Global emergency remote education in secondary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

The worldwide shift to emergency remote education in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted billions of students and teachers. A range of teaching and learning strategies were employed by schools as a result, despite confusing and sometimes contradictory government guidance, with systemic issues such as equity and access impacting heavily on disadvantaged students. In light of the findings of a recent IPPO evidence snapshot and roundtable event, and in order to gain further insight into how emergency remote education was experienced by secondary school students, parents and educators, a systematic review was conducted that collates and synthesises primary empirical studies across five key research questions focusing on student engagement, online assessment, peer collaboration, parent engagement, and future directions for online learning. Studies were searched for in May 2021 using Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Microsoft Academic Graph, ResearchGate and the COVID-19 living map, and were included if they focused on teaching and learning using blended or online approaches in secondary schools during the pandemic, that were published in English. Following quality assessment on scope and methodological rigour, 81 studies were included for narrative synthesis. The research studies were conducted in 38 countries, with 37% of studies from low or lower-middle income countries, and 63% from upper-middle income or high-income countries. Most of the evidence came from students (64%), followed by teachers (53%), with very few studies exploring the perceptions and experiences of parents (6%) or school leaders (5%). Findings reveal that self-regulation and understanding were the most frequently reported indicators of student engagement, with online assessment tools, learning management systems with collaborative tools, live synchronous lessons with peer and teacher interaction, and teacher-made videos considered particularly engaging. Social isolation was the most frequently reported indicator of disengagement, characterised by poor attendance in live lessons, a lack of opportunities to seek help with challenges and difficulties facilitating peer collaboration. Although many articles reported that assessment online was particularly challenging, 21 different types of online assessments strategies were identified, with online quizzes and formative online feedback the most frequently used. Live marking or recorded feedback and assessment were found to be particularly beneficial, as providing feedback during live lessons was sometimes challenging. Peer collaboration was facilitated through peer assessment, inquiry-based group work and experiments, aided by the use of collaborative software and combining multiple applications. Parental involvement and support contributed to student learning, although issues of equity impacted the extent to which they could engage with their children's learning, alongside gaps in family content knowledge and technological skills. Numerous implications for future policy relating to online and blended learning are provided

Konzeption, Entwicklung und Organisation einer webbasierten Lernumgebung für die ingenieur-technische Ausbildung am Beispiel Grundlagen der Elektrotechnik

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein systematisches und durchgängiges Prozess- und Vorgehensmodell zur Entwicklung von webbasierten Lernumgebungen mit Fokus auf die Ingenieurwissenschaften beschrieben. In diesem Rahmen werden die Konzeption, Erstellung, Verarbeitung und Verwaltung von Lernobjekten mit einem Datenbankmanagementsystems nach dem LOM-Standard eingebettet. Die Arbeit lässt sich dabei in die Reihe der Forschungen am Fachgebiet Grundlagen der Elektrotechnik zu multimedialen und webbasierten Lernumgebungen einordnen. Am Beispiel GETsoft werden konkrete Problemstellungen bei der Umsetzung von Komponenten einer Lernumgebung aufgezeigt und fachspezifische Lösungsmodelle angeboten. Die Motivation und Zielsetzung, die Einordnung der Arbeit und die Vorgehensweise sowie eine Analyse von geleisteten Vorarbeiten sind im ersten Kapitel dargestellt. Neben einer umfassenden Analyse von Lernumgebungen in ingenieur-wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen ist die Konzeption eines adaptierbaren Prozess- und Vorgehensmodells zur Erstellung einer Lernumgebung bestehend aus Lernobjekten und Komponenten die Aufgabenstellung dieser Arbeit.Mit den Grundlagen von webbasierten Lernumgebungen im ingenieur-wissenschaftlichen Bereich, E-Learning-Standards, Softwareentwicklungsprozessen und Datenbanktechnologien beschäftigt sich das zweite Kapitel. Bereits im Grundlagen¬kapitel wird die Idee eines Ebenenmodells für Lernumgebungen in Kombination mit einem speziellen Modell von Lernobjekten entwickelt.Das dritte Kapitel analysiert anhand eines Kriterienkataloges den Stand der Technik auf dem Gebiet webbasierter Lernumgebungen in einigen ingenieur-wissenschaftlichen Grund¬lagenfächern. Detailliert wird die aktuelle Situation in den Fächern Physik, Mathematik, Maschinenbau und Elektrotechnik analysiert. Daneben wird kurz auf Chemie und Medizin sowie den internationalen Sprachraum eingegangen. Die medientechnische Analyse und Konzeption eines adaptierbaren Prozess- und Vorgehensmodells für die Entwicklung webbasierter Lernumgebungen wird im vierten Kapitel beschrieben. Evolutionäres Prototyping und objektorientierter Entwurf stehen hier im Mittelpunkt eines Vorgehensmodells zur ebenenbasierten System- und Lern¬objektentwicklung.Das fünfte Kapitel schildert konkrete Umsetzungen der allgemeinen Konzeption an Beispielen aus GETsoft. Anschauliche Umsetzungen der Mediengestaltungskonzepte über¬führen die Theorie in die Praxis. Die Funktionalitäten und Schnittstellen der GETsoft-Datenbank für standardisierte wiederverwendbare Lernobjekte und ihre Meta¬daten stellen hier einen Schwerpunkt dar.Im Kapitel sechs werden Beispiele und Ansätze zum Transfer, der Vernetzung sowie zur Verbreiterung von GETsoft vorgestellt. Das letzte Kapitel stellt Überlegungen zu Erfolgsfaktoren von Lernumgebungen an, diskutiert kurz offene Wissensressourcen als Zukunftsmodell und bettet darüber Ideen zur Weiterentwicklung von GETsoft ein

Transforming teaching through the transformative integration of emerging technologies in the ePlay MakerSpace: a critical, socio-cultural design-based study

Despite South African schools and teachers gaining greater access to the tools, innovations, concepts and advancements of emerging technologies (ETs), the potential of ETs to transform teaching and improve learning remains largely unexploited. The majority of the country’s schools are classified as disadvantaged, being resource constrained and functioning in contexts of multiple deprivation and poverty. Learning is severely compromised in many disadvantaged schools, as evidenced by learners’ persistent underachievement in standardised national and international assessments. Consequently, improving the quality of teaching especially at primary school level, is identified as a national priority. Three extensive curriculum reforms, intensified teacher professional development, and the provision of ETs, have however not achieved widespread and sustained change to teaching practices. This suggests that existing teacher professional development (TPD) initiatives do not effectively prepare teachers from the country’s disadvantaged schools to exploit the transformative potential of ETs, to change their practice and manage change within their complex and dynamic education contexts. Instead, ETs that originate in advanced economies are frequently assumed universally applicable and application-neutral. Informed by this perspective, TPD is designed to prepare teachers to use or teach with ETs, either emphasizing technical skills or competencies to use tools, or in rare cases focussing on the concepts, innovations and advancements of ETs. TPD models that systematically and explicitly prepare South Africa’s teachers from disadvantaged schools to exploit the transformative potential of ETs and change their practice is not available. This study employs a socially embedded, progressive transformation perspective to ET. Accordingly, while it is assumed ETs have the capacity to improve learning, the form and processes of improvement and change to teaching practices are understood as locally developed by teachers. Informed by this perspective, transformative ET integration is conceptualised as contextually embedded, locally developed innovation and knowledge production to effect change to teaching and improve learning driven by contextually specific requirements and priorities. The transformative integration of ETs emphasizes the need to develop teachers dispositions to innovate and create, to experiment and take risks. However, within the field of education in South Africa, teachers’ dispositions reflect capacities to reproducing the structures of the field intent on increasing the flow of cultural capital, rather than dispositions of creativity and innovation. This study employs a critical, socio-cultural design-based theoretical frame and asks how the transformation of teachers’ dispositions may translate into their transformative integration of emerging technologies. The ePlay MakerSpace model is conceptualised as providing both inculcation processes and enabling conditions to transform teachers’ dispositions. Using a design-based research approach, two iterations of the ePlay MakerSpace model are designed, enacted and formatively evaluated to refine the design principles for the ePlay MakerSpace inculcation processes and enabling conditions. Data is collected through teachers’ created artifacts, their reflections and online posts, the formative evaluations of each iteration, and school-visits and interviews with teachers 3 – 4 weeks after each ePlay MakerSpace iteration. The evidence presented indicates that the majority of teachers transformatively integrated ET in their classrooms and/or schools, to address local priorities and solve contextual challenges. Through a retrospective analysis of the data, the process to transform teachers’ dispositions was refined, as well as the design framework and design methodology for the ePlay MakerSpace. The study contributes to the development of theory relating to teacher change, and the processes and conditions that support teacher’ change

Constructive alignment approach for assessing essential cultural soft skills in the tourism sector through ICT

The focus of this study was to investigate whether Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) may assist the acquisition and assessment of essential soft skills in tourism higher education. Intercultural Competence was identified as an essential skill for tourism due to the cultural diversity of visitors and country/region visited. Biggs and Tang’s (2011) notion of Constructive Alignment was used to define the outcomes, the learning activities, and the assessment tasks making up the learning intervention. The interaction of the student participants with a blended learning environment provided the data required. Data was collected in two stages. In the first stage, through a focus group with the students, whereas in the second stage, interviews were used. Other stakeholders, academics, university IT services and employer representatives were interviewed separately to gain their views regarding the implementation of a blended learning environment. The results indicate that both students and academics are insufficiently prepared to work within a blended learning environment, resulting in a rather negative attitude towards it. Academics also referred to the lack of training related to outcomes-based learning and constructive alignment. As a result, learning outcomes are viewed as an administrative control tool, rather than a way to facilitate student learning. This lack of confidence affects not only the participants’ use, but also their trust in the other parties involved, including peers. However, engagement with the blended learning environment improved students’ trust, both in the blended learning environment itself and also in their peers, suggesting the need for a comprehensive training strategy. Stakeholders must also be provided with the opportunities to network and exchange information. A framework that establishes confidence and improve trust is required. Intercultural competence may serve this role. It can help identify stakeholders’ attitudes towards one another, increase communication, empathise, and ultimately facilitate constructive interaction between them. Future research may look into applying intercultural competence into blended learning development and staff training in this sense and any other educational initiative where different stakeholders may be involved

A framework for evaluating the user experience of digital moderation systems in the South African secondary school environment

The continued emphasis on education quality amidst the accelerating pace of technological developments, which create new opportunities, expectations, and challenges in the teaching and learning environment, requires evidence-based, robust, regulatory frameworks for monitoring standards. Innovative and dynamic approaches are required to quality assure assessment processes (moderation). The reviewed literature provided scant evidence of theorization on the concept of digital moderation (eModeration) and little empirical evidence on systems used in secondary schools. This deficiency in the literature in terms of digital moderation is problematic since it leaves educators, managers, and researchers without evidence-based guidance on how eModeration systems should be designed or evaluated. This deficit provides the rationale for an investigation into the components of a framework to evaluate the user experience of an eModeration system. This study draws on the extant eModeration literature and theories of technology acceptance, Information Systems success (IS) models, and constructs from the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) to create a theoretical framework that integrates constructs identified from the different literature streams to evaluate an eModeration system's user experience. A Design Science Research (DSR) approach guided the design, development, and evaluation of an eModeration evaluation framework. A Participatory Action Design Research (PADRE) approach was used to position the user within the iterative DSR cycles as a means of knowledge acquisition. Participatory Design (PD) was positioned as a data collection strategy during requirements gathering and the generation of design ideas for an eModeration prototype system. Qualitative and quantitative data collection was used to record perceptions of individuals interacting with the prototype. The theoretical contribution is the literature-based framework underpinning this study. This theoretical framework was used as input in determining the components of an eModeration evaluation framework, which is the main contribution of this study. This research has practical value in guiding the design of evaluation criteria for the user experience of an eModeration system for implementation in secondary schools.School of ComputingD. Phil. (Information Systems

Utilizing educational technology in computer science and programming courses : theory and practice

There is one thing the Computer Science Education researchers seem to agree: programming is a difficult skill to learn. Educational technology can potentially solve a number of difficulties associated with programming and computer science education by automating assessment, providing immediate feedback and by gamifying the learning process. Still, there are two very important issues to solve regarding the use of technology: what tools to use, and how to apply them? In this thesis, I present a model for successfully adapting educational technology to computer science and programming courses. The model is based on several years of studies conducted while developing and utilizing an exercise-based educational tool in various courses. The focus of the model is in improving student performance, measured by two easily quantifiable factors: the pass rate of the course and the average grade obtained from the course. The final model consists of five features that need to be considered in order to adapt technology effectively into a computer science course: active learning and continuous assessment, heterogeneous exercise types, electronic examination, tutorial-based learning, and continuous feedback cycle. Additionally, I recommend that student mentoring is provided and cognitive load of adapting the tools considered when applying the model. The features are classified as core components, supportive components or evaluation components based on their role in the complete model. Based on the results, it seems that adapting the complete model can increase the pass rate statistically significantly and provide higher grades when compared with a “traditional” programming course. The results also indicate that although adapting the model partially can create some improvements to the performance, all features are required for the full effect to take place. Naturally, there are some limits in the model. First, I do not consider it as the only possible model for adapting educational technology into programming or computer science courses. Second, there are various other factors in addition to students’ performance for creating a satisfying learning experience that need to be considered when refactoring courses. Still, the model presented can provide significantly better results, and as such, it works as a base for future improvements in computer science education.Ohjelmoinnin oppimisen vaikeus on yksi harvoja asioita, joista lähes kaikki tietojenkäsittelyn opetuksen tutkijat ovat jokseenkin yksimielisiä. Opetusteknologian avulla on mahdollista ratkaista useita ohjelmoinnin oppimiseen liittyviä ongelmia esimerkiksi hyödyntämällä automaattista arviointia, välitöntä palautetta ja pelillisyyttä. Teknologiaan liittyy kuitenkin kaksi olennaista kysymystä: mitä työkaluja käyttää ja miten ottaa ne kursseilla tehokkaasti käyttöön? Tässä väitöskirjassa esitellään malli opetusteknologian tehokkaaseen hyödyntämiseen tietojenkäsittelyn ja ohjelmoinnin kursseilla. Malli perustuu tehtäväpohjaisen oppimisjärjestelmän runsaan vuosikymmenen pituiseen kehitys- ja tutkimusprosessiin. Mallin painopiste on opiskelijoiden suoriutumisen parantamisessa. Tätä arvioidaan kahdella kvantitatiivisella mittarilla: kurssin läpäisyprosentilla ja arvosanojen keskiarvolla. Malli koostuu viidestä tekijästä, jotka on otettava huomioon tuotaessa opetusteknologiaa ohjelmoinnin kursseille. Näitä ovat aktiivinen oppiminen ja jatkuva arviointi, heterogeeniset tehtävätyypit, sähköinen tentti, tutoriaalipohjainen oppiminen sekä jatkuva palautesykli. Lisäksi opiskelijamentoroinnin järjestäminen kursseilla ja järjestelmän käyttöönottoon liittyvän kognitiivisen kuorman arviointi tukevat mallin käyttöä. Malliin liittyvät tekijät on tässä työssä lajiteltu kolmeen kategoriaan: ydinkomponentteihin, tukikomponentteihin ja arviontiin liittyviin komponentteihin. Tulosten perusteella vaikuttaa siltä, että mallin käyttöönotto parantaa kurssien läpäisyprosenttia tilastollisesti merkittävästi ja nostaa arvosanojen keskiarvoa ”perinteiseen” kurssimalliin verrattuna. Vaikka mallin yksittäistenkin ominaisuuksien käyttöönotto voi sinällään parantaa kurssin tuloksia, väitöskirjaan kuuluvien tutkimusten perusteella näyttää siltä, että parhaat tulokset saavutetaan ottamalla malli käyttöön kokonaisuudessaan. On selvää, että malli ei ratkaise kaikkia opetusteknologian käyttöönottoon liittyviä kysymyksiä. Ensinnäkään esitetyn mallin ei ole tarkoituskaan olla ainoa mahdollinen tapa hyödyntää opetusteknologiaa ohjelmoinnin ja tietojenkäsittelyn kursseilla. Toiseksi tyydyttävään oppimiskokemukseen liittyy opiskelijoiden suoriutumisen lisäksi paljon muitakin tekijöitä, jotka tulee huomioida kurssien uudelleensuunnittelussa. Esitetty malli mahdollistaa kuitenkin merkittävästi parempien tulosten saavuttamisen kursseilla ja tarjoaa sellaisena perustan entistä parempaan opetukseen

User experience evaluation of electronic moderation systems : a case study at a private higher education institution in South Africa

The transformation of a manual paper-based moderation process into an electronic moderation (eModeration) process poses unique challenges. These challenges concern academic processes, people and the user experience of interactive systems. eModeration can improve the user experience of assessment processes while lowering the risk of delaying the process or losing scripts. Despite the benefits associated with optimising assessment procedures, particularly examination procedures, the use of eModeration in South Africa is limited. There are several possible reasons for a lack of eModeration adoption ranging from infrastructure and technical issues through to organisational and human factors. The focus of this study is on the human factors involved in eModeration. Since no User Experience Evaluation Framework for eModeration existed at the time of this research, an in-depth study was conducted based on the experiences of eModeration users in the context of private higher education institutions. The study focused on identifying the most important user experience constructs for the evaluation of an eModerate system within the context of private higher education institutions in South Africa towards proposing a framework. The study was based in the fields of Information Systems and Human-Computer Interaction with eModeration being the application domain. The research used a Design Science Research methodology, which involved the development and testing of a User Experience Evaluation Framework for eModeration. The data generation methods included interviews with deans, eModerators and management, as well as a survey that included responses from both moderators and deans. The research was conducted at Midrand Graduate Institute and evaluated at Monash University. The study makes a validated contribution towards identifying the most important user experience constructs. The identified constructs were utilised in the design and development of the User Experience Evaluation Framework for eModeration, which can be used along with the evaluation criteria tool to evaluate eModerate systems.Information ScienceD. Litt. et Phil. (Information Systems