JournalTOCs

International Journal of Research Studies in Educational Technology
Number of Followers: 10

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 2243-7738 - ISSN (Online) 2243-7746
Published by Consortia Academia Publishing

[6 journals]

Using videos and video-conferencing to traverse transactional distance
- Authors: Rameses De Jesus
  Abstract: Transactional Distance, first introduced in the 1980’s, is a significant dimension of learning with far-reaching implications on distance education. As online distance education continues to grow, understanding and navigating transactional distance becomes imperative in the evolving and continually digitizing context of the academia. The use of videos and video-conferencing has become a popular addition to online teaching. This descriptive paper explores the ways videos and video-conferencing help learners and educators traverse transactional distance in the online provision of higher education. What affordances do videos and video-conferencing offer to navigate the transactional distance in online courses' The use of videos and video conferences through open platforms is discussed using Moore’s (2007) types of interactions and factors for managing transactional distance and Park’s (2011) mobile learning framework, along with instructor observations and student perceptions gathered through surveys. Information in this paper aims to aid online educators as they seek to bridge the transactional distance with their learners.
  PubDate: 2017-07-18
  Issue No: Vol. 6 (2017)
Development of skills and critical thinking in junior high school students
towards quality basic education in Ghana
- Authors: Frank Okai Larbi
  Abstract: Critical thinking and skill development are elements that cannot be overlooked in basic education. This study aims to discover public basic education along with other external factors that influence the development of skills and critical thinking, which have influence on employability, productivity and international competitiveness. It focuses on four major areas that influence skill development and critical thinking in basic school students: the curriculum, teaching methods, teacher/student relationships and extra-curricular activities. This paper focuses on the impediments to the development of students’ critical thinking and skills, and methods and theories to be applied in the classroom to develop students’ critical thinking. In this study, I analyzed the junior high school (JHS) curriculum to identify the kind of skills it intends to develop and observed teachers’ pedagogy in the classroom. This study is a qualitative study, which adopted interview, observation and document analysis to collect and analyze data. The population considered in this research includes headmasters, teachers and students, and parents from three public schools located in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The findings of this study will allow the creation of effective pedagogy aimed at learning with practical approach; learning that includes dynamic roles of the classroom, teaching strategies and teaching and learning materials. Comprehensive recommendations have been provided for educational policy makers, educational directors, headmasters/mistress, and parents to cause a paradigm shift in the superannuated educational system in Ghana. Again, recommendations have been proposed to researchers on how to develop this research by focusing on the preeminence of utilizing technology and technological tools in the schools’ curriculum to enhance students’ critical thinking and skills.
  PubDate: 2017-07-16
  Issue No: Vol. 6 (2017)
Using ‘science laboratory interaction category’ instrument to assess
laboratory behavior of grade-8th basic science students’ in Nigeria
- Authors: Rachel O Atomatofa, Patrick O Ajaja
  Abstract: School Laboratory Environments are considered very important for learning to take place effectively. Using the Science Laboratory Interaction Category (SLIC) as instrument, this study assessed the behavior of high and low ability learners in two laboratory environments; the constructivist laboratory environment which served as experimental group and the transmissive laboratory environment which served as control group. 96 grade-8th students formed the study sample. This study employed the pre-test; post-test quasi-experimental design. The design is a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design consisting of two laboratory environments (constructivist and transmissive); ability at two levels (high and low); and repeated testing (pre-test and post-test). The research instruments used to obtain data for which two research questions and one hypothesis was tested are the Science Laboratory Interaction Category (SLIC) and Basic Science Achievement Test (BSACT). The teaching content used was the same for both groups. Results show that the behaviors of both the ‘high and low’ constructivist students were more favorable than behavior of ‘high and low’ transmissive students in exhibition of acceptable laboratory behavior. Also, there was no significant difference in the exhibition of acceptable laboratory behavior between ‘high and low’ ability constructivist groups; but significant differences were found between the ‘high and low’ transmissive groups. Based on the results, recommendations were made to train teachers to assess laboratory behaviors using the SLIC instrument and encouraging teachers to create laboratory environment that foster better laboratory behavior.
  PubDate: 2017-06-28
  Issue No: Vol. 6 (2017)
The effectiveness of using educational robot in the computer course in the
development of scientific thinking skills among first year secondary
students
- Authors: Najwa Al-Mohammadi
  Abstract: The present study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of using the educational Robot in the Computer Course in the development of scientific thinking skills among first year secondary students. The researcher used the quasi-experimental design with two groups: experimental and control with 30 students each. The sample was selected purposively from the 4th Secondary School in Jeddah City. The study tool consisted of a testing scale of the unit "Digital Control and the Robot" to assess scientific thinking skills for the pre and the post tests after studying the unit for both groups. The statistical analysis of results showed the following: there were statistically significant differences between students' achievement in the pre and the post tests in the scientific thinking skills. This suggests that there is some development in scientific thinking skills in favor of the post test of the experimental group. The calculated (t) value was (6.97). The researcher recommended; first, curriculum designers should use the educational Robot in curricula design in order to create integrity between different fields. Second, decision makers should design training courses for teachers in the building and designing of Robot programming and to assess the effectiveness of using the educational Robot in the development of the skills of students with Special Needs.
  PubDate: 2017-04-05
  Issue No: Vol. 6 (2017)
Effects of using Inspiration software on Iranian EFL learners’
prewriting strategies
- Authors: Somayeh Afshari, Hadi Salehi
  Abstract: The motive behind this study was to figure out (a) whether teaching prewriting strategies via the computer software Inspiration 9 could be used as a viable resource to boost EFL learners’ command of L2 writing, and (b) whether the targeted L2 learners welcomed the application of this software for the purpose of prewriting strategies instruction. To meet the objectives of the study, 63 intermediate Iranian EFL learners (41 female and 22 male) who were studying English in intact classes at Jahad Daneshgahi, Isfahan, Iran, were conveniently accessed. The learners formed an experimental group, which was taught, through Inspiration 9 software, to use prewriting strategies pertinent to generating ideas through freewriting, brainstorming, listing, clustering, and asking wh-questions during the planning stage of writing, and a control group, in which the learners received the same type of instruction in a traditional classroom setting. Data obtained from writing pretest and posttest scores of the two groups were analyzed through independent-samples t tests, and the results indicated that the experimental groupers significantly outperformed their control group counterparts after the instructional period ended. A researcher-made questionnaire was also handed out to the learners in the experimental group, the results of which, analyzed through one-sample t test, revealed that the EFL learners under investigation held positive attitudes towards the teaching of prewriting strategies via the computer software Inspiration 9. Implications for ELT teachers include, among other things, incorporation of useful technological tools, such as Inspiration 9, in L2 teaching classes.
  PubDate: 2017-02-01
  Issue No: Vol. 6 (2017)