Research Article
Sang Eun Lee, Naya Choi, Jieun Kiaer
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 15, Issue 3, Article No: ep424
ABSTRACT
The study explored the social perceptions of young children’s use of smart devices in South Korea using big data methodologies. Big data methodologies allowed to uncover underlying thoughts and feelings about young children’s use of smart devices that had not been discovered in existing studies. The study extracted raw data from three different groups: the public, the journalist, and academia. Then, the study conducted keyword frequency, sentiment analysis, and CONCOR analysis with UCINET 6.0. The results of the study revealed that each group viewed young children’s use of smart devices in a different way. The public was interested in effective use of smart devices while the journalist focused on educational aspects. The academia focused on parents’ perception of smart devices from a developmental perspective. Regarding the results of sentiment analysis, they showed that each group had different opinion on young children’s use of smart devices. The public had an ambivalent attitude toward young children’s use of smart devices. While the journalist showed a positively inclined attitude, the academic had a negatively inclined attitude.
Keywords: big data methodologies, smart devices, social perceptions, young children
Research Article
Nuri Kara, Kursat Cagiltay
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 2, pp. 119-141
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to understand in-service preschool teachers’ thoughts about technology and technology use in early educational settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 in-service preschool teachers. These teachers were selected from public and private preschools. Convenient sampling was applied because teachers who were eager to attend the study were selected. Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. Based on the content analysis, eleven main themes as to technology related views and practices of in-service preschool teachers emerged. Findings of the study indicated that the majority of in-service teachers had positive views about appropriate technology use in preschool education. Findings also showed that early educational settings need to be equipped with adequate technologies. Moreover, in-service preschool teachers emphasized that they expect to be supported by the preschool curriculum and several programs aiming at enhancing their technology use skills. Lastly, teachers were aware of not only the advantages of technology but also the potential disadvantages. Results of the study may help instructional designers, researchers and practitioners better integrate new technologies into preschool education.
Keywords: preschool education, preschool teachers, technology use, children, in-service teachers
Research Article
Gretchen Geng, Leight Disney
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 275-285
ABSTRACT
This article reviewed the literature on parental rearing styles and used responses from an online discussion forum to investigate people’s opinions towards parental rearing styles and strategies when children use hand-held devices. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used as an analysis method via micro, meso and macro multi-level interpretations. The majority of online responses agree that parents’ positive engagement using an authoritative rearing style play an important role in children’s use of hand-held devices, while authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved rearing styles hindered children’s development. Five positive parenting strategies were promoted by online responses, which included accepting technology, managing the use of technology, being responsible for children’s technology choice, setting playing time, and encouraging children to have no-technology time. Educators and parents who are interested in using hand-held devices with children will find this article useful in understanding positive strategies to implement when children use these devices.
Keywords: Hand-held devices, Parental rearing style, Children, Online responses
Research Article
Cristina Portugal, Rita Maria de Souza Couto
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 3, Issue 1, pp. 60-75
ABSTRACT
This article describes a development work whose focus was examining whether designing a game as an educational technology based on interdisciplinary dialogue between design and education can contribute to education of deaf children in learning a language. Through methods and techniques of design it was sought to identify how this area of knowledge can be part of the processes of teaching and learning in terms of developing learning materials to enhance the strategies of acquiring knowledge. The work was guided by the Multi-Tracks, which is a game to help the acquisition of a second language by deaf children. This game was developed in light of methods and techniques of design, under the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Design/Education - LIDE, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in partnership with the National Institute of Education for the Deaf in Rio de Janeiro-INES/RJ. The development work was particularly interested in designing learning materials for deaf children by considering their special traits and dialogue with the surrounding reality. Considering that educational technology research in special education is rather weak, it was thought that this work may contribute to this interdisciplinary area.
Keywords: Interdisciplinary design, Educational technology, Learning games, Deaf Children, Special education