Educational Technology Research and Development

Bonk, Curtis J.; Wiley, David A.

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09809-xpmid: 32837124

There have been many waves of emerging learning technologies over the past few decades. Some of these waves are extended, some waves are connected, and other waves are repeated. The authors discuss the special journal issue from the standpoint of their personal involvement in many such waves during their careers. They also detail the evolution of this special issue and the potential audiences and stakeholders for it. In the end, they pose several questions and points to ponder in looking toward the future.

Martin, Florence; Dennen, Vanessa P.; Bonk, Curtis J.

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09812-2pmid: 32837122

In this introduction to the special issue on systematic reviews on emerging learning environments and technologies, we introduce best practices for conducting systematic reviews and meta-analysis and discuss the need for a systematic review on emerging learning environments and technologies. We synthesize research on seven primary areas of emerging learning environments and technologies that include: (1) social media, (2) massive open online courses, (3) special education technology, (4) mobile learning, (5) game-based learning and gamification, (6) adaptive learning, and (7) learning analytics and introduce the thirteen articles that were included in this special issue. This article also provides implications for the readers on using and conducting systematic reviews.

Dennen, Vanessa P.; Choi, Hajeen; Word, Kari

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09796-zpmid: N/A

This scoping review of research explores which disciplines have studied social media as it relates to education and, more broadly, use by students of high school and college age. The sample explores 10 years of research (2009–2018). A search of Web of Science yielded 580 relevant peer-reviewed articles published through the end of 2018, with 260 (44.8%) of these articles focused on education. Research in this area has been on a steady upward trajectory since 2009, the first year when relevant social media articles appeared. About half of this research was conducted in North American settings, and quantitative surveys were the most popular data collection method. Findings show that within education, the dominant themes of research on social media were use as a teaching and learning tool; adoption, use, and beliefs; digital literacy; effects of use; and identity. Outside of education, the dominant themes were negative behaviors, health issues, identity development and expression, digital citizenship, and social relationships. This review shows several areas where education researchers and practitioners would benefit from attending to research conducted outside of our discipline. Although the field of educational research sufficiently addresses issues like teacher professional development and pedagogical uses of social media, the larger issues that affect our students and, in turn, the school context are being explored in other disciplines.

Luo, Tian; Freeman, Candice; Stefaniak, Jill

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09790-5pmid: N/A

In recent years, professional learning networks (PLNs) and online learning communities of practices (CoPs) enabled by social media have emerged as a conduit and communal space for faculty members to engage in professional learning. This systematic review provides a current synthesis of research surrounding social media and professional development in higher education. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed and 23 articles that met our selection criteria were included for further analysis and synthesis in this review. Findings suggest that research and practice on social media-supported professional learning is still in its infancy stage. Despite that social media-supported PLNs and CoPs show potential for contributing to faculty professional learning, challenges exist in sustaining faculty participation and engagement, as well as effectively navigating the social media space, especially for novice social media users. Practical implications and future research recommendations are discussed.

Zhu, Meina; Sari, Annisa R.; Lee, Mimi Miyoung

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09798-xpmid: N/A

This study examines the research methods, topics, and trends of empirical MOOC research to gain a comprehensive understanding of the MOOC phenomenon through reviewing 541 empirical MOOCs research published from 2009 to 2019. The results indicate that: (1) the majority of studies adopted quantitative research methods followed by mixed research methods and qualitative research methods, (2) the most frequently adopted data collection method was survey, followed by platform database and interviews, (3) almost half of the studies used at least two data collection methods such as survey and interview, (4) the majority of researchers adopted descriptive statistics for data analysis, followed by inferential statistics and content analysis, (5) the research topics primarily focused on students, followed by design-focused, context and impact-focused, and instructor-focused. Among these student-focused topics, learner retention, learning experience, social learning, and engagement were the most mentioned, and (6) the affiliations of the first authors of the MOOC studies were mainly from the U.S. followed by China and Spain. Implications and future research were discussed.

Olakanmi, Oluwabunmi Adewoyin; Akcayir, Gokce; Ishola, Oluwbukola Mayowa; Demmans Epp, Carrie

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09795-0pmid: N/A

Recent reports suggest an increase in the number of individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities. To ensure equal opportunities for these learners, special education practices must be appropriately improved and scaled. Educational and assistive technologies are a possible avenue for meeting this need. To provide insight into recent technology practices in special education contexts, this study reviews recent literature (2014—2018) on the use of technology to support learners with cognitive and developmental disabilities. This review included 126 publications, which were a combination of journal articles and conference papers, found through the ACM, IEEE, ScienceDirect, and SSCI databases. The publications were analyzed to determine their general characteristics (e.g., number and age of participants and lengths of interventions), the contexts of technology use, specific learner characteristics, the subjects or skills the intervention(s) aimed to improve, the characteristics of the technologies, and the outcomes associated with their use. The results revealed that the most examined technology was games and the most studied outcome was improvements to learners’ cognitive skills. Additionally, participants in the majority of the publications were pre-college students with learning disabilities. The most studied topics belonged to the natural sciences while job skills were one of the least studied. Interventions were primarily conducted in formal educational environments and were implemented over 5–10 weeks in most cases. Based on the review, more detail in reporting and more attention to promoting life, job, and social skills are recommended.

Eutsler, L.; Mitchell, C.; Stamm, B.; Kogut, A.

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09786-1pmid: N/A

The presence of mobile technologies within preschool and elementary classrooms has been increasing, yet review studies which measure the effectiveness of mobile technologies to support children’s literacy achievement remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review to examine the influence of mobile technologies on pre-kindergarten—5th grade students’ literacy achievement between 2007 and 2019. Findings are reported according to study characteristics, followed by the patterns and trends related to achievement within and across literacy domains (phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing). We provide mobile device and app use strategies for teachers, while mapping clear research pathways for educational researchers and digital designers, with the ultimate goal of advancing the use of mobile technology to improve children’s literacy achievement.

Chen, Zhenzhen; Chen, Weichao; Jia, Jiyou; An, Huili

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09801-5pmid: N/A

Despite the rapid development of the field of Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL), research synthesis and systematic meta-analyses on MALL are still lacking. It remains unclear how effective mobile devices are for language learning under different conditions. Review studies on the overall effectiveness of the latest smart mobile devices are still scant. In order to evaluate the learning outcomes of MALL and the impact of moderator variables, we systematically searched journal articles, conference proceedings, and doctoral dissertations published during 2008–2018 and performed a meta-analysis based on a synthesis of 84 effect sizes from 80 experimental and quasi-experimental studies. A medium-to-high effect size of 0.722 was found for the overall effectiveness of using mobile devices for language learning. The findings indicate that the use of mobile devices for language learning is more effective than conventional methods. The effects of nine moderator variables were analyzed. The target language skill, target language and first/second language were found to be significant moderators. Implications for language teaching and research are discussed.

Gao, Fei; Li, Lan; Sun, Yanyan

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09787-0pmid: N/A

Research on mobile game-based learning has been gaining attention in the past few years. To understand the potential of mobile game-based learning in STEM education, a systematic review was conducted. Based on a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 30 articles published during the years of 2010 through 2019 were included. Analyses were conducted to identify the contexts of studies, research foci, research methodologies, measures, research instruments, the mobile game features and so on. Based on the analyses, a comprehensive understanding of the research in mobile game-based learning in STEM education was presented, and insights and directions for future research were provided. The systematic review suggests that, although current research has greatly increased our understanding of mobile game-based learning in STEM education, future research is needed to address the fundamental question of when mobile game-based learning is an appropriate approach for learning in STEM education and when is not.

Havard, Byron; Podsiad, Megan

doi: 10.1007/s11423-020-09789-ypmid: N/A

The integration of wearables in education environments to enhance teaching and learning is an emerging area of research. However, many studies lack the rigor of formal research designs and results are inconclusive. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the overall effect of wearable use on learning and motivation outcomes and describe the characteristics of the studies that comprise the body of quantitative wearables research. Searches for wearables research were conducted in three databases resulting in 144 results with duplicates removed. Coding based on specific inclusion criteria resulted in 12 studies with 20 effect sizes published between January 2016 and August 2019. The overall weighted mean effect size for 20 learning and motivation outcomes was .6373 (SE = .1622). It should be noted that while this result was statistically significant (z = 3.9292, p = .0001) with 95% CI [.3194, 9552], the heterogeneity was also statistically significant. Additional weighted mean effect sizes relating to study characteristics were significant while meeting the assumption of homogeneity. A discussion of the findings, implications, and limitations are provided.