix is a new interactive software tool for learning school algebra. In contrast to existing software tools in mathematics education, Aplusix has been developed to allow students to freely build and transform algebraic expressions as they can do on paper. In addition, Aplusix provides appropriate feedback and interactivity, and as such, it becomes a source of learning. This work reports on a research project on the investigation of students’ learning of elementary algebra with Aplusix. The work uses the Theory of Didactical Situations (TDS) to analyze and evaluate the learning potentialities of Aplusix. The paper also reports on implications for the learning of school algebra and the integration of Aplusix into mathematics classroom

Pedagogical criteria for successful use of wikis as collaborative writing tools in teacher education

Published version of an article from the journal: International Proceedings of Economics Development and Research. Also available from the publisher: http://www.ipedr.com/vol27/3-IC4E%202012-F00002.pdfWiki is a Web 2.0 technology that potentially promotes collaborative writing, group discussion and interaction. However, little research has been done as to which criteria are suitable to address pedagogical issues that are pertinent to collaborative writing with wikis. This paper proposes a set of pedagogical criteria to explore wiki-based collaborative writing. The criteria are then used to evaluate students’ perceptions of collaborative writing using MediaWiki. The paper also reports on pedagogical implications for successful use of wikis as collaborative learning tools in teacher education

Collaborative writing with web 2.0 technologies: education students' perceptions

Executive Summary Web 2.0 technologies are becoming popular in teaching and learning environments. Among them several online collaborative writing tools, like wikis and blogs, have been integrated into educational settings. Research has been carried out on a wide range of subjects related to wikis, while other, comparable tools like Google Docs and EtherPad remain largely unexplored in the literature. This work presents a case study investigating education students' perceptions of collaborative writing using Google Docs and EtherPad. Both tools provide opportunity for multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously, have a separate space for written metacommunication, and are promoted by software designers to be fairly intuitive to adopt without prior training. The work investigates if perceptions depend on factors such as gender, age, digital competence, interest in digital tools, educational settings, and choice of writing tool, and examines if the tools are easy to use and effective in group work. This paper focuses on quantitative results of survey questionnaires. Further qualitative analysis will be presented in a later paper. The theoretical framework is drawn from two learning theories, the social-constructivist learning theory and the community of practice, and their relationships to collaborative tools. Related re-search literature is characterized by a number of issues: positive elements of use, advantages of using Web 2.0 technologies, critical issues regarding the pedagogical value of Web 2.0, and the role of the teacher in using these technologies. The case study participants were 201 education students who just began their four-year initial teacher education at two study programs with a total of six classes at the university Teacher Education Unit. They were assigned a collaborative writing task and asked to take an on-line survey on completion. When the survey closed, a total of 166 students (83.6%) had participated. The results were analyzed based on frequency distributions. The hypothesis that students with high digital competence and a positive attitude towards digital tools are more positive than average seems to be confirmed. Also gender does not play any particular role. As for younger students being more positive than older, the population of older students was so low that no conclusion can be drawn. The work does not validate that EtherPad users are more positive than Google Docs users, but this may be explained by EtherPad being unavailable for some time during the students' collaborative writing period. Furthermore only 13.9% of the students were motivated to use the tools for collaboration, and only a minority of the students (15.7%) reported that the quality of collaboration in the group increased with use of the tools. Likewise, the tools did not work as expected for a majority of the students (70.5%). Forty-seven percent of the students liked to comment and edit others contributions to group work. Although the results cannot be generalized to a larger group of students, and no definite conclusions can be drawn from the questionnaires about the usefulness and effectiveness of Google Docs and EtherPad for collaborative writing, the results cannot be underestimated since some results are consistent with the research literature. Future research consists of the qualitative evaluation of the students' comments to open ended-questions in the questionnaire, the students' collaborative essay papers, and their contributions to group work. It may also be important to examine the extent and quality of utilization of the tools for collaborative writing. Triangulation of the data collected may shed light on how they really perceived the effectiveness of Google Docs and EtherPad to support collaborative writing among student