"Technology, Pedagogy and Education"

Arquero, José Luis; Romero-Frías, Esteban; Del Barrio-García, Salvador

doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2021.2018031pmid: N/A

Loyalty – users’ commitment to an institution or resource, involving its repeated use and recommending its use to others – and its explaining factors are of paramount importance in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), where participation is open and many actors with differing interests coexist. The present article tests a loyalty formation model by using satisfaction, flow state and reputation as explanatory factors. It also examines the role of extrinsic motivation (EM) as a potential moderator of inter-variable relationships. Data were gathered from questionnaires distributed to users of a MOOC offered by the University of Granada (Spain). Results indicate that EM plays an important moderating role in loyalty formation. Satisfaction, enjoyment and reputation are less important when EM is higher, whilst control appears to be more relevant to externally driven users. Practical implications include the recommendation to personalise users’ learning experience with different types of motivation in order to increase loyalty.

Wang, Jingxian; Tigelaar, Dineke E. H.; Admiraal, Wilfried

doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2022.2056504pmid: N/A

Research has often ignored the complex systemic nature of ICT integration in education, including the importance of the historical, social and political context. This study examines the content of local ICT policy plans that have been developed and how school leaders and teachers perceive their experience with ICT practices of rural schools. A mixed-method research approach was applied, involving 25 rural schools in Western China. Data was collected from multiple sources (policy documents, interviews with school leaders, focus groups with teachers, classroom observations, an ICT inventory and a teacher survey). The results revealed three types of challenges for ICT integration in rural schools: (1) guidance and learning opportunities as a political challenge, (2) ICT infrastructure and digital content as a technical challenge, and (3) teacher training and technical support as a human challenge. These challenges have implications for policymakers and practitioners when improving rural education through ICT integration.

Almeida, Fernando; Buzady, Zoltan

doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2022.2058600pmid: N/A

Traditionally, serious games have been used in the development of hard skills, particularly in technical areas such as health, engineering, defence or the environment. However, they can also be applied in the assessment and development of soft skills, which are increasingly key competencies for an individual in the twenty-first century. In this sense, this study proposes the adoption of the FLIGBY serious game in a higher education institution to evaluate and develop students’ skills in this field. The findings indicate a large correspondence between the soft skills fundamental to the twenty-first century and the assessment dimensions recorded by the game. Furthermore, the findings reveal that FLIGBY can be used primarily to develop skills in dimensions such as leadership, conflict management, diplomacy and emotional intelligence. These findings are relevant for higher education institutions that intend to include and foster the development of soft skills competencies in their curricula.

Klunder, Silvia; Saab, Nadira; Admiraal, Wilfried

doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2022.2033824pmid: N/A

Teachers’ beliefs and experiences were explored when using videoconferencing at mainstream schools to provide distance learning to students with a chronic illness (SCIs) in a hybrid virtual classroom (HVC). Seventy-seven primary and secondary teachers participated in this study, involving a semi-structured interview and a survey. Teachers found the HVC useful to achieve continuity of learning, to support the social well-being of SCIs and to facilitate school re-entry. A multiple regression analysis showed that perceived usefulness and the actions teachers undertook to foster collaboration and communication between SCIs and their school were related to perceived engagement of SCIs. Primary school teachers enhanced significantly more activities to support interaction between SCIs and their classmates than secondary school teachers.

Straker, Leon M.; Harris, Courtenay J.; Joosten, John; Howie, Erin K.

doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2022.2050288pmid: N/A

Schools are implementing 1-to-1 device policies, and as a result students are increasingly using mobile devices for multiple purposes. This use is in addition to other sedentary behaviours. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between different types of sedentary behaviours, including technology use by device type and purpose, with academic achievement. School children (n = 934) in grades 5 through 12 at an Australian school with a ‘bring-your-own’ device policy completed a survey on sedentary behaviours and technology use. Mean total sedentary time was 12.9 (SD 8.7) hours per day, and mean screen use was 6.7 (SD 5.7) hours per day. Duration of technology use for nearly all devices and all purposes (except some school work) was negatively associated with academic performance, though the relationships were often non-linear. Support is needed for children to develop wise habits of technology use and overall sedentary behaviours.

Bansah, Abednego Kofi; Darko Agyei, Douglas

doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2022.2027267pmid: N/A

This study extended the technology acceptance model developed by Davis to examine the relationship among the variables: perceived convenience (PC), perceived effectiveness (PE), perceived usefulness (PU) and the extent to which they impact on students’ user acceptance of a Learning Management System (LMS). A Questionnaire was used to collect data from 109 second- and third-year students who enrolled in a course via the LMS for the first time. Regression and correlation analyses were used to explore the variables of the study. The results revealed that PC, PU and PE were antecedent factors that affected user acceptance of the LMS, PC being the best predictor of user acceptance. Perceived convenience also correlated positively with both PU and PE, the relationship being more pronounced between PC and PU. Implications of the results for scaling up or replicating the LMS initiative in the study context or in institutions with similar contexts are discussed.