Web-based videoconferencing for teaching online : continuance intention to use in the post-COVID-19 period

Web-based videoconferencing has gained a great momentum worldwide, with extremely high adoption rates during the COVID -19 pandemic. The current study aims to investigate the use of web-based videoconferencing for teaching in the post-COVID-19 landscape. The study proposes and evaluates a model to predict continuance intention to use videoconferencing systems, from the perspective of University teachers. The proposed model combines constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Expectancy Confirmation Model (ECM). Sixty-six academic staff members filled out a survey questionnaire about their attitudes towards continuing using videoconferencing systems for teaching in the post-Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) period. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to test the measurement and the structural model. The model explains and predicts 73% of the total variance in continuance intention to use. User satisfaction with web-based videoconferencing and perceived usefulness are the top two strong predictors. Implications for school administrators and instructional designers are discussed

Factors influencing student teachers’ intention to use mobile augmented reality in primary science teaching

Thanks to the advancement of mobile technologies, Augmented Reality (AR) has become broadly accessible through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile Augmented Reality can benefit science education in a variety of ways. However, except from some sporadic experimental cases, it is rather rarely employed by teachers and has not yet been fully introduced in education. Moreover, little research exists about the adoption behavior of mobile AR by pre-service teachers. Against this background, the current study proposes and validates an integrated adoption model to explain and predict the factors that significantly influence student teachers’ intentions to use mobile AR in teaching primary science. The study also introduces two new constructs, Perceived Immersion and Perceived Educational Value in the context of mobile AR. Eighty-nine undergraduate pre-service primary school teachers participated in a mobile augmented reality workshop creating mobile augmented reality experiences for teaching physics to primary school pupils. Following that, student teachers answered an online survey. The quantitative survey data was analysed using structural equation modelling. The study confirmed the proposed model explaining and predicting approximately 72% of the variance of student teachers’ Behavioral Intention to Use mobile AR to teach primary science. Perceived Immersion and Perceived Educational Value significantly influence Behavioral Intention to Use after being mediated by Perceived Usefulness. The study offers insight into the factors influencing pre-service primary teachers’ intentions to utilise mobile augmented reality (AR) in their future lessons, which is relevant given the growing interest in utilising these technologies in education. Implications are discussed

Mobile learning teacher competencies framework

Advancements in mobile and wireless technologies have increased the adoption rate of mobile learning. Mobile learning offers numerous affordances to education: time and location independence, ubiquity and context awareness, adaptivity and personalization, social interactivity and easier administration. However, for the effective integration of mobile learning in schools, teachers should have the appropriate competencies in order to integrate mobile technologies into their professional practise. Existing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) frameworks provide general guidelines to pre-service and in-service teachers for the appropriate use of digital technologies across education. Examples of such frameworks are the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT CFT v.3), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards and the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). While the aforementioned frameworks provide a set of competencies that educators need to master in order to effectively use digital technologies in their professional practise, they are not focused on specific educational technologies. Wireless and mobile technologies, on the other side, have introduced a set of characteristics that are rather unique to mobile learning: personalisation and adaptivity, ubiquity and context-awareness, interactivity and authenticity, self-directedness and collaboration. The current study proposes the development of a framework that explicitly defines the mobile learning competencies that teachers need to have in order to effectively integrate mobile learning into their professional practise so as to enhance and innovate education and training. The proposed framework is based on current digital competencies frameworks and incorporates the following aspects of teachers’ professional practise: mobile technologies, digital citizenship, safety, classroom management, pedagogy, teaching, assessment, and professional engagement. Moreover, the framework introduces a progression model identifying three expertise levels: beginner, competent and proficient. The proposed framework for teachers’ mobile learning competencies is aiming to function in a complementary fashion to the current general digital competency frameworks by providing explicit links between mobile learning competencies and teachers’ practise and continuous professional development. The framework can provide a useful guidance for the development of teachers’ training programs that promote mobile learning competencies and also for self-assessment to evaluate individual mobile learning competence levels

A framework for mobile-assisted formative assessment to promote students' self-determination

Motivation is an important issue to consider when designing learning activities, including mobile learning and assessment. While previous research provides evidence for the motivational impact of mobile learning, not many pedagogical frameworks exist for the design of mobile-assisted learning and assessment. The current study is grounded in the Self-Determination Theory of motivation and proposes a pedagogical framework for mobile-assisted formative assessment, aiming at enhancing student motivation. For a preliminary evaluation of the framework, fifty-one students from a public European high school participated in a series of formative assessment activities. The tasks that were implemented according to the proposed mobile-based formative assessment framework had a significant positive impact on student perceived levels of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, enhancing students’ intrinsic motivation levels. Study findings highlighted the capacity of the proposed framework to guide the design of mobile-based formative assessment activities that enhance and promote student motivation. The study makes a theoretical contribution by proposing a framework that aligns mobile learning and assessment with elements of the Self-Determination Theory of motivation and also has a practical contribution by implementing mobile learning and assessment practices that have the potential to promote student motivation

A comparative study between a computer-based and a mobile-based assessment : usability and user experience

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the overall usability and user experience of desktop computers and mobile-devices when used in a summative assessment in the context of a higher education course. Design/methodology/approach The study follows a between-groups design. The participants were 110 first-year undergraduate students from a European university. Students in the experimental group participated in the assessment using mobile devices, whereas students in the control group participated using desktop computers. After the assessment, students self-reported their experiences with computer-based assessment (CBA) and mobile-based assessment (MBA), respectively. The instruments used were the user experience questionnaire and the system usability scale. Findings Attractiveness and novelty were reported significantly higher in the experimental group (MBA), while no significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of efficiency, perspicuity, dependability and stimulation. The overall score for the system usability was not found to differ between the two conditions. Practical implications The usability and user experience issues discussed in this study can inform educators and policymakers about the potential of using mobile devices in online assessment practices, as an alternative to desktop computers. Originality/value The study is novel, in that it provides quantitative evidence for the usability and user experience of both desktop computers and mobile devices when used in a summative assessment in the context of a higher education course. Study findings can contribute towards the interchangeable usage of desktop computers and mobile devices in assessment practices in higher education

Supporting beginning science teachers to teach and evaluate their lessons

This chapter aims to highlight some mentoring strategies when working with beginning teachers who are at different developmental stages of teaching. For example, a beginning teacher you are mentoring might be observing and practising some basic teaching skills, but not yet teaching a full lesson, or they might have started to incorporate a range of teaching strategies in lessons, but these strategies are not specifically focusing on promoting pupils’ learning and so on. Therefore, you should use your judgement and knowledge about the beginning teacher to identify the best mentoring strategy to use at any one time. The chapter starts with a brief description of the stages of development using Maynard and Furlong’s (1995) model of a beginning teacher’s development concerning basic teaching skills, teaching strategies and teaching styles. Next, some characteristic behaviours of an effective teacher are presented. A range of mentoring steps to support the beginning teacher’s journey of becoming an effective teacher, starting from ‘early idealism’ then ‘survival’, ‘recognising difficulties’, ‘hitting a plateau’ and finally to ‘moving on’ stages of development are then given. The chapter closes with a discussion on how to support a beginning teacher to self-evaluate their lessons by using lesson debriefs (called post lesson discussions in Chapter 8) and pupils’ feedback. Objectives At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 1. Recognise that it is a mentor’s responsibility to identify a beginning teacher’s stages of development and support them towards becoming an effective teacher; 2. Support a beginning teacher to develop the characteristic behaviours of an effective teacher; 3. Assist a beginning teacher to be able to identify and develop basic teaching skills, teaching strategies and a pupil-centred teaching style; 4. Encourage a beginning teacher to self-evaluate their lessons with the aid of lesson de-briefs and pupils’ feedback

Teachers' views on integrating augmented reality in education : needs, opportunities, challenges, and recommendations

The integration of Augmented Reality (AR) in education is promising since it enhances teaching and offers more engaging and appealing learning experiences. Teachers can have a catalytic role towards the adoption of AR in education and therefore, their perspectives with regard to AR in teaching and learning are very important. The current study explores teachers’ views on the integration of AR in education through an open-ended questionnaire that has been answered by 93 educators worldwide. A set of digital skills that can support student-centered pedagogies in an appropriate infrastructure are the main requirement for effective teaching with AR. Among the perceived benefits and opportunities are interactive teaching and learning, increased interest and engagement, better understanding of complex concepts. As barriers, participants reported the lack of AR educational applications, the cost of buying and maintaining AR equipment and resources, the lack of teachers’ and students’ digital skills, classroom management issues as well as security and ethical issues. Moreover, survey participants highlighted the need for raising teachers’ awareness for the added value of AR in education and the need for teachers’ continuous professional development. Implications and future research recommendations on the integration of AR in education are discussed

Engagement in physical computing for the primary classroom : the BBC Micro:bit experience

Computational thinking is an essential skill for 21st century learners. Despite the fact that many efforts have been made to support and enhance computer science instruction in formal and informal educational settings, it remains a challenge to engage students in algorithmic design and computer programming. Physical computing, that links computer programming with the physical world, promises to increase student motivation and engagement. However, the nature of student engagement in physical computing activities has not been adequately studied. The main aim of this study is to investigate the nature of primary school students engagement in physical computing activities with a popular single-board physical computing device, the BBC Micro:bit. The study uses the constructionism as its theoretical framework and implements a series of project-based physical computing activities with primary school students. Mixed methods design have been employed. Study findings highlight the cognitive, behavioural, emotional and social dimensions of student engagement in physical computing activities using the BBC Micro:bit. High engagement levels in all four dimensions were revealed with the emotional dimension to prevail. The study findings can inform future physical coding activities and pedagogical approaches that foster pupils’ engagement

Business simulation games : impact on SOLO taxonomy learning outcomes, learning performance and teamwork competency

Despite the increasing use of simulation games in business education, only few studies have explored the cognitive processes that learners employ while playing the game, with quite controversial results about the students' learning outcomes. The current study analyses the impact of a Business Simulation Game (BSG) on the cognitive processes related to the "Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome" (SOLO) taxonomy. Moreover, overall learning performance and perceived teamwork competency have been investigated. A quasi-experimental pre and post-test design was applied. Eighty (80) university students played a marketing simulation game to practise a business marketing plan. The results showed a significant improvement in the unistructural and extended abstract levels of the taxonomy after playing the game. There was no significant difference in the multi-structural level while the effect on the relational level was negative. Also, a strong, positive correlation between perceived teamwork competency and learning performance was found. Implications for instructional designers and educators are discussed

Development and validation of the teachers' augmented reality competences (TARC) scale

While Augmented Reality (AR) can offer many advantages in education, one reason for the difficulty of integrating it in instructional practices is the lack of teachers' AR competences. Therefore, there is an increasing need to address the required competences needed by teachers to effectively integrate Augmented Reality (AR) in their teaching. This study develops and validates a comprehensive Augmented Reality competences scale for teachers. The suggested instrument encompasses skills related to the creation, use and management of Augment Reality resources for teaching. The scale was validated on a sample of 150 educators from 45 countries teaching in primary, secondary or tertiary levels. Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated valid results in terms of model fit criteria, factor loadings, validity, and reliability. The final scale is composed of 11 items and 4 competence components. Teaching subject, general digital skills and previous AR class experience revealed significant differences across the scale components, while gender and age did not reveal any significant associations. Educators in higher education institutions self-reported higher competence level for designing, developing, and modifying AR resources compared to secondary and primary levels. The scale can be used by educators to self-assess their AR competences, teacher professional development institutions and policy makers to develop training programs in AR and software companies to develop AR experiences that can empower educators