Research in Learning Technology publishes papers concerning the use of technology in learning and teaching in all sectors of education, as well as in industry...

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The Globethics library contains articles of Research in Learning Technology as of vol. 1(1993) to current.

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  • The mediating role of technostress in the relationship between social outcome expectations and teacher satisfaction: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in music education

    Ferdinando Toscano; Teresa Galanti; Veronica Giffi; Teresa Di Fiore; Michela Cortini; Stefania Fantinelli (Association for Learning Technology, 2024-01-01)
    The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted significant changes in education, including a widespread transition from traditional, in-person instruction to online learning, which has also affected music conservatories. This study investigates the relationship between social outcome expectations and teacher satisfaction with remote education (SRE) among conservatory music professors during the pandemic. Rooted in the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the study examines whether technostress mediates this relationship and whether the intention to use information and communication technology (ICT) moderates it. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 108 Italian conservatory teachers through an online self-report questionnaire. The results indicate a negative indirect effect of social outcome expectations on teacher satisfaction through technostress. However, surprisingly, the direct effect was positive and stronger. The study suggests that social expectations lead to technostress. Still, they also present an opportunity for music educators to embrace the challenge of remote education and increase their satisfaction with it.
  • Enhancing postgraduate students’ learning outcomes through Flipped Mobile-Based Microlearning

    Abdulrahman M. Al-Zahrani (Association for Learning Technology, 2024-01-01)
    This study examines the effects of implementing a Flipped Mobile-Based Microlearning (FMM) approach on postgraduate students’ accessibility, engagement, knowledge retention, overall learning experience and academic achievement. A quantitative multiple methods approach was employed, utilising a two-group quasi-experimental design and a survey questionnaire to gather data. The results suggest that the FMM approach may have positive effects on accessibility, engagement, knowledge retention, overall learning experience and final exam scores when compared to the traditional learning approach. The findings support the efficacy of integrating FMM, highlighting its potential for enhancing the learning process and academic outcomes. These results have implications for educational practice and research, emphasising the value of technology-enhanced learning approaches, active and interactive learning experiences and the promotion of student motivation and attitudes towards learning. This study underscores the broader applicability of FMM and suggests its potential for improving educational outcomes across different educational levels and subject areas.
  • Spatial learning using Google Streetview in an online wayfinding task

    Vanessa Joy A. Anacta (Association for Learning Technology, 2024-01-01)
    The use of navigation applications changed the way people find their way in an unfamiliar environment. A combination of maps, images and textual route instructions shown (or with audio) on one screen guides the user to the destination but may sometimes be overwhelming. This article investigated the spatial knowledge participants acquired after being presented with different types of route instructions, human and computer-generated, in an online wayfinding task using Google Streetview (without the 2D map) of an unfamiliar environment. The results showed a significant difference in the wayfinding performance for deviations from computer-generated instructions, whilst there was no difference in the time spent and the scene recall. Sketch maps revealed both route-like and survey-like characteristics. But most sketch maps are characterised by high route-likeness. Furthermore, this study showed a significant effect of the environmental layout on the participant’s performance based on deviations incurred during wayfinding. The results of this study have implications for improving navigation system instructions and design as well as for learning with geospatial technologies.
  • Research in Learning Technology: making friends and influencing people

    James Brunton; Liz Bennett; Louise Drumm; Michael Flavin; Sarah Honeychurch; Simon Thomson; Tünde Varga-Atkins (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-11-01)
    The first issue of Research in Learning Technology (RLT) was published in 1993. Over 30 years, the journal has comprised an informal research and development facility for new ideas and practices in technology enhanced learning. This paper takes nine published articles from RLT: the three most downloaded in the period January 2021 – March 2023 (but published at any time); the three most downloaded articles published from January 2021 to March 2023; and the three most cited articles published from January 2018 to March 2023. The aim is to identify different areas of current interest and influence, different areas of practice, and different scholarly approaches. The authors are the journal’s current editorial team. This paper identifies diversity of technology enhanced learning-related subject matter and different approaches, too, but with ongoing interest in efficacy and in the ‘how’ of technology enhanced learning: how technology can be applied to truly enhance learning, comprising an approachable community, generating influence.
  • The construction of gamer identity in narratives about video game playing and formal education learning experiences

    Jingyang Ai; Beth Cross; Carole Bignell (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-11-01)
    This study investigates how video game play influences gamers’ formal education through perceptions of their ‘gamer’ and ‘learner’ identities. Based on identity foundation in symbolic interactionism, we take gamer and learner identities as meaning structures with both dynamic and stable dimensions. The basis of this gamer identity perspective is identity has a crucial role in investigating learning. Applying a life history approach, we interviewed 10 participants in one-to-one interviews, with three interviews for each participant. Applying the narrative portrait, we analysed participant data. We found that gamer identity construction from video game playing, as a vital meaning structure, has four main aspects, namely in-game identification, social community expansion, restorative effect and meaning recognition, providing gamers with expansive ways to build learner and personal identity as that can benefit their formal education.
  • The outlook of learning through metaverse technology from the perspective of teachers in the science education

    Esmaeil JAFARI (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-10-01)
    As a personal avatar, Metaverse can be very effective in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classrooms such as science classes that are practical and experimental. In this article, the aim is to report a study related to the perception of teachers and their attitudes towards the use of metaverse tools in teaching elementary science classes in Iranian education system. The study uses qualitative content analysis as well as quantitative analysis represented by descriptive statistics. The former includes of semi-structured interviews with 28 samples from two groups of pre-service teachers (inexperienced) and in-service teachers (experienced), which participants were given the opportunity to express their perceptions of Metaverse tools through interviews. The latter comprises a survey was designed to get their attitudes towards the potential use of Metaverse technology. The results showed that the nature of inexperienced ‘digital native’ is in line with the metaverse world and this group had relatively high confidence in using Metaverse in their teaching. Generating these new ideas requires a degree of experience that pre-service teachers do not have. However, this gap can be bridged through a group of experienced teachers who can use their experience to help inexperienced teachers understand how such tools can be integrated into practice.
  • Social annotation: what are students’ perceptions and how does social annotation relate to grades?

    Virginia Clinton-Lisell (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-10-01)
    Social annotation is a teaching and learning technique in which students post comments on electronic course materials in a shared space. The purpose of this study is to examine students’ perceptions of social annotation in the context of motivation and social justice. In addition, the connections between social annotation and course grades were examined. Students in a face-to-face course engaged in social annotation on their course textbook and completed a questionnaire on their perceptions (N = 41). Based on the findings, students had higher overall motivation for social annotation compared with quizzes. In contrast, comparisons of motivation between social annotation and individual notetaking were mixed depending on the motivational construct. Students reported average higher-than-average opportunities for representational justice with social annotation (i.e. opportunities to share experiences and speak from their identities). Regarding grades, multiple social annotation constructs were positively associated with course grades. However, only active reading time appeared to be uniquely predictive of course grades. These findings suggest that social annotations promote active reading, which may encourage better understanding of the course content. Importantly, these findings indicate that students are motivated to engage in social annotation.
  • The impact of E-learning and ICT on English language learning: COVID-19 context

    Julio Antonio Álvarez Martínez; Juan Fernando Gómez (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-09-01)
    Background: E-learning and ICT have developed an innovative way of teaching English. To make sure the learning of this foreign language is effective, educational establishments and universities adjusted their infrastructure and technological devices. Aim: This article aims to present the results from a comprehensive examination of the literature regarding the Effects of E-learning and ICT on English language learning in COVID-19. Methods: The investigators made use of the PRISMA MODEL to determine the 65 articles to be included in the sample selection. A systematic search was performed on databases to select articles on E-learning and ICT related to English language learning. The databases employed for this study were Scielo, Redalyc, Dialnet, cademic Publishing (ACPI), Springer, Scopus, ECLAC, and MINTIC. Results: These technologies experienced an increase in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Incorporating e-learning and ICT has made language learning more dynamic. In addition, it demanded training of teachers to manage the tools and resources that they offer.
  • A theoretical framework for digital learning spaces: learning in individual spaces, working groups, communities of interest, and open connections

    Christian Dalsgaard; Thomas Ryberg (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-09-01)
    The paper presents a theoretical framework of four digital learning spaces: Individual space, Working group, Community of interest, and Open connections. The theoretical framework aims to highlight the unique potentials of digital technologies to expand learning activities. More specifically, the framework contributes with descriptions of specific learning activities that highlight the learning potentials of different social forms as well as learning potentials of digital technologies. The paper highlights learning potentials of digital technologies within each learning space; digital technologies as cognitive partners, collaboration tools, sharing tools, and as network relations and network effects. The framework is developed on the shoulders of existing educational frameworks, and contributes to learning technology research by combining conceptions of social forms, learning theory, and digital technology studies. Further, the framework is directed towards educational practice as a tool to develop learning activities, and to design digital learning spaces. The framework intends to function as a guiding framework that can help teachers and developers to focus on different levels of learning spaces and specific learning activities. Finally, the paper argues that digital technologies have the potential to expand opportunities for learning: specifically, to expand individual agency (within the individual space), collaborative knowledge building (within the working group), transparency (within a community of interest), and interaction with the outside world (through open connections).
  • Using information and communication technologies for the assessment of a large number of students

    Kasym Baryktabasov; Chinara Jumabaeva; Ulan Brimkulov (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-07-01)
    Many examinations with thousands of participating students are organized worldwide every year. Usually, this large number of students sit the exams simultaneously and answer almost the same set of questions. This method of learning assessment requires tremendous effort and resources to prepare the venues, print question books and organize the whole process. Additional restrictions and obstacles may appear in conditions similar to those during the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to obviate the necessity of having all the students take an exam during the same period of time is to use a computer-assisted assessment with random item selection, so that every student receives an individual set of questions. The objective of this study is to investigate students’ perceptions of using random item selection from item banks in order to apply this method in large-scale assessments. An analysis of the responses of more than 1000 surveyed students revealed that most of them agree or completely agree with using the proposed method of assessment. The students from natural science departments showed more tolerance of this method of assessment compared with students from other groups. Based on the findings of this study, the authors concluded that higher-education institutions could benefit from implementing the abovementioned assessment method.
  • Social presence as a training resource: comparing VR and traditional training simulations

    Jakob Carl Uhl; Klaus Neundlinger; Georg Regal (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-06-01)
    From immersive simulations to interactive tutorials, Virtual Reality (VR) is transforming the way we learn and practise new skills. Especially for social skills training, a growing number of simulations have been designed in which trainees learn to master difficult communicative situations. One of the factors to which the effectiveness of VR as a learning technology is attributed to is the users’ feeling of social presence during the simulated interaction. This paper presents the evaluation of (1) a role play training, (2) a learning app and (3) a VR training application in a workshop series. Social presence was perceived as equally convincing and engaging for the prototypical VR scene as for the traditional form of role play, although the course of the interaction in VR was highly determined compared to the interaction dynamics of a human role play. In our interpretation, this confirms social presence as a valuable resource for training social interaction, which spans across various learning settings and methods in increasingly blended or hybrid learning and working contexts.
  • Pursuing professional learning by using social media: how do instructional designers apply self-regulated learning?

    Pauline Salim Muljana; Tian Luo (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-06-01)
    The instructional design and technology field are dynamic, requiring instructional designers to stay abreast through timely professional learning. Social media offers characteristics to collapse the time, geographical, and financial limitations of informal professional learning, but challenges exist. Continuous professional learning requires proactive actions, wherein self-regulated learning (SRL) plays an important role. However, not all professionals know the effective strategies to promote SRL skills. This study examines instructional designers’ (N = 17) experiences of professional learning on social media through an SRL lens. Data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings include SRL strategies conducted by instructional designers and the challenges they faced. This study informs instructional-design professionals and educators of ways to encourage continuous professional learning using social media while fostering SRL simultaneously.
  • Learning management systems and social media: a case for their integration in higher education institutions

    Darren Turnbull; Ritesh Chugh; Jo Luck (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-05-01)
    Higher education institutions across the globe rely on learning management systems (LMSs) to deliver course content, assess student learning, and maintain effective communication. However, contemporary learners may prefer to use popular social media platforms to share knowledge and collaborate with peers. Higher education institutions can benefit by fusing the best features of social media and LMSs into course delivery systems, particularly in online settings. This study investigates the technological and pedagogical integration of social media and LMSs in higher education institutions that incorporate these technologies into their course delivery infrastructure. From the 36 peer-reviewed papers examined, the identified benefits of successful social media-LMSs integration were classified into six categories: access to learning materials, student recruitment, communication and peer support, improved results, a single access point to both online environments, and speed and reliability. Three categories of disadvantages were also established: need for ongoing support, social media distractions, and technical and security issues. We propose that a close inter-relationship between social media platforms and LMSs enhances course outcomes within a social constructivist framework and satisfies learner needs for social interaction. This study’s findings will benefit educational institutions seeking to enhance engagement with online learner communities.
  • Learning patterns and risks in distance learning during the COVID-19 lockdown – the pupils’ perspective in drama pedagogy-based focus groups

    Ádám Cziboly; Ádám Bethlenfalvy; Szilvia Németh; Richárd Rajnai (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-06-01)
    In this study, primary school pupils have been surveyed using the methodology of drama pedagogy, focusing on two research questions: what the risks of online activities are and how children cope with these, and what the experiences of children with distance learning were. This study investigated both areas jointly from the pupils’ perspective. Three anonymous online focus groups were conducted with 16 Hungarian pupils (4 boys and 12 girls; age range: 11–15 years) in July 2020, who joined to the research on a voluntary basis and have been recruited from three rural counties with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Respondents unequivocally recounted that during the lockdown, they had spent a significant part of their time in front of a screen, mostly without adult supervision. Whilst most only experienced different forms of teasing, some cyberbullying instances bordered on criminal cases and required the involvement of parents. High exposure to such risks was experienced during the months when online learning mainly consisted of receiving assignments to work on, and most teachers were almost unavailable. Future research could compare the experiences of pupils and teachers, creating an online safe space for them where they could respond to each other’s perceptions, interpretations and opinions anonymously.
  • Teachers’ sense of competence in terms of ICT use: the case of secondary school teachers

    El Mustapha Baytar; Hayat Elyacoubi; Nadia Saqri; Lynda Ouchaouka (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-05-01)
    In the current digital age, the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into teaching practices has become a determining factor in learning quality. The teachers’ digital competence issue has come back to the forefront because of the schools’ closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aims to assess the sense of competence in terms of ICT use of a sample of 260 secondary school teachers in the Directorate of Education in Rhamna, Morocco, by adopting a quantitative methodology. Our findings suggested that only 26.1% of the individuals in our sample reported they feel effectively competent. The pandemic made a significant change in teachers’ perceptions of the importance of ICT integration and training in the field. Moreover, a cross-analysis highlighted significant relationships between the sense of competence in terms of ICT use and six independent variables: continuous training, learning readiness, gender, age, teaching experience, and school subject. Our findings would be helpful for policymakers to guide educational policies by focusing on ICT continuous training to enhance teachers’ digital competence.
  • Analysis of emergency remote teaching in formal education: crosschecking three contemporary techno-pedagogical frameworks

    Ronen Kasperski; Erez Porat; Ina Blau (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-05-01)
    During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak many countries around the world were forced to turn to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) and upscale the use of digital technologies for learning, teaching and assessment. The current study analysed field reports from 89 elementary and secondary Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking information and communication technology schools in Israel, representing the cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity of the education system. The qualitative analysis of the collected data was based on three well established contemporary models of technology integration and Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu): the International Society for Technology in Education, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and DigCompEdu. The analysis (n = 872 statements) yielded aspects in the teachers’ reports that correspond with the theoretical models, alongside aspects that extend these models to ERT and aspects that were missing from the reports. Finally, based on our findings and previous work we suggested a comprehensive framework for ERT that can be used to design teachers’ professional development necessary for effective remote teaching in both emergency and routine times.
  • The effects of interactive mini-lessons on students’ educational experience

    Lindsay D. Richardson (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-04-01)
    With the shift to online learning, many instructors have been forced into course delivery that involves educational lecture videos. There are a number of different elements that impact the quality of educational videos and overall student experience (e.g. instructor eye gaze, audio levels, screen sizing). More specifically, research has demonstrated that segmented videos have educational benefits over the traditional didactic ones. The present experiment aimed to examine whether interspersed interactive content could increase post-secondary students’ retention and engagement above simple segmentation. As such, young adults experienced one of four lesson types: didactic video, segmented videos, segmented videos with interactive content, and a condensed version of the interactive segmented videos. Then, they were asked to complete an engagement scale, an online learning experience questionnaire, and a surprise test. The results demonstrated a performance benefit to segmented videos for post-secondary students who prefer to learn in person as opposed to online.
  • University students’ perceptions of interactive response system in an English language course: a case of Pear Deck

    Kiki Juli Anggoro; Damar Isti Pratiwi (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-04-01)
    Pear Deck is one interactive response system that has gained popularity in recent years. This study addressed the gap in the literature and considered students’ experience of the platform in a Thai university context. This was a mixed-method study in which 320 students completed a survey including closed and open-ended components. Quantitative data measuring students’ perceptions using Likert-scale surveys were collected, while qualitative data were used to get a deeper understanding of students’ experience in learning using Pear Deck in the classroom. The data were analysed based on gender differences and students’ proficiency levels. According to the findings of this study, students’ perceptions were not significantly different based on gender. However, despite the finding that both basic and independent users had good attitudes towards the platforms, the latter group gave a substantially higher score. Furthermore, the study revealed that the students had a favourable impression of Pear Deck. They believed that the platform was engaging, easy to use, and had the potential to aid learning.
  • Adaptive pedagogical strategies responding to emergency remote teaching – immediate responses of Hungarian primary school teachers

    László Horváth (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-04-01)
    Digital disruption is not a new phenomenon in education; however, it has become more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic due to school closures and the related emergency remote teaching (ERT) period. Our study aims to explore the different pedagogical strategies that primary school teachers adopted during this period and determine how successful these strategies were in involving and engaging students. Altogether, 4028 teachers from 343 primary schools answered our online survey from all the regions of Hungary. The sample adequately represents the Hungarian primary school teacher population in terms of gender and age. We used cluster analysis and identified four clusters of pedagogical strategies; then, we used analysis of variance to explore how teachers’ digital competence and their ability to involve students in online learning varied across different clusters. Our analysis grasps the complexity of the issue, as it shows that two rather distinct strategies were both successful in involving students, and thus, there is no single solution best suited to digital learning. Overall, digitally competent teachers loosened the originally strict structure of education and provided more feedback, which proved to be an important element in successfully involving students in digital learning during ERT. The framework validated in our research can be used by policymakers and school administrators in different national and educational contexts, enabling them to understand the complexity of online teaching and learning. Furthermore, our results can offer some practical pointers for school teachers on how to combine different pedagogical strategies.
  • ‘Give and Take’ – higher education teachers using open educational resources

    Nadine Schroeder; Sophia Donat (Association for Learning Technology, 2023-04-01)
    Open educational resource (OER) as free teaching and learning materials can contribute to the collaborative design and development of teaching. To support higher education teachers in their work with teaching in general and OER in particular and to encourage their use of OER, it is necessary to pay attention to their needs and requirements. This paper presents the results of a research project, identifying the usage behaviour of German-speaking higher education teachers. In an interview study, they were asked about their experience with OER to get detailed insights into their practices concerning their ‘use’ and ‘revise’ of materials. From this, four user types were derived according to different OER activities, such as creating, reusing, editing, and publishing OER, and their scope. Finally, these user types are transferred to considerations when designing OER infrastructures and establishing support options. These are aligned with the specifics of each user type, making the research findings a complementary contribution for application in higher education.

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