Mobile Learning and Cognition

The rise of mobile learning in schools during the past decade has led to promises about its power to extend and enhance student cognitive development – for example, by providing greater pedagogical opportunities for students (Mifsud, 2014). However, others claim that mobile devices are most often used to support traditional pedagogical approaches whereby students only passively consume content (Cochrane & Antonczak, 2014; Frohberg, Goth & Schwabe, 2009; Rushby, 2012). As schools invest resources in providing students with opportunities to use mobile devices as tools for learning, it is important to critically examine their use in practice

Research Trends in the Use of Mobile Learning in Mathematics

The use of mobile learning in education is growing at an exponential rate. To best understand how mobile learning is being used, it is crucial to gain a collective understanding of the research that has taken place. This research was a systematic review of 36 studies in mobile learning in mathematics from the year 2000 onward. Eight new findings emerged: (1) The primary purpose of most studies was to focus on evaluating mobile learning. (2) Case studies and experimental design were the main research methods. (3) Most studies report positive learning outcomes; (4) Mobile phones were the mobile device used most often. (5) Elementary school settings were the most common research context. (6) The majority of researchers did not identify a specific mathematical concept being studied. (7) The majority of the studies took place in formal educational contexts; and (8) research on mobile learning in mathematics is geographically diverse

Research Trends in the Use of Mobile Learning in Mathematics

The use of mobile learning in education is growing at an exponential rate. To best understand how mobile learning is being used, it is crucial to gain a collective understanding of the research that has taken place. This research was a systematic review of 36 studies in mobile learning in mathematics from the year 2000 onward. Eight new findings emerged: (1) The primary purpose of most studies was to focus on evaluating mobile learning. (2) Case studies and experimental design were the main research methods. (3) Most studies report positive learning outcomes; (4) Mobile phones were the mobile device used most often. (5) Elementary school settings were the most common research context. (6) The majority of researchers did not identify a specific mathematical concept being studied. (7) The majority of the studies took place in formal educational contexts; and (8) research on mobile learning in mathematics is geographically diverse

School Culture for the Mobile Digital Age

School culture is a nebulous blend of traditions, values, beliefs, and rituals built up over time. Recent mobile technologies are disrupting this culture in favor of learning that is personalized, on demand, ubiquitous knowledge. This paper provides a historical overview of the adoption of mobile technologies in school culture. An epistemological dissonance is uncovered regarding a slow rate of adoption and effective pedagogical practices. Finally, building from existing literature, a new framework is presented to elucidate a new school culture that involves students as curators of the web, creators of knowledge, and custodians of learning

Supporting Early-childhood Teachers with Integrating a Humanoid Robot to Enhance Learning

Anthropomorphic robots are increasingly being used as a technology in early childhood settings, and they have been found to enhance social interaction (Tanaka, Cicourel & Movellan, 2007), support foreign language development (Mazzoni & Benvenuti, 2015), and gain student attention and interest (Ioannou, Andreou & Christofi, 2015). Furthermore, integrating a humanoid robot can provide affordances across all domains of the Head Start Learning Outcomes Framework: approaches to learning; social and emotional development; language and communication; cognition; and perceptual, motor and physical development

Humanoid Robots Supporting Children’s Learning in an Early Childhood Setting

This qualitative study explored the affordances provided by the integration of the NAO humanoid robot in three preschool classrooms. Using the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework as a lens, the researchers qualitatively analyzed data from focus groups, observations, field notes and student artifacts, using grounded coding to uncover language and communication, physical, cognitive and social–emotional learning experiences for children. The researchers also examined interactions between the robot, children and teachers to identify successes and challenges experienced during the integration. Findings indicate the robot provided opportunities for student development in all learning domains. Students were intellectually curious about the robot; data showed their eagerness to “talk with,” generate questions about, make eye contact with and learn more about the robot. Students viewed these interactions as two-way. The presence of the robot created much enthusiasm and excitement, resulting in the opportunity for students to practice waiting their turn and cooperation. Challenges uncovered show that teachers lacked experience and knowledge in the integration and operation of the robot. Despite these challenges, findings show that teachers welcomed the robot as a tool in the classroom to align with curriculum requirements and meet the developmental needs of children

Power of the post: Instagram is the chosen social media platform for PR content of cosmetic companies

Social media has changed the PR landscape from exclusively focusing on traditional media to developing a two-way ongoing conversation between a company and their consumers. As we live a lot of our lives online, many brands have capitalised on this communication revolution we are currently experiencing. Through both visual and textual PR content posted on social media platforms, companies create brand awareness and communicate directly with their consumers. This study investigates why Instagram has been the most successful social media platform for PR content in the context of cosmetic companies from a consumer’s perspective with a self administered online questionnaire. A second source of research is in the form of interviews with two PR executives who are currently working in consumer PR agencies to gather relevant information from industry experts. The final source of research is a content analysis of Instagram posts from three Irish cosmetic companies. It was found that the features on Instagram are the reason why it has emerged as the most suitable social media application for PR purposes. Throughout the research, the impact that visual content posted from Irish cosmetic companies has on perceptions of female beauty is considered

Mobile Learning and Student Cognition: A Systematic Review of PK-12 Research Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

The rise of mobile learning in schools during the past decade has led to promises about the power of mobile learning to extend and enhance student cognitive engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine trends to determine the cognitive level students are involved in within mobile learning activities. This systematic review involved an aggregated and configurative synthesis of PK-12 mobile learning studies from 2010 to 16 and used Bloom’s Taxonomy as a theoretical framework for categorizing the cognitive level of student activities. Major new findings include that students are involved in activities at all six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This study shows that over 60% of researchers are developing activities that require high levels of cognitive processing, a large increase from past studies. Nonetheless, 40% are integrating mobile devices in ways that keep students working with minimal cognitive processing. In both elementary and secondary studies, there was a 40/60% split in the use of lower versus high level thinking opportunities. New findings show that mobile devices were integrated into science, mathematics, social studies, literacy, art and special education. Studies in science settings were the majority of the studies (40%), followed by literacy (24%)

Imagery and Syntax on Oral Language Comprehension and Paired-associate Recall

Educational Psycholog

Panel #2: The Maine-Missouri Crisis and the Politics of Slavery

A panel that included three presentations: African Americans and the Political Consequences of Maine Statehood, Mary T. Freeman Doughface Pioneer: John Holmes of Maine, 1773-1843, Matthew Mason Fire Bell in the Night: The Establishment of a Slave Society in Jefferson\u27s Purchase, Diane Mutti Burk